There have to be days when I wonder if I have internet ADD. I go from site to site at blazing speeds, only to end up with the conclusion that my jittery, always on the go, A type personality is just naturally internet ADD prone. It is part of my creativity, and something I am proud of.
So I thought I would dedicate an article today to those who want to write to people less than average attention spans. To the skimmers and fast readers. What to write to get their attention?
Internet ADD Attention Getters’s
Put the important items, like Internet ADD, in a different color and make it bold! Maybe even a bigger font.
- Keep things short and sweet!
- Bullets or numbers can really make this easier to see the main points.
- Draw their Attention right below the screen, so they have to scroll down and see more of your page!
The average viewer checks out a website within 10 seconds of reaching the page and decides whether they want to continue looking at that page or go on to something better. Make it worth their time to stay on your page longer.
The longer you get people to stay on your site and read your content, the greater the possibility that they will want to work with you. Otherwise, you are fighting an impossible battle of creating legitimacy within 10 seconds.
Now, go forth and make sure that you can get help everyone who comes to your site, including those with internet ADD learn and prosper from your knowledge.
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Hey Andy,
As always terrific ideas pouring from your Type A brain! Great tips and you are so right about the challenge of short attention span in the www – just look at the bounce rate for most blogs.
Marquita,
My Type A Brain! Thanks!
I am looking more and more at the bounce rate to get more out of my blog.
Andy
I’m not certain if I write for those with Internet ADD, but I’m pretty certain I’m a sufferer. I must have hit 15 sites in 2 hours this morning – Talk about “Oooh, shiny! {Zoom}” – and had to force myself to finish checking email and starting today’s post.
If you ever start a support group, let me know.
Jules,
Been there myself quite a few times where I am zooming past sites at a record pace. Glad to know I am not alone.
Andy
Hi Andy,
you are giving great tips and I can relate to your article.
I read somewhere that the average attention span is 20 sec but I believe 10 is a lot more realistic when it comes to the internet.
There is so much information out there and most people are ‘grazers’.
Breaking up the text into short paragraphs been a favorite of mine, since I personally lose concentration when a paragraph is longer than appox. 4 lines.
Thank you so much for sharing this.
To your Success!
Yorinda
Yorinda,
I would definitely say 10 sec is more realistic as well.
I do my best to break up long paragraphs as well. That is one of the things that I look for when editing a sentence. Can I break down the sentence.
Andy
Very fitting that the content of the post stays true to the title of the post! The increasing amount of information that is constantly being sought out by us and delivered every nanosecond by the internet and other media fosters the ADD we were either born with or are in the process of developing. This reminds me to utilize the first pneumonic I learned in grade school, KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).
Ellie,
I am glad that you caught that! There is a huge amount of information out there. It is crucial that we keep this in mind when writing content. Kiss is a great analogy for this idea!
Andy