10 Surprising Tips That Make Your Online Writing Ten Times More Memorable

Great writing is memorable writing.

Aug 20, 2024

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📣 This week’s guest post comes courtesy of Alex Mathers, a top online writer with a massive audience of 180,000 readers. Alex has also founded several remote businesses, written multiple books, and makes over 6-figures as an independent writer, teacher, and coach. I’m stoked to have him as a guest writer!

By Alex Mathers

Writing thousands of posts over the years showed me the power of relentless effort. It revealed how subtle changes in my communication can significantly shift how my readers respond.

Sometimes my stuff sucked, but others ran for days. All of it pointed to what worked.

Great writing is memorable writing. We've achieved something great when we can deliver something that sticks in minds amidst the chaotic fury of Internet feeds.

Here are some ways to make your writing more memorable.

But first…

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1. Embrace brevity

Writers, particularly noobs, often think that more words equals more substance. They write fluffy out of insecurity. But they just create an experience not unlike walking through a watery marsh. There’s no grip. Cutting out anything not directly aligned with your main point will make for sticky reading. One great line is more memorable than five mediocre ones.

2. Go against the grain

Take a problem you’re considering writing about. What do most people say about this? What is expected. Now be unexpected. What’s the counterintuitive approach? Ask yourself:

What is a standard solution, and how can I go against the grain, while still being right?

3. Show vulnerability

In an attempt to sound like professional, super cool, unflappable experts, most writers distance themselves from their readers. In their pursuit of ‘looking good,’ they whitewash any semblance of humanity from their words. Being willing to look less than perfect through vulnerable writing and stories will set you apart in a world that has a stick up its collective arse.

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4. Use unexpected analogies and examples

Paint a picture to demonstrate your point with head-turning analogies and images. Here’s an example:

Expected: Learning a new skill is like building a house brick by brick.

Unexpected: Learning a new skill is like baking bread. You need to gather your ingredients (knowledge), follow the recipe (process), and allow time for the dough to rise (practice and growth). Each step requires patience and precision to create something fulfilling.

5. Use plenty of negative space

Filling every inch of the page is overwhelming, and will result in me most likely clicking ‘close,’ and dipping out for a long, reflective walk. Strategic white space gives the eye and mind space. Break up paragraphs, use sub-headers and make sexy love to bullet points. Writing that feels like a stroll through a zen garden is more memorable than being repeatedly thrashed in the mouth with word salad.6. Ask provocative questions

6. Ask provactive questions

I always say that the best writing is provocative. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to leave your readers battered and bruised. But you do want your ideas to prompt thoughts in the reader that can’t be left alone. You can ask a flat-out question, or you can introduce challenging ideas that make the reader question themselves.

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7. Use strategic repetition

Good writers know that readers can forget key points. They zero in on the most important component of their argument and repeat it so it sticks. You can repeat the same line for dramatic effect. Or you can say the same thing in a different way. You need to genuinely care that your reader remembers what you say. Repetition is one way of several to do this.

8. Focus on micro-moments

Many writers focus on grand and wide-reaching concepts to explain their points. They talk in generalised terms. A great way to be different is to zoom in on tiny, seemingly insignificant moments, like the hairy man with a dog on your bus journey this morning. This brings a refreshing, granular detail to your writing and humanises it.

9. Write for an audience of one

Don’t do as most do, which is to try to write for everyone. This is a form of mass people-pleasing that will leave you questioning your sanity and your reader confused. When writing, imagine you are talking with a good friend (or ideal client who is a good friend) in a relaxed environment like a pub. You wouldn’t talk like you’re trying to kiss butt in a corporate meeting. You’d talk like you were having the last conversation on Earth over a roaring log fire.

10. Invoke curiosity

When introducing your content through a header or opener, don’t give it all away too soon. The central element to any good piece of writing is called the ‘build’. This means a phase of rising tension. This applies to nonfiction just as it does to fiction. You want to slowly reveal more and more of the solution or answer to your original posed question. This way, your reader is drawn in like a squirrel in a nut tunnel all the way through.

What are some other ways you can make your writing more memorable?