A lot of blog readers are skimmers and many of them are busy people - well aren't we all.This means they often make snap decisions as to whether to read a post or move on. This is probably even more true if it's the first time the reader has arrived at your blog.
So what do they look at first? The headline or title of the post.
If the headline is something vague like 'Today's Entry' or 'An Interesting Article' they may not bother to delve any further and will move on to something else which sounds more interesting (even if it isn't in reality).
A post headline ideally should therefore be something which encapsulates what the blog is all about or something intriguing that makes them want to look further.
It's a fight to retain a reader's attention so big blocks of solid text can also be off putting. I know I glaze over when I see a big page of text with hardly any paragraphs.
Small paragraphs are best, again because they are easy to skim and seem less effort to read.
An image also helps to gain attention.
It's perfectly true that content is king - but only if people are willing to read the words of wisdom. Every little advantage to get people reading helps.
The longer we retain a reader the more chance there is that they may click on something that will make us money. And that's what the game us all about.
Good luck,
Mike.
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