You sit down at your computer to type out your next post. You’re excited to get it out to people, because you have something valuable to say. You spend a lot of time writing it. You click publish. You’re so excited to see the upvotes roll in. And what happens? It gets minimal results. Hardly anyone pays attention to it.
“Why don’t people care about my work?” you think.
Well, a big factor is how well you bait your hooks.
When fishing, a fisherman must use the correct bait and a strong hook. In publishing resonant language is the correct bait and compelling headlines are the strong hook .
So look at some of your posts. Really analyze them. Pick one in particular you think should’ve performed better than it did and ask some questions about it.
Is your headline juicy & tempting? Does it target the proper fish (audiences)? Would those viewers react with emotion when they scroll across your content? It’s not enough to just be a ‘writer’ or a ‘blogger’, you need to be a ‘hooker.’ (No, not the sex-worker kind, or the Rugby-player kind. I’m talking about a person who ‘hooks’ viewers in well with their headlines and thumbnails.)
Good hooks are super important, and many hivers neglect them.
The same thing goes for thumbnail images. Viewers have seen photos of plants, or animals, or people literally millions of times in their lives. If you just half-a$$ a photo for a thumbnail, you’ll blend in with all the other ‘fluff’ out there. But if you put some time, care, energy, and effort into your image, you may be able to snap people out of their scrolling to stop and click.
Your title and your thumbnail are constantly being judged by viewers. Period.
So it’s worth developing your own rating scale, then looking at your post titles and asking yourself, “on a scale of 1-to-10... how good are my hooks?”
Three more good questions to ask yourself about your content:
1. “Does my content move me, honestly? If I showed it to a stranger on the street would they chuckle? Smile? Tear up? Gasp?” Because our job as writers is to move people to action (whether we want them to think, to upvote, or something else). And that means creating an emotional shift from their auto-pilot lives.
2. “Does my content leverage trends? If viewers are focused on Covid/Trump/Crypto, am I riding their current focus, or does my content go a different direction? If people are talking Tinder / Zoom, does my content fight that, or leverage it?” You don’t have to talk about trending topics, but just know that resonance and relevance are essential and often overlooked, even by the best content-makers.
3. “Does my content persuade people? Do I push their buttons? Can I consider myself an excellent persuader?” Because many hivizens create content that seems to be fire, but in reality, isn’t very persuasive. Or even persuading them towards the wrong thing. Are you persuading to vote? Share? Comment?
And speaking of persuasion, let’s say you do create a headline that hooks and a thumbnail that tempts. Great. It means your audience is very likely ‘on the hook’ and eager to read what you’re offering. But it also means you’re on the hook as well. You’re on the hook to deliver a good reading experience that matches whatever you hinted at in the headline.
If your headline reads: “The Easy Way To Become A Better Person”, you’d better deliver an easy way to be better. If it reads “Here’s What You Don’t Know About Your Hopes And Dreams”, readers better not read through and think, “Pssh, I already knew all that.” Basically...
Every headline you write is making an implied offer to the viewer.
This happens whether you realize it or not.
And every offer you make has two hidden ingredients. Wherein the quality & balance of those two things decides whether others accept your offer or not.
The first hidden ingredient is the 'promise.'
Whether you're inviting people to your art exhibition, DMing a pitch, or selling an ebook... There's a hidden promise in your offer and people are sensitive to it. Sometimes that sensitivity is only deep in their subconscious, but it’s there. And what makes it trickier, is that these days people are skeptical of any promise. Especially direct ones. So you practically have to sneak your promise in through a story, warning, or demonstration. Whatever you do, you've got to make this promise a great fit for your audience.
The second hidden ingredient is 'believability.'
If your headline offers to make someone richer, or improve their mindset, or achieve their dreams... you'll likely need a lot of believability to go with it. On the other hand, if you're offering to shovel locals’ driveways for a few dollars, you won't need much believability at all.
So, when you write a headline, you’re making an offer. If viewers accept your offer, they’ll click on it, if they decide your offer isn’t for them at this time, they’ll scroll by it.
And getting acceptance of your offers is simple. It's just two ingredients.
The reason many writers make it hard is that they avoid being honest with themselves. You’ve got to take a hard look at your offer and your results. Notice if your 'ingredient-blend' is working. Notice if people are ‘accepting’ it by clicking. Notice if people are ‘buying’ what you’re ‘selling,’ or if the truth is… you've got to work more on it.
Think about how long it takes great writers to come up with their headlines, then think about how long you spend on yours. Think about how much effort a good photographer or illustrator puts into choosing an image for their thumbnail, then think about how much effort you put into yours.
Because in a viewer's mind, you’re competing with every other headline and thumbnail on the platform, or at least in their feed. You’ve gotta at least be decent at this stuff if you want to get positive results.
So... where are your offers landing in the magic square?
Do you have any ideas to improve your future writings?
P.S. I touch on more rare writing concepts in my mega-guide “Why No One Reads What You Write: A Masterclass In Communication.” ( Or if you want bite-sized inspiration, I have an Instagram account full of my 'good hook' attempts. Maybe they can inspire you to do the same: https://www.instagram.com/goodhookz/ )
P.P.S. There’s lots of great writers out there not being read, just because of a simple headline slip-up. If you know anyone who this may help, please consider sharing, either on Hive or on centralized social platforms.
Plenamente de acuerdo contigo en que acá en HIVE los títulos deben sólidos y atractivos acompañado de una buena imagen, sino no atraen publico ni votos… yo aun estoy en este proceso de descubrir esos trabajos , títulos e imágenes que haga que las ballenas me vean con amor y votos (risas) mientras espero a que eso pase, sigo disfrutando el proceso y compartiendo mis humildes trabajos.
También creo que las preguntas generadoras que exponen no aplican para todas las publicaciones...
lo digo, porque creo (quizás este equivocada) muchos de nosotros publicamos en algún momento para drenar aquello que puede que nos asfixie de amor o no, y queremos compartirlo, solo eso… a mi me pasa por ejemplo con las fotos de las cosas que mi hijo con autismo observa en nuestro camino a casa… es algo por lo que no espero recompensas, si llegan bienvenidas, pero las publico para drenar mi amor de madre y puedan observar parte del mundo que él observa.
Igual, muchas gracias @ryzeonline nos brindas grandes herramientas para mejorar día a día.
Saludos, bendiciones y éxitos
I fully agree with you that here in HIVE the titles must be solid and attractive accompanied by a good image, otherwise they do not attract public or votes ... I am still in the process of discovering those works, titles and images that make the whales see me with love and votes (laughs) while I wait for that to happen, I continue enjoying the process and sharing my humble works.
I also think the generative questions you expose don't apply to all publications.....
I say this, because I think (maybe I'm wrong) many of us publish at some point to drain that which may or may not suffocate us with love, and we want to share it, just that... it happens to me for example with the photos of the things my son with autism observes on our way home... it is something for which I do not expect rewards, if they come welcome, but I publish them to drain my love as a mother and they can observe part of the world he observes.
Anyway, thank you very much @ryzeonline you give us great tools to improve day by day.
Greetings, blessings and success
Yes! Titles and images are very important, on Hive and most social platforms. LOL, I'm sure you'll discover the things that work for you more and more, as long as you enjoy the process.
I encourage people to come up with their own questions for their own publications, the ones in the post are just examples. :)
If your goal is simply to express love for your son or your life, then the only question you need to ask is "did I express love this my post?"
But if you have bigger goals, then other questions will be required.
And as always, thank you again @keco , I appreciate your considerate comments.
Greeting, blessings, and success! 🙏
Sí. Los títulos y las imágenes son muy importantes, en Hive y en la mayoría de las plataformas sociales. LOL, estoy seguro de que descubrirás las cosas que te funcionan cada vez más, siempre que disfrutes del proceso.
Animo a la gente a que se le ocurran sus propias preguntas para sus propias publicaciones, las del post son sólo ejemplos :)
Si tu objetivo es simplemente expresar amor por tu hijo o por tu vida, entonces la única pregunta que debes hacerte es "¿expresé amor en este mi post?"
Pero si tienes objetivos más grandes, entonces serán necesarias otras preguntas.
Y como siempre, gracias de nuevo @keco , aprecio tus considerados comentarios.
¡Un saludo, bendiciones y éxito! 🙏
!LUV
Thanks for the luv, wishing you a great day! 🙏
You too. And may the Universe endow you with much love, patience and wisdom.@ryzeonline
So kind of you, thanks, and wishing you the same! 🙏
I tell everyone this:
May the universe endow you with all good indefinitely. Thank you so much. That's how I feel happy.🙏🦋🇧🇬
I love it! Wonderful thing to wish 'everyone', I can see how it would bring happiness! 🙏
Hmmm this is an interesting perspective on how to get the attention which your contents deserve
Thank you, I hope it helps people. :) 🙏
Good post as always. Thanks 🙏
My pleasure, glad you liked it, and thanks for commenting! 🙏
I fell for it hook, line and sinker
🤣 I'll take it :)
The post got me hooked :)
lol! It made you a 'hooker' 🤣 sorry I couldn't resist 😘
Haha, that was the intention :)
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 65/78) Liquid rewards.
😃🙌🙏
Thank you kindly! 🙏
Éste ha sido un tema bastante interesante, de seguro podrás ayudar a muchos con éste post.
I'm happy you find it interesting, and I hope this post helps many. 🙏
Me alegro de que os resulte interesante, y espero que este post ayude a muchos. 🙏
Me alegra mucho eso, es bastante interesante y de mucha ayuda.
My pleasure! 🙏
¿Y, qué piensas? ¿Va a intentar utilizar diferentes titulares para atraer a la gente a leer sus escritos?
¡Claro que sí! La verdad ésto me ha motivado mucho.
Yay!!! ¡Estoy deseando ver lo que haces y lo que compartes! ❤️❤️❤️
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STOPCheck out the last post from @hivebuzz:
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We've talked about titles and thumbnails like 1738 bajillion times lol.
It's something that's so overlooked and I could definitely improve my headlines. I go to Good Hookz for inspiration, often. I did it with my last Hive post lol.
oh and making sure the writing/offer/etc matches the title is something else I was so happy to learn lol omg the Porn star clickbait experience was enough to teach me that lesson 😝
Great article, and I hope it helps people who want to get more people clicking on their content. It was super helpful for me.
Con mucho amor
k-b
Yes because they're so high-leverage and essential. Most of us can improve ours, myself included.
Yeah, lesson learned from that clickbait accident.
Yep, I aimed to help people, fingers crossed! :)🙏
I think "believability" is important, because if I get attracted once by a big promise and there's no delicious bait on the hook I won't click on this hook again.
Great article, these are things many people don't think about, not only here.
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I very much agree with you. Believability is essential, and 'tricking' people with false promises may work briefly as a scam, but is not really a sustainable business model. They'll all stop clicking and one's reputation will crumble fairly soon, in my experience.
Glad you liked the article, I aim to inspire 'uncommon' thought.
(And thanks for the beer and wine, you're right, both go great with pizza!) 🙏
I like your way of writing and it's well worth a !BEER and a !PIZZA if there's hopefully some left in my fridge :)
Have a great Sunday 🌞
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Thanks! You seem to have a never-ending supply! :D 🙏
You're welcome, there's always quite a lot !BEER in my fridge, but I'm afraid, there might be no more !PIZZA left 😉
@johannpiber, sorry!
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Thank you for this article. It is helpful to me especially I am just a beginner writer. I did not write that much before. Keep safe!
My pleasure, I'm so happy that you enjoyed my article. Even beginners can do quite well if they apply themselves and put effort into their writing. You've got this, keep believing, keep #ryzing ! Thank you. 🙏
Very helpful tips for me. Thank you
My pleasure, I'm glad it helped. Thank you as well! 🙏
This deserve more upvotes and reblog!
Thanks you, I appreciate all upvotes and reblogs very much! 🙏
I definitely got hooked just by the title alone, and the moment I started reading, I realized there was already a net around me. This is a lovely post, and the message was well received. Thanks for sharing.
Haha, 'hooking' accomplished, it seems! I'm truly grateful for your comment and glad my message was well-received. Wishing you lots of joy and success! 🙏
Thank you
🙏
I really admire how you come up with your contents, I'd love to learn more from you.
Thank you! You may be able to learn from some of my previous posts:
And I'll likely continue to post new ones. :) 🙏
I will definitely take my time on those topics, thanks for sharing
Excellent, enjoy! 🙏
Excelente y muy orientador este escrito, puede ayudar a mucho escritores o creadores de contenidos para mejorar la calidad y presentacion.
Me alegro de que te guste. ¡Espero que mejore la calidad y presentación de los escritores! :) 🙏
Hey man, you're a really good seller! The description on your profile is absolutely right!
Thanks very much, I do my best and I appreciate when someone notices and comments. Thank you! 🙏
Hahaha, I think your posts can't easily go unnoticed, as well as your ability to summarize and explain accurately. 👍
Thank you for saying so, I hope you're right :) 👌
everyone is a hooker on hive but then you have pimps and madams
glad to see others understanding the true essence of dpos
I snipe talent then leave so guess am a madam, fuck if I know
this is clearly the direction hivers want regardless of farts trying to monitor if you misused an oxford comma
also am half joking about the madam thing, this wouldn't necessarily be my go-to or would it, hmmm, see now am thinking why I find all this entertaining
now maybe to just get hive's price up, come on hive you can do it, we love u
Heh, good point about pimps and madams indeed. DPoS is an interesting beast whether one is a talent-sniper or otherwise, I imagine. Hopefully I avoid the wrath of any oxford-comma-police, lol.
And I'm starting to see why you find this all entertaining, and the best way I know to increase Hive's price is to keep creating content like I've been doing, but I'm open to other ideas, hehe. Thanks for the interesting comment, wishing you a great day. 🙏
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