TL;DR, short for Too Long/Didn’t Read, is how people flag social media posts that take too long to get to their point. This also holds true for newsletter articles.
The prevailing wisdom is that we all have reduced our attention span to that of goldfish. What little attention we have left is constantly being fought over by competing algorithms serving up carefully crafted content to pull us in.
So how do you write articles that capture your audience’s attention?
The ideal length of an article depends on many factors, but here are a few things to keep in mind.
The article should be as long as it needs to be.
Most readers prefer shorter articles that get straight to the point. Broadly speaking, a newsletter article should be between 200-500words. This length conveys a clear message without overwhelming the reader with too much information. That being said, some topics demand more room to be fully explored and explained. Here is where editing is critical. Keep trimming what is unnecessary, but don’t cut out the gold.
Keep it focused.
We prefer to break up our content into single topics. This allows you to provide more valuable insight and information but will enable readers to home in on what matters most to them.
Capture your reader’s attention on different levels.
When I was producing a magazine for Queen’s University’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science alumni, my goal was to increase the amount of “time, talent, and treasure” the alumni would expend on the faculty. Studies showed that you accomplished this by increasing the time the alumni spent with the magazine. People tend to scan and skim articles; how can you catch their attention and persuade them to invest some of their valuable time(and attention!) in your piece?
You do this in several ways:
· Craft compelling headlines,
· Use subheads to expand on the headline,
· Use large evocative images,
· Highlight important copy with pullout quotes, and
· Break up the information into digestible chunks using bullets and boxed information.
Know your audience
The tastes and reading levels of your audience are as unique as your organization. Make sure you are gearing your article to them. Are they academics? Are they retired folks? Are they busy working parents? Know their needs and interests and their priorities, and write your article with them in mind.
