The Internet Is Overflowing With Boring Content
The other day I was doing research for an article I’m working on for a client.
The topic was composting and sustainability. And every single article I came across bored me to tears.
It was like reading a phone book.
And it’s not just because composting and sustainability are boring topics (they are). There’s terrible writing all over the internet.
It’s because most writers are writing for Google, not real people.
They’re playing the SEO game where Google rewards them with traffic for writing long, information-dense, textbook-like articles.
Well guess what…
Google May Like Long, Boring Articles, But Your Customers Don’t
People want to actually enjoy what they’re reading.
They want to be educated and entertained by an article. Not bored to death with facts.
And they don’t want to read something that sounds like a robot wrote it.
They want writing with some personality.
How do you write with personality? How do you write in a way people actually enjoy reading?
You Can Start By Sounding Like A Human
You’re not writing for your college English class. Or a scientific journal.
You’re writing to build an audience and grow your business.
To do that, it would help if you stopped writing like a robot and started sounding like an actual human.
Because nobody likes reading a textbook. It’s dull, emotionless and boring.
We want to read something from a human.
So write like you talk. As if you were having a conversation with the reader.
If you normally use slang or bad grammar, use it in your writing.
If you tell bad jokes or make obscure movie references with friends, do it when you write.
And when someone reads it, it’ll sound like they’re reading something written by a real person. Not some dry, emotionless robot.
Tell More (Personal) Stories In Your Articles
One of the best ways to put your personality front and center in your articles is to tell more stories.
Any kind of story makes you less boring, but sharing personal stories can have a really powerful effect.
Why? Because people connect with stories.
Our ancestors sat around campfires telling stories. Today, we sit around bars telling stories.
Regardless of the setting, the idea is the same – people enjoy sharing stories with each other. It helps us connect as humans.
So use stories whenever you can. As examples, as teaching points, as case studies, etc.
Any time you can use a personal story instead of just regurgitating information, do it.
It’ll help your audience connect with you on a much deeper level.
Actually Have A Point Of View
A mistake a lot of writers make is they write articles that lack any kind of opinion or point of view.
They just lay out the facts in a dry, boring way. Like the owner’s manual to your car.
Don’t do that.
Instead of just relaying facts and information, try actually having an opinion on what you’re writing about.
Because people don’t want facts. We may say we do, but we don’t.
What we really want is to know what other people think. We want their outrageous hot takes. We want their opinion of the facts, not the facts.
So don’t be shy when you write.
Have a point of view about your topic. Make it known and take a stand.
You’ll turn off the people who don’t agree with you, but you’ll also attract tons of people who do agree with you.
And those are people you want as customers.
Think About The People You Follow
Like your favorite political commentator, sports analyst, morning show host or social media influencer.
Why do you follow them? Why do you give them your attention?
I’m guessing it’s because they have a personality.
They speak like a human, not some robot.
They probably connect with you by telling lots of stories, especially from their everyday lives.
And they probably don’t just lay out a bunch of facts. They let you know what they think of the facts – their opinion.
And you happen to like and agree with that opinion.
So ultimately, you’re attracted to their personality that comes out in their content, not to the content itself.
Show Some Personality When You Write
Stop adding to all the dry, boring, strictly informative articles floating around the internet. Add some personality to your writing.
It’ll make it so much easier to stand out and build an audience of people who actually enjoy reading what you write.