Tip No. 1 on Hooking Your Audience: Know What They Want

It sounds simple, but unfortunately, this basic tenet of storytelling and content creation often goes overlooked by writers and editors regardless of their experience level. It's easy to fall into the trap of basing your content choices and presentation on what inspires or motivates YOU, or what YOU feel is most important to provide your readers.

That strategy may have been acceptable in the days when media outlets were limited to television, radio and print, and the average reader could be expected to spend a leisurely morning or evening skimming a newspaper. But in the 21th century world of around-the-clock information overload via social media, smartphone apps, newsletters, email and text alerts, it is critically important for content providers to know how to compete for readers' attention and given them not only what you feel they need, but what you can convince them that THEY WANT. It starts with finding the topics that will resonate with particular audiences in their particular areas of interest, and the best platforms to reach them. Without the right topic, the most gifted, inspiring writer will fail to find an audience for his or her work. Once you discover the right topic, it's essential to frame and present it in a way that will capture readers' attention amid the onslaught of competition for their time and attention.

Consumers of news and information make split-second decisions each day whether to click on a link on their social media feed or through their other web browsing. A compelling photo, a clever headline, an engaging opening paragraph can make all the difference in hooking the reader and reeling them in.

In that sense, hooking your audience in today's day and age is a lot like catching a fish. First, you need to know what kind of fish you're looking to catch, and what bait is most likely to get them to bite. But that's only the beginning. Then you must figure out where to find the fish you're looking for amid a vast ocean of information, and then you must handle the bait effectively through the right rigging (i.e. presentation) to get them to bite.

The hardest part is figuring out the right bait and fishing hole. Once you've discovered it, you can keep returning to the same spot with the same strategy, with better and better results.