Story time.

Once there was a writer who knew their shit. Not literally, of course, but rather this writer possessed a mastery for the written word. Every word was as smooth as a tub-fresh baby; every sentence as structured as the Burj Khalifa.

But much to this poor writer’s woe, his work went unnoticed, unclicked, unread. His talent was wasted – swallowed up in the never-ending void of the cyberspace.

Sound like you?

Well, worry no more! For, much to the joy of our poor, hapless writer, there are a few tricks of the trade every author can employ to make sure their post get’s read, liked, and shared.

Here are 5 things every click-worthy blog post needs to ensure your post get’s the attention it deserves.

1) Give It an Eye-Catching Title

The problem with writing web content is there’s simply so much of it out there all ready. Pick any topic in the world, no matter how obscure, and you can be sure the internet is littered with hundreds of articles already covering the same thing.

You can be one of the greatest writers in the world, but with so much competition, if your content doesn’t immediately capture the attention of your readers – and more importantly hold it – chances are you’ll lose potential viewers.

So how do you attract those clicks?

Give your post an eye-catching title – something that immediately sparks a viewer’s interest or curiosity, offers a direct answer to their question, or let’s them know that your post will be anything but dry and boring.

Your title is the first thing readers see when scrolling through prospects, so when it comes to internet views, it comes as no surprise that a lively title is the first and most important strategy for attracting views.

2) Write an Engaging Intro

Thanks to your catchy title, your post now has it’s first readers. Congratulations! The challenge now is how to keep them.

Just like your title gives your audience it’s first glimpse of what your post covers, the first few sentences provide your readers with a glimpse of the content itself. Writing a powerful, intriguing intro to your post holds the key to turning that mindless click, into an avid reader of your post.

It’s a hit or miss situation. Either your viewer scans the first paragraph and decides to move on, or your intro reels them in for a more detailed reading.

Make it a good one!

3) Make It Reader-Friendly with Headings and Paragraphs

More often than not, the majority of your internet audience won’t have a lot of time to read the entirety of your post. In fact, I bet most of you are skimming over this sentence right now.

Giving your post long blocks of text can scare away a viewer not willing to read through the whole thing, and without frequent, concise headings to bring your point in focus, someone looking for a quick fix will might try elsewhere.

Instead, break up your text into short, mobile and desktop friendly paragraphs – affording your readers clarity and sense of accomplishment with each paragraph. Insert headings or bullet points to organize and focus your article.

A post crafted for both the quick scanner, and the careful reader, is sure to hold and satisfy the attentions of both audiences.

4) Make Your Post Visually Attractive

As I’m sure you’ve gathered by now, collecting internet views is all about first impressions. Adding a visually engaging photo can not only beautify your post, but spark interest, generate clicks, give off an air of professionalism, or make it share-worthy.

For an example on just how important images in articles really are, a website once wrote an article on why a popular PG13 movie was originally rated R. As a cover image, the website broadcasted a photo of the movie’s sexually appealing lead actress. Even though the real R-rated reason was for a short scene of violence, that one cover image generated at least 3x more clicks for the article – simply because it gave viewers an intriguing assumption of what the content would be.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words – and when it comes to blog posts, nothing can be more true.

5) Know Your Audience

Every good writer knows that to write a click-worthy post, one must first understand what it is that your audience wants – what viewers find interesting, helpful, funny, or inspiring. You simply can’t expect much of a positive reaction to a post that is outdated, irrelevant, dry, or boring.

Before you begin writing an article, take a little time to research the subject online. What are people saying? What can you do to make your post unique from what has already been written? What’s the general consensus on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn? What are people excited, and talking about, right now?

Society is on the move – and if you want to keep up with the best of them – you need to be able to adapt with the trends.