Attention is what visitors pay to your blog if they find your content creative, interesting, original and inspiring. However, one of the realities of blogosphere is that people don’t stay on any page for very long. But how do they understand that your content really rocks?
Usually, a Web user scans a page and decides within a few seconds if it’s worth staying on it and reading further or not. That’s why it is of vital importance to grab a reader’s attention by all possible means. The best blogs not only include amazing content, but they also look good. They invite visitors in to read more because they’re visually appealing. Fortunately, there are some easy tricks you can use to make your blog posts look great and grab visitors’ attention to your content.
Write a click-worthy headline
A catchy title is 80% of your success. If it’s catchy, intriguing or provocative, it will surely impel visitors to click on it and start reading. Don’t be afraid to experiment with titles on your blog and measure the feedback. You may make use of lists (Top 10, Best 5, Ultimate 7, etc.), How-To’s, showdowns (e.g., iPhone vs. Android). SEO specialists recommend you insert such words as killer, amazing, fantastic, surprising, staggering, tempting, unexpected, astonishing, remarkable, wicked, viral, or epic in order to play on readers’ emotions.
Use the right images
A good image can really save a not-so-good post. It’s an unwritten rule to insert a visual element at the top of each post. Additionally, you may add throughout the post in order to break up heavy text passages. Still keep in mind that your pictures should be directly related to your post, otherwise your readers probably ignore them. Besides photos, you can use screenshots, diagrams, charts, graphs, illustrations, and more. Just be sure to use images that are copyrighted in a way that allows you to legally publish them on your blog.
Structure with subheadings
Clear paragraphing will definitely improve the way your article is perceived. Use subheadings, so that your readers could scan through your content and find the sections that interest them. Subheadings also help avoid unnecessarily strained transition sentences between passages. Be sure that your subheadings correlate with the text following them.
Highlight the important stuff in bold
This simple and effective tool is unfairly often ignored by bloggers. Use bold to highlight points of special insight, but don’t abuse it. Bold isn’t good in the introduction, either, since it’s usually read by most visitors. It’s also a good practice to highlight the key findings of your article in bold.
About the author: Elena Vakhromova is an IT enthusiast and tech writer. She works at Freemake.com, a developer of free solutions for video conversion and YouTube to MP3 download.