I should preface this by saying this information is from my journey, not some statistical analysis. I am an expressive empath, and analytics are beyond my scope of understanding.

You know those stories that leave a lasting impression, those that you find yourself thinking about later in the day or reflecting on the next morning? If you think about it carefully, you will realize that those stories jarred your emotions. It doesn’t seem to matter if the jarring was pleasant; the effect is the same.

If an article makes me think, reflect, laugh, cry, or I close the page and have learned something of value, then it was a great article. Not every piece I read or write is an emotional essay. I read plenty of how-to articles that cover everything from cooking to writing. Even in that category, though, I respond most when an article took me on an emotional journey.

If it is a simple recipe, but there is a backstory about why it was your favorite childhood comfort food, it is going to leave an impression on me. As a writer, isn’t our goal to leave a lasting impression on our readers every time we publish something?

I wrote an article that was way more successful, in terms of views and claps than anything I had written previously. I studied and mulled this over for a couple of days. I honestly could not discern what made it stand out so much from my other writing. I finally asked my spouse for an unbiased opinion as possible.

While reading it out loud to him, I found myself choking up at the raw parts that I had shared. He just looked at me calmly and said: “does that answer your question?” He was right. That story was successful because it took the reader on an emotional journey with me.

You can read it here.

I am not advocating that every article that you write needs to be a soul-bearing personal expose. I read as much, or maybe more, informational articles about topics that interest me. I read to gain knowledge and information.

If you want to teach me why AI is the future of document management software, terrific, I am interested. But why should I read your article instead of one of the dozens (if not hundreds or thousands) like it on the internet?

The reason I will pick your article is by quickly determining how close it comes to the magic formula. It is genuinely quite simple.

Heart+value=engaged readership.

Somewhere in your list, bullet points, and excellent graphics explain to me why you care about document management software. Make me engage with you as a reader. Then, fully inform me about your educated opinion on document management software in a well-presented and concise manner.

Adding a bit of heart, a piece of ourselves into our work is what elevates writing to an art form. So, are you just writing words, or are you creating art? I certainly can’t speak for all readers, but I am always looking for creativity.

So, I have learned my formula for writing successfully. It doesn’t mean that every reader will connect with everything I write. It means that when I look at my statistics, I know that the stories that have the most significant response are the ones where I invested both heart and knowledge.

That does not mean that you can’t write great tech articles or sophisticated style pieces. It just means that when you do, you still have to ask yourself what part of you are you putting in the story.

The written word exists for everyone literate. You have to define what makes your words, in the context of your writing, unique. There are tons of informational how-to’s about writing, and some of them are quite helpful. However, excellent writing will never follow a formula. That makes it science and not art.