by Allison Maruska
I read a lot of blog posts over the course of a week. A lot. And most of them don’t come from my WordPress Reader, where the blogs I’ve subscribed to are listed. I find most of them on Twitter blog share days, where bloggers can share their interesting content with specified hashtags, expanding potential readership.
We all know getting the potential reader to click the post is job one – we do this with an interesting title, pictures, and the text blurb. Job two is keeping them there. So for the love of all things holy, if you are a blogger, please don’t do things unrelated to your content that make me close your window. I want to read your interesting insights, and I’m sure I’m not alone. If I enjoy the content and there’s nothing there that hurts my brain, I’ll likely subscribe to your blog.
After all this blog reading, I’ve boiled down my gripes into an easy-to-digest list of five reasons I quit reading a post. Maybe I’m a lazy blog reader – hey, that’s likely, in fact – but so are most other people. If you give them a reason to bail, they’ll bail.
Reason 1: Wonky color schemes
This gets first mention because it made me close a blog post window five minutes before I decided to write this post. In this case, it was white text on a black background, which might not seem so bad, but my eyes hate it. I could feel them straining two paragraphs in.
And while I suspected I’d enjoy the content being delivered in the post, I just couldn’t do it. Reading something interesting isn’t worth a literal headache. Other color schemes I’ve seen involve orange backgrounds, yellow text (I know), and other variations of visual pain.
Best to stick with black text on a white background. The most impactful things in your post should be your words, not the colors.
Reason 2: Not mobile friendly
Like the majority of blog readers, I do most of my blog reading on my phone. If a post isn’t mobile friendly, meaning it has a special “version” for mobile devices, the text appears in about 0.6 pt. So if I want to read the content, I have to zoom and slide the screen around, which I’m unlikely to stick with for long. Creating more work for the potential reader is almost a guaranteed way to lose the reader.
WordPress has many templates that are already mobile friendly. If yours isn’t, or if you’re using a different platform, Google how to adjust that setting. No griping about how easy kids these days have it allowed.
Reason 3: Huge blocks of text
As I searched for an image to go with this point, I found this post from The Onion. I pretty much don’t need to say anything else about the point now.
“It demands so much of my time and concentration . . . This large block of text, it expects me to figure everything out on my own, and I hate it.”
Like you’ve told your paranoid Uncle Buster on Facebook a million times (no, that woman didn’t really die from applying too much hand lotion), The Onion is satire, but it sometimes makes a good point at the same time. As it does in this case. Posts with breaks are easier to digest.
Reason 4: Ads all over
There’s nothing wrong with allowing an ad company to post on your site to bring in a little cash. Hey, I like money, too!
But…
Sometimes I come across a post where the content is severely boxed in by ads, especially on my phone. And I can’t always close the ads, or worse, I end up clicking on them when I try to close them. That guarantees I won’t read the post. I’m not gonna try to jump through that hoop more than once.
Reason 5: A popup box I have to close before reading
I’ll be honest: I’m talking about newsletter signup boxes with this one. Especially if I came to a new blog via a blog share day, if I have to break through barriers to even start reading, I won’t stick around.
There’s nothing wrong with having a newsletter signup box, but make the popup happen much farther into the post (I’ve heard 75% is a good target). Do that, and readers like me are way more likely to A. Finish the post, and B. Sign up for your newsletter.
Guest post contributed by Allison Maruska. Allison likes to post in line with her humor blog roots, but she also includes posts about teaching and writing specifically.
Reblogged this on Matthews' Blog.
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Thank you. I needed to read this.
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So glad you wrote this. I have an article saved in my drafts for weeks now with similar points. I’m also so tired of telling new bloggers we can’t read their baby blue fonts in WordPress app. White screen!
I still read most of my blog content via WordPress though. It’s great for networking, and the content here tends to be better than the clock bait elsewhere. So I still prefer it.
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So do I, primarily because interaction is much easier than some other platforms.
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Oh, I thought you had moved away from WordPress reading because of the problems. Good choice then!
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Extremely long texts and pop up box requiring additional sign up will send me away for sure. Regarding the ads, little can be done other than pay to upgrade to a premium blog which a lot people can’t do. Also agree on that a busy theme is too distracting as well as one that makes it hard to find the newest post. Great article here.
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Finding the newest post is a great point.
I can forgive most ads, but not when they get in the way. Hopefully that isn’t a problem with most “free” blogs.
Thanks for the great comment!
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Thank you allison.
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I agree with you. If I am drawn away from the text of the article or blog post, there is a good chance I may not finish reading it.
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Phew, don’t think I’m guilty of any of the 5 things. That’s a relief, just need to work on my content now…
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Ha! That’s the tricky part. 😉
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Thanks for these helpful tips!
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Thank you for reading.
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Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Blog.
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Thank you. Enjoyed the insightful and helpful tips, and totally agree with them all.
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Thanks for reading! 🙂
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Excellent information. Thank you!
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Great points, Alison. Pop-up boxes do torment me, but I like your solution.
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Color scheme can make a big difference, although I don’t think I agree with having a stark white background. Some people have sensitive eyes or are on the computer so much that it doesn’t take much for their eyes to feel strained. I suggested a muted light color. Mine is a muted light aqua with black print.
The pop up is the one I think is the worst. There I am reading the first or second paragraph, and presto! My concentration is derailed by the annoying request for me to sign up for something. This, obviously, stops me from even considering signing up for anything at that site.
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The bright white can be too much after a while. Dimming my screen seems to do the trick. It would be nice if we could change background and text color to suit our preferences, like you can on a kindle.
I had a popup today that happened right at the beginning and I could not close it. Like the only way I could close it was to sign up. Nope.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
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I’ve always felt that the point of the blog is the content. The writing. Not the fancy way it’s laid out. If I can’t get to your content, then what’s the point of the blog?
Thank you for sharing these really good points. I’ve only been at this for about two months and it’s it’s really good advice. I hope that I can manage it with my own blog.
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I agree. Content comes first. Good luck with your new blog!
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Reblogged this on Don Massenzio's Blog.
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Funny. I have a dark color scheme in my blog because I’m a night reader and white backgrounds seriously hurt my eyes while reading from a screen in the dark. I do tend to avoid white, or bright colored, text for the same reasons, though. 🙂
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Fellow dark bloggers unite! I find the bright backgrounds too stark. If they hate me let them hate. caw! 😉
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Reblogged this on Christian fiction writers blog and commented:
These are very good tips for blogger trying to get people to stay and look at their content.
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Thanks for the reblog!
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I hope it is helpful
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Every little bit helps. : )
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Reblogged this on Books and More.
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Reblogged this on Still Another Writer's Blog.
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Points well taken. Having read this, I am congratulating myself that a blog post of mine was “liked.”
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You get on a new blog, you don’t even know what it’s about, and you’re asked to sign up to get more mail stuck into your inbox, as if it isn’t full already. They don’t even give you a chance to explore what they’re offering and already ask something bothersome from you.
Truly a bad strategy and have had to close such websites with a hard-pressed mouse-click.
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I feel your pain. I really do. Thank you for writing, for posting, and for putting it out there, to help us to become better writers.
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I actually read the report and it was very informative
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I have to laugh. My friend in design and marketing told me straight off that she hates my site because it’s grey. I just really like it. Oh the shame! The struggle. Bury me in charcoal.
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Tanks for Excellent information, our team really like your post !!!
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Thanks for reading.
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