Sticky goodness – web content that inspires repeat readers

Sites that lure eyeballs back – and inspire readers to action – are known as "sticky" (finally: a fun and comprehensible bit of web jargon!). Pure talent helps, sure. But the Alfred A. Knopf publishing house rejected Jack Kerouac, George Orwell and Sylvia Plath, among others. Sometimes the mainstream media overlooks genius at first pass. Ditto online readers.

But you can woo them ... first and foremost by writing with their needs in mind. As tough-love web guru Vincent Flanders points out: "Nobody cares about you or your site. Really. What visitors care about is solving their problems. Now. Most people visit a web site to solve one or more of these four problems:

1. They want/need information
2. They want/need to make a purchase/donation.
3. They want/need to be entertained.
4. They want/need to be part of a community.

"Too many organizations believe that a web site is about opening a new marketing channel or getting donations or to promote a brand or to increase company sales by 15%. No. It’s about solving your customers’ problems. Have I said that phrase enough?"

(Read more in his snarky article Biggest Mistakes in Web Design 1995-2015.)

For those of you promoting a business, take heed of the 80/20 rule. Experts agree that readers respond best when only one blog post in five is a plug. Some grey area exists, certainly, such as writing in your field of expertise without explicitly pushing your brand. The same formula applies to Twitter and social network sites like Facebook and Linked In. No one likes a relentless hustler – in person or in cyberspace.

But it's not enough to interact with the community, you have to join it, as Web Consultant Mack Collier points out on The Viral Garden. So this week, we'll explore how to create original material that attracts and maintains an audience, while reaching out to other content-producers. And next week, we'll delve into the mechanics of search engines and how to deploy social media tools to build readership.