Bite-Sized Blogging Tips: How to Hook your Readers!

Business blogging tips how to hook readers  

How to hook your readers!

Remember what I told you last week about goldfish?

"Between 2000 and 2013 the average attention span dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds (one second less than the average attention span of a goldfish!)"

 

Your blog headline has done a great job and has enticed readers to click through and read your content.

Big tick in the first box!

However, it doesn't take much for readers to leave as quickly as they've arrived.  What can you do to reduce the risk of this happening?

There are certain tried & tested strategies professional bloggers use to hook their readers and ensure they don't click away.

How attractive is your blog?

First impressions really count; it's a visual thing.

"75% of people judge a site's credibility based on its visual appearance."

"A site's first impression is made within 50 milliseconds of loading." 

[via Thomas E. Hanna of BlogPhoto.tv]

The importance of a positive visual appearance doesn't just apply to websites.

Think about how we 'dress to impress' before attending a job interview.  Apparently it only takes someone a few seconds to form an opinion, either positive or negative, based purely on visual appearance.

According to an article in "Business Town",

"Social psychologists studying the impact of image have determined ... it takes [30 seconds] for someone meeting you to form a whole laundry list of impressions about your character and abilities."

How many of you have, like me, browsed through a book store and have wondered which of the latest paperbacks to buy?  Occasionally I've picked a book up and made a decision to buy it based on the short synopsis and how attractive the book cover is!

We make a lot of snap decisions based on visual appearances and this is what I'm going to cover with you in this week's video tutorial.

 

How to Make your Blog Visually Appealing

➣  Structure: organise your article into some kind of structure so that each section runs smoothly on to the next.

➣  White space: don't be afraid of leaving plenty of space on your blog so that it looks uncluttered and 'fresh'.

➣  Sub-headings: break down large blocks of text by dividing them into smaller paragraphs so that they're easier to digest.

➣  Bullet points & lists: I talked last week about how only about 20% of text is read on a web page.  We tend to 'scan' articles and pick out the salient points first; make it easy for readers to do so with the help of bullet points and numbered lists.

➣  Text size: use between 14 - 16 pixels for a comfortable read.

➣  Emphasis: don't forget to make use of CAPITALS, bold & italics for emphasis.

 

HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR BLOG

A messy, cluttered looking article is likely to put readers off straight away.

Consider using the graphic below as a rough guide so that each section of your article runs smoothly on to the next [feel free to download the image or print it off as a reminder].

Perfect Blog Structure

 

let's get some 'blog appeal'!

 

[embed]https://youtu.be/sMeDslQ_j2I[/embed]

 

Blogging Resources

(1)  Thomas E. Hanna, "BlogPhoto.tv"

Thomas is an awesome blogger; join his group of Insiders and receive free images every week as well as other blogging resources that will help get you noticed.

(2)  The Branded Solopreneur

Andrea Beltrami is an expert visual strategist and designer with a unique gift for producing branded images.

(3)  How to Create an Effective Business Blog

(4)  Click over to SlideShare to download a copy of the slides used in this week's presentation.

As always feel free to get in touch with me either via social media or email: it won't cost you a thing!

 

QUICK 'STRAW POLL' FOR BLOGGERS!

Forget about the General Election for a moment - just pick an answer which gives you the biggest headache or challenge when it comes to blogging!  I'll be incorporating the biggest 'headache' into one of my tutorials.

[polldaddy poll=8800086]


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