Publishing a blog isn’t as easy as copying and pasting the text into a text field on whatever blogging platform you’ve chosen. I mean, I guess you could do that, but the results would be dismal.
Plain text is boring and intimidating, both of which will send readers running for the hills. By employing a few formatting tweaks, you can entice your readers to actually read the content you slaved over (Cha-ching!).
Provide Useful Headers
Headers serve multiple purposes:
- They help you (the blogger) organize your article for a well-written piece of penmanship.
- They provide entry points for your readers. If the reader isn’t enthralled with your opening lines, or he’s just skimming the blog as so many readers do, an informative or interesting section header can draw him in.
- They increase reader comprehension rates — this study says so!
- They are SEO-friendly. Headers help search engines read and understand what your content is about, which in turn helps the search engine deliver relevant results (the questions or search terms found in your headers).
So, to write an effective subhead, sum up what is discussed in the following paragraph(s) using the terminology your audience is searching for (keywords).
Include Compelling Visuals
People like being entertained. What’s entertaining? Visuals, be it photos, graphics or videos. Data shows that while readers get through only 60% of articles, readers will view 100% of visual content on a given page. In short: Include some sort of visual in your blog posts to increase views (and hopefully, reads).
Employ Bolding, Italics, And Hyperlinks
Bolded, italicized, and hyperlinked words grab a reader’s attention, breaking up the monotony of a paragraph. Bolding words clues the reader in on important takeaways; italics provide intonation and personality to the writing; and hyperlinks give supporting sources to your readers and boost SEO. Can you say triple threat?
Illustrate With Bullet Points And Lists
Bullet points and lists, like potato chips, are easy to consume. And like potato chips, readers can’t get enough.
As put by The New Yorker, “...lists tap into our preferred way of receiving and organizing information at a subconscious level; from an information-processing standpoint, they often hit our attentional sweet spot.”
And pleasing the reader, in the end, is what it’s all about. These tips will help you give readers content in an appetizing package.
Stay tuned for my next blog on creating blog topics that will keep readers coming back for seconds.
