How to help ensure your content hooks your readers

[Michelle Bondesio]

To keep your readers (and potential customers) on your site and reading your content, the design and layout of your site should complement your content. This post covers
7 user experience principles that can help:

1. Start above the fold
2. Make the aesthetics digestible
3. Create scannable content
4. Be empathic to your audience
5. Create a loyal audience by conditioning them
6. Unique & separate mobile experiences
7. Take small incremental steps towards innovation

 

[Vinaya.Ghimire]

You need to have a great title
Your introduction needs to be great. First few sentence decide whether your article will be read or not.
Your article must be divided into sections that cover different aspects of the topic
Your article must be well presented. You must avoid too many product adds, links, instead add images and video

 

[setupdisc]

Those are useful tips Michelle; thank you for sharing. They might want to make an 8th tip: "Create recursive content value for your readers". The more helpful an article is, the better. If you can make it be more than a one-time topic of discussion and include features or information that people will need again, you create a constant of people needing that information again so that what you offer has value to the reader and retains relevance in the future just as it does today.

An extra bonus: Whenever you release new information or literature, your audience for the initial piece will remember the usefulness of what you wrote before. There's a positive psychological effect in this which automatically helps to condition the reader to see that what you offer will be of higher value than if they were to decide on someone else's contribution. Without the proven track record of someone else's work coming in handy for them as your content has, they'll usually want to select yours first if they have to choose between them.

That's about all I would add to that blog. Everything there is rock-solid, and I'm glad you shared it. Very helpful tips!

 

[eProject]

Don't mixup everything in one page, be specific. Have relevant material to what you are marketing. Don't have a site for baby products and yet you promote adult products. Also allow users to comment so that you can know on where to improve. Have relevant links to crucial and relevant material.

 

[dyanmarie25]

You have to come up with an attention-grabbing title for your content. You also have to make your post creative and informative to keep your readers interested. You may also want to put important keywords that are really relevant to your topic.

 

[Michelle Bondesio]

Thanks @setupdisc I thought it was a useful article too. I appreciate your additional suggestions. In the end, it's all about creating trust.

 

[bria1]

Make sure the content is fresh and new. A fresh new outlook on whatever your brand will be. Make sure you keep the readers interested in the content of the blog by keeping it interesting to look at with relevant ads as well. Every once in a while change up the look a bit place new stock photos or designs on your blog.

 

[briannagodess]

I find that I am a visual blog reader. I love seeing pictures of the products that are being reviewed. Or maybe the pictures of the places that I've been meaning to travel to. Pictures help me stay on a blog or site simply because they are appealing and catchy.

I also think that if an article or blog post has some humour in it, it gets my attention. I love reading posts that are light, funny and entertaining but at the same time, informative! If you can put all those factors in one article, I would surely love that article.

 

[ruener79]

I'm a visual reader, too. So, adding a picture or two in the post does help me focused on the article. I'm also big on just scanning things initially prior to reading the whole thing. One that puts me off are lengthy posts. Anything that takes a while to scroll or just makes me scroll down too long makes me discouraged from continuing reading. I guess it's just me, but a number between 5 and 7 makes me appreciate the brevity, and expect the post to be the same. So, if there's much to be covered, I suggest to deliver the post in two installments. That to me, achieves brevity and also gets the reader another reason to come back for the next installment. Of course, applying what everyone said about making sure quality is good is a very important ingredient to the Part 1 as it lays the groundwork for Part 2.

 

[Corazon]

To keep your readers (and potential customers) on your site and reading your content, the design and layout of your site should complement your content. This post covers
7 user experience principles that can help:

1. Start above the fold
2. Make the aesthetics digestible
3. Create scannable content
4. Be emphatic to your audience
5. Create a loyal audience by conditioning them
6. Unique & separate mobile experiences
7. Take small incremental steps towards innovation

I love the #5 in the list - creating a loyal audience by conditioning them - is a good marketing tool in creating customers from prospects. A viewer of your site or blog is naturally curious on the first time and a second time viewer means there is already interest. But having the third time viewer means it is already getting to be a habit maybe due to some reasons like giving them what they like to sustain their interest.

 

[djentre]

The simple test is whether something hooks you. At least that's how I do it. I always see if the title of the content hooks me. If it does, then I read the first para. If that hooks me, I ensure that all of my passages have a ton of whitespaces in them. No para is more than 3 lines long. If its a video, I make sure to keep it under 3 minutes and I keep it rolling.

 

[Jack Benoit]

Stаrt а соnvеrsаtiоn. Сrеаtе аuthоrity аnd thоught lеаdеrshiр with yоur соntеnt by dеmоnstrаting hоw yоur рrоduсts аnd sеrviсеs саn оffеr sоlutiоns tо yоur rеаdеrs' еvеrydаy рrоblеms. Thе idеа is tо bесоmе а trustwоrthy friеnd by рrоviding infоrmаtiоn thаt will hеlр mаkе thеir livеs еаsiеr.

Сrеаtе invоlvеmеnt. Whаt bеttеr wаy tо gеt yоur rеаdеrs invоlvеd thаn by insрiring thеm thrоugh thе соntеnt yоu аrе сrеаting? Bring sоmеthing асtiоnаblе аnd vаluаblе tо yоur rеаdеrs thаt will lеаvе thеm with а lаsting imрrеssiоn lоng аftеr yоur соntеnt hаs bееn rеаd.

Rерrеsеnt thе brаnd. Еnsurе thаt еасh рiесе оf соntеnt thаt is сrеаtеd sреаks thе sаmе in tеrms оf реrsоnаlity, stylе аnd аuthоrity. This tоnе аnd реrsоnаlity саn hеlр соnnесt rеаdеrs tо yоur businеss.

 

[Scooby Snack]

This is a great post, however it can't be forgotten that having awesome content is paramount. Gotta have some steak with that sizzle!