Lead Your Online Readers to Victory 3 out of 10 Times - Every Time

This post explores how you can utilize basic leadership principles in your writing to produce compelling web content that guides your readers to great success! (And by “great success” we obviously mean 3 out of 10 readers finish at least half of your article!)

Courage.

Such a vital component of leadership. Yet few people truly have it. At least when they need it. And even then, few can summon it without first consuming inadvisable levels of coffee or Mountain Dew or 5-Hour Energy.

That’s what makes natural leaders so fascinating. They captivate any audience, no matter how lethargic. They thrive in the company of the uninspired.

Indeed, what brilliant and heroic people they are.

Unfortunately not all of us are natural born leaders. And that’s sad. Yet even the most pathetic and feeble of us can still lead. Even if we teach people  how to write optimized web content for a living, we can still lead.

It’s true.

By embracing a few basic principles of leadership in your writing, you can lead your readers to victory - at least 3 out of every 10 times. And I’ll explain how. So who’s coming with me!

Motivate your readers with a PROMISE

No one volunteers to wander aimlessly through a graveyard in the middle of the night. Most won’t even wander through a Wal-Mart parking lot after sunset. Too dangerous. Too spooky. Too much on TV.

So, there simply must be a motive. Some reason to embark on such a perilous adventure, when all signs indicate only trouble and site-squatting vagabonds lurk in the shadows.

Think of the internet as that spooky Wal-Mart parking lot. And think of your readers as the sensible folks who won’t go strolling about the abandoned shopping carts just for the heck of it. They won’t read just anything (Not unless you’re Chris Brogan or Seth Godin or some other guy with a name that sounds suspiciously similar).

Thus, it’s imperative we offer a promise that explains our mission; that one thing that compels otherwise rational readers to follow us into the uncertain heat of the night.

Remember to introduce your promise right away – in your title if possible - and to reinforce it often.

Make it utterly clear from the outset. You can’t frolic down the road and expect people to follow without any inclination of where they’re headed. This isn’t Forrest Gump. This is real life. Ok, it’s the internet. But still.

People aren’t so frivolous that they’ll read an online article that seemingly offers them nothing. They need to be told and reminded of why they’re running through the desert. That’s what true leaders do. They remind people to be courageous.

Guide your readers with a COMPASS…Or a sweet MAP!

You know why everyone follows Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean? It’s not because he’s a heroic leader. And it’s not because he’s played by Johnny Depp, a guy who just about everybody digs - even fictitious pirates.

They follow Captain Jack Sparrow, despite having myriad reasons not to, because he has the super secret pirate compass! Only by the navigation of this sweet compass can all the pirates get to the secret treasure, or the secret ship, or the secret Keira Knightley, or whatever secret thing it is they’re desperately trying to find in those movies.

So get a secret compass…Or at least pretend to have one.

Tell your readers that only you can guide them to the treasure they seek. For some, that compass might be your expertise on a particular subject matter. For others, it might be an in-depth statistical analysis only you have performed, or an exclusive interview that only you have secured. Perhaps it’s a witty sense of humor or an especially unique point of view that only you boast.

Just give them something, for crying out loud. Even if it’s merely silly movie references – give them something! True leaders convince their troops that following them will deliver victory. Even if, at times, the mission appears lost and hopeless.

Offer your readers an occasional park bench

Reading a blog post isn’t like spending Seven Years in Tibet, folks. Nor is it like ripping off a Band-Aid or taking a shot of tequila. It’s not an all-or-nothing proposition.

If you write web articles that are 1,800 words of uninterrupted single-spaced thought, no one will read them, no matter how brilliantly composed and lucid they are.

It’s just too daunting. Too much to digest.

So don’t write web articles that are 1,800 words of uninterrupted single-spaced thought. Never. Just don’t do it.

Divide it up. Make it a 7-course dining experience.

By offering distinctive headlines that divide your optimized web copy into sections, you’re assuring your readers that they needn’t consume it all at once, that it’s cool if they want to nibble on it one section at a time. Maybe have a drink and regale their friends with tales of collegiate debauchery.

This provides them the necessary endurance to complete the entire meal. And by the time they finish the last bite, they’ll be satisfied. 3 out of every 10 of them might even be thankful.

Because it was you - yes, you! - who delivered your online readers to victory. You are a true leader. Whatever that means.