Top Tactics for Creating Readable Content

BY Kathy Crosett
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In this age of video ads and podcast marketing, should your clients bother to create content that targets readers? Claire Wilson, writing for Marketingprofs​.com, says yes. Here are tips you can use if you’re writing content for clients.

We live in an era of short attention spans. If you want to capture someone’s eyeballs and their attention, you have eight seconds to succeed. The best content starts with a great headline and continues to hold attention from there.

Headline

To create an attention-​getting piece of content, get your headline just right. Readers want to know what they’ll get from the article or post. In eight or ten words, tell them what the article is about. You can also set the tone with a headline, ranging from serious or humorous. Or you can post a question that readers desperately want to know the answer to.

Introduction

If you succeed in luring readers with your headline, you have to keep their attention in the article introduction. Is there a new piece of information you can use in your leading sentence? Something people haven’t heard before? Consider writing short sentences in your introduction. Simple phrasing can make a point and it won’t confuse readers who may be only halfway paying attention.

Article Layout

Readers will back away from dense passages of text that look like they're cut from a Charles Dickens novel. Online reading is a visual experience. Give your readers white space. Highlight your main points with paragraph headers. Doing so will encourage your audience to step through the article logically.

Provide Helpful Tools

Blog design tools allow you to incorporate helpful features into your article design. For example, readers appreciate knowing the average read time that is posted on many posts these days. You can also place one sentence at the top of your article which summarizes the main point you’re making.

If you’re selling marketing services, talk with your prospects about the content design tactics discussed in Wilson’s article. Share examples of articles created by your company and explain how you can help prospects increase their ROI by focusing on elements designed to attract readers and to be memorable.


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