Want to turn your Atalanta news from blah into fantastic? Smart, catchy headlines and stories make a difference. Here are nine ways to get started:
- The first step is choosing who you want to be: Is it all about numbers, economics, sports, and events? Or do you spend more time on arts and entertainment? Make sure that your content reflects what you want it to say.
- You need a good headline that should appeal to the three main audiences that read your blog: readership (who cares what’s in the headline?), social media (because sharing should be easy), search engines (you’re targeting visibility).
- Format your headlines to fit on social media. One common mistake is that people write headlines that are too long for Twitter.
- When you are writing the story, don’t stop at the first interesting idea you have – there are usually more – try to find one that’s even better.
- Do something different to get noticed! There are two ways of doing this: rewrite a familiar story or try telling an important story in a new style – it helps if you have an excellent photo.
- Look beyond local press releases for stories – news agencies often have good content that is relevant to your area, especially if it’s an unusual or quirky angle on a global topic.
- Make sure that every paragraph has a ‘hook’ at the end to draw in the reader. Try to use an interesting or unusual turn of phrase or fact that will draw the reader in.
- Don’t repeat old stories just because they’re easy, interesting, or sensational – don’t be lazy! Trust your critical faculties and go with fresh ideas.
- You can make your content educational by giving tips, advice, shortcuts, etc., it helps to find out what people want in this area, especially when you are writing for a local audience who may not read widely in this field.
Then, time to go out there (the most important part!) and make sure your content is good enough to share.
And here’s how I suggest you turn your readers into friends:
- Look at the things people are saying about you on social media, what are they saying? What are they doing? A bunch of people talking about how great it is that your blog exists can be very helpful if you’re new. If it’s just one person talking about something that annoys them, then it might be time to talk to them about why they’re not happy – fast. If it’s just a random person searching out the site, I would say ‘thank you but not so much more than that.
- Get people to contribute and share their ideas and content. Some submissions can be really helpful, especially if they’re well written and formatted. These people might then become regulars, even contributors!
- Try to get event organizers and interesting venues involved in your blog – they bring you new content and opportunities to reach out to new readers, as well as spreading the word about you so it becomes ‘the place to go for local news.
- Invite others who aren’t used to writing blogs – help them so that they can help you! The more voices you have the better. A blog doesn’t have to be written by one person.
- Look for ways to get people involved in the news that they love, activities that interest them, or things that they can do to improve things in their area. This really helps your readers feel a part of the area and gives them a sense of purpose and belonging.
- Write about what interests you – if you’re passionate about something, it comes across in your writing and people will pick up on it, they’ll want to share it with their friends and so on… so write what you care about most!
