Get People Interested with Curiosity Marketing
We had my sister-in-law, nephew, and husband’s cousin over for dinner and games recently. I LOVE being the hostess with the mostess and to celebrate the occasion, I decided to make my famous butternut squash soup.
I spent all day chopping veggies and finely dicing ginger, roasting the squash just so, cooking it slowly in the crockpot before pureeing it into squash oblivion. Then, I added spices to taste, of course (I despise recipes and coloring in the culinary lines).
Cayenne, curry, sea salt, and some ground black pepper. This would be delicious. One chef’s kiss, coming right up!
In case you’re following along for recipes or cooking tips, you should know that cayenne and ginger are best when used with moderation and caution, or else you get a heat bomb in your mouth that’s highly unpalatable.
I didn’t know just how true this was until it was too late and I’d ruined an entire crockpot of Butternut Squash soup by making it hotter than a jalapeño in a sauna.
No one could eat the soup (except my husband, who will eat almost anything). The delicious butternut flavor was completely overrun by a five-alarm fire of spice.
Creating curiosity in your marketing can go south and end up like my Cayenne Pepper and Ginger heat bomb. Improving and focusing on your curiosity marketing will help your readers and listeners be more engaged and happily consume more of your content!
Curiosity marketing can make your content spicier, sizzlier, sassier, more enticing, and exciting. But, you don’t want so much of it that someone feels like they swallowed a volcano and now they can’t see straight.
How can we create more curiosity for our readers in our marketing: social media, blogs, website copy, emails, and more without going overboard?
This blog will give you some ideas and practical examples of curiosity marketing to get you started!
Examples of curiosity marketing for your emails, blogs, website copy, and more!
Creating a Curiosity Gap in Your Marketing
Not sure what a curiosity gap is? I wasn’t either and I want to make sure we’re on the same page! Let’s define “curiosity gap” before diving into our curiosity marketing examples!
Using curiosity in your marketing is a great way to spice up your content and keep your readers and listeners engaged.
The curiosity gap is the space between what we know and what we want to know. Your job as the writer, podcaster, or business owner is to create just enough of a curiosity gap, without it getting weird.
You don’t want to make it uncomfortable or confusing for the one engaging in the content, but you want their interest to stay piqued.
It’s an art and a science and a bit like walking a fine line while spinning plates and simultaneously wearing stilts. I’m hoping the examples of curiosity marketing in this blog will help make it a whole lot easier!
Once you’re aware of what a curiosity gap is and how to start using it in your marketing, you can start creating it through the different forms of content you share!
Specifically, we’re going to focus on ideas around creating curiosity in your email marketing, blogs, social media, websites, and podcasts but these can be applied to pretty much any content you’re creating that you want to sprinkle more curiosity into!
And remember, no matter where you’re working to improve your content with curiosity marketing, keep it simple, avoid jargon, and don’t try to explain it ALL in one single piece of content.
Curiosity Marketing Examples in Emails
Want better open rates? Try infusing your email headlines with subject lines that create more curiosity!
As I write this, I want to make sure to clearly express that I’m not a fan of clickbait and false advertising. Your goal is to create email headlines that are catchy and perhaps thought-invoking but aren’t misleading. Again, we don’t want that five-alarm fire going off in our reader’s brains, remember?
Using curiosity in your subject line is a great way to get more eyeballs on your email:
- Ask a question
- Include your unpopular opinion or a shocking fact
- Keep it short
- Use puns and humor
- Don’t use all caps and avoid too many emojis
If you want some super-specific recommendations on upping your subject line game, check out Laura Belgray of Talking Shrimp’s 33 Non-Sucky Subject Lines guide HERE
1. In the body of the email itself, use the power of storytelling! People love stories and they can help to create curiosity in your content. Make sure your stories are interesting and relevant to what you’re talking about and keep it conversational to make it relatable and engaging.
2. Break up the content. Remember that people read in different ways. Some read paragraphs from top to bottom and hang on every last word, others skim for bullet points and highlights. If you break up your content, you have a chance of appealing to more readers. I do this with my emails and even break them into sections as follows: Story / purpose of the email, podcast episode of the week, a P.S. or one last thing section.
3. Try something different in your email marketing! I recently started reading my emails aloud using recording software and the podcast host I upload She Built This episodes to. People love it and it’s a perfect solution for those who prefer to listen vs. read. I also sprinkle in little bonuses when I read, so it’s the perfect way to spark more curiosity in my audience and get them to engage.
4. Remember your reader. Being in someone’s email inbox is a privilege and gift. Personally, I’m very careful about whose list I subscribe to and so if I’ve given you my “sign me up” I really like you and want to hear what you have to say. Keep your readers in mind with each and every email you write and write as though you’re writing to just one person on your list.
Leave them with questions to ponder, calls to action that involve reaching out or replying to you and engaging in the conversation, and places to connect to keep on learning from you!
Curiosity Marketing in Blogs (with examples!)
We get into why blogging is still alive and well, who should start blogging, and how to create curiosity in your blogs.
1. My guest, Amy Reinecke shares that providing unique insights and fresh perspectives in your blog is one way to invoke curiosity in your reader and keep your content fresh and interesting. You can also stand out from others in your industry and begin a pattern of thought leadership.
2. Another way to create curiosity in your blog is to be personal and share stories and anecdotes that help your audience relate to you and connect with your business and brand on a personal level.
3. I love when a blog includes links to more, so I can keep the curiosity party alive, tips and how-to’s that are just enough, but not too much and that leave me to explore how to apply it for myself.
4. Your blogs are a great spot to share imagery and incorporate your personality and humor.
5. Keep readability easy and incorporate emotional words that will pull the reader in. Remember, you don’t have to give away the farm in any one blog!! (Sidebar: this is where a strategy comes in and I can help!)
Curiosity Marketing in Website Copy
Writing great website copy is an art and science. The key is to show the reader THEMSELVES in your web copywriting.
Why is it that you’re the right fit to fill their needs?
How can you help solve THEIR problems?
Why are you the unique one for the job and what kind of people do you like to work with?
1. Your website copy is a great place to give them “just enough” information without overwhelming them with every last detail or making it confusing.
2. You want to clearly show the problems you solve, create some curiosity in who YOU are and give them the next right step.
3. When you feel tempted to get into the weeds explaining every last thing and pummeling your reader with jargon, pump the brakes and simplify. You can always expand and give more information in an FAQ’s section or “Five Easy Steps” page or in a blog.
Curiosity Marketing in Podcasts
For my fellow podcasters, I know you like to keep your content valuable, helpful, and educational of course! But please don’t forget to include elements of fun and your personality. 🤪
1. Your audience will delight at the most random and fun facts and details about your life! I recently listened to a podcast that was thirty minutes of a host talking about avocados and bananas and how particular they are about the textures simply because I was curious about the host!
2. While I don’t recommend droning on about unrelated topics (unless your audience is into that), as a host we do want to know more about YOU!
3. Use your sense of humor, personal stories, and if you dare, your controversial perspectives and unpopular opinions.
4. Leave your audience with questions to ponder and ways to delve more into topics as you give them just enough information without being overwhelming or trying to explain something soup-to-nuts. This is not a masterclass, it’s a podcast.
Social Media Content and Curiosity Marketing Go Hand in Hand
This is where all the magic you created in your emails, blogs, podcasts, website copy, and more can come together and come to life! Social media is shorter form and it’s a great opportunity to create curiosity about who you are, what you offer, and what content you have available for your followers.
1. Be clear and concise WHILE sparking curiosity.
2. A question I ask myself often when checking in with how I’m doing on my social media is one that my recent She Built This guest, Mignon Fogarty of the Grammar Girl podcast asks herself,
“Would I follow me?”
3. Keep your social media content conversational, easy to read and engaging, and remember to repurpose as much as possible from everything else you’re creating for a cohesive strategy that will spark interest and curiosity while keeping your message clear!
Putting it All Together
Whether you’re looking to use curiosity marketing in your blogs, emails, social media, or podcast content, remember these easy examples to get you started and remember the power of the curiosity gap.
- It’s a lot like spices in the kitchen so remember, the right amount of curiosity in your marketing doesn’t translate to confusion!
- We can use curiosity marketing to spark interest and invoke intrigue while still keeping things clear, understandable, and delicious.
Action steps to take next to improve your curiosity marketing:
- Choose one piece of content this week and see how you can creatively add an element of curiosity (share with me when you do or tag me on social!)
- Make sure you’re following the She Built This podcast in your favorite podcast app
- Want someone to take any of this content creation off your plate entirely? Contact me HERE!
