What would it mean for your brand if reading your content was a habit of your audience?
There’d more opportunities for engagement with your company.
You’d be the go-to resource for news in their industry.
Imagine the results.
Improved trust in your brand, increased industry authority, and deeper relationships with your customers.
In short, your content would drive business results.
Now it turns out a we can learn all about habit development for content from a bestselling author’s dramatic recovery after a baseball accident.
When he was in high school, James Clear sustained a severe injury; he was hit in the face by a baseball ball. Recovery was long and gruelling. Yet, a few years later, he was a star academic and sports performer at college.
How did he make a such remarkable comeback?
Habits: small, daily actions that set him on the path to regaining his health and achieving success.
And we can apply exactly the same principles to writing habit-forming content. The kind of content your readers come back to again and again.
Habits and Content Development
Smoking. Poor diet. Too much Netflix. Exercise. Reading.
What do these activities have in common?
They’re habits. Some are better for you than others, of course. But, at the core, they’re all choices you make every day. And those choices determine your life, the kind of person you are.
Clear’s book Atomic Habits is an investigation into human behaviour, with a sharp focus on the triggers that drive habit development.
The beauty of it is these lessons are universal, says Clear.
For instance, on an episode of Amy Porterfield’s podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy, Clear examines how habit development shapes the design of more engaging online courses.
He introduces us to the foundation of behavioral change:
“The four laws of behavioral change include: make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying,” said Clear.
Here’s how this is relevant to content:
Make it Obvious
Modern readers are pulled in a thousand different directions.
Your content is up against other brands, Netflix, and, well, the demands of daily life.
To stand out, cues can nudge your reader: subtle messages that share your updates.
So, how do you make your content obvious?
For digital courses, Clear suggests sending emails or notifications.
Consider sending emails to let you readers know when a new post is published.
For the best results, publish consistently.
Make it Attractive
What, exactly, are you buying when you purchase a book online?
You’re sold on the promise.
Clear makes the case that when you purchase a book online, you don’t have the book right away. Instead, you’re buying the promise of what the book can do for you.
To make our blogs attractive to our readers, we have to convey its value.
How will reading your post improve your reader’s life?
A good headline, packed with the benefit upfront, will do the job.
Make it Easy
Have you ever landed on a blog post and found a wall of text of staring back at you?
My guess is that you didn’t stick around to parse through the post.
You’re not the only one.
Studies show scannability makes a massive difference on whether or not people will read your content.
Here’s where the design and formatting of your content helps.
Is your content easy to read and scan?
A few tips:
- Add subheadlines
- Create lists
Clear says each part of a digital course is an obstacle in between the person and their goal.
Think of content in the same way.
Is it easy to read and scan? Do you have tables and list to better communicate dense info? Is actionable?
Make it Satisfying
Does your reader walk away from your post satisfied?
That is, did your content live up to promise in the headline?
Typically, that promise guarantees a transformation. You’ll know more about the world. You’ll gain new skills. You’ll be better placed to navigate complex professional and personal situations.
Something, right now, is lacking in your life. The book seeks to give you what you need right when you need it.
Creating attractive content relies on the same principle.
What’s the benefit you can offer the reader? What’s the transformation?
Your goal is that your reader’s life is better in some after reading your post. You’re fixing a problem, delivering result: promote that value.
The last point brings it all together.
After all, if your content doesn’t deliver on your promise of value, creating habitual readers is a failed bid.
Even if your headline is attention-grabbing , your reader will bounce right off the page if the content doesn’t meet the expectation
Ways to create satisfying content:
- Include relevant research and stats
- Include quotes from people like your reader or industry authorities
Keep your focus on creating a rewarding, valuable experience.
Creating habit-forming content opens up a new world of opportunity for you. You’ll start building a community. You’ll establish your brand as an industry authority. You’ll serve a growing number of customers, who begin to see you brand as a trusted, helpful source of advice.
Featured image: Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
