{"id":70350,"date":"2014-02-05T10:05:23","date_gmt":"2014-02-05T10:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/how-to-keep-readers-engaged-for-500-words-or-more\/"},"modified":"2014-02-05T10:05:23","modified_gmt":"2014-02-05T10:05:23","slug":"how-to-keep-readers-engaged-for-500-words-or-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/how-to-keep-readers-engaged-for-500-words-or-more\/","title":{"rendered":"How to keep readers engaged for 500 words or more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coming from a journalistic background, I understand the temptation to show off all the hard work you\u2019ve done in compiling a piece of writing. You may have spent hours researching evidence to support your arguments or inform your opinions. Perhaps you\u2019ve put in time arranging interviews, then speaking with experts, then rounding out your information with academic studies and any pre-existing content on your subject. I can\u2019t count the number of times I\u2019ve had three-to-four times the number of words in notes compared with my finished product.
\nWhen you\u2019re writing informative content \u2013 no matter what your intended platform \u2013 your purpose is to enrich people\u2019s lives with knowledge they didn\u2019t previously have. You\u2019ve scrawled the world\u2019s resources for up-to-the-minute information so your readers don\u2019t have to; so leave your ego at the door and remember the value of summary. People are time-precious and fact-hungry. The way to draw them in is to lead with your biggest revelation.
\nYou\u2019ll need to provide justification, of course. Try to make your evidence compelling. Where possible, draw on everyday scenarios or case studies your readers can relate to. You can\u2019t simply expect your reader to understand why your content is important \u2013 instead, show them just how applicable it is to their lives. Think about your audience with every word you write.
\nTop tips for writing to stimulate <\/strong>
\nOnce you exceed three or four paragraphs, consider using subheadings to break up copy and focus your reader\u2019s attention. Thinking about feature writing in terms of sub-sections is also a valuable way of adhering to the purpose you set out to achieve. How does each section relate to your objective? Does every new paragraph build on your point?
\nIt can also be helpful to think about the way your copy looks. If you have several long paragraphs, you may overwhelm your audience from the outset. Pictures, lists, charts or box-outs highlighting top tips or key facts can be an effective way of summarising your best ideas while giving your reader a break from more monotonous formats.
\nEven within conventional paragraphs you can add variety by writing sentences of different lengths and incorporating new punctuation. Become familiar with the semicolon; it is a great way of adding supplementary detail or creating rhythm when writing out lists that contain commas. Don\u2019t shy away from hyphens, either. They\u2019re most effective for inserting interesting but unnecessary information \u2013 like a bizarre example or interesting fact you found during your research \u2013 or adding emphasis to a particular point.
\nCome to an inspiring close <\/strong>
\nOnce you\u2019ve successfully held your reader\u2019s attention for a sustained period, it is crucial you end with a bang. Your closing sentence should make your reader feel something: happiness, desire, anger, intrigue, anything. That\u2019s the beauty of words \u2013 they are like long-reaching fingers that can poke, tickle and punch readers the world over. Now that power is in your hands, what will you do with it?
\n\u201cWords can be like X-rays if you use them properly \u2013 they\u2019ll go through anything. You read and you\u2019re pierced.\u201d \u2013 Aldous Huxley\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\nStratton Craig writers are linguistic radiologists. Tell us your message and we\u2019ll beam it out in highly effective lasers (sentences). Find out more about our copywriting services<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coming from a journalistic background, I understand the temptation to show off all the hard work you\u2019ve done in compiling a piece of writing. You may have spent hours researching evidence to support your arguments or inform your opinions. Perhaps you\u2019ve put in time arranging interviews, then speaking with experts, then rounding out your information […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[314],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-copywriting-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to keep readers engaged for 500 words or more - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/how-to-keep-readers-engaged-for-500-words-or-more\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to keep readers engaged for 500 words or more - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Coming from a journalistic background, I understand the temptation to show off all the hard work you\u2019ve done in compiling a piece of writing. 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