Most People Skim and Don’t Read
If you’ve put a lot of effort into your blog, you want people to read it. The problem is, though, that most people don’t. Roughly half of visitors will skim the blog post instead of reading it fully. They’re looking for quick information that’s relative to their problem. Let’s dig into what works and how to solve their problems while providing value; it all starts with shortening your intro paragraph (you jump right past the garbage on those recipe websites, nobody needs that long intro).
The Basics of a Skimmable Blog
The average reader spends about 37 seconds on a blog. That’s the unfortunate reality we’re in. Attention spans are tiny, and even reading for a few minutes is too much for a lot of people. It doesn’t matter how witty and amazing your writing is, the skimmers are looking for quick information.
To ensure they’re getting the value (which builds trust and inspires return visitors) keep these points in mind.
Clear Structure – Using H2/H3 headings allow readers to jump around, skip past the stuff they know and get to the good stuff. You have to ensure you’re not packing in too much information between headings. Highlight the juicy stuff with bold or italics, and use visuals to break up text.
Early Value – When you’re looking for a great lasagna recipe, you don’t need 1,000 words of the author’s year living in Tuscany. Make it quick, give them value early, and put a “what you’ll learn” in the opening so they’re not disappointed.
Scannable Format – Break up those big old blocks of text. Best practices mean about 150 words between headings (you can bump that up if you use separate blocks like I’m doing here). Try to include bulleted lists – reader and search engines love them.
Signposts – A sign post is a little extra bit that shows why it’s important. You’ve seen them in textbooks, a block to the side that says “Key Takeaway” or a little graphic breaking things up that says “Why this matters…” These break up the text and help readers get the juicy details.
Mixed Depth – If your blog post is quite long, those quick takeaways provide the surface level details, but then people can dive in deeper for more understanding. You can even put in “jump links” that will let skimmers go right to the content they want (again, those recipe websites).
An Example of Writing for Skimmers
What’s a good example? Well, what are you reading right now?
- An intro, or hook, that is short and tells you what you’ll get out of this.
- A short section on why it matters.
- A list of the key components.
- A numbered list that shows off the things to keep in mind.
- A checklist you can use and apply today.
- A “what do I do now” part of the blog.
There’s more that can be done here. If I had a ton of information and details on any of these sections, I could write a separate blog and link saying something like “Take a deep dive into why skimming matters” and link to a more robust page. For now, let’s keep your writing on task.
Checklist for How You Did
Because I’ve put together a short list of how you can analyze your own writing.
- Did I write a compelling intro with less than a hundred words?
- Did I include a teaser of “what will you learn?”
- Are my headings spaced no more than 150 to 200 words?
- Are my paragraphs short, just 2 to 4 sentences?
- Did I include numbered or bulleted lists instead of longer paragraphs?
- Is key information bolded or otherwise highlighted (this helps with SEO too)?
- Did I include a summary box?
- Did I include visuals to break up the text?
- Is there a deeper reading section for those who like to linger?
You don’t have to hit ALL of these every time, and sometimes you simply can’t get this exactly on point. But if you hit these key points and come close, you’ll cater to the skimmers.
Don’t Have the Time to Write for Skimmers?
And finally, for those that skim this and think, “That sounds like a lot of work!” I have a great solution.
Hire a professional writer.
I’m here to take work off your plate. That means you can get back to doing the aspects of business you love, while not worrying about the badass content that people are reading. Let’s see if we’re a good fit. Pick some time on my calendar to talk about your goals.