Because people’s attention span is only 6-8 seconds, they want to know straight away what you blog is going to be all about…. Even before they click on your headline!
They are assessing the possibilities:
- They want to know whether it’s worth reading. Is there something personally just for them?
- Or is it just a lot of useless boring stuff, that isn’t really satisfying.
- What a let-down and waste of their clicking time, there is just a few empty words on a vacant page!!
Consider:
If you were personally surfing the internet… what do you want or expect on other people’s blogs?
- How choosy are you?
- How many blogs do you cruise before you find one that you liked?
- That good one: What impressed you most?
Not only must the headline and sub-title be clickable:
After clicking on the headline, what do you see first glimpse?
Is there a stunning image or a bold statement to continue to hold your interest?
What happens on that first page is very important:
What is your introduction like? Is it dynamic enough for people to continue scrolling down?
Let me put it this way:
- When writing a book, the first sentence and paragraph on the first page, must be powerful.
- The first page, of the first chapter, must be full of gripping action.
- The first chapter must get the people right into the plot.
If it isn’t so, people tend to close the book and put it aside, never to read again.
So let’s get back to we were talking about…
Now they have scrolled down and you have them interested:
- So what is there in your blog’s content worth their expectation?
- What have you for them?
Make you blogs exciting and worthwhile reading:
Are you aware of what people are really looking for, need or crave most?
- How long or short is your blog? Long enough to insert interesting stuff, and concise enough to get to the heart of the matter!
- Once people reach your blog they don’t want to spend more than 4-6 minutes reading it.
- But if the content is really good, they won’t mind how long, even click on other stuff you have on your site, knowing and trusting your blogs won’t be boring.
- Another thing that puts people off, is swearing. It makes people feel uncomfortable. It’s like seeing a grown-up man chewing gum! People don’t expect anything cultured coming from someone like that.
Let me expand further on number 2. & 3.
Peoples’ concentration span isn’t long term. Unless the person speaking is fascinating…. the way they express themselves!
In the case of a person giving a talk, standing right in front of you… you can see their body language. How they wave their hands and the expression on their faces. It supports what they are saying.
The more fascinating their presentation, the longer people’s concentration will be. But even that, has a limit of about 1 hour. Anything after that must be really gripping stuff.
Conclusion:
- It is noted that visual assemblies make greater impact on people’s senses and emotions, than if they were just reading words.
- Getting back to clicking on and reading blogs: The more fascinating and dramatic the presentation, the greater followers you will have.
Having made that statement, I must say, some topics are more serious and hard to express one’s self in a fascinating way.
But the point is…
Try to grip your reader’s concentration with dynamic stuff! And give them content that they’ll benefit from. Try to be out there for them. Care about their needs and greatest desires.
As any good sales person knows the first rule is grabbing someone's attention. You have initially around 8 seconds in which to do this and then generally 5 minutes max to sell your idea.
People 'buy with their eyes' so having a good eye-catching first image that will show up in your preview is paramount and encourage readers to have a look, this is why lots of posts have what is known as clip bait but be careful, overdoing your images can start to irritate some people who maybe be more interested in being informed rather than looking at that rainbow coloured unicorn.
One of the other pitfalls I've seen is people writing too much content. While it's obvious a lot of work and research has gone into the article, after a while it becomes tl;dr
Such a shame a lot of the comments on this post are spam. :-(
Thanks for your comment. Yes, it is a pity about the spam and how some people ride with it!
code>WELCOME TO STEEMIT
I appreciate if you follow me!
Your comments are always welcome,
I will try to answer as much as possible.
Good luck with your trip in this communitas,
the best combination with all your friends is no exception, and upvote to your friends as much as possible, and the reverse
Regards community steemit
Thank you
These are all hypothesis. They can be either true or wrong!
Write enough blogs and find out for yourself.
some presentation tips
I’m going to skip over the common presentation tips like practice a lot, talk loudly, etc, and go straight to a list of things that are important, but far less obvious:
Vividly paint a problem your audience has, then tell them how you will solve their problem. At the end of the day, what you are trying to sell is the promise of a better life.
Try to connect to your audience emotionally. Be passionate about your topic.
Tell a story. Some ideas: a personal story, a story about other people, or a story about successful brands or companies.
Make your presentation surprising. e.g. “Did you know that the greatest mountain range on Earth lies not above ground, but beneath the ocean?”
Your slides should be aesthetically pleasing, filled with images and occasionally simple words and phrases.
Mix up your presentation to make your message stick. Use live demos, video clips, physical props, etc.
Make data contextual and relevant to the audience.
“5GB of storage” doesn’t mean much. “Able to store 1,000 songs in your iPad” is mind blowing.
Don’t stand behind the podium. Stand so there’s nothing between you and your audience. Use hand gestures. Pause in between key points. Vary your volume.
After your presentation, your audience will be looking for the right words to describe what they just saw.
Make it easy for them and give them a memorable phrase of your choosing. Plan your presentation around this key message / memorable phrase. For example, Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone by giving the media a ready-to-use headline: “Today, Apple reinvents the phone.”
Video record your practice presentations, so you can focus on areas of improvement.
Strong irony here.
Glad you took this blog to heart, @ steemerhrn. Thanks for your input. It will support what I've been saying here and in my previous posts: @artguru
yes u r 1000% right artguru people dont read article and they only read heading and say good post great etc etc they only want to attenion they dont appriciate talent..but some people are give time to get some thing best and more increase knoledge and that people are really good and they get succes one day...have a nice day @artguru
So true, if you like your blog to be read and resteem. Write one that solve problem, if possible make it short and straight to the point.
I appreciate if you follow me!
you are so right about attention span being only 6-8 seconds, considering this my posts will or should look much different - good points in the article - thx
Hey @artguru , I have started a podcast recently where I interview other entrepreneurs.
The podcast is on my youtube channel, and here is the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5CpCNPna6p95oJfKPew0N3ZT0k-khdgg
We talk about what you are currently doing in life, your business as well as your journey and any lessons or advice you want the world to know.
A casual conversation about entrepreneurship, and, about you.
Would you be interested in appearing on the show?
If so, then it is an audio only interview and will be done over Skype.
Please go to this link and pick a time that best suits you: https://calendly.com/adriannantchev/entrepreneur-podcast
very interesting
Hi I am montisuraj.I just upvote you. If you follow and vote me. Thanks and good luck
good luck ♥
@haji
Great narrative post, liked it really...
Very informative article ...enjoy very well...thankyou
Extraordinary post, it's natural that you get a lot of votes if you post this up apparently, I also give upvote even though this does not affect compared to the upvote by other steemit whales.
This is very amazing, and thank you for sharing. Visit also my blog @sitimunawarah
sometimes critics are good for our development, if they crtitcise us then we can improve ourselves to be ever better in anything we do ..criticism makes us stronger.. remember every obstacle is just a step more to reach our goal
Interesting view point. I am actually wanting critique as I m new on Steemit, heck even just posting anything I have created online for the world to give their opinion on. I guess that is the way we grow and improve. 👍🏻
good viewpoint , You're right 100000000000000000%
I hate people who say good , great , awesome , exciting ...... etc
You are right. Steemit has asked us not to give short replies. But rather something that uplifts and helps people.
I hope all people on steemit read the post well then comment by real opinion
It was nice talking with you @artguru
Can you check out my blog ?
Very informative article.. just upvote you. If you follow and vote me. Thanks and good luck.
wow...really helpful post.
maybe that's one of the reason behind click bait!!! nice post
Thank you for such an insightful point. You make some great points.
How long have you been blogging? I agree one writer said, if you put the big event in the first sentence, even it happens later chronologically, people will be curious and keep reading to try and find out how it happened. Like if you start with something like, "Robert checked his watch, sighed a deep sigh of relief, and shot the arrow."
I haven't been on Steemit so long. But I've learnt a lot from blogging on my own website. I know what should be done, but it isn't always easy to do. Especially if you're a serious person like myself. I've had to learn how to
let my hair-down' and joke a little, withtongue in cheek'... be out there... and do my thing like the rest of us.Sounds interesting. What do you blog about?
Art of cause. Artistic secrets and advise. Like what makes a painting sell quickly, etc. Facts weaved into the blogs about the interesting places I've been to and painted.
Cool!! Have a wonderful day! Can I ask you a huge personal favour?
This is extremely helpful. Gave you a follow. Your content is super high quality, I have been aiming to get my blog to a level much like yours is on. Needless to say its going to take some time. Im mostly struggling to get views on my posts though. My view to up vote ratio is good but my number of views are lacking. Would you have any advice for a minnow much like myself?
Since I'm an artist, and have a website of my own..... it started out as helping artists improve their websites. Because artists websites aren't as popular or don't trend as much on the internet. But now everyone is asking me to give advice on internet marketing. I'm only giving out what I've learnt or noticed what doesn't work out there for the general public.
Buen post, con un poco mas de contenido (fotos video y texto) seria un gran y excelente post
muchas gracias...interesantes consejos....en mi caso tengo un blog acerca de salud natural....pero veo q muchos ven y nadie opina o pregunta...y pienso q es muy aburrido para ellos q pueden estar sanos......pero pienso también q podrían recomendar a alguien q estuviera enfermo....yo creo q es cuestión de actitud tambien
Hello. Excellent post. Follow me @alberth
I totally agree with you!
Thanks for helping us!! UPVOTED, RESTEEMED, FOLLOWED!! https://blog.bufferapp.com/words-and-phrases-that-convert-ultimate-listI I have been incorporating these words into my headlines. Thanks @artguru
wao its really informative good
Hello ... You have a Great Work! ... I already resteemed and upvoted @artguru. My entry is on the link below. Thanks for the opportunity for us newbies. https://steemit.com/life/@codygee237/why-should-i-try-something-new-don-t-be-afraid