Click baits -4 ways to avoid Click baits and still attract readers to your blog

Click baits -4 ways to avoid Click baits and still attract readers to your blog

How do you feel when you come across a headline that should pass a piece of information to you and while you decide to click on it, you discover it is nothing close to being as important as you presumed. Sad right? Yea me too. Click baits are now the way to go for so many writers, they do it often and on, just crafting an enticing headline that has nothing to offer in the main story.

Without moving to the Dictionary to search for the meaning of the word, you can literarily derive the meaning through the two words that combine to produce it; “Click” and “Bait”.

“Click” is an action word that compels you to take a look at something while “Bait” is a small amount of food set as a trap to lure fishes or other animals. Putting them together, Clickbait simply means a post created to lure the audience without having a true intention of satisfying their needs. It is a post on a website with mind-blowing headlines that misleads the audience on the Internet just to drive traffic.

Some writers have become so accustomed to Click baits that they fail to realise that they can still drive traffic without using those antics. In this post, I will help you learn how you can still drive some traffic to your blog without using Click baits.

The synonym for Click baits is “Lure” and when hearing the word, it certainly means there is nothing substantial in the end. I grade posts like that as Spam.

How do you identify Click baits?

They come with “Outrageous” headlines that contain too many exaggerations. Let’s look at a few examples

“5 guaranteed ways to get rich in a week; one-click that can change your life”. You end up reading the post and realise that the life of the writer actually needs to be changed not yours.

“You cannot make it in Business without these principles”. You click on them and realise it is nothing special. Sometimes they are nothing at all.

“He was Sacked in the morning, see what he did next”. At the end of the day, the Sacked worker just picked up his properties, said goodbye to his colleagues and left.

“This is the best way to trade your Cryptocurrency in 2021”. As excited as you are, you go in and you won’t see the best way, instead, they will be introducing a new coin.

“See the shocking reason why the president puts on a Red “

Lots of bloggers have been made to believe that using Click baits is the best way to attract readers which is not true. Most readers nowadays just want good and reliable information, unfortunately, in their quest to get them, they fall into this trap. This system has worked for so many people but it also comes with consequences.

Some Blogs use images that depict something else and attach it to their stories but in the end, the image happens to be nothing close to the blog post. I still remember a YouTube video I watched because the owner of the channel used an image of someone I did admire for the cover, but in the end, the person did not even appear in the video. I blacklisted that channel.

What are the Implications and Consequences of this action?

1. You Lose Credibility

A wise quote says “Once bitten, twice shy”. While the audience has seen this action as normal, some persons have become sceptical about these things and WILL NOT give that Blog a second chance to mislead them again. First of all, you have lost followers and secondly the credibility of your blog. You might feel uninterested with the knowledge that new persons will be attracted but think about having a reputation for creating Click baits and ponder what it can do to your blog.

2. Some platforms will not allow your page to thrive

They are so many platforms that will not allow you to thrive if all you do is give them Click baits. Websites like Facebook have begun a clampdown on websites with Click baits, it is no longer business as usual for them. If you do not have meaningful content, you will not be allowed to advertise or use their platform to drive links to your blog.

3. Your Ratings will be greatly affected

When you build a reputation for having nothing meaningful to offer the audience and they happen to know it, you run the risk of getting lower reviews and ratings which will, in turn, affect your readership and income, of course, nobody will share a post that is a mere Clickbait.

So whether it is a business blog or a blog specifically for passing information related to a particular field, Click baits will certainly be a threat to your growth.

How to avoid Click baits?

1. Do not Exaggerate

The headlines that are considered Click baits share a common feature; exaggeration. They most times hype the topic and make it a must-see but in the end, the audience feels disappointed. Build your content and be Original. I see sites that use Click baits as sites that have nothing interesting to offer so use these methods to remain in business.

They use things like, “11 secrets to owning a house in three months, #4 is a must-see!”. They may be 11 secrets but there will be nothing special about them. It becomes important that you stick to the service your post provides and stop hyping it.

2. Do not cut short the headline

Some bloggers are accustomed to delivering headlines that leave out some vital information along the way. For example, you see a headline that says, “When you want to build a CV, consider this!”. The headline alone is Clickbait, it compels one to action, and you need to avoid them. Let your audience genuinely decide to read your post, then when they click on it and see nothing special about it.

Having said this, one will then ask, how then can I get clicks to my blog without using Click baits? Here are the answers:-

1. Keep it Simple and Straightforward

So many bloggers have failed to realise that simple headlines can drive traffics for them. Just state the solution your blog brings and you will get the desired results. Instead of exaggerating a simple occurrence, why not be straightforward. Consider the following headlines;

“How to write a Proposal for a Grant“

“5 ways to choose a Career Path”

These are simple headlines which are solutions to a problem, it will definitely get you loads of clicks.

2. Be Creative

Add a bit of creativity to your headline and it will definitely drive traffic for you. You must be careful not to use Click baits in the process. Consider the examples below

“5 easy steps to cook Party Jollof Rice”

“Special needs of children aged 1-5 and how to meet them”

Mere looking at them, you will be moved to click on them. Be sure your post can adequately explain your headline so you do not fall into the reap you are trying to avoid.

3. Use online sources

You can search online for headline patterns that can best describe your story without adding Click baits. Study headlines on popular blogs and understand the method they employ in creating their headlines, it will help you fashion your headlines better. Some platforms are dedicated to helping writers generate headlines, identify these platforms and they can help you generate good headlines.

4. Use Compelling Adjectives

In other to drive traffic, you can employ the use of adjectives to help you get readers to your blog. Adjectives like “Amazing, Easy, Important” will certainly get you clicks. Check out these headlines

“11 Amazing benefits of Onions”

“Esay steps to mastering Essay writing”

“5 Important reasons why you should not eat after 7pm”

There you have it, I believe with these tips you will learn to write more compelling headlines for your blog and generate clicks without using those Clickbaits. Practice writing headlines this way and very soon you will attain perfection.