Have you ever clicked on an article and it looked more like a textbook than a blog post and you immediately exited?
Don’t worry- everyone has done this!
Making your blog posts readable is incredibly important for having an enjoyable blog. People want helpful information but they also want that information to be easy and fun for people to read.
Having readable content increases how often people share your content, how likely they are to read all the way through, and helps the chances that they will return to your website in the future.
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Tip 1) Plenty of white space
White space is the best indicator that you aren’t writing too long of paragraphs.
Long paragraphs are not internet reader friendly and they can cause potential readers to close out of your post before they even start reading it.
Do not be afraid to generously use white space in your articles. If a sentence is helpful on it’s own then don’t feel that you need to elaborate and make it into a full paragraph.
Just hit enter and move onto the next thing.
White space also can help provide emphasis on more important things. For example, if you really want to emphasize something you can leave more than one line of white space before and after it. This will really emphasize the importance of the word or sentence and draw your readers eye to it.
Tip 2) Easy to read fonts
Do not get caught up with fun fonts. Use fonts that are easy for your readers to read on any device.
A few tips for this:
-Use black font unless you need to use color very occasionally for a very important reason. And if you do use that color font make sure it is one that is readable.
-Be aware of font sizes. Remember that a lot of people read blog posts on phones and tablets.
-Font matters on your info graphics and any other visual aids. Having easy to read and see font is just as important on pictures as it is for the whole article.
This is extra important in posts like Instagram Content Calendar for Bloggers where the article is based around a graphic.
Tip 3) Use a lot images
Images create a visual break in words as well as bring a lot of visual appeal to your post.
They not only break up your post in an easy to read way but images also gives you an easy to read way to organize your posts.
Bonus! Images are a great way for your audience to share your articles. So make sure you always have at least 2 very shareable images on your post.
One of the best ways to have usable images is to get a better quality camera than just your phone. Highly recommend!
Tip 4) Use bullet points/lists
Bullet points and lists are the easiest way for your readers to consume your content.
It organizes your post in a way that is appealing to a reader when they first open your post up.
Lists and bullet point also gives you a natural and easy way to organize your post and provides a clean and natural flow that is both easy for you to write and for others to read.
Posts like 10 Things To Start Every Month Right, 50 Ideas For Self Improvement, and 8 Essential Habits of Organized People all show great examples of this if you need some inspiration!
Tip 5) Emphasize important words
Emphasizing important words has 2 benefits.
Benefit 1- it draws the readers eye in a readable way to important points. Ensuring that you are able to get the most important information across even if a reader is just skimming the post.
Benefit 2- it breaks up longer paragraphs. If you have a piece of information that makes the most sense to be in a longer paragraph it is helpful to your readers to bold, underline, or italicize important words.
Tip 6) Keep the word count approachable
This can be a bit of a double edge sword so approach your word count with caution and your goals in mind.
It is generally accepted that people enjoy reading articles that are 800-1000 words. However, in general it is believed that Google’s SEO calculations prefer longer 1500-2000 word posts.
With that information in mind I find it is best to aim for the middle and try to keep your posts around 1000 words.
Sometimes a post has a lot of information and requires more than 1000 words and sometimes you will need less words like on a very image heavy article. Just try to keep those ranges in mind!
Tip 7) Write for your audience
The final tip for making your blog posts readable is to always keep your audience in mind.
If you write primarily academic blog articles then some aspects of a readable post like the paragraph link may be less helpful. You need to know WHO you are writing to and what the audience wants and likes from your site.
If you are not totally sure what your audience wants or likes then ask them! Ask for feedback in your posts and do polls on your social media. Knowing your audience is super helpful for every aspect of blogging.
Struggling with what to write after you get all the awesome insight on your audience? Then it’s time to read How To Brainstorm Blog Post Ideas and 15 Blog Post Ideas For Any Niche.
Best of luck bloggers! Leave any questions about writing readable posts or blogging in general in the comments!
Very helpful, thank you
Thanks so much! These tips are very useful in this era!!!