Content Marketing Strategist

Do you find yourself stuck in a doom scroll, just scrolling, not really knowing what you’re looking for?

If you’re doing that, then your ideal clients probably are too. On average we scroll through around 300+ feet of content a day, so you’ve got less than a second to catch the attention of your audience.

That means your content has to work harder than ever. It needs to stop someone mid-scroll, make them pause, and get curious enough to click, comment or at least remember your name. Let’s talk about how to do it.

Start with a headline that punches

The headline is the difference between someone stopping to read and someone gliding past without a second thought. It’s not about being clever, it’s about being clear. Think about what your audience actually wants, then say it in a way that makes them think, “Oh, that’s for me.”

Your headline should instantly tell your audience what’s in it for them. Be bold, specific, and use the language they actually use themselves. A headline isn’t the place to make people guess what you’re saying. It’s the place to grab attention with a promise or a problem they can’t ignore.

Take Graze as an example. Their snack boxes are everywhere online, and their copy is headline-driven. “Snacks with benefits.” “Good just got exciting.” It’s sharp, quick, and instantly makes you curious enough to click and see what they mean.

Lead with emotion, not features

Most people are bored to tears by lists of features. They don’t want a rundown of what your service does, they want to know how it makes their life better. Emotion is what gets people to pause.

If your post starts with something your audience feels daily, they’re instantly hooked. They see themselves in your words. That connection is the reason they’ll keep reading.

Share small talk and personality

Your audience doesn’t want a robot, they want a real human. The content that often does best is the stuff that feels like you’d say it over coffee. Share what you had for lunch, the funny thing your dog did, or the chaos of trying to keep plants alive.

Those little non-business details make people stop because they can relate. Everyone’s scrolling past polished, perfect posts. The one that feels raw and real? That’s the one that makes them pause.

Be simple and bold

When it comes to stopping the scroll, your first few lines matter more than anything. That opening hook is what decides if someone keeps reading or swipes past. It doesn’t matter whether your post is three lines or three pages long, if the opening doesn’t grab attention, no one will stick around.

A strong hook could be a bold statement, a question your audience has asked themselves, or a relatable truth they’ve never seen someone say out loud. The trick is to make it so engaging that they can’t help but tap “see more” or keep reading down the page.

Netflix does this brilliantly. Their captions often start with a punchy one-liner, “Stop scrolling. Start watching.” Even when they share longer posts about new shows, they lead with a line that pulls you in. That’s the difference between content people skim and content that makes them pause.

Make them feel seen

Finally, your content has to make your audience feel like you’ve crawled inside their head. When someone thinks, “Wow, that’s exactly what I’m struggling with,” they stop scrolling. Relevance beats everything else.

To do that, you need to really know your audience. What annoys them? What do they secretly want but don’t say out loud? Talk about those things in plain English, and you’ll have people stopping, nodding, and hitting the save button.

Lush are masters at this. Their marketing is less about soap and more about self-care, activism, and values their audience genuinely cares about. They talk about ethical sourcing, climate, inclusivity. Their community stops scrolling because the content reflects their own beliefs and challenges.

Final words

Stopping the scroll isn’t about shouting the loudest or posting more often. It’s about being clear, relatable, and human. Give your audience a reason to pause, even for a second, and you’ve won.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, for breakfast, I had porridge with honey from my bees and fresh plums from my uncle’s garden. It was yummy. Porridge is my go to breakfast. What’s yours?