Curiosity Gap

The curiosity gap is the space between the information we're initially given and the promised or implied information yet to come. By highlighting this gap, you can make people far more likely to stick around and hear what you have to say.

Humans are novelty-seeking creatures. We love to discover new things, but we often love the adventure of the search more than the discovery itself. When we see a gap in our understanding, it sparks the desire to close that gap. But when one gap is closed, we search for another. We secretly love the continual quest for answers.

This is good news for you as a creator because it means people will always have a desire for more content, new insights, and fresh perspectives. A single answer never satisfies. Solving one problem opens up space for the next one to be solved, on to infinity. You just have to get good at highlighting these gaps and then closing them so people seek out out as a trusted source of knowledge and wisdom.

This could explain why direct-response marketers often do better in the creator space than pure educators. The marketer knows how to tease people's minds and keep their attention using curiosity gaps, while the pure educator tends to just dish out the answers.

Here are some ways to strategically open and close these curiosity gaps to make your content more engaging:

• Promise something in the beginning. Deliver it at the end. The first sentence tells the audience what they're going to learn or discover. The middle of the content gradually reveals the answer, and the end delivers the big insight.
• Create an implied benefit by showing the end in the beginning. For example, if you were teaching someone how to grow a lemon tree, you can show what the "final product" of a tree full of fruit will look like in the very beginning of your content.
• Use "listicle" style content such as "7 ways to (achieve outcome)" or "12 steps to (desired outcome)" -- this automatically implies that there is value to come.
• Open with an unsolved dilemma or story at the height of its drama. Problems create the desire for a solution. Stories create the desire for a conclusion.
• Promise a counter-intuitive or unique solution to a problem. If a problem isn't solved, we might be missing a critical piece of information, or are unaware of a different path forward. Give people a solution they might have not considered before.
• Leverage the 8 human desires (see prompt) -- promise (and deliver) ways for people to satisfy at least one of these core desires in each piece of content you create.
• Question the status quo or challenge a common belief. People love a little controversy and will be curious to know your perspective. This also makes you more relatable and authentic.