3 Ways to Bring Your Audience to Your Content

By Michele Peterson

You’re publishing great content to be recognized as an authority in your subject matter … as the go-to expert in your field …

You’re writing helpful articles full of valuable information.

Great.

But you still need to get it out there for people to see.

Actually, reverse that …

You need to BRING IN people to see it. You need to attract people to it. Because where does your content reside? Your website. (At least, it should.)

Think about it … Are you publishing this content just for the sake of publishing it? Just for the ego-boost of knowing your thoughts are immortalized in “print”?

Probably not. Right?

There’s a purpose to your content marketing. There’s a reason you’re building this relationship with your audience.

You’re setting the stage for your audience to become (or remain) customers and clients. You want them to do business with you, right? After all, we’re in business to do business.

So your content needs to reside on your website — the hub of your online presence. You need to draw your audience in to your site and to your content. You also need to let them know when there’s new content that they may be interested in viewing.

How?

The three content distribution channels I like best are social media, email, and newsletters.

Social Media

Think about a magazine cover. What do the publishers put on the covers to entice you to buy the magazine and read the articles inside? Those “mini-headlines” are called “teasers.”

Here are some that I saw while waiting in line at the grocery store recently:

“The sleep-better snack that soothes away stress!”

“Cure sinus pain with mint tea!”

“#1 brain food for an instantly sharper memory!”

If these were published to online social media instead of the cover of a printed magazine, they would also include a link to take the reader directly to that article on the website.

So my suggestion to you is this: write intriguing, interest-capturing teasers to post on social media, and be sure to include a link back to the article on your site.

Think like a magazine editor and entice readers in to your publication (your website). Engage with your audience and give them a reason to read your stuff.

Another social media strategy is to ask a question … which is answered by the content in your article.

For example:

Is stress preventing you from getting a good night’s sleep? Try this snack! [link]

Want a non-medical cure for your sinus pain? Brew a cup of this tea! [link]

Can certain foods really improve your memory … instantly? Yes! [link]

Remember, in this context, you’re using social media to drive traffic to your website and your content. What you post always should be engaging and share-able, but it should be purposeful, too.

Email

Your email list consists of people who already have said they’re interested in what you have to say and the products or services you offer.

So when you publish new content, they certainly will want to know about it!

Condense your headline (the title of your article) into an intriguing email subject line that compels the reader to click and open the email. A good rule of thumb is to make it no longer than 50 characters (just about a third of what’s allowed on Twitter).

If your article isn’t too long (under 500 words), you may consider sending the entire article in the email. But this defeats the purpose of getting the reader back to your site … right?

So, like you did for social media, write a compelling teaser or brief introduction to the article. Answer the reader’s question: “Why do I want to click through and read this article?”

Newsletter

If you’re sending out an e-newsletter, everything that I just said about email applies to you, too.

If you’re sending a printed newsletter, that’s more of a stand-alone piece. Your reader can’t simply click a link to read the article, so you need to put the entire article right there in the newsletter.

While a printed newsletter may not be the best vehicle to drive traffic back to your website, it IS highly effective and imminently share-able. I recommend using all of these channels in conjunction with one another rather than relying on any of them individually.

Your turn …

How are YOU distributing your new content? What’s working well for you? What challenges are you coming up against? Tell me about it in a brief comment below.

Until next time … Write On!