Are you going to read this entire article?
Chances are, you will not. Want to know how I know that? Because my review of the statistics shows that only about 30% of people who view my articles read them. You may not be reading now. If that is the case, your eyes have moved on to the following bolded sentence. Or you have moved on to the following quote or highlight.
Why am I expanding on this?
Because you might be the one who does read it all, you will read through each line. Find the details that the skimmer does not find. You will get the gold below the silver.
If you are a writer (chances are you are a writer), you know the importance of formatting your posts. There are ways to format online content to make them both skimmable and readable for your audience.
I am going to show that to you today.
7 Tips To Help You Format Online Content
You need to have great formatting to keep readers around until the end. The best way to do that is through formatting. But, how do we consistently format our writing for the skimmers and the readers?
These are the seven things I try and do on every post. These tips can take you to an entirely new level with your online content. Are you ready to jump in and make your next article better?
№1 — Create More White Space
When writing online content, you need to create space. You see headings, subheadings, photos, page breaks, and quotes. When reading online, we are typically scrolling, so this will help people draw down the page.
The other thing is this: when reading, things look different on phones, desktops, and tablets. So, we need to create more space to compensate for these three different viewing types.
Next time you are putting together an article, find ways to create space.
№2 — Double Down on Your Quality
If you are writing something, make it solid. Give it a good story. Provide details. Even pack it with some trustworthy follow-up information. Heck, get some resources into those articles.
This helps engage the readers. The previous point was for the skimmers, but this is for you, the reader. It is always more enjoyable when there is solid content behind an article.
In your next article, add some meat to those posts.
№3 — Keep Your Writing Short
Short paragraphs, short sentences, and short titles. These are three of the things that will help you out. Now, you don’t have to keep your posts short. They can still be 1,000 words or more, but the rest must be brief.
Keep your sections short too. Do you see what I am doing in this post? Everything is short. It makes it easier for the readers and skimmers. Most of all, it makes it feel like the story is going somewhere.
Next time, shorten things up.
№4 — Get Their Attention with Authority
You need to add some emphasis to your articles! See what I did here. I added the bold to the line to get your attention. This can be super helpful if you have a lot of points in your post or have a lot of blocks of text.
The more you draw the readers and skimmer’s eye to your points, the better they will engage in your posts. Go back and read that. This will be super important over time.
Add some emphasis and get their attention with authority.
№5 — Break Things Up with Visuals
I tend to write with a lot of photos. But I have seen many people break up content with emojis lately. 🤷♂ I think it can go both ways. Though, I tend to be more picture-focused.
Some of the best content I have read has beautiful, relevant pictures. They don’t only have to be pictures. You can use Infographics, videos, or other visual elements.
Break your writing up with visuals.
No.6 — Start with a Format Template for Your Online Content
One of the most valuable things you can do is start with a template. Have a plan that looks like this when you are first starting:
- Title
- Subtitle
- Visual
- Bold one line sentence hook
- Story (3 paragraphs)
- Heading
- Visual
- Problem (2–4 paragraphs)
- Heading
- Solution (1 paragraph)
- Subheading (point one)
- Text (3 paragraphs)
- Subheading (point two)
- Text (3 paragraphs)
- Subheading (point three)
- Text (3 paragraphs)
- Visual
- Heading (conclusion)
- Text (2–3 paragraphs)
- Call to action
This is a great way to help make it easier to use the earlier tips and focus on creating content your reader and skimmer will want to engage with now or in the future.
No.7 — Make Your Content Shareable
I have found that it helps make my articles more shareable. Sometimes, that looks like pulling quotes that people can copy and tweet. It is about creating subtitles that people cannot help but share.
Whatever you do, make your content shareable. This is one of the ultimate forms of engagement. So often, you think it will be shared around the internet. Yet, no one shares it, and you are stuck with an article no one reads.
Add links, ask for shares (not in a pushy way), or format it so people can share easily.
Final Thoughts on the Format of Online Content
The way you format online content can make all the difference. Writing vast blocks of text with long sentences and minimal whitespace may be challenging to capture. And, the skimmer will pass by your article for something else.
But, when you take a little extra time, less than five minutes, you can format your post to engage more readers. This will help them to find helpful information. And ultimately help you grow your audience.
How do you format your posts? What has worked well? What hasn’t? Share a post of your own in the responses below.
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J.R. Heimbigner is a #1 Bestselling Author on Amazon who loves helping people grow in their faith, find productivity success, learn about investing, and help writers become authors. You can connect with him on Medium, his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and
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