Do you have the sneaking suspicion that no one actually reads your blog? If so, you’re not alone. Many healthcare marketers find it incredibly frustrating that they put forth the time and effort to carefully craft blog content that falls on deaf ears.Even if you have hundreds of website visitors, this doesn’t guarantee they’re actually reading your blog. In fact, a large number of users may land on your page and then immediately leave. (This is known as your page’s bounce rate.)
What’s driving visitors away? More often than not, it’s the layout of your blog—not the actual content. Of course, the content is extremely important; but the visual aspects of your blog will determine whether or not users stick around to consume the content.
Fortunately, there are a few formatting tricks you can use to ensure blog visitors are compelled to read your articles all the way to the end. Here are three ways to improve content formatting and amplify your blog:
#1: Create Scannable Content
If a visitor stumbles across your blog and sees nothing but a long, rambling page of text—all presented in the same font and style—they are highly unlikely to read it. Why? Because it probably reminds them of tedious textbooks they were forced to read back in school.
This is why it’s critical to create easily scannable content with lots of visual variety. In other words, break up your blog with:
· Boldfaced headers
· Italics
· Bullet points
· Whitespace
· Images
· Short blocks of content
A study by Nielsen/Norman group researchers proves that article formatting matters. Researchers reduced the amount of information in an article, shortened paragraphs and increased whitespace. Consequently, they boosted text comprehension by a 34% while reducing reading time by half.
#2: Be Bold. (Literally.)
In the blogging world, boldface is incredibly powerful.
When you incorporate bold content into your blog, you’re more likely to draw in your readers. Not only does it add some visual variety to your content; boldfaced text jumps off the page.
Still not convinced? Consider this: A study conducted by Poynter Institute revealed that when online users come across an article with a boldface introductory paragraph, 95% of them browse all or at least some part of it.
#3: Simplify with Subheads
It’s no secret that most of today’s online visitors have an incredibly short attention span. This is why it’s important to create easily digestible content readers can quickly skim.
One simple way to accomplish this is through the use of subheads. When a reader sees a blog with three or four subheads, it allows them to quickly scan and absorb the content.
Create intriguing subheads that compel readers to delve deeper into the text. While creativity is key, it’s also important to tie in your subheads with the headline and intro paragraph. If the subheads don’t make sense, you may lose your readers.
Amplify your healthcare marketing blog with these three easy formatting adjustments. When you serve up visually appealing content, visitors are more likely to stick around and actually read the content.
As an added bonus, the more time users spend reading your blog, the higher your page will be ranked in Google’s search results. This will give you even greater visibility online. It’s a win-win.