If you’re committed to writing and posting regular marketing content, you’ll want your audience to read it.

That means grabbing and keeping your readers’ attention, from a strong headline to a call to action that makes their next steps clear.

In short, you want your blogs to be engaging, driving traffic to your website and turning prospects into clients.

Here are three simple tips for producing just those kind of articles.

1. Strong headlines use numbers, questions, and a sense of urgency

You might spend hours producing an incredible article, but if no one clicks on it, your blog will go unread. Grabbing attention early is key.

We have to go all the way back to 2019 for this Yardstick article explaining the science behind writing engaging headlines.

In ‘5 reasons using numbers works in article headlines (because science says so)’, then-Yardstick head of content, Nick Parkhouse, explained that readers love numbers.

The top two most engaging headlines begin with a number:

• ‘X reasons why… (you should revisit your tax planning now)’

• ‘X important… (lessons you can learn from markets in 2025)’

In fact, of the ten most engaging headlines quoted, five of them featured numbers. BuzzSumo found that the most engaging numbers to use across Facebook and Twitter are:

• 10
• 5
• 7

Bear this in mind next time you sit down to write a headline. But remember that variety is important too, especially across a newsletter containing multiple articles vying for attention.

Try asking a question, using an instruction, or directly promising a benefit (as long as you know your article will deliver).

Take our first headline above.

‘X reasons why you should revisit your tax planning now’ could be rewritten as:

• Could you save money by revisiting your tax planning now?
• Why you should revisit your tax planning now
• How revisiting your tax planning now could save you money

Address a concern your reader already has, or should have, and then offer a solution. A sense of urgency can be helpful, but don’t go too hard and outright scare your reader.

As Ben discovered in his recent blog, ‘BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID: Why sensationalist headlines don’t work for financial planning content’, hyperbole might get clicks, but it should be used sparingly.

2. The job of sentence one is to get your reader to sentence two…

Once your reader has been tempted into clicking by a strong headline, you need to keep their attention. That means a strong opening line and a clear path through the rest of your article.

Delving back into the archive, Charlotte wrote about this very topic back in 2023.

In ‘5 simple but effective ways to make your blog content more readable’, Charlotte advocates for the use of subheadings and bullet points to break up large blocks of text and signpost your reader.

Be sure to:

• Keep your subheadings short
• Use strong verbs to grab attention
• Remember skim readers.

In a world of easy access and constantly updated content, attention spans are short. Skim readers should understand the basic argument of your article from reading the subheadings alone.

Choose subheadings wisely and be sure they are ordered correctly to tell the story you want to share. You can even build narrative into listicles through careful ordering of your points.

Read more about that here: 3 simple ways to build narrative into your listicle content now

Bullet points, too, can break up text. Consider them every time you introduce a list.

3. Make it clear what you want your reader to do next

Once you have shared your message – imparting knowledge or warning of a potential issue that you can help with – it’s important to capitalise on that momentum. That means converting the article into a tangible follow-up.

Last year, Adam wrote about ‘Everything I’ve learned in 13 years as a writer’ and included 25 golden rules for better content writing. Here are three that specifically relate to your call to action:

• Accurately describe the actions you want people to take. “Stay tuned for more” works for broadcast media, but not articles or PDFs.
• Consider switching to first person. Unbounce found that opting for “Start my free trial” rather than “Start your free trial” resulted in a 90% increase in clicks.
• Ensure hyperlinks make sense out of context. Not “Visit our website here for more information”, but “Visit our website here for more information”.

A call to action is your chance to engage clients and spur prospects to begin building a relationship with you, so make it count.

Get in touch

If you need help producing engaging content, from a clickable headline to a lead-boosting call to action, we can help.

At The Yardstick Agency, we produce engaging and insightful content that builds trust and initiates those all-important first conversations, so get in touch now.

Email hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 8965 300 to learn more.