How do you measure the impact of your writing?

You have to choose the right goal. For example, if your ultimate goal is to get leads on LinkedIn and you're focused on number of followers, you have set a wrong goal. It's easy to say, I'll focus on follower count, because that will increase my chances of getting more leads. But that isn't always true. If you have millions of followers that aren't the right fit, you will not achieve your goal. So, measure the right metrics for your ultimate goal.

And that's why the pre-writing phase - where you do your homework - is very important. Without it, starting a writing is like starting a road trip without knowing exactly where to go or what to do when you run out of gas in the middle of nowhere.

Goals are important but sometimes it can be an expression of thoughts, & ideas to connect with people out there. Without a very specific goal in mind a simple honest point of view can reach more people and you don't know what impact it can create at some corner of someone's mind

In my experience, setting goals is paramount before you start writing. If you are a writer in a diverse niche, such as health and wellness, your audience is large. And you cannot write to all of them. For example, you cannot write about the benefits of breastfeeding to a male audience, nor can you write a sales copy for a product that treats erectile dysfunction to a female audience. Although the interest to read such topics is there among these audiences, the metrics obtained would not be sufficient to show the clear impact of your writing. Setting goals about the purpose, the audience and what you hope your content will achieve is necessary.

In my experience, it is highly important to be aware of your target audience before getting started in writing a content. Hence, part of the reason why knowing more about a client need is prominent before getting started. For instance, if you're hired to write about a topic on maximizing sales, the right approach to take is to familiarise yourself with their target audience in order to avoid writing in opposition to their wants. Another example is to be aware of the keywords and necessary points to include in the content, setting a clear goal puts you on an edge that drives you in the right path. You don't want to be writing without knowing where you're headed towards.

Metrics paints the image of our performance and helps us in decision making. But different platforms have their different metrics pattern for eg the LinkedIn metrics meter and google analytics data protection is different. So based on platforms one has to understand the metrics flow of their content.

In my opinion views, likes, and comments don't really mean much. But if someone shares your blog post on their socials, and reacts to it in some way that's a surefire indicator that the content captured their interest, and they deem it to be a valuable resource. Likes and comments are overrated. Shares, backlinks, and long discussion threads on the other hand are the best KPIs target.

I think using more examples of the types of tools used and use cases would be more helpful to the reader. More variety within the formatting, like bullet points, shorter paragraphs, and more header 3s. More graphics would be great as well.

Well all the tools have their own functionality and all are required at the same time. However, irrespective of all the mighty tools and services what counts the most is the quality of the content. The tools are required in shaping, structuring and analysis of the content.

Always remember that tools are not infallible. Humans can make mistakes, and so can all those fancy tools because humans made them. A small outage of any tool or service, even for a few minutes, can bear astronomical fiscal challenges if you don't have a handy alternative. Plus, it is always better to cross-validate data from multiple tools if that's an option. That is why I recommend that you keep a redundancy of tools handy (it's easy, there are likely so many choices, no matter your segment), and be prepared to go low-tech (back to notepad or offline office software) if the situation ever calls for it, even though it seems like it never would.

Well from a single impression to viral wave it all counts as the metric result. But for a writer the true result is the impact of the words written and the recall factor of their work.

When doing analysis, I think it’s very important to consider the client conversion. Views and likes can be helpful, what upgrades a viewer to a client is the ability to make them feel something. If you’re not getting conversions, then it’s good to ask if your content is focused on the how of your problem instead of the why. If you’re focusing on the why of a problem, are you sure you’re trying to influence the right people?

I have to agree with Triparno on the recall factor value of the work. Good content gets instant engagement, while great content gets sustained engagement, thanks to repeat-readers, and becomes an irreplaceable oasis or a familiar lounge for the readers in that segment to return to.

You should consider trying out different writing formats, writing styles, and tones to gauge the type of audience that you have. Once you nail the needs of your audience, you can capitalize on what works and discard what doesn't work.

Content formats you could explore include videos and infographics. Videos whether introductory or incorporated at a later stage in the blog tend to drive higher engagement. Similarly, infographics on a web page that just has text can break the monotony and help drive valuable insights. Once these changes are implemented you should recheck the engagement metrics and evaluate the impact.

In this day and age presentation is everything. It's what keeps people engaged throughout your content and that's why Youtube videos have been slowly killing blogs. But if you've found an untapped niche and present your content in the most eye-catching but also user-friendly manner your blogs will have greater session durations. There's nothing search engines love to promote more than pages and sites people spend a lot of time on.

Always expect your tactical and strategic goals to be faced with new and unpredictable variables, especially at those times when you feel like a certain task you have been sitting on, would be cakewalk. It won't. Adapting existing writing efficiently to unforeseen revisions and big changes in ideational direction is a skill that will always pay dividends, but a key to effective implementation is effective probing and active listening to get the core message or objective right, before you begin, which tangibly reduces the risk of unforeseen changes.

Consider what other creators in your niche are doing. Learn from them and use their tricks to build your skill. This is very crucial when you are starting out as a writer, but can also be beneficial if you are a seasoned writer looking to grow your writing career.

Because the readers are human, it's also important for us writers to understand human psychology (and biology) to be able to craft the most impactful writing and achieve the impact we want. "Nudge" the readers with a call to action (in a very broad sense) to gear the readers towards the intended result that we want the writing to achieve.

I measure content success from two lenses: how well it performs on a platform and how well it resonates with the target audience. Often, content needs to pass the platform check before it can pass the audience check.

I think it's easy to get caught up in the immediate reception of written work. But I think that engagement inspired by the piece or page is only part of the story. I also measure impact by the quantity of audiences and occasions for which I can share it—in other words, is it relevant and useful to many people with different interests? Can I use it to follow up on calls as well as initiate outreach? If it's flexible and boosts efficiency, then I count it a success.

Connecting with your audience on a personal level is equally important. Engaging content often stems from authenticity, storytelling, and empathetic communication. Relate to your readers, address their pain points, and provide valuable solutions. Measuring the impact of your web content is a continuous process. Stay committed to your goals, interpret data wisely, and let creativity guide your content strategy. By understanding your audience's needs and preferences, you can create content that not only engages but also adds genuine value, nurturing long-term relationships with your readers and driving success for your website, blog, or social media platforms.