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Why Relatable Content And Showing Vulnerability Makes Your Writing More Attractive To Others

I wondered why some of my articles had gotten a lot more engagement with readers compared to my other stories, and I realized that although it is probably due to a few factors, I suspect that one of the main reasons is that the content of the writing was relatable to the reader.

Before going into more detail about writing relatable content, I want to first mention that writing on Medium has exposed me to way wider audiences compared to when I wrote only on my blog and published it to readers within my social circle. In a wider ocean, I learned that certain topics that worked and got engagement among my peers in social media such as Facebook and Instagram may not have the same level of engagement among Medium readers who are more diverse, coming from different countries, nationalities, age groups, and social classes.

This, in my opinion, is a good thing as growth is crucial for me as a writer.

Learning what topics worked for different audiences makes me put on different hats and look at topics from many different angles, inadvertently making me more empathetic and understanding of others’ opinions who may come from a wide spectrum of audiences.

Coming back to the main topic of this article, I want to highlight that being relatable in your writing, be it the topic or the style of writing is one reason your article gets more reads, attention, and engagement from your audiences.

We read others’ writing for many reasons, on one hand, we read to be educated or enlightened, to learn more about skill or a new perspective, sometimes from expert views and opinions on a topic.

But we also read topics and writing that leave an impression on you, be it emotionally or psychologically. We read writing with content that we can empatize with, those that you tend to think about even days after you’ve read it, writing that you find relatable and hits closer to home.

This type of writing will resonate with many of your audiences.

That is also why when writers show their vulnerability in their writing it becomes a more attractive piece for me as I get a sense of how the writer thinks and feels about a specific situation or topic in the content. This makes the writing appear more genuine and authentic, versus just facts being spewed out on paper and can seem distant and cold.

Admitting your weakness and fears in your personal life, be it about parenting, mental health, feelings of inadequacy or just plain trying to make it work on Medium in your writing are stories people can relate to.

We do not need to be perfect for others to want to follow or read our content, but we can be helpful by expressing honesty in our thoughts and on personal topics, and hopefully, some readers can gain some value from it. These will be a good addition on top of the stories of your more structured content, which in my case are about environmental sustainability and recycling, personal finance, and productivity. But even these ‘structured’ topics can be written from a personal perspective which can make it more engaging.

So feel free to write about your struggles, mistakes, and what you have learned while journeying through your experiences in life. Pick and write about content that is both relatable and beneficial to your readers.

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