Keep Blog Articles Short and To the Point
One objective of the blog publisher is to keep the attention of their audience. Given that we’re all stretched for time and increasingly looking for a quick answer to a specific question, brevity in blog articles is key. Of course you may argue that certain technical discussions require longer articles, and I would agree that there are exceptions. However, for the vast majority of articles, short and sweet is the way to go!
What’s the appropriate length?
The average reading pace is between 250 – 300 words per minute and one minute sounds like just about the right length of time to keep the attention of a typical reader on the Internet. Sure, some professional writers can spit out 1000 words in a few minutes, but who has time to read that! Just look through your inbox at work – how annoying are all those long messages?
How do I get my message across?
It shouldn’t take several hundred words to get you ideas across if you keep a few rules in mind. First, have a rather narrow topic and don’t stray from the topic as you write. This is easier said than done, but with practice you’ll learn how to focus on one point and support your argument with interesting fact and tidbits for the reader. Second, break the content down into bite sized pieces so that it’s easy to consume and even scan with a glance. In reality, no one will read your articles if they can’t get a quick read on overall message.
Some tricks to make your content digestible
- Use bold headings for titles
- Use bullet points to illustrate lists of information
- Underline, italicize, or color keywords to draw attention and highlight important concepts
Well, gotta run – my 298 words are up!
