Most people don’t have time to read your blog posts and articles. That includes mine. At best, they’ll give you a few seconds and skim.

But that’s enough.

It’s enough to give them a nugget or two of information they can tuck away in their minds or their notes. It’s enough to show them you know what you’re doing and deserve a return visit. It’s enough to let them know you’ve helped others like them and you can help them, too.

It’s enough, but only if you do a few things.

First, avoid the “wall of text”. Make your article look inviting and easy to scan:

• Headlines that get attention and pique curiosity
• Short articles that look like they can be consumed in a few minutes
• Short paragraphs and sentences
• Bullet points, numbered lists, sub-heads
• Bold, CAPS, indents, and other visual cues
• Images, graphics, simple charts or tables
• Minimal citations/hyperlinks, if any

Second, make it interesting to read and relevant to your reader:

• Get to the point—and stay there
• Ask questions, to draw them in, make them think, and keep them reading to find out the answer
• Include surprising statements, statistics, inside information, opinions
• Stories about people like your reader
• Quotes from clients, experts, influential people
• Imagery—show what happened or what will happen
• Conversational tone; active voice
• Repetition to clarify and sell your points
• Simple language, vocabulary; even for a sophisticated audience
• Point out the risks but be mostly positive
• A light touch, where appropriate
• Share contrasting views, arguments, stories
• Involvement—ask them to do something (while reading)
• Call to action—ask them to do something (when they’re done)

There’s more you can do to make your articles interesting (and easy to skim) but if you do only some of the above, you’ll find more people consuming your articles and eager to hear more.

How to write a newsletter that brings in clients