How to Format Your Blog Posts for Better Engagement
When posting an article to your company blog, you can expect that many people will skim the content rather than read it word for word. With this in mind, it’s helpful to format your blogs in specific ways so that they keep readers engaged and encourage them to follow through with specific actions, such as filling out a form or clicking on a link to subscribe. Below are some simple tips that will help you format your blog posts for easy skimming and better engagement from readers.
Start With a Strong Title
Blogs need catchy titles to pique readers’ interests and quickly communicate the information you’re going to share. Research shows that blog titles with 6-13 words attract the highest traffic. This gives you just enough space to grab your readers’ attention without going overboard. If you want your article to rank for a specific keyword, include it in the title. Also make sure that the title accurately represents your content.
Make Your Post Skimmable
Readers want to immediately find a solution to their problem, so organize your post in a way that makes it easy to skim over. This includes breaking up sentences and paragraphs to increase white space on a page, using bullet points to share key information, applying headers and subheaders to provide structure, and bolding or italicizing noteworthy facts or takeaways.
Include a Table of Contents
A table of contents lets the reader know what is included in your blog post so they can get a feel for how it’s organized and the topics covered. This allows readers to jump around to the information they need, rather than having to scroll past content they won’t find valuable. For the best results, hyperlink your table of contents to each corresponding section.
Add Compelling Visuals
Did you know that views increase by 94% when visuals are added to a post? Visuals can include anything from high-quality images and videos to informational charts, graphs, and infographics. Not only do these visuals break up the post, but also they make the content easier to digest. Be sure to include a featured image at the top of the post, and then sprinkle additional supporting visuals throughout the text.
Include Relevant Links
Internal and external links show readers where they can find more information, and they also help with search engine optimization. Additionally, hyperlinks stand out from the rest of the text since they appear in a different color, inspiring readers to pay closer attention. You can even add links to promote your products and other blog posts.
Highlight Your CTA
Calls to action should be easy to spot within your blog post. They tell readers what they should do next, such as filling out a form for a consultation or buying a product. Choose a different font from the rest of your text, as well as contrasting colors and buttons to make the CTA stand out. You can post the CTA at the end of your post, in the opening paragraph, or even as a pop-up.
Strengthen Your Blog Posting Strategy Today!
Creating blog posts takes time, but they are worth the effort, as they increase web traffic, build authority, increase brand awareness, and improve SEO, among many other things. For help with your content marketing strategy, set up a consultation with KBDC, Inc. We can help with all of your content needs, giving you more time to focus on other aspects of your business!