Want spark more interest and create curiosity in your marketing content and blogs?
Creating curiosity in writing and sparking interest with our marketing content is an art.
There’s SO much content flying around the internet, books, podcasts, articles, television (does anyone watch that anymore?), etc. It’s a HUGE gift to those engaging in our content, especially written content, when we pique their interest jussssstttttt enough.
How much is too much when it comes to creating curiosity in writing?
Can you ever have TOO much?
As a content copywriter for women entrepreneurs, I strive for a recipe of curiosity and clarity.
Our content should spark an interest and a sense of excitement. The goal is to leave them wanting to know more, but not feeling confused.
When sharing written content, you can create curiosity in your reader, and cause them to lean in with some of these simple tips.
#1) Start by asking yourself this question to spark interest:
I recently had a chance to chat with Mignon Fogarty, host of the Grammar Girl podcast on a recent She Built This podcast episode. If you missed it, you can catch it here. In the episode, Mignon shared with me some of the curiosity questions she brings during her own writing and content creation process that helps her to ensure that what she’s sharing is the good stuff.
Would I want to follow me?
Would I want to read this article I wrote?
Would I engage with my content?
I love asking ourselves these questions as a way to stop, look, evaluate, and listen to what we might be doing well with our written content, and where we might need to look at making some adjustments and shifts.
The answers might not be easy, but getting curious about what you’re writing, is the first step to creating more curiosity in your writing.
#2 Create curiosity by showing your personality in your writing and content
Paraphrasing a quote in Seth Godin’s book, Purple Cow, “Don’t try to make something for everyone because it ends up being for no one.”
“Don’t try to make something for everyone. That product is for nobody… The everybody products are all taken.” — SETH GODIN, PURPLE COW
The same rule applies to our content creation and writing. If we try to write for the masses, we end up speaking to no one in particular.
You’re not for everyone, and neither am I! But the people you ARE for, you’re very much for! So infuse YOU into your writing, copy, and content!
Identify the pieces of your personality and YOU-ness that make you remarkable, stand out, exceptional, and unique, and make sure that your writing is grounded in that.
It not only helps to create curiosity in the mind of the reader:
“Who IS this person!?”
“I have to get to know them!”
“I want to read more of what they have to say!”
“Sign me up for ALL their content!!”
You can also use your personality and quirkiness to show curiosity about THEM! Secret marketing tip: The things that make you “weird” or “boring” in your mind are the very things people reading will relate to! You can use the sharing of these things to ask your audience and readers questions about them too!
Even your flaws and mistakes are an opportunity for you to get curious about others,
“Does anyone else do this…”
“Does this get under your skin as much as it does mine…”
“Anyone else totally OVER this…”
There are hundreds upon hundreds of people doing what you do. Like, the exact same thing. But you’re the one and only one that can show up as YOU while doing it. The world wants more of YOU.
Show your personality and let it shine through in your copy and content to create more curiosity in your writing!
#3 Keep em’ curious, don’t lead the witness
Ok, so it’s my husband who watches all the true crime and detective shows at our house -not me, but I’m pretty sure there’s a term called “leading the witness” where you get them to come to the conclusion you want them to arrive to.
Don’t lead the witness when it comes to your writing if you want to create more curiosity through the words you’re sharing.
What do I mean by leading the witness?
Don’t answer all the questions for them. Let them come to their own conclusions and discoveries along the way. Maybe there are multiple interpretations, or you leave them with a question, or you just don’t quite solve the problem in its entirety but you give them a REALLY good starting point of how they can explore it more for themselves. Ask them what they think and don’t close the loop.
I’m gonna’ stop this paragraph right here because I don’t want to lead YOU to any definite answers (see what I did there?).
Stay curious and add some of these methods to your writing for yourself!
#4 Create more curiosity by avoiding jargon and complex language
This should’ve been tip number one. Not sure what I was thinking there. Oh well, too late.
Getting in the weeds with jargon and complex language is an anti-curiosity disaster waiting to happen. Some people might be into it, but most people are going to glaze over and say, “Next!”
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE some complex words, I’m a grammar nerd, bibliophile, word-a-holic. I like learning definitions of things, but even I don’t like when a word, phrase, or concept is so complicated to understand that it’s distracting. I don’t want my head to be spinning while I’m reading (unless it’s in a good way). Your reader doesn’t either. It’s not curiosity-invoking, it’s just dizzying.
Keep it simple, utilize storytelling, and don’t get too jargony.
This is where it’s extremely valuable to work with a copywriter or content writer like myself because we can listen to where you get stuck overcomplicating and help you to put it into simple, understandable terms.
You Have the Power to Create Curiosity
Hopefully, this blog helped show you how you can create curiosity in your writing and how our word choices can increase interest for our readers.
To create more curiosity in your next piece of written content, remember these four tips:
- Ask yourself if YOU would read this piece
- Infuse personality into your writing
- Don’t lead the witness to the “right” answer
- Avoid jargon and complexity in your language
The goal in creating curiosity in any content, including our writing, is to keep them interested, engaged, and ready for more of your unique perspectives!
Connect with me, Emily Aborn, Content Writer for Women Entrepreneurs HERE
Want to know more about curiosity and how it can help your marketing? Click HERE to read the blog, “Examples of Curiosity Marketing”
More tips from this She Built This Episode on creating curiosity in written blogs with guests, Amy Reinecke and Jennifer Draper:
- Be willing to listen and lean into learning as you write
- Share stories and personal experiences
- Your readers want you to sprinkle in your unique viewpoints and perspectives
