Every day I read lots of blog posts on many different topics.
Just a few short years ago, I used to read every word of the Email newsletters that arrived in my Inbox, as well as online articles and blog posts that I found interesting. I learned a lot that way.
But now I find my online reading habits have changed. Because there’s such a mass of material to get through each day, I tend to scan first to determine if the content is interesting enough to read in its entirety.
My heart sinks when I come across blog posts that appear never-ending, or are written in a small sized font. If I don’t know and respect the author from previous articles, my response is to click away – I can’t be bothered to invest the time and eye-strain it would take to read every word. I don’t think I’m alone in this attitude.
Your blog may look great to you, but remember that you’re writing it for your readers first and foremost! They’re the ones who need to be able to read it easily – or they’ll give up and not return.
What I’ve noticed is that there are certain essential elements to writing for the online reader to ensure they don’t click away too soon.
- Short, conversational sentences are better than lengthy academic or over-wordy prose.
- Long paragraphs should be broken up to give the reader a chance to pause at the white spaces.
- Bullet points are invaluable for the scanners and help them get the ‘bones’ of the article straight away as well as to decide if they want to read it full.
- Very long blog posts or articles are better broken up into shorter articles or, if that isn’t possible, they can be made easier to read by inserting sub-headings at intervals.
- Use fonts, type sizes and colours that are easy to read. Don’t give your readers a headache!
I hope this has been helpful. Now, I’d better go and check if I’m using these tips on my own blog!
