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According to the Nielsen Norman Group, the average person spends less than a minute reading content on a webpage. How long does it take you to decide whether you’re going to stay on this blog and explore the depth of what we have to say? Research shows it takes the average person only 10 to 20 seconds to make a decision. That leaves us very little time to caption your attention.
If your audience has made it to the second paragraph, then you have successfully created an interesting header and opening paragraph. Now, what can you do to make your content attractive and easy to read? How do you keep your audience captivated? We’ve put together a few tips to help you captivate and keep your audience.
Make It Scannable
With the advancements in social media, everyone has a voice. Each person has a story to tell and a platform to share it on. With so much content floating around, it’s crucial your blog contains scannable content. No one truly reads what you have to say anymore. Subheadings and bold lettering help break your content into scannable chunks, plus it adds a fun flare to formatting.
Keep Paragraphs Short
A blog that is 400-600 words with three to four lines per paragraph is ideal. Not only are short paragraphs scannable, but they are actually readable. The mind is made to only remember important information. When your audience is presented with little information, they feel that it is important facts rather than fluffy opinions.
Use Lists
Bulleted or numbered lists are fun to write and read. More than that, they also help break up the monotony of long paragraphs. Your readers will appreciate your use of them. Here’s why you should use lists:
- They’re scannable
- Short, but packed with information
- They give teasers to the blog
Visual Aids
Having a blog with visual aids makes sense when over half of all people are visual learners. Not to mention that a large percent of all information that enters the brain is visual. It doesn’t matter if you use images, videos, or memes. If it’s visually appealing, your audience will stop to see what information it is promoting.
Easy Navigation
When website navigation is concerned, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. Your business, your goals, and your audience will affect your overall strategy and how people will engage with you. You want your viewer to feel comfortable and calm when on your website or blog.
Interviews
Interviews will provide a broad range of expert information to your blog. They help collect valuable information, as well as add credible sources to your content. If you’re blogging about your own services or products, then offering second opinions supporting your ideas adds extra credibility. Your viewers are more likely to keep visiting your blog when they have more opinions to review.
If you want expert advice on making your content easy to read, contact us at Quill Marketing. We write quality content for a variety of top-notch industries and have statistics with proven success. To get started with Quill Marketing, check us out online by clicking here.