Skimmable Content: 4 Simple Tips You Need To Follow
Admit it, you probably skim-read that headline. If not, there’s a good chance you’ll start skim-reading this intro. Because, let’s be honest, you clicked on this article for a reason, and you don’t want to wade through 2,000 words to find four simple tips.
At this point, you’re probably asking yourself:
Why Is Skimmable Content So Important?
Maybe you skimmed straight to that sub-heading. If so, welcome. The answer is pretty simple: as much as you’d love customers to read every last word of your email, blog post, press release, or newsletter and really engage with your brand, attention spans are getting shorter and shorter.
According to a recent study, the average human attention span is now 8 seconds.
This doesn’t necessarily mean people are worse at processing information (we’re still good at paying attention). But more factors are competing for our attention at any given moment.
That’s where skimmable content comes in. Here are 4 simple ways to make your content skimmable in 2023.
#1. Format Matters
If you want to create easily skimmable content, break your writing up into short, easily digestible paragraphs and use clear headings and sub-headings.
Remember three simple formatting rules to make content skimmable: use short, punchy paragraphs, clear, easy-to-read headings & subheadings, and bold text to emphasise key words, phrases, or sentences.
#2. Be Bold
According to Akshay Hallur of BloggingX, bold text has several benefits for both skimmability and SEO optimisation. Firstly, he says, “when you highlight a piece of content using text formatting tags, [users] slow down their reading speed and read in detail when they come across these speed-breakers”.
Use bold sparingly to highlight important words, sentences, or phrases.
#3 Keep It Short
We’ve all been there. You click on an article with an interesting headline, and what awaits you next… Right, long, boring paragraphs that never seem to end. I don’t have time to read this, you think.
When it comes to emails in particular, shorter is usually better. According to a thorough analysis of over 40 million emails by Hubspot, the ideal email length is 50–125 words, as emails of this length have a response rate of more than 50%. Their analysis also found that emails with approximately 20 lines of text, which equates to 200 words, had the highest click through rates.
Blog posts are a little bit different story. The average blog post length is 1,050 words, however, top-performing blog posts are generally between 1,700–3,000 words.
#4. A Picture Is Better Than a Thousand Words
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, when it comes to making content skimmable, a picture is often better than a thousand words.
This isn’t just a catchy saying, it’s a proven fact. Much like bold text, images also stand out, and help to break up the visual monotony of a wall of text.
Use rich, engaging images to improve the skimmability of your email or blog post, as humans process images 60,000 times faster than text.
Key Takeaway
The next time you write a long-form article, try these four tips.
Have someone that has never read the article skim it from top to bottom and report back what they have learned. Or, you can try doing it yourself. It could provide some valuable insight and save you the trouble of publishing a piece that will underperform.
More to read:
How to Make Money From Blogging in 5 Steps?
4 U’s: Copywriting Tips for Great Headlines
