Revealed: Amazing ways to engage your readers

Tell me if this sounds familiar. You spend lots of hours writing a wonderful article. Then you expect to get a lot of good feedback. Also, you expect an increase in traffic to your site. However, none of your expectations come to pass because no one reads your article. And the reason for this might be you lack the means to engage your readers. For that reason, allow me to share some of the ways you can use to make your articles more engaging.

What is readability?

We rely on sensory signs in in-person communication. In contrast, written communication lacks that array of sensory signals. Because of this disadvantage, your readers are more prone to misunderstand your message. It's okay. The situation is not as hopeless as it seems for ways to engage readers to exist. Now, you may or may not have come across the word readability. It is what you will use to make sure that your readers get your message loud and clear. Most importantly, high readability promotes understanding and helps the reader grasp your message without spending a lot of time and energy. As a result, your readers will experience your content in a more appealing and engaging way. Let's get into some of the exact ways you will use to better engage your readers.

Paragraph Length

The first tactic is to check the length of your paragraphs. Above all, use simple ways and minimal detail to get your message across to your readers. A suggested practice is to target 5 sentences per paragraph. However, this may not always be possible. And it is because some content types need less than 5 sentences. Also, technical content can take up long paragraphs. Furthermore, use subheadings to break apart the content.

Write Shorter Sentences

Another method is to write shorter sentences. Shorter sentences hold your reader’s attention longer. Most noteworthy, it gives your message a natural flow. Web experts endorse 20-25 words a sentence. Furthermore, make sure the length of your sentences help you make your message as simple as possible.

Check Your Word Choices

Similarly, checking your word choice helps engage your readers. The desire to sound smart locks out most of your potential readers. This is because most people have limited knowledge of the world. For that reason, fight the temptation to want to sound smart. For example, you can remove unnecessary words. Also, you could avoid the use of technical words where possible. In addition, you could replace long rare words with smaller common ones. As a result, you will be closer to engaging your readers.

Check Your Voice, the Passive Voice, and Transition Words

Next, you need to check your voice, the passive voice, and transition words. I write to convey thoughts and ideas in a way that is easy to understand. Transition words connect my ideas and thoughts. For that reason, they show the relationship between my ideas and give my content a natural flow. You are reading this. Therefore, I can assume you want to engage your readers. But, make sure to use transition words precisely only to relate your ideas and thoughts. That is to say, in about 20-30% of your sentences. Also, remove the passive voice from your content. And convey your emotions and tone in as much of your work as possible. Capturing your tone and emotions in writing is a way to engage your readers.  

Understand the Flesch Reading Score and its role

The final thing you need to do is understand how the Flesch Reading Score and how it improves readability. The scoring system comes from a test designed to tell you your audience's level of education. For that reason, it helps people read texts easily and is a way to engage your readers. Most noteworthy, it makes a score between 0 to 100. So, the higher the score, the easier the text is to read. To clarify, the ideal range for web content is from 60 to 70. In other words, target the reading level of your 13- or 14-year-old self. As a result, knowing how the score works give you a proven and widely accepted way to engage your readers. Most importantly, using the steps I have already shared is the best way to get a score that meets your readers' level of reading needs.

Over to You

Conveying your message in ways that engage your readers is difficult. However, I have shared some of the best tactics that you can use to make the task straightforward. Whatever your message is, it is important. Otherwise, you would not spend hours working on an article that no one wants to read. So, use what you have learned to engage your readers and get more readers. In other words, check the length of your paragraphs, write shorter sentences, and use simple short words where possible. Also, remove the passive voice, inject your tone and emotions, and use transition words tactically. Finally, understand how the Flesch Reading Score helps you engage your readers.