Harnessing knowledge from seasoned professionals, this article presents strategies for crafting compelling content that resonates with your audience. It strips back the complexity, offering clear directives based on expert advice. Readers can expect practical tips that address real-world challenges in content creation.
- Write Like a Friend
- Listen to Your Customers
- Grab Attention with Strong Promises
- Encourage Participation in Challenges
- Share Customer Stories
- Study Your Target Audience
- Define and Write for Ideal Reader
- Focus on Being Relevant
- Start with Bottom-of-Funnel Content
- Share Myths and Lessons Learned
- Use LinkedIn Comments for Ideas
- Reach Out to Past Customers
- Create Content Based on Return Reasons
- Root Messaging in Real-Life Challenges
- Treat Unsubscribers as Feedback Sources
- Use Storytelling to Engage
- Understand Audience and Address Pain Points
Approaches for Creating Engaging Content
Write Like a Friend
If your content’s falling flat, it’s probably because you’re writing like a brand and not like a person. People don’t want another polished paragraph. They want proof you get them. What’s worked for us is digging into the search data, finding the questions people are too embarrassed to ask out loud, and answering them like a friend who knows their stuff. Not fluff. Not filler. Just clarity with a little bit of edge. When your content feels like a conversation, not a campaign, people lean in. That’s where the magic happens.
– Cody Jensen, CEO & Founder, Searchbloom
Listen to Your Customers
If you find that your content doesn’t resonate with your audience and isn’t engaging, you’re probably not listening to your customers enough. You may be talking too much about your brand or not addressing topics your audience truly cares about. To avoid this problem, it’s crucial to listen before you create.
Don’t just rely on your hunches, trends, or the success of your competitors. You need to research real customer questions, read their comments or discussions on forums (like Reddit), and analyze support requests. Based on this information, you can create content that meets users’ needs and helps them.
We discovered that interactive content improved engagement and brought in new customers. We ran a test to help the company determine the best type of pop-up for its website. People are more likely to interact with this type of content because it gives them the opportunity to try out a demo of the product rather than just reading a description or looking at a picture.
If your content isn’t working for your audience, don’t be afraid to ask them directly. Communication and ongoing engagement will help improve your marketing strategy.
– Taras Talimonchuk, CMO, Claspo
Grab Attention with Strong Promises
Most businesses don’t have a content problem—they have a presentation problem.
You can have the best insights in the world, but if your idea isn’t dressed up to grab attention, no one clicks.
On YouTube, that’s the thumbnail and title. On Medium, it’s the headline. On social media, it’s the first two sentences.
The same idea applies everywhere: what gets people to stop scrolling?
What’s worked best for me on social platforms like Medium or Substack is combining a strong promise with curiosity. Headlines that tease a result or spark an “I need to know this” reaction consistently outperform everything else. In my tests, content with a big promise gets 42% more clicks on average.
If your content isn’t getting engagement, don’t just rewrite the piece. Rethink how you frame it.
– Matt Giaro, Content Creator (Blogger), Matt Giaro
Encourage Participation in Challenges
My best tip is to encourage your audience to participate in a challenge related to your niche. I launched a “7-Day AI Challenge” where participants are given daily tasks and challenges to complete using AI tools such as AI image generators, AI voiceover, AI video creation, AI code generators, etc. Similarly, a finance brand can promote a “Save $500 in 30 Days” challenge. Make it interactive with daily content and user-generated submissions.
I like to offer prizes for completing the challenge and make it interesting, such as discount codes or access to exclusive content. This motivates participants to complete the challenge and creates a sense of community and excitement. The best way is to publicly recognize and showcase the winners and their progress on your social media platforms or website. According to research, social proof is a powerful motivator for people to take action.
– Stefan Van der Vlag, AI Expert/Founder, Clepher
Share Customer Stories
Stop talking about your product—talk about their problem. If you’re not giving your audience something they actually care about, your content won’t resonate.
What worked for us? Customer stories. Real stories about how our products helped—no fluff, just raw results. People don’t want another pitch; they want to know how you can make their lives easier. Keep it real, keep it helpful, and keep it focused on them.
– Justin Belmont, Founder & CEO, Prose
Study Your Target Audience
What is engaging content? It is a high-quality message targeted at particular people at specific stages of the buying process. Creating engaging content starts with studying the target audience. Define your buying personas and learn about their responsibilities, tasks, pain points, interests, and content preferences.
For example, I recently conducted a focus group survey. The focus group included 20 representatives from our target audience—event managers, HR professionals, and marketers. They were asked to fill out a questionnaire, which contained questions about the merchandise search criteria, merch ordering process, and the challenges they faced. I also asked them to share real-life stories and anecdotes.
At the same time, I collected feedback from our existing customers to understand their experience with our company, identify growth opportunities, and explore their interests. Thus, I identified the current audience’s challenges and needs, which then transformed into engaging blog topics. Are they concerned with corporate merch creativity? We’ll give them an article on the most creative and innovative ways of merch customization. Are they challenged with tight merch budgets? OK, we’ll give them merch ROI calculation insights or cheap yet high-quality merch ideas.
The second step after audience research is building a content matrix—mapping out your audience’s pain points, needs, and questions at each stage of their buying journey. When all the pains and interests are in the matrix, you can easily uncover gaps in the content strategy and generate articles that address your audience’s concerns at every decision-making stage.
– Kate Maksimova, Content Team Lead, Swag42
Define and Write for Ideal Reader
Define your ideal reader and write for that person. Content marketing creators approach content creation in various ways. Two of the most common are from a topic standpoint and from a market standpoint. Both have their advantages but also their drawbacks in terms of engagement.
A topic-focused approach tends to create analytical content. This is great for technical articles and guides but not ideal for marketing content. This is because, with a topic-focused approach, you tend to be information-heavy, breaking down the topic point by point. The pacing can be overwhelming for the reader, leading to reduced engagement.
Conversely, engaging in a market-focused approach allows you to practice a more conversational tone. But, by trying to speak to an entire market, you often end up speaking to no one in particular. That’s because most markets are made up of several market segments. While there may be some overlap in their needs and wants, how you speak to each segment should vary.
This leads me to my approach. Before I create any piece of content, I begin by defining the buyer persona that piece is targeting. This buyer persona details a specific individual I hope to reach, and that individual should represent the shared interests, questions, or goals of an entire audience segment.
By doing this, I’m able to visualize an entire audience segment as an individual person and write the content as if I’m having a conversation with them. This allows me to practice a more conversational flow, with natural digressions, examples, and explanations that would naturally occur in a one-on-one discussion.
Of course, the final draft is still edited for clarity and polish. But the result is content that feels focused, personal, and intentional. It speaks directly to the right audience and encourages meaningful engagement.
– Kurt Norris, Content Marketing Specialist & Founder, Kurt’sCopy
Focus on Being Relevant
I learned that creating engaging content isn’t always about being flashy or creative—it’s about being relevant. I once worked on a campaign where I poured hours into making clever, visually appealing posts, only to realize they weren’t resonating. The audience didn’t care about catchy lines; they wanted solutions to their real problems. That shift in perspective changed how I approached content entirely.
One time, we decided to strip back the complexity and focus on a single, nagging issue our audience faced—figuring out how to improve their workflow efficiency. Instead of pushing promotional content, we wrote a simple, step-by-step piece addressing the issue.
There were no frills, just actionable advice tied directly to their challenge. The engagement skyrocketed. It wasn’t the most creative piece I’d done, but it hit the mark because it was exactly what the audience needed.
What worked for me was learning not to overcomplicate things. Content doesn’t need to be groundbreaking; it needs to be useful and relevant. When I stopped trying to impress and started trying to help, everything clicked.
– Kal Dimitrov, Content & Marketing Expert, Enhancv
Start with Bottom-of-Funnel Content
Most businesses believe content should begin with a blog post, answer a few questions, incorporate some keywords, and wait for traffic. That’s where they make a mistake.
When I launched my SEO agency, I followed the same approach. I wrote “top of the funnel” content, hoping people would find us, get educated, and eventually make a purchase. However, what actually made a difference? The exact opposite.
We inverted the funnel. We started at the bottom and then moved upward.
Instead of initially writing general blog posts, we created conversion-focused pages, i.e., service pages, offer comparisons, and pricing breakdowns. Then we worked our way up: developing content that addressed objections, explained our unique proposition, and finally, crafted info-driven blogs using low-hanging keyword opportunities.
This reverse strategy accomplished two things:
- It attracted people who were already looking to make a purchase.
- It made our other content more purposeful.
Here’s the outcome: Our client’s Domain Rating increased from 10 to 43, monthly organic clicks rose by over 150, and they saw a 2x ROI on their initial investment.
People don’t need more “what is SEO” articles. They need proof, clarity, and confidence to make a purchase. That’s what bottom-of-funnel content provides them.
There’s another underrated goldmine—your audience’s own words. Comments, DMs, emails. If someone is asking a question, chances are a hundred more are thinking it. We simply turn those into content. Answer it once. Link it everywhere. Suddenly, your entire funnel is interconnected.
So, if you’re struggling with engagement, don’t start with fluff. Start with the sale. Everything else will follow.
– Prerak Mehta, Founder, NetMafia
Share Myths and Lessons Learned
A content series that has worked really well for me is sharing the myths we believed when we first started out. I walk through each myth, explain how we got it wrong, and share what the real takeaway was after learning the hard way. This approach makes the brand feel more human and shows people they’re not alone in figuring things out. This kind of storytelling builds trust while giving the audience something genuinely helpful to learn from.
– Chris Aubeeluck, Head of Sales and Marketing, Osbornes Law
Use LinkedIn Comments for Ideas
LinkedIn comment sections are like a secret research lab for content ideas. When I see a competitor’s post getting lots of attention, I dive into the comments to find confusion, pushback, or follow-up questions. Those little threads often point to topics that haven’t been explained clearly or deserve their own spotlight.
I keep a list of these insights and turn them into how-to posts, short explainers, or deeper content series. This keeps my content relevant because it comes straight from real conversations. It’s a simple habit that has helped me stay connected to what people actually want to learn.
– Jeffrey Zhou, CEO & Founder, Fig Loans
Reach Out to Past Customers
I make a point to reach out to past customers who bought once and never came back—it’s an incredibly honest group with valuable insights. I ask what didn’t quite click for them, whether it was the product, messaging, or something that felt missing after the purchase. Those conversations have helped me uncover blind spots I wouldn’t have noticed through reviews or surveys alone.
I take that feedback and shape content that speaks more clearly to those concerns, from FAQs to behind-the-scenes stories. It’s a thoughtful way to realign with your audience and create content that feels more personal and relevant.
– Nick Esposito, Founder, NYCServers
Create Content Based on Return Reasons
I’ve found great success in creating content based on why customers return products—something many businesses tend to ignore. I study return reasons and customer comments to spot trends, then use that insight to build content like videos, comparison charts, or detailed photos that clear up confusion.
If people often return an item because it runs small, I’ll film real customers trying on different sizes and explaining how each one fits. This kind of content removes hesitation during the buying process and sets clear expectations. Your content becomes more useful and reliable when you concentrate on actual issues that customers have after making a purchase.
– Peter Čuček, Owner, Tuuli
Root Messaging in Real-Life Challenges
My biggest advice for businesses struggling to create engaging content is to root your messaging in real-life challenges your audience faces. Instead of leading with product features, lead with purpose—show people how your product fits into their daily lives.
We’ve seen success by focusing on the why behind healthy snacking, especially in workplace settings. For example, we created a blog and email series called “Snack Smarter at Work.” It didn’t just promote our snack boxes—it explored how teams use them to boost energy, reduce the 3 p.m. slump, and foster wellness in the office.
One post featured a startup that replaced processed snacks with fruit deliveries and noticed a shift in team mood and productivity. That kind of story connected more than any sales pitch. It made the content relatable, and as a result, we saw higher engagement and more inbound interest from office managers and HR teams.
Tip: Always frame your content around the reader’s world, not just your product’s features. Lead with empathy, and engagement will follow.
– Julie Collins, Marketing Director, The FruitGuys
Treat Unsubscribers as Feedback Sources
I treat unsubscribers as some of the most honest feedback sources a business can have. When someone leaves my email list, I send a simple one-question survey asking why—and those responses often reveal gaps I didn’t even realize existed.
Sometimes the content was too frequent, sometimes it missed the mark entirely, but either way, it gives me direction. I use those insights to tweak subject lines, adjust sending times, or create more relevant content based on what people actually want.
It’s not about trying to win everyone back—it’s about understanding how to better serve those who stay. When you listen closely to the ones walking away, it becomes much easier to create content that people look forward to.
– Adrian Iorga, Founder & President, Stairhopper Movers
Use Storytelling to Engage
In my experience, storytelling is the key to creating engaging content. People connect with authentic, relatable stories far more than polished sales pitches. For every piece of content, I start by asking, “What’s the real value here for my audience?” Whether it’s sharing behind-the-scenes insights, solving a common problem, or showcasing a success story, I focus on content that feels genuine and speaks directly to their needs. Always remember, it’s not about making content perfect—it’s about making it meaningful.
– Robbert Bink, Founder, Crypto Recovers
Understand Audience and Address Pain Points
The most valuable advice I can offer to businesses struggling to create engaging content is to develop a deep understanding of their audience and their pain points. Content creation isn’t solely about promoting a product or service; it’s about addressing the needs, desires, and challenges of your audience in a way that resonates with them.
Approach That Worked Well:
- Customer-Centric Research: Begin by delving into the data—analyze customer feedback, social media comments, surveys, and keyword research. This helps uncover the actual issues your target audience is facing. For example, if you’re in the health and wellness space, you might discover that your audience is seeking time-efficient ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle amidst their busy schedules.
- Create Valuable, Problem-Solving Content: Once you understand their pain points, create content that offers real solutions. Whether it’s educational blog posts, how-to videos, or infographics, focus on providing value. A series of “How to” videos addressing common issues related to health, fitness, or nutrition can go a long way in building trust and engagement.
- Tell Authentic Stories: People connect with stories, not sales pitches. Share stories about how your product or service has positively impacted real customers or employees. User-generated content is an effective way to show social proof.
- Engage and Interact: Social media isn’t just a platform to post content—it’s a place to converse. Responding to comments, hosting Q&As, or creating polls makes your audience feel valued and heard.
- Consistency and Testing: Maintain a consistent posting schedule and continually experiment with different formats—be it blogs, videos, or live streams. Track the performance of each type of content to see what resonates best with your audience and refine your strategy accordingly.
Example: For a brand in the eco-friendly space, creating content around sustainable living, including actionable tips, customer stories, and expert interviews, can build engagement. By aligning content with audience values and needs, we increased engagement by 40%.
In essence, truly understanding your audience and creating content that speaks directly to their needs and values is the most effective strategy for sustained engagement.
– Subhendu Singh, Digital Marketing Strategist, EDS FZE
