Page view time is not a magic number

The more words on a web page, the longer visitors will stay.

But is that really the best metric to measure? What if you could engage users on a page for half the time, yet have them remember one-third more of the content?

That’s what happened in a 2005 usability study by Jakob Nielsen and Kara Pernice Coyne.

Simplify layout to improve readability.

For the study, researchers tested the original version of a story about New York City restaurants. Then they revised it to:

• Increase white space
• Condense the main idea
• Remove unnecessary images
• Reduce column widths
• Add a graphic for each restaurant ranking

The result: Visitors spent about twice as much time with the original page. But they remembered 34% more of the content on the revised page.

Read full article >

Pad prowess: How to write and design for tablets Lead with two — not five — W’s: Avoid the ‘fact pack’

Cut clutter on social media

Expand your reach influence by boosting readability

Consider the numbers:

• The lower your Facebook and Twitter readability, the less sharing you’ll see.
• The longer your online message is, the less of it your visitors read.
• The more hyperbole you pack into your paragraphs, the less people understand, remember and enjoy your online message.

At Get Clicked, Read, Shared & Liked — our two-day social media-writing master class on July 27-28 in Portland — you’ll learn a six-step process for making every social media message you write easier to read and understand.

Specifically, you’ll learn how to:

• Get visitors to read more of your blog post by hitting one key on your keyboard more often.
• Avoid using one “unretweetable” punctuation mark. It’s been proven in the lab to reduce sharing.
• Boost usability by 27% by cutting one simple element from your message.
• Increase sharing when you target the right reading grade level for Twitter and Facebook.

Save $100 when you register by May 27.

This is the only social media-writing workshop we’ve scheduled for 2017. Don’t miss out. Register now.

Polish your skills at these Master Classes

Learn to Master the Art of the Storyteller, Catch Your Readers, Get Clicked, Cut Through the Clutter and more

Chicago | May 18-19 Portland | July 27-28

San Francisco | Aug. 17-18 New York | Sept. 25-26

Kansas City | Nov. 16-17 Miami | Dec. 11-12

Rather bring Ann in to train your whole team? Invite Ann