You’d think that writing a blog post is as easy as typing out your thoughts. But when it comes to online marketing, there’s a bit of science behind how to make your blog posts both readable AND engaging.
If you grab just ONE THING from this post, remember this…
People will hardly ever read your entire post word for word.
Are you surprised?
(Or did you expect it, given that you may be scanning too?) 🙂
Regardless, here are some guidelines on how you can tailor your content to hold a reader’s attention.
(I'm hoping they'll hold yours!)
1) Headers, Block Texts, Bullets, and Numbers
Basically, the idea is to be able to serve your content in bite-sized pieces.
- Headers catch audience attention.
- Bullet points and numbers make it easier for the eye to travel through text.
- Block texts draw interest to information that you want readers to pay attention to.
Even if only half of your site visitors read through the entire blog post, the other half who only skims through it, at least gets a pretty clear take-away of what you have to say.
2) Brevity
There is a common misconception that the evolution of SEO has prompted blogs to get lengthier and lengthier. Not true. Length for length’s sake is something that people give too much weight.
The thing is, quality is still king when it comes to content. Consider Seth Godin’s blog for example. His search ranking is impressive and yet his posts are sometimes only a paragraph or two long.
So should you avoid writing lengthy posts? No. There are always exceptions to the rule. If it is absolutely necessary, then go ahead. But avoid writing 10,000 words when 500 can get the job done.
3) Images
Relevant pictures and images that will complement your content can help explain what you have to say faster. True. They also help in terms of breaking up large pieces of text so that the length of a post becomes less intimidating.
But they can also be distracting for readers. Too many images can affect the readability of your post and may even discourage readers from reading through the entire piece.
The key here is to only use images when they are actually called for; when the image actually makes sense. Keep sight of the fact that your goal is still to get your readers to read through your entire content, not keep them occupied with pretty pictures.
4) Links
Links are great in terms of improving your SEO but also in making your blog post more readable. For starters it speaks to the kind of effort that went into your blog post. A simple link means you exerted due diligence to research supplementary information that will only serve to enrich their reading experience.
Of course, the most obvious perk to using links in your blog post is to better explain what you have to say. So like images, you have to use it carefully and only when it is relevant to what you have say.
5) Readable Fonts
Because it’s so obvious, it almost goes without saying, but here I am reminding you about it anyway—make your font size readable.
Try a 14 or 16 point font.
Think of where your audience is reading the content that you have to offer. They're reading on desktops, and they’re also browsing through their mobile phones and tablets. These handheld devices make it more difficult for readers to read tiny fonts so make it easier for them by making them larger.
6) Conclusion or Summary
Various heat map studies have shown that while audiences will focus attention at the top of the page, skim through the entire post, their attention focuses back once they reach the bottom of the page.
That means your readers can easily skip through the entire post, scroll to the bottom and still get something from the post.
Take advantage of that by doing a quick recap or placing a call-to-action there. You could be even sneakier and place something there that would entice them to read the blog post if they skipped it.
7) Conversational Language
Generally, when it comes to blog posts, you will want to write like you’re talking to someone you know; as if you’re having the discussion over coffee. This means…
- Minimize the jargon
- Write simple sentences
- Write like you talk
In Conclusion…
These make your blog post easier to read! Check out Readability Score, which provides you with an average score and details the grade level readability of your post, simply by cutting and pasting your content onto their site.
Do you have tips of your own? Leave a comment below. As always, please share, like, tweet or plus this post if you found it helpful.
BTW… Of all these tips, #6 is my personal favorite. Care to guess why?
– Mercer
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