People on digital mediums tend to scan when they read.  Make sure your marketing message stands out.

Studies on website behavior have established that people scan read online.  The digital screen, ability to scroll, and tendency to jump from page to page create a situation where people don’t read from beginning to end.  The skim over the page and pick-up on bits of information.

So, if your website is filled with long blocks of content – and your main message is buried – your not communicating it.

But writing for scanners is not difficult, and in many ways it will probably help your writing overall.

Here are some tips to follow:

1. Front load ideas.  Online business copy is not a suspense story.  If you save the best for last nobody will read it.  Front load overall pages, paragraphs, and sentences with your main, most important ideas.
2. Use bold face.  Draw eyes towards main ideas with bold face, colored text, and italics.
3. Use bullet points and lists.  Breaking content up into lists makes it easier to scan.
4. Write in short sentences and paragraphs.  Long blocks of text are impossible to scan, and are particularly daunting on mobile phone screens.  Break up your writing into short sentences and paragraphs comprised of a single topic.
5. Keep it short.  Edit your work with an axe.  Cut all unnecessary words and ideas.  For most webpages, try to get it done in less that 500 words.

People will scan read on your website.  Adjust your writing for them and you’ll still get your main message across.