4 Ways to Improve Your Blog’s Readability

ByGary

July 24, 2011 , ,

If you feel like your blog needs improvement, and you’ve been tinkering with various different aspects of your blog in terms of design and layout, then maybe it’s time to go back to the basics. Consider thinking about your content and its style. One of the major concern for all bloggers including myself is to be able to attract and retain new readers, yes repeated visitors are what we should be aiming at don’t get me wrong we new new visitors but keeping the ones we have is just as important.Here are a few tips to help you:

1. Always spend lots of time on the first one or two sentences.

Although it is not novel advice to have a “hook” for any piece of writing you work on, something to draw your readers in, I’m amazed at how few bloggers take this advice to heart. When you are writing any blog post, go back when devising a second draft to make sure your first statement packs a real punch. Do the same for your last few sentences.

2. Make sure that each blog post builds tension throughout.

Unfortunately, Internet writing was not designed to be read like, say, novel writing. A reader is never obliged to finish an entire blog post, but if your desire is such that you actually want your readers to finish the entire post, there needs to be a rhythm that keeps them reading till the end. Start off with a bang, yes, but don’t put all your best tricks out there at the beginning. Make your reader anticipate something rewarding in the end.

3. Don’t just shorten your paragraphs; vary your sentence structure.

Many bloggers will advise other bloggers to write short paragraphs so that readers are not overwhelmed when they see big blocks of text. Of course, it’s probable that you have already done this. But there are other more general ways to make your blog more readable. For example, making certain sentences short, and mixing it up with a long sentence every once in awhile is a great way to keep your writing fresh. Also try out different ways of structuring your sentences.

4. Don’t focus just on keywords in your title.

Of course, it’s definitely important for SEO purposes to place keywords in your title, as well as in the post. But don’t obsess over keywords to the detriment of good writing. If you want your readers to read your blog posts, they have to see the title, and there interest must be piqued before clicking and reading in the first place. As such, you should be sure that the title accurately reflects what you discuss in your post, but also give it a little bit of flair. Make it funny, or make it outrageous and controversial.

Improving your blog writing, of course, is not done overnight. At the same time, however, if you want to increase the chances of your readers reading more of each blog post you publish, then take these tips into consideration, and implement them slowly but surely.

ByGary

37 thoughts on “4 Ways to Improve Your Blog’s Readability”
  1. >>>3. Don’t just shorten your paragraphs; vary your sentence structure.

    This is an unusual tip that I think everyone should definitely consider. I know I certainly pay attention to the way the text *looks* spread across the page… I’m not sure that most people writing online, bloggers or not, pay much attention to this.

    Large blocks of text full of run-on sentences, repetitive words and phrases can turn off readers and discourage them from reading your entire article. This effect is often subliminal and therefor remains under-considered!

  2. Thanks for sharing this info. Number two is a big challenge:”2. Make sure that each blog post builds tension throughout.” Sometimes, we tend to write very lengthy and comprehensive posts. So sometimes, it’s all about how it is written. Even if it’s really informative but if it’s boring, readers will just close it.

  3. Patricia,
    These are good tips for anyone writing for the web. There have been several studies that show people read ‘differently’ online, however many people interpret this to mean they must dumb-down their content. I do not think this is what we need to do. We should make sure we give quick reads that are informative and designed for the web. Great writing is still a must! Justin

  4. Very nice tips. It was very informative and i applied too. This worked awesome. Great thanks for the information i hope it is useful for every blogger.

  5. Nice post Lawmacs. All the elements are very important to consider however mostly people gives much attention to keywords which makes them problems on the other sides of blog. so its important to keep all these things go together. to the point blog and writing also bring interest to readers to read till the end.

  6. Hi Patricia.

    Nice tips and thanks for sharing. I agree with the point to build some tension and excitement on the way. The length of paragraph may not matter much if it is well crafted

  7. These four ways of improving blogs readability are very helpful specially for those bloggers. The people will get to know your blog and will find time reading your blog if you follow these four ways.

  8. Patricia, i really like this article it helps me a lot on how to improve my self in working.there are some people who doesn’t know how to improve there blogs with your article it helps a lot.

  9. Another tip, select a theme that has minimalist design and content focus blog design, font that is readable as well with colors. Always rewrite your first 2 sentence and use images that relates to your article.

  10. These are great tips and tricks for the blog. It seems that writing a blog is just like writing a book. Attention of the readers should be kept, various stylistic figures should be used, we must stray from cliches, because everybody hates these threadbare phrases. Genuine style, 🙂 new words 🙂 the key to success.

  11. This is great information for anyone writing on the web. It can be hard to find a way to get people reading. I think building tension is the best way. And I also agree with the importance of the first 2 sentences. It’s usually after these 2 where people determine whether they keep reading or move on. Great post.

  12. I totally agree with the first aspect. Having a compelling headline is what makes people stay and get to read the rest of your post. It is the most important thing we bloggers,internet marketers should consider if we want to grab audience for our sites.

  13. I’d also like to add… don’t make them too long. This Blog is about the maximum length in my book, any more and I wouldn’t bother reading it.

    When i write blog posts and articles i write what i think, then delete half of it to make it palatable for the reader.

    Ceratain aspects can always be expanded on in other posts, which is perfect for the blogosphere 🙂

  14. That’s great really … I was not clear about blog commenting still the time i saw your blog, its really neat and all the points you gave are really appreciable ..thanks for the great job . keep posting , i ll follow.

  15. In writing a blog you need to catch eye and the taste of the reader which is your audience. You did a good research on respective topics and this will result in this nice posting. I always salute the hard bloggers. Please come with more information.

  16. This is very helpful! Thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely follow this suggestions in order for me to gather more readers and keep my blogs in good shape.

  17. Tag line should be more elegant it should be capable to bring visitor again to website & stay them for more time. This is beneficial for bloggers. Increase blog readability by sense of taste of subscriber & their interests.

  18. The idea of changes the techniques of writing is great. But no matter how long or short the sentence is the usage of simple and meaningful word is necessary. Read and check the content continuously until you get satisfied by content because when you don’t feel the content you have written is perfect then what’s the meaning of putting that for reading other people.

  19. Great work Patricia!

    You touched about making sure that your last sentences pack a punch. I believe you were talking about the call to action.

    Also, it wouldn’t hurt if you throw in a humorous anecdote or two or a punchline here and there, a pun once in a while to keep it light.

  20. Being expert in one specific niche is not just enough we need to represent our expertise in our writing as well. People would come to know about your skills unless they would read the entire blog. Having good Headline which motivates them to start reading and keeping the first sentence or paragraph impressive would do fine job of improving readers interest.

  21. First do research in your niche and write article at international criterion of the writing. You will get a lot of response.

  22. These are great ideas. And like some people are saying in the other comments, you have to think about keeping your texts in smaller blocks, so you don’t scare the less motivated reader.

    Ps. Feel free to check out my total development blog, where i have posted several posts on personal development. I am 100% certain it will be of use to you.

  23. Recently I often find that you share content on television and it is more attractive, I began to consider it when the first track and I found your story very attractive I, many times I’ve been waiting to feel and learn more about the stories you write, it was so good and worthy of all interested persons including me.

  24. This is one of the most incredible blogs Ive read in a very long time. The amount of information in here is stunning, like you practically wrote the book on the subject. Your blog is great for anyone who wants to understand this subject more. Great stuff; please keep it up!

  25. Thank you for your information, I was introduced this website by my friend. At the first time, I have no interest but my curious make me feel more and excited. Now I often play free online games because it’s quite interesting, let try it.Noone can learn everything without learning or sharing anything. This is difficult like the way to paradise.

  26. Noted the points you focused on. I am new Blogger and trying to help my Blogging Skills. Your instructions helps me a lot.

  27. Yes, add me to your mailing list. These are great ideas. These are good tips for anyone writing for the web. Read and check the content continuously until you get satisfied by content because when you don’t feel the content you have written is perfect then what’s the meaning of putting that for reading other people.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Good things come to those who sign up for our newsletter
Join our email list to get the latest blog posts straight to your inbox
SUBSCRIBE
Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime.
close-link
DON’T MISS OUT!
Subscribe To Newsletter
Be the first to get latest updates and exclusive content straight to your email inbox.
Stay Updated
Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime.
close-link
Get the week’s best articles right in your inbox
Subscribe
Join 15K subscribers
close-image
Verified by MonsterInsights