You've come up with a topic for your blog. The research is done. The
piece has been written, revised, and edited to perfection. You know it's
what your clients want, but is it user friendly? Will readers stay on
the page?
They will if you use some formatting techniques to separate your
content into easy-to-read chunks of information. Here are some tips to
make your blog visually interesting and informative.
- Use Sub-headings: The easiest way to separate
text in readable blocks is to bold sub-headings. They help web readers
scan most of what they read to find the sub-topics that interest them
the most. If the blog is longer than 500 to 600 words, using two or
three text sizes for sub-headings can alleviate reader loss of interest.
- Keep Your Posts Narrow: Columns should be 75 to 80 characters wide. Narrow columns are easier to digest.
- Use Images & Graphs: Experts recommend
that your post contain at least one piece of visual content such as an
image, video, or info-graphic. Images add visual interest and depth to
your post.
- Use Image Captions: When readers come to your
blog post, the first thing they notice is the headline. Adding captions
to your images helps hook visitors who aren't completely interested in
reading the content. The caption should also relate to the content of
the article. Image captions are as important as your headline so they
shouldn't be neglected.
- Bulleted Lists: Adding bulleted lists to your blog:
- Keeps readers who scan interested.
- Makes your points stand out.
- Are more likely to be read.
- Use Short Paragraphs: Blog readers don't want long dense blocks of words; they want short bits of information that they can digest quickly and easily.
- Bold Text: An entire piece in bold would be
too much, but using this technique to highlight important sentences
accomplishes a lot. Occasionally bolding a complete or part of a
sentence improves the experience for the reader and helps to keep them
on the page.
Formatting the perfect blog post is easy and can be done in about 15
to 30 minutes. Using just one or two of these suggestions will turn a
visually dull blog into one that captures readers and keeps them on the
page. Interested readers will remember your name, refer you to others,
call upon you when they need legal help, and help your business grow.
Roberta Gubbins has served as the editor of the Ingham County Legal News.
Since leaving the paper, she provides services as a ghostwriter editing
articles, blogs, and e-blasts for lawyers and law firms. She is the
editor of Briefs, the Ingham County Bar Association e-newsletter, and The Mentor, SBM Master Lawyers Section newsletter.
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