Remember this: humans are emotional, not logical beings.
We are constantly looking to resolve our conscious pains, become aware of our unconscious pains, and implement solutions that benefit our quality of life.
There is 1 concept that will save you a lot of pain on your creator journey:
The Levels Of Awareness
Unaware: unaware of the problem
Problem Aware: aware that they have a problem but not sure what is causing it or how to solve it
Solution Aware: aware that a solution exists, but are unaware of your solution (free or paid resources)
Product Aware: aware of your free or paid solution, but either haven’t implemented it or are hesitant on purchasing
Most Aware: aware of your solution and are ready to act on it — all they need is a little push (with persuasion and influence)
Your top-of-funnel content (social media platforms) should target all of the above, with levels 1-3 as the priority.
Your bottom-of-funnel content (emails, lead magnets, and products) should also target all of the above, with levels 3-5 as the priority.
Attention Is The New Currency The first step towards any transaction of value is capturing attention.
Some transactions include:
Free content in exchange for engagement and shares
Free products in exchange for their email
Deeper, more valuable content in exchange for a click
Going from a DM to a call
Going from a call to a sale
Almost every touchpoint of your brand, content, and products involve a transaction of some form.
Your ability to create that transaction is based on capturing, holding, and converting attention.
The tried and true ways of capturing attention include:
Calling out who you are talking to (like what someone does for work)
Targeting a pain point that someone is experiencing
Opening a curiosity loop (by asking a question or implying a puzzle with a missing piece)
Using statistics, numbers, and other pattern interrupts that pull readers out of their mindless scrolling
This is why content writers always stress nailing the hook or headline of a post.
If somebody doesn’t read the hook or headline and feel compelled to dive deeper based on their level of awareness — they aren’t going to read the rest of your content (or go through the rest of your course).
There are more tips and tricks for capturing attention, but those are dependent on what you are trying to capture attention with.
Short-form content (like tweets and IG posts) doesn’t allow much space for depth — so we need to be tactical with how we write
Medium-form content (like LinkedIn posts, carousels, and threads) can have a proper hook, body, and conclusion rapidly — it’s “easier” to keep the reader engaged with how they are structured.
Long-form content (like emails and articles) allow for a lot of creativity, storytelling, and general value — so we need to understand that.
My question for you:
Are you conscious of who you are talking to at every touchpoint in your brand?
Your social media bio? Your pinned tweet? Highlighted posts? Lead magnet opt in page? Email list opt in? Landing page writing? Podcasts, videos, articles? Specific tweets? Post-buyer emails? When someone DMs you? When you DM someone else?
What part of the journey are your readers on and what journey are you going to take them on when you capture their attention?
How can you craft a message that is specific to them and where they are at?
Foundational Tips For Holding Attention When it comes to holding attention, you must understand the principles of storytelling and persuasion (they are the same thing) — which we will discuss in the next module on communication.
When you are creating online, throw everything you know about communication out the window.
This isn’t high school English class.
If you write like your English teacher wanted you to — you will suffer. I promise. It’s not fun.
You are writing to build a connection. Similar to how you would in real life, but a bit more tactical.
The very first step for impactful communication, specifically writing (as we will be starting with writing), is readability.
Have you seen how Twitter accounts, some articles, and sales pages are spaced out?
The creators are mindful of guiding the readers attention.
Here are some quickly implementable tips for holding attention before we dive deeper:
Space out your sentences (press “enter” after 1-3 sentences). This can be longer in blog posts
Be mindful of how your content looks — does it guide the reader down the page? Does it have rhythm and intention behind how it is written?
Keep sentences as short and impactful as you can — edit filler words that detract from the message
If you can’t keep them short, use dashes “—” and parenthesis so their attention doesn’t get tired, keep people guessing (you can see how I do this throughout my writing).
Use bullet points, lists, and other methods that imply that something comes next
Humans are always trying to piece together the puzzle.
They want to know what came before and after a certain point in a story (the situation that you are referring to in your content).
Keep all of this in mind as you are reading content.
How are these creators guiding your attention towards a mutually beneficial transaction?
Start practicing this immediately. The sooner you start practicing, the more you will become aware of how your attention is being controlled.