How To Entertain Your Readers
He Rode A Blazing Saddle.
Very few of you have seen the shot my friend Chuck took of me a while back and that is as they say back home, “a damn shame” and not because I am exceptionally handsome.
That goes without saying, as does my exceptional humility.
The reason it is a “a damn shame” is because Chuck ran out of film and you don’t get to see the fine results of my rope work nor do you see all the children I rescued from the burning barn.
Should You Entertain Your Readers?
I don’t have to even think about the answer to this question because to me it is obvious. If you entertain your readers they are far more likely to pay attention to your work and to continue reading it.
So the obvious question is not should you entertain your readers but how do you do it?
I like the four marketing lessons that Kerry wrote about at Mark’s Blog because there is a enormous pool of ideas/content to draw upon.
Take any one of those four and you have an excellent opportunity to entertain and to educate but there is another way to do so that I think people often forget about it.
Write about Things That Interest and Entertain You
It is much easier to entertain your readers if you write about things that interest and entertain you. If you find those things and share them chances are your tone will reflect your own interest and delight and that comes through.
The same thing happens in person too. Think about your tone of voice and body language when you talk about things that bore you and the difference when you talk about things that interest you.
There is often a big distinction that we are not always cognizant of.
Blogging doesn’t have to be all work and no play.
What about you? What do you think?
Mark W Schaefer January 6, 2014 at 4:16 am
Josh I think you hit the nail on the head here. If you think about the types of content you like to share, chances are it has some unique entertainment value. So I do believe “entertainment” is the big word as we go forward trying to cut through the content clutter. This also poses a challenge — how many companies are sitting around thinking “how can we be more entertaining today?” : )
Thanks for the shout-out!
Joshua January 6, 2014 at 10:24 am
Hi Mark,
That post was definitely worth highlighting so it was my pleasure to share it.
Sometimes I think we get so wrapped up in our work we forget that all we are trying to do is start a simple conversation with our prospects and our existing customers.
If we take that extra moment to inject some honest energy into our words people are more likely to respond. Personality goes a long way.
Mary Stephenson January 5, 2014 at 7:19 pm
Hi Josh
You are absolutely right. If you don’t love the subject you are writing about it is going to show by lack of enthusiasm.
It is like when someone was saying how to tell if something is your passion. Your eyes light up when you talk about what you are passionate about. Even your voice changes. So it would be the same with your writing, if you are really into it. The delight will show through and even if someone else was not interested in the subject, I think you could even reel them in. Sort of like excited kids when they want to share something with you. Their eyes light up and their voice gets higher and faster.
Mary
Joshua January 6, 2014 at 7:41 am
Hi Mary,
Kids are the perfect example because their manner really challenges dramatically when they are excited.
If we can take that sort of energy and instill it into our writing good things happen.