6 Tips to Drive Blog Engagement Through Formatting
presentation is important
Small business and blogging go hand in hand. It's no secret that a blog centered around your expertise and experience is an excellent way to sell your personal brand.
But you already knew that.
Quality blogging is a great skill to have. I personally know quite a few bloggers with an amazing aptitude for creating great content who don't have the knack for making their blog, well, interesting.
It's not to say their written content isn't engaging -in most cases it is- but the way the information is presented (or the lack of presentation) makes the content hard to read. Uninteresting pages will bounce readers long before the bottom of the page.
I know not every blog platform is as easy to manipulate as Medium or Squarespace. However, this article is going to be more focused on ideas for presentation vs. actual technical implementation within a specific blogging platform.
Keep up-to-date with the Wheelhaus Blog for more technical posts down the line!
1. Breathing Room
No one likes clutter; give your content space! If a paragraph in your blog starts to lengthen beyond 5 lines (note: lines, not sentences), look for a spot to insert a natural line break.
This is important because people scan websites for the information they want. Breaking apart paragraphs into small, easy-to-read chunks eases the reading process for the user and will ultimately increase engagement with your blog.
The optimal paragraph length is around 2-5 lines. Remember: around 50% of web traffic comes from a mobile device and even a 2-5 line paragraph can (and will) take up much of a mobile screen. No one wants to scroll through endless words on their phone; keep your content clean!
2. Headers
Have clear sections in your topic? Writing a list?
Absolutely use massive headers like I did.
Headers are a natural way to break your content into sections. As a user scans your content, headers will clearly mark areas of pertinent information while attracting the eye further down the page. Keep your business blog visually interesting by incorporating a few headers here and there.
3. Sub-headers
While not always necessary, sub-headers, like headers, are great to use for breaking down particularly hairy topics. Sub-headers make it easy for the reader to parse out information quicker, thus keeping them interested in your content.
4. Images
Blog views by Percentage
Using images in your content is a great way to increase reader engagement. According to marketer Jeff Bullas, blogs that have images get 94% more views than blogs that don't. If your small business doesn't have a custom image set of its own, there are many great stock photo resources online. Here are a few of our favorite free stock photo sites: www.freeforcommercialuse.net, www.deathtothestockphoto.com & www.unsplash.com.
5. Navigation
While not actually regarding the format of your blog post, having clear navigation within your overall blog and/or site is a great way to engage your readers with other parts of your site.
6. Tags
Always tag your blog posts! All blog platforms have a form for tags. Tagging your posts allows potential readers to find you using those relevant terms. Example: Say you are blogging for a construction company and you just wrote a post on DIY closet renovation. You might want to tag that post with the (obvious) individual tags of DIY, closet, & renovation. You might also want to tag it with homeimprovements, and DIYprojects. Be creative and always try testing new tags. Using tools such as RiteTag can help you find relevant and even trending tags or topics.
Using correct, relevant tags is an important step in getting your blog post or small business found online.
Do you have any ideas for formatting blog posts or sites that you want to share? Email us at info@wheelhouseweb.com. Thanks for reading!
Xavier Brown [www.xaviermbrown.com]
To learn more about Wheelhouse Web Solutions or to schedule a consulting session for your small business or personal brand, visit us at www.wheelhouseweb.solutions.
Nope, not deja vu!
Here's the same list without any formatting to demonstrate how boring it would be.
1. Breathing Room
No one likes clutter; give your content space! If a paragraph in your blog starts to lengthen beyond 5 lines (note: lines, not sentences), look for a spot to insert a natural line break. This is important because people scan websites for the information they want. Breaking apart paragraphs into small, easy-to-read chunks eases the reading process for the user and will ultimately increase engagement with your blog. The optimal paragraph length is around 2-5 lines. Remember: around 50% of web traffic comes from a mobile device and even a 2-5 line paragraph can (and will) take up much of a mobile screen. No one wants to scroll through endless words on their phone; keep your content clean!
2. Headers
Have clear sections in your topic? Writing a list? Absolutely use massive headers like I did. Headers are a natural way to break your content into sections. As a user scans your content, headers will clearly mark areas of pertinent information while attracting the eye further down the page. Keep your business blog visually interesting by incorporating a few headers here and there.
3. Sub-Headers
While not always necessary, sub-headers, like headers, are great to use for breaking down particularly hairy topics. Sub-headers make it easy for the reader to parse out information quicker, thus keeping them interested in your content.
4. Images
Using images in your content is a great way to increase reader engagement. According to marketer Jeff Bullas, blogs that have images get 94% more views than blogs that don't. If your small business doesn't have a custom image set of its own, there are many great stock photo resources online. Here are a few of our favorite free stock photo sites: www.freeforcommercialuse.net, www.deathtothestockphoto.com & www.unsplash.com.
5. Navigation
While not actually regarding the format of your blog post, having clear navigation within your overall blog and/or site is a great way to engage your readers with other parts of your site.
6. Tags/ ID
Always tag your blog posts! All blog platforms have a form for tags. Tagging your posts allows potential readers to find you using those relevant terms. Example: Say you are blogging for a construction company and you just wrote a post on DIY closet renovation. You might want to tag that post with the (obvious) individual tags of DIY, closet, & renovation. You might also want to tag it with homeimprovements, and DIYprojects. Be creative and always try testing new tags. Using tools such as RiteTag can help you find relevant and even trending tags or topics. Using correct, relevant tags is an important step in getting your blog post or small business found online.
Do you have any ideas for formatting blog posts or sites that you want to share? Email us at info@wheelhouseweb.com. Thanks for reading!
Xavier Brown [www.xaviermbrown.com]
To learn more about Wheel House Web Solutions or to schedule a consulting session for your small business or personal brand, visit us at www.wheelhouseweb.solutions