It is one thing to write great content. It is another to write content that people will actually read and enjoy reading. In order to get your readers to stick around and read more than just a few words from each page you put on your website, you have to keep them engaged and interested. There are a lot of ways to do that, here are some of the more important aspects.
Make it Flow
Before anything else, you have to write with proper grammar, and you have to make sure your writing is easy to read. This means you can’t bounce around from topic to topic and you can’t have any spelling or grammatical errors. When your readers sit down to read, they want each topic to lead right into the next. When that can’t happen easily, break your text into smaller sections.
Section it Off
Using headings to break apart your page of content does two things. First it helps the search engines to more accurately rank your website. But just as important, it helps your readers to figure out which parts of the text to focus their attention on. Let’s face it, sometimes we know 90% of the information, and we are just searching for that other 10%. Sectioning off your text let’s those who don’t need the whole article find just what they’re looking for.
Use Images
Large blocks of text are boring. The drier the content, the more breaks the reader needs to keep their attention. Images can provide those breaks, but often they provide even more than that. When you are writing about a person, place, or thing (as opposed to an abstract concept), the image helps with your description (1,000 words right?). If you have a very analytical concept a graph or chart can help explain things that would take you pages. Use those images, and tag them appropriately, to get your message across easily.
Call to Action
Readers come to learn. As we remember from our schooling, participation is half the grade. In order to drive home your point, ask the reader to take action on the topic. Instead of just throwing the information at their feet, send them off to make use of the information. For example: if you read this, tweet it or post it to your favorite social media and ask your readers for feedback. Do you (or they) agree? Notice I have social media sharing buttons that are quite prominent for this very purpose.
Keep It Simple
I often make my writing a bit longer than most people. The reason is that I would rather engage in those who are actively seeking to learn than those who are skimming and filling up their time. A few hundred word post is enough for SEO, and it is short enough for most people’s attention spans. However, I make it a point to keep mine posts to a minimum of 500 words (usually I shoot for 700-800). This keeps people around that are truly interested in the topic, and they are more likely to give me feedback on their own experiences. As a writer in Billings, Montana I am always looking for feedback to become better.
How do you keep your audience engaged? Do you have any other tips to keep your reader’s attention?