Many Christian writers have a lot of truth to share, but they fail to generate i

nterest because they fail to make their writing compelling. Their content comes
off as true like the phone book, not true like a love letter or an invitation to
go on a life-changing adventure. Heres how to get your message out further.
Ive taken on editorial duties at Resurgence, at least for a season. This means Im
reviewing nearly every blog article before we post it and giving content feedbac
k in an effort to help our writers get their message out even further.
I dont pretend to be the worlds greatest writer. But I did start writing professio
nally as a journalist in high school, paid my way through high school and colleg
e writing articles and editing my college newspaper, got a bachelors degree in Co
mmunications from the top-notch Edward R. Murrow School of Communication, and ha
ve written blogs and articles for everyone from CNN to the Washington Post to Fo
x News.
Getting your message out
Anyone who has a message they care aboutespecially the gospel, which is the most
important message in the history of the worldwants to get it out as widely as pos
sible. And in the age God has chosen us to be born in, we have a bigger opportun
ity than ever to do just that.
When reading a blog or article, most people make a decision in the first 12 s
entences whether they will continue to read or not.
Writing a blog or an article is different from writing a book. Many Christian wr
iters have a lot of truth to share, but they fail to generate interest because t
hey fail to make their writing compelling. Their content comes off as true like
the phone book, not true like a love letter or an invitation to go on a life-cha
nging adventure. Heres how to get your message out further:
1. Write a compelling title
Most people read articles on something like an RSS feed, and they dont see anythi
ng but the title at first. Using words that are unusual and catchy grab attentio
n. We call it Google juice. Certain words perk up search engines. As a general rul
e, negative titles fare poorly in book titles, but they are more hit-and-miss in
blogs and articles. Trolls quickly learned that negativity goes far and fast on
lineespecially if you include the name of someone well-known, because you are ste
aling their Google juice. Questions only sometimes do well.
Around the holidays, words like Christmas or Easter tend to buzz. But to garner
attention you have to use other words that are noteworthy in the title. Zombies,
Easter, and Jesus is not a title Id recommend, but I promise it will get more Goog
le juice than something like, Our Saviors Walk Away From an Empty Tomb.
A title is basically a headline. Its a jab you throw in an effort to catch the re
ader off guard and compel them to engage. The world is filled with noise, and th
e title has to cut through it to get any interest from overwhelmed readers.
2. Chop your article into bites
Most of the time, to retain attention you have to break your blog or article up
into bites. You need to have sections that break the ideas into bite-sized chunk
s. If people see a lot of text without any sections, points, pull quotes, or oth
er visual aids to break up the lengthy text, they tend to check out and move on.
We feed people content the way they feed themselvesone bite at a time.
3. Grab attention with your lead
When reading a blog or article, most people make a decision in the first 12 sente
nces whether they will continue to read or not. Those familiar with the writer w
ill hang in there longer, and new people bail faster. This is why in journalism
the key is always the lead (also spelled lede). The lead is the hook up front in the
first 12 sentences that comprise the first paragraph. You need to grab someone w
ith a compelling statement or story to drag them into your message. This is what
Jesus does with parables and what Proverbs does with pithy statements.
The world is filled with noise, and the title has to cut through it to get a
ny interest from overwhelmed readers.
4. Remember social media
Everything must be written with social media in mind. Its helpful to include pull
quotes that can be sent out through various social media channels as stand-alon
e pieces of content. The big quote or the title from your piece can be used on s
ocial media to call attention and link back to the entire content.
5. Call readers to action
You always have to have a call to action. The goal is not to just make a point,
but to make a difference. Every blog or article needs to have points that it mak
es, but without a call to action it cannot make a difference. A point loads the
guna call to action fires it.
6. Show and tell
Photos and images are key. Anytime you can add a photo, you increase readership.
For example, on Facebook the photos are clicked on 10 times more than the state
ments, according to some reports. This is why older people are on Facebook and y
ounger people are on Instagram. You cannot just tell; you have to show whenever
you can.
Happy writing.