Oh NO! Clickbait?!

You'll never believe what this celebrity did. Or five ways to get rich fast. Wait for number four. And this dog did what? Clickbait has a reputation for being outdated, manipulative, cheap, and just plain bad. So, most writers and their organizations avoid anything that has to do with clickbait at all costs. I know I'm scared of it. But, what exactly is clickbait? Clickbait is generally agreed to be emotionally manipulative practices used to encourage interaction or clicks on content by overselling expectations on underwhelming realities. So, how do we avoid getting accused of writing cheap, manipulative copy, and losing trust with our users? Making sure user expectations align with the reality of your content. When a user clicks into your content, they should know what they'll get or be in an emotional state reasonable for that information. Playful punctuations like colons to create suspense or exclamation marks for excitement or warnings add a lot of personality to your writing. The same goes for the occasional caps lock. Just as a heads-up, though, both these tactics work best when they're used in moderation and match your audience's expected tone. But, the tactics I really want you to embrace are curiosity gaps and emotional appeals. These are incredibly powerful techniques that every writer should know. They get clicks, move users to action, even when they aren't being used as clickbait. Humans naturally want to complete information and act on their emotions. And using these two techniques takes advantage of these natural instincts. And once you understand it, it becomes much easier to avoid. So, don't let clickbait get you down. Write creatively, play with what you can do. Just make sure you match expectations with reality.