When I pick up a novel, it’s ok if the first page doesn’t immediately grab me. I’m committed to at least a chapter or two before I give up on it. Not so when I check out a blog post. When I click a link to your blog post, you have approximately 100 words in which to woo me and make me read your whole article.

The key? Make all your words matter. The ancient Egyptians didn’t carve long, flowery hieroglyphics out of self indulgence and they got their point across just fine. It’s all about the editing.

There is no great writing, only great rewriting. – Louis Brandeis

Some bloggers have such a distinctive voice they barely need to sign their work. I’m thinking of Scott Stratten, Corbett Barr and Seth Godin. But they all have two things in common:

1. They write with an active voice.

2. They don’t publish unnecessary words.

Take a look at Scott Stratten’s latest blog post on The Farce that is Google+ (I’m in complete agreement, but that’s for another day). As I read it, I feel like I’m having an animated conversation with someone across the table. Someone I’m comfortable with. Someone who doesn’t waste my time. Scroll down to the over 140 comments and you’ll see I’m not alone.

Scott doesn’t have to encourage his audience to interact and share, it’s the natural next step after reading one of his posts.

Check out these sharing stats to see how many people this post engaged.

The hardest part about storytelling for me is focus. When I’m in trouble, I like to reread Leo Babauta’s tips here. His 7-Step Method to Finding Focus for Writing helps to cancel the noise.

What are some other key tips to writing engaging content? What makes you hit that share button?