There are 10 of us reading this article right now. But in just a few minutes, only 2 of us will still be reading.
On average, users only read about 20% of your blog... and that is a generous number based off the research out there about reading on the Web.
So how do you hook users? How do you keep them reading to the end?
A lot of blogs recommend a great hook. Some of the blogs I read even used a pretty good hook to talk about great hooks. None of them seemed to grasp that elusive great hook though. And what makes a great hook anyways? No one could truly nail down that concept either.
Besides, even with the best hook, you're still looking at a maximum 28% user reading. That's pretty high stakes writing, even for the Web stratosphere. I spent a lot of time trying to craft that great hook for this post. Way too much time for the 2 people still reading it... no offense, you two.
A more realistic approach to garnering a respectful readership is to use the one thing we know for certain about how users read: they don't.
Users aren't reading every word. They don't have time. They are busy people. They are inundated with information! They need the abbreviated data and they need it stat.
In a word: scannable text.
Web pages have to utilize scannable text to help readers get to the end. Hyperlinks are consistently the most used features on the Web, followed closely by the "Back" button. As a writer, this is pretty depressing because after all the time we wasted crafting that great hook, our readers are either a.) leaving our pages by way of hyperlink, or b.) leaving our pages by clicking the "Back" button into oblivion.
I bet you've already clicked the hyperlinks in this post. Fortunately, it redirects you to an incredibly detailed and wordy article about readability on the Web. Which is, ironically, completely unreadable.
Other types of scannable text you should use to up your readability:
The great hook may reel in your readers. But scannable text will keep themreading scanning to the end.
On average, users only read about 20% of your blog... and that is a generous number based off the research out there about reading on the Web.
So how do you hook users? How do you keep them reading to the end?
A lot of blogs recommend a great hook. Some of the blogs I read even used a pretty good hook to talk about great hooks. None of them seemed to grasp that elusive great hook though. And what makes a great hook anyways? No one could truly nail down that concept either.
Besides, even with the best hook, you're still looking at a maximum 28% user reading. That's pretty high stakes writing, even for the Web stratosphere. I spent a lot of time trying to craft that great hook for this post. Way too much time for the 2 people still reading it... no offense, you two.
A more realistic approach to garnering a respectful readership is to use the one thing we know for certain about how users read: they don't.
Users aren't reading every word. They don't have time. They are busy people. They are inundated with information! They need the abbreviated data and they need it stat.
In a word: scannable text.
Web pages have to utilize scannable text to help readers get to the end. Hyperlinks are consistently the most used features on the Web, followed closely by the "Back" button. As a writer, this is pretty depressing because after all the time we wasted crafting that great hook, our readers are either a.) leaving our pages by way of hyperlink, or b.) leaving our pages by clicking the "Back" button into oblivion.
I bet you've already clicked the hyperlinks in this post. Fortunately, it redirects you to an incredibly detailed and wordy article about readability on the Web. Which is, ironically, completely unreadable.
Other types of scannable text you should use to up your readability:
- bulleted lists
- highlighted keywords
- sub-headings
- try one idea in each paragraph
- use less words
The great hook may reel in your readers. But scannable text will keep them
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