Top Ten Tips
People rarely read blogs and web pages word-by-word. Instead, they scan the page for meaningful words and phrases. One researcher discovered that only 16% read word-for-word word, while 79% scanned any new page they came across.
Uh oh. What does that mean for those of us who are long-winded bloggers? It means that when we’re composing our posts, we need to consider the habits of our readers more frequently than we do. Since the stats reveal that readers are in a hurry, we'd better give them something to grab onto—before they silently click away.
Scannable Text Employs . . .
1. Colorful images
People rarely read blogs and web pages word-by-word. Instead, they scan the page for meaningful words and phrases. One researcher discovered that only 16% read word-for-word word, while 79% scanned any new page they came across.
Uh oh. What does that mean for those of us who are long-winded bloggers? It means that when we’re composing our posts, we need to consider the habits of our readers more frequently than we do. Since the stats reveal that readers are in a hurry, we'd better give them something to grab onto—before they silently click away.
Scannable Text Employs . . .
1. Colorful images
2. Meaningful headings and sub-headings
3. Numbered lists or
4. Bulleted lists
5. One idea for each short paragraph (1-3 sentences long)
6. Shorter sentence length (10-16 words)
7. Highlighted keywords
8. Lots of white space
9. 2-3 pages of content (maximum) and
10. Starts with the conclusion
Daniel at Daily Blog Tips says, "Internet users are natural multi-taskers. It is very likely that they will browse your site while editing a document in Word, chatting with some friends via instant messaging software and so on. As a result they need to filter and scan specific information on your site easily; [or] else they will just go somewhere else."
Related
● How Users Read on the Web
● F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content
● About Blogging—Be a Blogger, Not a Writer
Write-Away Contest
Michelle at Scribbit is hosting another writing contest this month. Deadline is March 19, 2008. This month’s topic is "The Next Twenty Years." Discover the contest details and learn about the exciting Alaskan prize here.
Daniel at Daily Blog Tips says, "Internet users are natural multi-taskers. It is very likely that they will browse your site while editing a document in Word, chatting with some friends via instant messaging software and so on. As a result they need to filter and scan specific information on your site easily; [or] else they will just go somewhere else."
Related
● How Users Read on the Web
● F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content
● About Blogging—Be a Blogger, Not a Writer
Write-Away ContestMichelle at Scribbit is hosting another writing contest this month. Deadline is March 19, 2008. This month’s topic is "The Next Twenty Years." Discover the contest details and learn about the exciting Alaskan prize here.
Or, join the monthly Carnival of Christian Writers.
Up Next—Why Did God Require Animal Sacrifices
in the OT?
Honestly, do you read long chunks
of text word-for-word?
in the OT?
Honestly, do you read long chunksof text word-for-word?
Photos: Jemsweb, Yoosuf (Flickr)
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14 Comments:
Good stuff. Pictures and short posts are sooo important.
I taught a class on blogging and I told them, "If you're inclined to be long winded, break it up into 2 or 3 posts."
Thanks for the contest tip.
I agree with Jan P.
The honest truth is I do not read long-winded posts and I do tend to skim for the good parts like the researcher said.
Thanks for mentioning me, I really appreciate that.
Lol no, in fact when I see a long winded post I think "oh no!". Which is ironic because I have often been the queen of long winded posts! ;)
Hi E-mom,
This was great. Gosh, you are always thinking of ways to bless and encourage us. Teach us too!
I must say, when I see a lot of writing and there is no spaces, I think, "oh no..."
Your blog is the perfect example of what I enjoy reading.
Thanks!
This was a great reminder...I certainly have been guilty of being long-winded in my posts a time or two! ;) In the back of my mind, though, I am thinking "just cut it short and quite rambling!"...I just don't always heed that!
But I'm working on it...because to be honest, I don't always have time to read others' very long posts either. I do, from time to time, though...if I'm not in a rush and it's a topic that's interesting or a very good blogging friend. But it's true that most of the time I will probably skim!
I just read your party post below...and I had forgotten that this year is your 30th anniversary! Congratulations...I am hoping for a special anniversary post from, emom! :)
BTW, you are such a blessing to the blogging community, dear friend!
LOL... I just realized I got long-winded in my reply about being long-winded! :D
I do read long blogs! I feel like it's a loyalty thing and I should take the time to read whatever someone has poured their heart into... but I also will skip them until I have more time. So if I open a page and scan down to see how long it is, I will close the page until a time when I have more time to devote to the thoughts.
No wonder I can't do all the blogs, I have to limit myself.
This is such fantastic information! I am a scanner. I admit it but sometimes I find a post, like this one, that I have to read word for word. And I am at times windy and I can often tell if a commenter had read it or is just stopping by to say hi. Thanks so much for sharing!
God Bless!
OK to be honest, not really. If I like the heading and the topic is interesting to me, I read all of it.
Take your post on organization. I read all of it plus all of the comments because it was something I was interested in. I took it to heart and am working on my house.
Anyway, that is the way I read blogs.
Love,
Lori
Depends...I read some long winded bloggers and do scan if it's More of The Same; however, if it's an interesting, deep topic, I won't miss a word. But I REALLY appreciate paragraph breaks and white space and graphics/pictures.
WOW! That's really something to "chew" on. GREAT information.. I'm DEFINITELY one with short attention span. That probably shows in my posts. LOL!
Oh, I really enjoyed your blog party too. =-)
Have an AMAZING weekend...
Love,
Tonya
I love your blog!!!! It's soooo helpful!
I need this. I'll be referring to it often. You know I'm way too long winded on my blog posts. I'll be trying to impliment these helpful points more often.
Thanks a million!
Sheila
Jan: You're a wise woman: Yes, divide long posts into two or three entries!
DebD: Yes, I think most of us skim for the good parts. :~D
Scribbit: You're welcome.
Sarah: LOL! We're all guilty of long-windedness from time-to-time. :~D
Susan: Thanks for your vote of confidence. I certainly can learn from these tips too. :~D
Tammy: LOL, love your humor. You use photos well. They do break up long posts. And thank you for your kind remarks. :~D
Connie Marie: You're a true gem. Thanks for being so patient with our longer posts. (I do understand how that can limit the number of blogs you read.) :~D
Kathleen Marie: You raise an excellent point. Sometimes it's OK just to stop by to say "Hi." I like that!
Lori: Whoo Hoo! I'm pleased you found the post on home organization useful. The commments really were helpful too, weren't they?
Thanks for pointing out the value of good headings and sub-headings. :~D
Jennifer: I tend to agree with you. I do appreciate longer "meaty" posts if they are well broken up.
Tonya: Thanks for stopping by! Bless you. :~D
Sheila: As I mentioned to Jennifer above, your posts are full of "meat" and that's a bonus. You do a lot deep thinking and that's very evident. :~D
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