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Oct 07 2019

Why Breaking Up Your Content And Making It Easy to Scan Is Important

Let me ask you something. How much content is thrown at you on any given day? It’s a lot, isn’t it? We’re bombarded by articles, social media posts, emails, podcasts, videos etc. We come across a lot more content than we could possibly consume any given day. And chances are that a lot of it is good stuff.

As a result, we’ve all gotten pretty good at scanning and then picking and choosing what we actually want to read, watch, or listen to. And that’s why it is important to break up your content and make it easy for your readers to scan through it.

If you can’t show them at a glance what the post is about, chances are pretty good that they’ll move on to something else. Here are a couple of different things you can do to break up your post and make sure it’s easy to scan.

Use Headlines and Sub-Headings

Take a look at this post. Do you see how I’m breaking the different elements of making a post easy to scan down into subheadings? You can do the same with your blog post. Think of the outline of your post. Each point in your outline could be a subheading. Start with those and then fill in the content.

Or if you prefer, start with the content and then go back and add the sub headings. Create the content and work in the subheadings in whichever way works best for you. The only important thing is that they are in there before you hit publish.

Keep Your Paragraphs Short

Reading online is a lot different than reading something on paper. Books, newspapers and magazines can get away with long paragraphs. Online it’s a different story. Text is harder to read on digital devices and our attention span keeps shrinking.

One of the most effective things you can do to keep your readers reading is to keep your paragraphs and sentences short. Don’t make it much longer than three or four lines.

Use Lists And Bold Important Key Terms

Next, you want to go through your content and see if there’s anything you can present in the form of a list.

  • Use a list instead of several related sentences.
  • Use a list to share examples.
  • A list is a great way to break things up and grab your reader’s attention.
  • Lists can be as long or short as you need them to be.

And let’s not forget about other formatting options. Bold important key terms, italicize them, or underline them for emphasis (please note, however, when you are reading something online, an underscore/underline may look like a link to something else). All of these formatting options make it much quicker and easier to scan a piece of text and figure out what it’s about without having to read every single word.

Pull Them In With Graphics

Last but not least, let’s talk about graphics quickly. A picture is one of the best ways to convey within seconds what your blog post is about and generate interest. Just scroll through your Facebook feed and look at what’s getting your attention. Or how about browsing through Pinterest? Images hook you and grab you in. They are also a great way to break up longer sections of text. Make sure you use them to their fullest advantage.

How do you break up the text in your blog posts/articles? Leave a comment below and let me know!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jace Downey says

    October 7, 2019 at 10:48 am

    Very helpful article! Thanks for breaking this down and making it easy to read!

    Reply
    • Paul says

      October 7, 2019 at 9:17 pm

      It better have been easy to read, right? How ironic would that be?

      Reply
  2. Roy A Ackerman, PhD, EA says

    October 7, 2019 at 11:01 am

    I rarely if ever use headings. My posts are short enough that paragraphs suffice. But, when I do elect to post a missive, then headings abound.
    Great advice, as usual, Paul.

    Reply
    • Paul says

      October 7, 2019 at 9:16 pm

      If headings and section breaks are not needed, no need to have them, although they do (technically) help with SEO. This is not always a concern for some folks. Thanks, Roy!

      Reply
  3. Bing says

    October 7, 2019 at 11:27 am

    agree 100% 🙂 I prefer medium-sized, no big chunks of paragraphs, posts.

    Reply
    • Paul says

      October 7, 2019 at 9:15 pm

      I think that is the case or most people, as well.

      Reply
  4. Camilla says

    October 7, 2019 at 12:17 pm

    Very good suggestions. I use some of these tips at work.

    Reply
    • Paul says

      October 7, 2019 at 9:14 pm

      Which ones, Camilla? Do they work for you?

      Reply
  5. Mary Ellen Zung says

    October 7, 2019 at 12:23 pm

    Thank you Paul. Always great info!

    Reply
    • Paul says

      October 7, 2019 at 9:14 pm

      Thanks! Any Questions?

      Reply
  6. Karen Sammer says

    October 7, 2019 at 4:25 pm

    Thanks for this Paul.
    I try to use smaller paragraphs and bullet points, especially when I have a lot of points to make.
    I don’t often have more than one graphic in my post so I may consider doing that as well.

    Reply
    • Paul says

      October 12, 2019 at 3:14 pm

      Changing up the text will also keep readers engaged. I have used bullet points as well as the plus sign (+) as my bullet points in some cases. The variety breaks up the content for your readers and will keep them reading longer (which is especially important on longer posts).

      Reply
  7. Pamela Schmidlin says

    October 7, 2019 at 5:16 pm

    It’s a different world than when I was young. Now I need to adjust to it! Shorter attention spans, harder to read texts.

    Reply
    • Paul says

      October 7, 2019 at 9:19 pm

      Yes! However, it is still audience dependant – if it fits your audience, do it!

      Reply
  8. Crystal says

    October 7, 2019 at 8:19 pm

    Great tips! Thank you 🙂

    Reply
    • Paul says

      October 7, 2019 at 9:18 pm

      You are welcome.

      Reply

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