"Continue Reading" With Style: Practical Tips for Business Bloggers

The "continue reading" option is a great way to keep the front page of your business blog tidy and easy to read.

[Actually I'm feeling a bit bad about writing this post, because on my own blog (Confident Writing) I've got out of the habit of using it.  Which means I've got a mixture of short and long posts on my front page, and more scrolling required than is sensible.  Hmm.  Maybe writing this post will get me back into good habits.]

There are a few points to bear in mind though when you're using the "post continuation" function to make sure you get the most out of it, and provide your reader with the best possible reader and visitor experience.

1. If your post is very short - under 150 words - it's not worth splitting it.  Even if it's split into three paragraphs at this length of post the paragraphs will be short and your reader can scan the whole thing in a minute or so.  There's no point asking your readers to click something else just to get the last 50 words.  It's liable to bug them.

2. Build anticipation.  Think about a good ending to the first screen that will make your readers positively itch to click on to the continuation screen.  (Like a cliff hanger at the end of a soap opera.)  Claire's a master at this - you'll get some good ideas by browsing through the archive here.

3. Create good quality posts so your readers will be delighted to click that one extra link and read what else you've got to say.

One way to develop and improve your blogging technique is to watch out for what works for you when you're surfing the web and reading other blogs.  Here are some prompts that might get you thinking about the way you construct your own posts and make best use of the continuation function.

Do you ever come across posts where you can't be bothered to click on 'continue here' because the first couple of paragraphs are more than enough? Do you ever feel cheated when you do click the 'continue here' and find there's not much more?

Are there other blogs you read where you're itching to see what follows on?  What makes them so readable?

Getting into this reader mind-set can make a big difference to the way you blog.  It'll help you create a site that's an interesting, easy and enjoyable experience for your readers. 

And that's something which is guaranteed to keep them coming back for more.

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This is part 5 of the mini-series Showing Off Your Content, part of the Practical Tips for Business Bloggers programme at Business Blog Angel.

Episodes to date include:

Intro: Showing off Your Content
Part 1: Should I Have A Welcome Post On My Blog?
Part 2: Use Bold And Bullets To Break Up Your Posts
Part 3: Break Up Your Posts With Quotes
Part 4: One Simple Programme That Can Save You Blogging Time
Part 5: "Continue Reading" With Style
Part 6: How Do I Format Links?
Part 7: How A Footer Helps You Blog for Business

Don't forget to subscribe to the feed to make sure you catch the rest of the series.

If you'd like some practical coaching assistance with formatting on your blog - either fixing something that's gone wrong or keeping yourself right in the future - you can now book coaching sessions with Business Blog Angel Claire by the hour. 

Follow this link for more details and access to the booking calendar.

Comments

[Franchise Whale]

Really enjoyed it, I wanted to click out and
you kept pulling me back in! Many thanks
and keep up the great work!

[Jennifer Tankersley]

I am browsing around LinkedIn and was drawn to you because my youngest little one is named Claire and because I have a Business Blog. I am going to bookmark your site so that I can come back often to learn some new tips. I am pretty new to blogging and I would say that my blog is a non-traditional format. Maybe you'll stop by sometime. Nice to meet you.

Jen
http://www.listmamablog.com

[Claire]

Hi Whale, Hi Jen

Thank you both for your comments - I know Joanna will be as pleased as I am that you find our posts of value.

And Jen - I'm glad you mention how you arrived here (via LinkedIn) as I think it illustrates the value of using other Social Media tools and sites to promote our business blogs. I don't spend nearly enough time looking after my various SocMed profiles, but plan to do some work in there later today, so I'll look out for you and connect through there too.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'non-traditional' though Jen - your blog looks fine to me. :o)

Thank you both again for dropping by.

Warmest

Claire

[consolidate debts]

anticipation always worked for my blogs. The other thing that worked is splitting my article into part 1 and part 2 .

[Claire "Business Blog Angel" Raikes]

Absolutely right Consolidate. 'Serializing' a post encourages people to subscribe and saves time. Why give away a great long article in one hit when you could get 2 or even more posts from it? Thanks for raising a great point.