Nothing feels worse than pouring your heart into an article, a book, or even a sales page and getting absolutely no response from your readers.

You feel invisible and wonder if it’s worth the hassle.

While it’s next to impossible to guarantee Harry Potter-like success for your writing, you can take steps to make your writing more irresistible and encourage engagement.

It’s simply a matter of adding a little authenticity to your writing style to make it more engaging. And the authenticity we’re talking about is your own writing voice.

What follows are three secrets for developing your own authentic voice in writing.

Secret #1: Relatability

Copywriters, authors, and content writers often write about subjects that are close to their hearts, and for that reason, their working knowledge far surpasses most others’.

But you have to make sure that you don’t write beyond the understanding of a newcomer to the subject. If you do, you’ll alienate most of your audience.

Instead, understand where your target readers are coming from and make your writing voice authentic and relatable to them.

There are a number of ways to do this: you could simplify your explanations of the subject, connect it to them in a way that is directly reflected in their lives, or focus on a particular area they deal with every day.

Regardless of your angle, the key is to focus less on yourself and more on them.

The sooner you get good at stepping out of your head and finding authentic ways to relate to your audience, the sooner you’ll generate genuine engagement with your work.

And, frankly, engaging your audience feels a lot better than sounding smart!

Secret #2: Context

Another major reason people drop everything they’re doing to read something is that the timing is absolutely perfect.

They were JUST thinking about that very subject, and then your article came out at that very moment. What are the chances?

Context is truly one of the most important elements of successful writing. Nothing in this world happens in a vacuum, and keeping on top of what’s going on is a surefire way to maintain a rabid readership.

When you write whatever you want whenever you want, you’re leaving success up to chance. Why do that when you can stack the odds in your favor of massive engagement?

A great way to leverage context is to keep on top of news directly related to your target audience.

For example, if you write about weddings, you can create a Google News RSS feed about weddings, catering, venues, etc… and when an item starts trending, write a piece about it from your authentic viewpoint!

You’ll benefit from the momentum of the news story itself, and your writing will be of more immediate interest to your target audience. Win–win!

Secret #3: Emotion

Adding emotion may seem like a no-brainer, especially if you’re a copywriter, but you’d be surprised by how many writers neglect it in their work.

Dull, emotionless writing doesn’t do much for anybody. Have you ever read a school textbook? They’re terrible!

Emotion isn’t just about being weepy in your storytelling. It’s about plugging into what your readership is feeling about a certain subject and igniting it.

Going back to the wedding scenario, if you’re a wedding writer, you hear endless conversations about picking the right dress and being able to fit in it. This is particularly stressful leading up to June and the summer months.

If you write an emotional piece tapping into how brides-to-be feel around that time, it will garner attention. Especially if you write with an authentic voice.

A great way to find out how people feel about topics is to join Facebook groups about those topics and just observe. See what people are saying in the comments, read through various posts that get high volumes of likes, and take note of the wording used.

If you make these elements part of your authentic voice in writing, you’ll see huge results!

Make Your Authentic Voice Irresistible

By following these secrets, you’ll have the power to write authentic and irresistible copy.

Your publications will have a greater chance of grabbing your target readers’ attention and will engage them on a deeper level than ever before.