When you write a blog or have a website with great products or services, you clearly want to be sure your readers can find what they want on your website, that your content is readable, but also that it is something that is easy to share. The ability to make something viral is huge. Could you imagine your blog post or service being shared 100 times with millions of people, albeit over a long or short period of time? Shoot, some of us would just be happy to have our blogs shared 10, so could you image that tenfold?
What’s holding you back? Does your content suck?
We all could have our stuff shared, so why isn’t it? Well, it may just be us, our content might suck or might not be easy to read. So first things first, be sure you are providing value to your consumers then, make sure that it is easy to read. I like to call this website readability (no, I didn’t make that up) but it’s where your blog post isn’t just paragraphs of text.
Website readability
Here are a few points to consider to be sure your website/blog is user friendly
- The layout of your website – is everything laid out following the typical website standards? You know, like where do you expect to see the
Home button, the shopping cart, the internal search bar, the contact us section, your contact information? There is a norm and just because your site may be themed, that doesn’t mean you should change the verbiage to this cutesy stuff, folks may just not get it. My point – make it follow the standards – people expect it. - Content – anyone would be bored to death with reading just plain text – so be sure you have visuals – like pictures, videos or charts explaining the content or products.
- Spacing – a little white space is a good thing. You don’t want the readers’ eyes to get tired of all those words, give them a break.
- Headings – not only are headings great for search engine optimization but it makes your content easier for consumers to read. Let’s face it, everyone is not sitting on the edge of their seat reading your every word, they will skim it, let them but make it easier for them to find the parts they want to read
- Styles and fonts – normally I wouldn’t suggest changing your font style unless you want to highlight an item or two… but it shouldn’t be every other word either, it confuses the eyes. However, a color or bolded text isn’t bad to highlight a word like I did in this section.
- Lists – using numbers or bullets are another great way to break out the text and if you highlight the main keyword in each section, like I did, it pulls out the point much quicker for those skimmers.
Now that you have them on your site – help them share it
Sharing your content with the masses is key. So, whether you have social media icons on your website via a social sharing plugin on your WordPress site or the like, make it easy for them to share. I’ve gone through a few different plugins over the last few years and have changed a few times but the point is, to have one, set it up and make it easy to comment on your blogs and share them.
- One point on the sharing – when someone clicks on your Twitter icon, be sure YOUR handle shows up there, not the social sharing plugin’s handle. Check your settings or reach out to them on Twitter.
Click to Tweet
One last thing – I have fallen in love with Click to Tweet – don’t tell my boyfriend though! Click to tweet is a great tool to use to provide a short snippet of the blog post which readers can just click to share it on Twitter – novelty, right? I always like coming up with something catchy (you know, like a headline to encourage them to read it or click through) to get them to want to read my blog.
- One final note on Click to Tweet, keep your characters down. As you know, Twitter has its limitations and it can add via with your handle, so when you come up with that little diddy to tweet, keep is short and sweet. Plus, this allows for those sharing to change it or add to it without them going over their limitations. Remember, it’s not about you, it’s about them!
Bottom line:
Make your content good enough and easy enough to share with these tips. Click To TweetShould you have any other questions about search engine optimization, website readability or want another set of eyes on your website, I’m happy to help. Contact me with any questions.
~Kristen
You always have great content, Kristen. I appreciate it. I know people are scanners — I am. So I make an effort to offer visual variety as well as kick-ass content. Good stuff!
Thanks Jackie, much appreciated… I’m a scanner too!
Good info, as always. I guess I need to look at my website without logging in to see what everyone else sees, especially regarding the social sharing icons.
You really should Carol! It helps to see what other folks see and if it is easy to find and read
Wonderful post. I absolutely agree.
Thanks Lisa!
You are SO generous with your tips, Kristen. This time it was Click to Tweet.
Maybe between you and Denyse, I will get my to-dos done sooner rather than later.
Question for a blog?… (unless you don’t want your boyfriend to see)…what type of monthly budget do you have for all your tools?
Well.. there are folks that will find the info to DIY anyways, might as well come from me, so when you need the help or have a friend whom you don’t want to do it for… you’ll send them my way. Thanks Sharon!
I don’t spend a lot, seriously… most of my tools are free! 😉
I just completed a course on writing for the web and your points are spot on!
Thanks so much Avil and welcome to AVB! Glad you are seeing the value!
I swear, can you please publish a content marketing workbook? I would buy that sucker in hard copy!! Hell I would buy multiple copies to share with my team!! Your content is consistently ACE, girl!
Awww, thanks Natalie… I’ll try to work on that! 😉
Love how you explain this so simply, whilst sharing valuable content. Thank you.
Thanks so much Denyse, glad to provide easy to understand content! 🙂
Very well said. I would love to have something go viral, but in the 4.5 years I’ve been blogging, nothing has! For me, I think some of the reason is the readability of my content. I need to add more lists to break up the content. Also, I was wondering about the tweets you have in your posts; now I am going to go check that out!
I bet the readability might have something to do with it or the content… what do the readers (your followers) want most? Are you pushing it out regularly as well?
It’s definitely better to make a post that is interesting to a lot of people and is shareable too. I love the idea and I think this is how bloggers should do it. Especially now that sharing is pretty much the thing to do.
Yes, so very true Liz!
Thanks for the “click to share” FINALLY!!! thank you THANK YOU 🙂
YAY! You found it… so glad and now you can incorporate at least one in each of your blogs. You are welcome Karen!
I have worked hard to make my content easily shareable. My posts are easy to share with share buttons in two places. I am always checking that my share buttons work so that my readers can easily share my posts.
Excellent Heather! Great job
YES! As you know i had a recent struggle with share buttons, but i wouldn’t be without them. Not only does it make easy for people to share my content, it makes it easy for me to share my content to my twitter feed too, which i do several times a day.
Yes ma’am… it’s a pain in the butt but definitely worth while Sonya, as you know.
All great journalistic tips, Kristen! And I have to say, I’ve fallen in love with click to tweet too!
Yes Susan, I love CTT… it makes it super easy to share, for the reader, and using what I WANT them to tweet and it fits.
Kristen, excellent advice as usual! I love the click to tweet option – especially nice how you offer a couple of options here so readers can pick which one they like better to share. As far as not straying from the norm – this is BIG! If people can’t find what they’re looking for, they’re gonna leave, so make it easy!
Thanks so much Mindy, glad you are on board and loving it.
I love your ideas for making it easier for our readers to do what we would like them to do!
Thank you Reba, and glad you could jump back in this week. Trying to make it easier for us all!
So helpful again Kristen. I agree content is important but so is the visual impact your blog makes. Making it easy for scanners is so important, as is having good sharing buttons and an easy commenting system.
Thanks so much Tami, I appreciate it.
You know I also love to remind people to make sure their Twitter handle is programmed into their sharing plugin, Kristen! Alas, I would say more people don’t, than do and I go the distance and add it. I think having our content shared really is the purpose of creating blog posts in the first place, so why not make it as easy as possible for it to be shared around. Thanks for the great tips…as always! Visual is a must these days in a world where people have less time to read material completely! Must try click to tweet soon too!
So true Beverley and we are surely on the same page there.
I don’t think my content sucks but I am not viral either. Do I wanna be viral, not sure but I definitely ok with more visits and sharing. With that said I know I still have work to do. I as JUST thinking I wanted to learn how to “click to tweet” after reading another blog post. You have convinced me to look into this and get it done!
Think of it this way Teresa, if you are just writing for YOU, then don’t worry about it. But, if you are writing to help others, then You NEED to go viral… and to do so not only does your blog need to be reader friendly but share friendly too! Glad you are thinking!
Great information, and more for my To Do list. I am not using Click to Tweet, so will be checking that out. Thanks for another great post.
You can also use CTT for visuals as well, which would more be something you would want to do
I think one of the most important things about readability is, are you writing for your target audience? I realize that means that some people won’t get it or will be bored, but isn’t it more important to connect with your target than to be so general that no one really responds?
Absolutely Carol, you definitely need to write to be readable to YOUR target market. Some won’t get it, but you aren’t selling to them.
Thanks for this concise checklist of ways to improve our posts. Do you you post your blog on several platforms then? It seems like Facebook gives lower priority to blog links. Twitter works great. But would be interested in your other suggestions
Oh yes.. I share to many – FB, T, G+ and LI and re push out my evergreen content. I also share on social bookmarking sites too. I even wrote a blog on it Alene!
Awesome tips for how to make your content go viral!! It is all about making sure that everything that you put out is “shareable” so that it can become viral and these tips will definitely help!
Thanks Kristen for the great post!
Yep.. Joan, got to make it easy to share so others will see it.
Good tips as always! And it is important to think about making your content valuable and easy to read, as well as share.
That’s exactly it Katarina! Thanks
All really good points, Kristen. The one that stands out for me is the share buttons. I went through several versions until I found a style and location – the same as yours, the left side slider. When I’m reading someone’s blog and I want to share it, I don’t want to have to start searching for the share buttons. Nor do I want to strain my eyes because its’ been turned into monochrome color, I think, they feel it’s a distraction from their content. It’s not. If you don’t make it easy for me to find, then you limit your chances of going viral.
That’s exactly it Joyce and the sharing buttons that are only in between the content and the comments… are hard to find and ones you have to have a specific log in… it’s distracting.
Brilliant, as always, and a great topic to be reminded of !!
Thanks so much Sheryl! I appreciate it.
Great post. The look of a blog post is as important as the content itself. Every step that we can take ranging from better images to beautiful lists will have a huge impact.
You got that right Renee, if it is hideous, they won’t stay.. pointless
Great tip. I find that using studiopress themes takes care of a lot for the use so they don’t have to worry about their blog not being user friendly.
Well, many of these still need to be done, as far as plugins and the visual appeal of the blog Webly, but yea, I know what you mean.