What if you could write—and finish—an engaging article by answering six simple questions? In this article, you’ll discover six qualities of captivating content, and a simple question-based approach to writing that helps you establish your authority, grow your list, and get your writing done.
If you are trying to establish your authority and grow your online audience, the most important thing you can do is get your message out there where it can be seen. Publish.
But, it’s easy to get stuck.
Writing is hard. We’re busy. We wonder if our writing is good enough.
In This Article:
- Six qualities of captivating content.
- How finished does an article need to be to hit publish?
- Who does this method work for?
- The six questions for writing an engaging article.
I was talking to a really smart founder with deep and unique expertise in her field. She was in the middle of writing a book and understood that it was important to also publish articles and social content to grow her list at the same time -so that there would be more subscribers and followers to tell about the book launch later.
But the reality was, she was just TOO busy to write any additional content.
She felt frustrated and stuck. I felt anxious about her missing out on growing her list. I wanted to help her – somehow make creating articles a ‘no-brainer’ activity. But how?
One of my personal mantras – it’s on the big, red-framed cork bulletin board sit facing me every day – is:
“Questions are the answer.”
So I thought – “what kinds of questions could I create that would help her write most of the article just by answering the questions?”
I came up with a lot of questions (I do that – I love questions and I always have lots and lots of them). But I narrowed it down to 20 questions.
Then I narrowed it down to just six.
I was pretty excited. I felt confident that – as long as she chose a topic within her area of expertise – she could simply answer these six questions, and the article would not only write itself, but it would end up having all the qualities that captivate and connect with your audience.
I want to share these six questions with you.
But first, here’s what’s behind each question and the reasons why they work.
Six Qualities of Captivating Content
The questions represent the qualities that you want in a good piece of content that will attract people to you, keep their attention, provide real value, build trust, and grow your audience. To accomplish all this, your content should be:
Personal – You want to show that you are a human, share something personal, maybe a story – this kind of marketing is about relationships and trust, so you need to show up as a human being, not an AI or an academic paper.
Has a point of view – Why are YOU writing this? What are you bringing to the table here that is unique to you? It doesn’t necessarily have to be unique in all the world. Your reader is not reading every article ever written on this topic. But they do want to know what you, personally, think and what you think they should know. This is a way to add value to your article, differentiate it from others they may read, and create a more personal connection.
Engaging – Let’s be honest. People have SO many options – they just aren’t going to stick with you unless what you write is relatable and engaging – being fun to read is one way to engage.
Empathic – meet people where they are. Show that you understand and empathize with whatever your audience might currently be thinking related to your topic.
Credibility – Why should they trust you? While you don’t need to put your bio in the article or list your credentials, you can find subtle ways to tell them how you know what you know. Tell a story about how you learned it, or where you learned it, or spell out your rationale for believing it. If it helps, you can even include some citations or references.
Practical Application – This is one of the best ways to stand out from other articles, and one of the best ways to give them a taste of what it would be like to work with you, or read more of what you write. In the business of “transformation” it is not enough to just relay information. Part of your job is helping people take action that could improve their lives.
Based on these qualities, I’ve crafted six questions designed to help you write an article about your topic and capture all of the qualities that will make it more engaging in the process.
Can You Really Write an Article from Just Six Questions?
Well, you can be the judge of that. And here’s why:
Funny thing – as I was starting this article, I realized that I could – probably should – actually use these same questions to write this article myself. Prove to myself that it actually works, and see how long it takes and how close I get to a finished piece.
And guess what. That is exactly what I did. What you are reading is a direct result of me choosing a topic and then just sitting down and answering these six questions about it. The first draft took me under 40 minutes and then I spent about 10 min editing.
Then I stepped away, came back later in the day and did another 10-20 minutes of editing.
All in- just over an hour. When you get to the end, tell me – did it work? And was the result good enough to publish? (No, really. I’d actually like your input).
How Finished Does an Article Need to Be to Publish?
I know that some people will disagree with me on this. I know that there are different schools of thought that range from advising that you just “free write” and then publish it no matter how finished or how good it is because, as Seth Godin would say, you need to “ship” it. It is better to get something out there that isn’t perfect than nothing at all.
Others would say, no way. You should not publish something unless it is the best you can do. You need to do lots of research, have footnotes and citations, get a fact checker, and have it proofread by someone who makes sure it follows all the Chicago Manual of Style grammar rules. They might say – better to publish one really amazing piece per month than three or four quick and dirty pieces.
I guess I fall somewhere between “seat of your pants” and “ready for peer review.”
To be clear, I do think this method works best if you have solid experience and expertise in the subject you’re writing about.
Unless you are writing a book report, I don’t think there is a lot of value to your audience of just telling them about the new thing you just started learning this week – despite having no prior deeper context or personal experience.
I’m not suggesting you start publicly spouting your opinion after reading your first ever book on philosophy, mitochondrial health, or – heaven forfend – current events.
On the other hand, when writing within your own domain, I’m with Seth Godin – perfect is the enemy of good.
Perfect Is The Enemy Of Good
Unless your credibility as an expert, or the subject you’re writing about requires it, I don’t think that perfect grammar and footnotes are nearly as important as writing in a way that is accessible and easy. Most of us are not writing for peer review or text books. We’re trying to write for the average person.
Who cares how meticulous you are if no one reads it?
With AI tools, and this is a great use of them in your writing process, you can easily check for any major spelling or grammar issues.
(Although, personally, I wouldn’t fix all of them even if you can. I think you should bend the rules enough to write the way you talk – to sound like yourself – not like a textbook or AI bot. I mean look at my crazy use of excessive paragraphs! It’s not what I learned in high school.)
Anyone Reading This Can Write an Article With These Six Questions
If you can talk, you can write.
I really believe that anyone reading this can do what I’ve done. Use these six questions on a topic that you know something about, and you’ll have an article draft in under an hour.
But, what I often hear – and I get it – is,
“But, Jon, so many other people – smarter, and better writers – have already written about this topic. People can find this stuff anywhere for free. Why should I write about it if it has already been done, and done better than I could ever do?”
If this is something you are thinking, I do have an answer to this that would put this all to rest once and for all. But it requires another article to fully address.
For now I’ll just toss you an ancient proverb:
When the student is ready, the teacher will come.
No matter how many other people have written about this before…
No matter how many great metaphors or stories they’ve used…
No matter if they were the top experts in the world…
… there are “students” who were not ready or able to hear it from them at that time.
Transformation requires readiness.
And people aren’t ready…well, until they’re ready. Reading the best article in the world can’t prematurely force someone through the transtheoretical stages of change and open their heart and ears to what they are not ready to hear.
So, who is out there now – newly ready to hear about your topic?
You don’t have to be the best, you just have to show up. Publish. Be visible.
Get your message out there where it can be found. And use these six questions to make what you write compelling. You can be the one that is there when those students are ready to hear the message.
And it is not just about the sheer luck of timing.
Your voice matters. Some people just need to hear it the way only you are going to say it. Your voice, your style and personality will speak to them. (Another reason not to worry about AI-written content).
Where Did These Six Questions Come From?
While writing content that gets and keeps people’s increasingly fractured attention may be harder than it has ever been, there’s still one thing I’ve been writing for nearly three decades that is even harder – sales copy.
Even before ‘the Google’ and ‘the Gram,’ before blog posts and websites, I was writing direct mail copy to print out and send. Long form sales letters.
Hand addressed envelopes. Actual stamps.
Since 1998, I’ve been writing sales and marketing copy offline and online that has sold millions of dollars worth of – mostly – digital products like online training, certification, courses, books, etc.
And if you think that convincing your clients to change their diet, or exercise, or to adopt some new sleep habits, money habits, or whatever change you are helping them make, is difficult, try convincing them to spend money.
I’ve studied the psychology of persuasion, storytelling and what gets people to take action.
While I won’t claim to be the best creative writer, or the smartest, I do know what gets people to read sales and marketing copy, and then spend money.
These six questions below represent a few of the principles that have worked to get people to pay attention to sales copy, and will also work to get people to pay attention to what you’re writing, too.
You Can Write an Article By The End of The Day, Today
If you read this (first, thank you), I hope you take away at least one thing – that you decide to do just this one thing:
Try this out for yourself. At least once. Give it 45 minutes.
My hope is that you actually try this method. What do you have to lose? Maybe you won’t end up with a finished article you can instantly publish, but I guarantee you’ll be most of the way there, with little effort.
So here is your assignment:
- Choose a topic that you have experience and expertise in that you think your audience needs and wants to hear. .
- Open up a blank sheet on your computer or notebook.
- Take a few minutes to answer each of the six questions one by one. Don’t think too hard. Don’t agonize over grammar or wording. Treat this as a low stakes exercise. Don’t think about whether or not this will be an article you want to publish. Just try it as a no-risk experiment.
- When you’re done. Read what you have. Can you, with a little reorganizing or editing publish what you wrote TODAY – without making it perfect?
Even if the answer to that is “no” – answer these questions for yourself and you won’t have wasted your time:
- What do you notice about what you’ve written as a result of this exercise?
- How did it feel to write this way compared to what you usually do?
- What part of this might help you improve your future content?
- What didn’t work for you or what do you feel is missing? Let me know!
The Six Questions
- Make it Personal:
When was the last time you had a real life conversation with someone about this topic? Who was it? When? How did it go? How did you feel? - Have a Point of View:
What is something you think about this topic that many other people might disagree with or be surprised to hear from you? - Make it Engaging:
What is funny, scary or surprising about this topic? What personal short story can you tell that has some emotional weight – laughter, conflict, surprise – to capture the reader’s imagination and keep their attention? - Exhibit Empathy:
What is the most common thing (complaint, excuse, question) you hear your clients/students say about this topic and why do you imagine they think or feel that way? - Establish Credibility:
How do we know that what you’re writing here is accurate or “true”? Why should the reader trust what you’re saying? - Suggest Practical Application:
If the reader only changed one very small action because of reading this (paragraph, section, article) what would you hope they change?
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