Strategic Content Writing: 7 Formatting Tips for Blog Posts
Sarah Edwards
When engaging in strategic content writing, it can be all too easy to focus solely on the words. While words form the foundation of any piece of content, the formatting you choose for your blogs will profoundly impact readability and performance.
With that in mind, stay mindful of these seven formatting tips for strategic content writing:
1. Go Back to Basics
Does your blog have a clear introduction, body, and conclusion? It can be easy to lose sight of the importance of composition once the creative juices start flowing.
Every blog should have a clear, reader-friendly format. In the introduction, hook the reader and provide a glimpse into what the content will cover. Then transition to the body, which should comprise the bulk of your article. Finally, close things out with a concise and meaningful conclusion.
2. Make Content Scannable
While some consumers will read through your carefully crafted blog line-by-line, around 43% will skim through it. If they can’t quickly locate the information they are looking for, they will probably bounce and move on to the next option on the search results page.
To prevent this, make your content more scannable by using lots of subheadings. Skimmers can use these subheadings to quickly locate the information they are most interested in.
3. Keep Paragraphs Brief and Focused
Keeping paragraphs brief and focused promotes skimming. Conversely, long, complex paragraphs can cause readers to lose interest. Once you lose a reader’s attention, it can be almost impossible to recapture it in the same blog.
Generally speaking, you should limit your paragraphs to one to three sentences. Also, consider limiting each paragraph to no more than five lines. This rule of thumb will help you keep paragraphs short and condensed, even if you use more complex sentences.
4. Use Bold (Sparingly)
Bold text is the new highlight, especially in the world of blogging. Making a line of text bold catches the reader’s eye without distracting them from the rest of your content. When engaging in strategic content writing, consider bolding a few lines of text in each blog to draw attention to key points.
However, use bold sparingly. If you overuse the technique, it will not be as impactful. For instance, if you bold the first line of every new paragraph, the reader will not be able to tell the difference between important concepts and general information.
5. Break up Sections with Imagery
Subheadings are not the only way to break up large chunks of copy. You can also use images or graphics to make your posts more user-friendly. When integrating graphics into your post, make sure to insert them alongside relevant content and subheadings.
In addition to using imagery to make your content more skimmable, consider incorporating bulleted or numbered lists into your text. If the content does not need to be in a specific order, use bullets. If you are listing steps or other chronological processes, use numbers.
6. Avoid Distracting Fonts and Text Colors
If bold text helps draw readers’ attention to specific elements, using bright text colors or complex fonts will be even more effective, right? Not exactly. Going overboard with text colors or font styles can be incredibly distracting and make your content appear too whimsical.
Keep it simple by using an easy-to-read font and standard text colors. Arial, Times New Roman, and Roboto are a few great font options that are highly readable regardless of what device your audience is using to access your content.
7. Weave Keywords Throughout the Content
Keyword research is a fundamental part of strategic content writing. However, choosing which keywords to use is only part of the equation; you also need to ensure that your chosen keywords are integrated into the content naturally.
Cramming your content full of keywords will negatively impact the reader experience. Instead, seamlessly weave target phrases into your headings and body text to make your content more appealing to consumers and search engine algorithms.
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About Sarah Edwards
Sarah Edwards, the founder of Write Collective, is an SEO and content marketing expert with a strong track record in helping businesses, agencies, and individuals in every sector establish credibility online with strong links, optimized webpages, and superior copy.