Content Marketing – What Can Make Your Boring Text More Interesting

With the emergence of modern (…and quick) entertainment and decreased attention span, content marketing is going through a difficult phase!

Every blogger is emerging with a new question that can help answer this one question.

How can we make the textual content more interesting for our viewers? Especially the ones with a young demography and low attention. There is no shame in admitting long textual blogs or even social media posts do not remain appealing to them!

Before we get into how to make your texts more interesting, let’s understand what makes them uninteresting. After all, to solve a problem, we must first understand what the problem is.

Also Read: 11 SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT WRITING TIPS TO BOOST ENGAGEMENT IN 2024

What is Uninteresting Content?

This is to give a fair disclaimer: just because content is uninteresting to your target audience doesn’t automatically mean it is a bad piece of content.

There could be many reasons why you could be dealing with this. One of the crucial ones is:

Your target audience!

To give content, here is what generic, uninteresting content looks like:

• Lack of Relevance: If your audience is not finding relatability with your content, they are likely to click out.

• Overly Promotional: Many content makers get paid for promotional items. These can range from influencers promoting products through their videos. Or posting a sponsored post on your blog video. The audience will lose interest if they find you shoving products right in their face. This is also a big red flag for UX (User Experience).

• Poor Quality: The quality of your content plays a major role in retaining the audience. Even if, with the best SEO, you can garner an organic audience, it is the quality that keeps them reading/watching.

• Your Audience’s Attention Span: Sometimes, it is about whom you sell it to. As a rule, we keep our content “easy to read,” Short sentences, easier words, and shorter paragraphs. Unfortunately, if your audience is on their mobile devices, their attention span would be less than 45 seconds. This is why if the content is not bite-sized, they are immediately not interested.

• Lack of Visuals: Only text (…unfortunately) is a thing of the past!  Too many texts with no visual aids will be considered boring in today’s standard of digital content unless it is a research paper, which, in most cases, will not have your target audience.

Ways to Make it Interesting (Content Marketing for the New Digital World)

Without any further ado, let’s get into our curated list of items that can improve your content marketing strategies.

1. Tell Them a Story

Have you ever wondered why fiction sells more than facts?

Why are people more interested in the tabloid section than Page 1 of a newspaper?

This is because it is intriguing to peek through other people’s lives, whether through binge-watching reality television shows or reading a celebrity interview.

Suppose you want to make your writing more interesting. The first thing you need to do is give an illusion of a story!

No matter what you are selling, taking a storytelling approach can be of massive help if you want to gain an audience. In fact, stories can be more relatable or memorable than reading a simple fact.

• In fact, it is easier to turn your simple blog into a story!
• Give more first-person references and original quotes.
• Try to sprinkle numerical data only through the aid of an emotion-provoking fact.

In fact, someone is likely to remember numbers or data more vividly if an emotional anecdote is attached to it.

For Example

Here is an introduction to an article, “Office Guest Room Ideas: Stylish Transformations for Your Space.”

Creating an office guest room can be a practical solution for accommodating visitors while maintaining a functional workspace.
It involves careful planning and a thoughtful approach to ensure the room meets both needs effectively. This guide explores various ideas to help you transform your space into a stylish and functional office guest room.
Whether you have a large or small area, these tips will help you maximize your space.

Now, let’s transform the introduction

When I started my remote working journey in 2020 (something we were all pushed into), motivation was not my strong forte. I did not have what most people call a “home office”, so I turned my guest room into one.
After all, no one was visiting me during the pandemic!
But there was a huge problem – quite literally!
My huge guest bed was a constant distraction during work hours. One moment I was doing my best to concentrate on the screen – the next moment I was snuggled in the comfy bed, scrolling through people making Dalgona coffee.
Then came another issue!
Pandemic ends, and everything comes back to normal. For better or worse, I still do remote working, but now I have guests coming over.
This is when I needed office guest room ideas which can kill two birds with one stone.
Something which will increase my productivity and make my guests “feel at home.”
So, after weeks of searching, I found ten ways you can transform your office guest room without much hustle. Not only was it easy, but a sustainable tip for first time homeowners with less carpet space.
So, without any further ado, let’s begin!

Now, you decide which would be more interesting to read and follow through.

2. What’s in a Question?

Gone are the days when communication was one way!

The realm of the internet runs on a two-way interaction (think comment social media comment sections). This is what sets it apart from the traditional media.

So, how can you continue this interaction both ways? Through your blog page comment section.

However, not everyone will feel interested in commenting on your post if the article is linear. So, could you give them a cue to comment?

The best kind is asking questions while writing your piece. do not forget to ask questions Whether it is a blog post or a social media post,!

Their answers will help you understand the needs of your target audience.

For Example

This excerpt is taken from an article called “A Comprehensive Investment Plan – How & Where to Begin.”

Investing in the stock market can provide substantial returns over the long term. Historically, the average annual return of the S&P 500 has been approximately 10%. Diversifying your investment portfolio reduces risk and improves the likelihood of achieving stable returns

Now, let’s make this content a little more engaging!

Are you curious about how to make your money work harder for you? Investing in the stock market might be the answer.
Did you know that the S&P 500 has delivered an average annual return of about 10% over the long term?
Imagine what that could mean for your financial future! But how do you minimize risks while maximizing returns?

Through questions, you can spark curiosity in your audience. They would want the answers and hence will be compelled to read further.

3. Bullets & Lists & Bolds (…make it bite-size)

Sometimes, all you need to shorten your sentences to make them more understandable. In fact, even an organic audience clicking on your content with prior interest might be put off by the difficult readability.

In fact, “Bullet encourages the audience to easily scroll and scan through the article. It also makes it easier for them to come back to a particular portion without having to read the paragraph repeatedly.” (Source)

For Example

Underneath is an excerpt from a content marketing blog I wrote last year. The topic is “How to Pick an Interesting Topic for Your Blog.”

This is when AI was booming from every corner. Enjoying the limelight in the content marketing realm. Everyone was excited about producing AI content in bulk and starting brand-new websites (which will eventually make money) overnight.

Content writers who love to build a blog from scratch feel the peril of losing their jobs; hence, a topic like this garnered considerable attention.

We all wanted to make our blog posts more interesting.

Now, keeping that in mind, let’s read an excerpt from the blog.

Interesting content can be a subjective matter. In fact, it heavily depends on what your target audience finds more interesting. As a beginner, you can start with finding a content gap. Here is how you can do so. Begin with analyzing your competitor’s content. Through which you can understand what they are missing out on. Take some time out to scroll through social media and find the latest trends your target audience is paying attention to. Find keywords which people are searching for and make use of tools like “Google Analytics” to do so. Additionally, you can also use social media to conduct research to make your content more interesting. Surveys are a great way to find out what your audience wants, and serve that.

Now, no matter how interesting the topic is, you will be bored after the third line. Now, look at the following correction. The comment remains the same, but the formatting is different.

Correction: (Let’s make a few tweaks)

Interesting content can be a subjective matter. In fact, it heavily depends on what your target audience finds more interesting. As a beginner, you can start with finding a content gap. Here is how you can do so:
Begin with analyzing your competitor’s content. Through which you can understand what they are missing out on.

Take some time out to scroll through social media and find the latest trends your target audience is paying attention to.

Find keywords which people are searching for and make use of tools like “Google Analytics” to do so.

Additionally, you can also use social media to conduct research to make your content more interesting. Surveys are a great way to find out what your audience wants and serve that.

Which one is easier to understand?

4. Add Some Colors

Overusing bullets can also make your blog post a little monotonous. This is when you should add some color through infographics while helping the audience understand the contextual matter.

“Color is an important stimulus For the brain. Did you know 80% of your sensory impressions is because of your visual system.”

For Example,

Excerpt 1:

1880: The first recorded football match in India, played between British soldiers.
 
1889: Mohun Bagan Athletic Club founded, one of India's oldest football clubs.
 
1911: Mohun Bagan wins the IFA Shield, becoming the first Indian team to defeat a British team.
 
1937: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is established.
 
1948: India makes its Olympic debut in football at the London Olympics.
 
1950: India qualifies for the FIFA World Cup but withdraws due to various reasons, including the inability to play barefoot.
 
1951: India wins the gold medal in football at the Asian Games in New Delhi.
 
1952: India participates in the Helsinki Olympics.
 
1956: India reaches the semi-finals of the Melbourne Olympics, finishing fourth.
 
1962: India wins the gold medal in football at the Asian Games in Jakarta.
 
1970: India wins the bronze medal at the Asian Games in Bangkok.
 
1984: India participates in the AFC Asian Cup for the first time.
 
1997: The National Football League (NFL) is launched in India.
 
2007: India wins the Nehru Cup, an international football tournament hosted by India.
 
2008: India wins the AFC Challenge Cup, qualifying for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.
 
2011: India competes in the AFC Asian Cup after a 27-year gap.
 
2014: The Indian Super League (ISL) is launched to promote football in India.
 
2017: India hosts the FIFA U-17 World Cup, marking the first time the country hosts a FIFA tournament.

Now, we transform this into infographics:

Blog Reference: The history of Indian football team

Theme: Sports Related News

See how the infographics make it much easier to understand the context. Plus, it makes it easier to understand!

5. Stop Using Business Jargon

Do you want your readers to switch to another tab with a dictionary?

If not, then stop using too much jargon.

Now, adding some interesting elements to traditionally thought-provoking blogs. For example, lifestyle, travel, and decor already have an allure.

However, what about “really boring” industries?

For example, how can you emotionally provoke your audience when you sell car tires? It will be filled with mechanical jargon.

• The first and immediate thing you should do is stop using jargon. The majority coming here have subpar (or even less) knowledge about “changing a tire.”

• Second, do not beat around the bush. A “boring” topic can also be interesting if it is helpful. Even if relatively, they are a boring subject.

• Third, no vague wordings. Be specific with your approach.

• Fourth, 80% of your blogs should be short format, solving “troubleshooting” problems. No one wants to read 2000+ words on a “boring” topic.

• Fifth, if your facts are too monotonous, add interesting data to spark curiosity. For example, a credit card budgeting application can be less interesting. However, match it with this data, “Altogether, the average American has 4.5 subscriptions and pays an average of $1000 per year” (Source). It automatically creates a point of curiosity. They start wondering whether they spend so much each year on subscriptions they do not need. Also, whether this credit card budgeting application will help me save on it.

Also Read: THE IMPACT OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY ON CONTENT MARKETING ROI

For Example

When I think about a “boring” topic, the first thing that comes to mind is law jargon (no offense to any aspiring lawyers!).

However, sometimes I must cover news articles or important blogs that talk about certain laws. Jargon would be an understatement when talking about this subject.

I spoke to a lawyer friend when I was writing about an article regarding a “Personal Injury” blog. This is how she helped me simplify a few wordings:

Example One: With the Jargon

A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Personal injury cases often involve proving negligence, which is the failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. In a personal injury claim, the plaintiff must establish the defendant's duty of care, breach of that duty, causation, and resultant damages. Compensatory damages, which can be either economic or non-economic, are awarded to indemnify the injured party for their losses.

Example Two: Without the Jargon

A tort is when someone gets hurt because of another person's actions, leading to legal responsibility for the one who caused the harm. In personal injury cases, you often need to show that someone was careless, meaning they didn't act as a careful person would in a similar situation.
To win a personal injury case, the injured person (plaintiff) has to prove that the other person (defendant) had a responsibility to be careful, didn't live up to that responsibility, and caused harm because of it. The injured person can get compensatory damages, which are payments to cover their losses, like medical bills or pain and suffering.

The simplification made it much easier for a layman to understand. You must understand that the people coming for such information are not experts on a legal team.

This is why a clear idea about your target audience is crucial!

The Final Note!

Creating engaging content, especially in today’s fast-paced digital world, requires understanding your audience and adapting to their preferences.

By avoiding jargon, asking questions, incorporating visuals, and telling compelling stories.

Remember, keeping it relatable, concise, and visually appealing is key.

Ready to transform your content strategy?

Start implementing these tips today and watch your engagement soar!

For more insights and tailored advice, reach out to our team of content experts.

Let’s make your content stand out!

Read Also:

• How to Use AI for Social Media Content Creation In 2024?
• 11 Social Media Content Writing Tips to Boost Engagement in 2024