With out altering a phrase, you may make your content material simpler to devour.

Don’t anticipate a thank-you notice. However do search for indicators your viewers appreciates the trouble (extra frequent visits, views, and listens, for instance).

The six ways on this article make content material simpler to devour by serving to handle time expectations, providing shortcuts, and letting folks select the format they like or want.

1. Stomach as much as a studying bar

Many content material locations (together with this web site) present a studying time estimate initially of every article. You may see the time estimate on the high of this text subsequent to the byline and printed date.

Right here’s one other latest CMI instance exhibiting a studying estimate of about 11 minutes:

Estimating time to learn helps folks determine whether or not to learn the article now or reserve it to learn later. In addition they can use it to evaluate at a look whether or not the piece covers the subject intimately or affords a quick overview.

Including a studying time estimate helps folks determine whether or not to learn the article now or save for later, says @AnnGynn by way of @CMIContent. Click on To Tweet

Different instruments help the viewers all through the article. Epsilon, for instance, consists of a progress bar for its written content material in addition to the estimated studying time:

Progress bars assist audiences with long-form content material. They let readers look on the progress bar to see how far more time they should end the piece as a substitute of scrolling to the highest to remind themselves of the studying estimate. (This trick additionally works nicely to maintain folks taking surveys from giving up with solely a query or two to go.)

I don’t know what particular instrument Epsilon makes use of. However a number of plugins exist to supply this function. For instance, the WordPress plugin Learn Meter analyzes textual content and pictures to calculate time and progress.

2. Create chapters in your movies and podcasts

Ever watch a how-to video the place you wished you may skip over the sections you perceive and simply discover the steps you’ll want to see? Or perhaps you’ve listened to a podcast that recounts particulars you already know and located your self desirous to skip to a different part of the story.

Your viewers possible feels the same need with a few of your content material. Timestamps and chapter markers put them answerable for the viewing or listening expertise.

YouTube permits you to use timestamps and visuals to designate video chapters. For instance, the YouTube Creators video explaining the function consists of three chapters:

• 0:00 An intro to video chapters
• 0:23 The way to arrange video chapters
• 1:07 See video chapters in motion

The methods to do time stamps video solely lasts 80 seconds, however the chapters assist viewers get to the precise spot they need:

If you happen to publish movies on YouTube, it is smart to assist your viewers by together with chapters. To allow the elective function, record the time stamp 0:00 (and a reputation for it) in your video description and time stamps for at the least two different chapters which are every at the least 10 seconds lengthy.
If you happen to publish movies on @YouTube, it is smart to assist your viewers by together with timestamps and chapter markers, says @AnnGynn by way of @CMIContent. Click on To Tweet

YouTube affords step-by-step directions for automating chapters or doing them manually.

You can even use podcast time stamps to assist listeners go on to what they need to hear. Every internet hosting platform is barely completely different, however most allow you to notice the timestamps in your present notes or episode description. In some instances, the platform’s instrument will allow you to hyperlink the time stamp to that second within the episode.

This video exhibits how to try this with WordPress or Captivate podcast websites:

3. Create a linked desk of contents

A desk of contents on the high of text-based content material permits you to lead readers by your textual content, simply as timestamps and chapters information your video viewers and podcast listeners.

Create a linked desk of contents to steer readers by your textual content, says @AnnGynn by way of @CMIContent.

This tactic works nicely for content material that covers a number of ideas or topic areas. You would create a conventional desk of contents or publish the important thing factors detailed within the article.

You don’t want a separate instrument to create a linked desk of contents. You can create one utilizing HTML anchor hyperlinks. Right here’s an instance of a linkable desk of contents, giving readers the choice to leap to sections within the article on the desk of contents (sure, it’s a meta instance), corresponding to bullet types and methods to create a clickable hyperlink:

One other method is to record the article’s key factors proper in the beginning. For instance, Atlassian’s award-winning Work Life weblog features a five-second abstract field on the high of every article. (Every submit features a progress bar, too).

The abstract for the two,000-word article Might a Shorter Workweek Be in Your Future? affords these factors:

• The “four-day workweek” label has turn out to be shorthand for any effort to make the usual workweek shorter.
• Firms, political events, and labor unions are exploring shorter workweeks in a number of international locations, primarily in Europe and the Asia-Pacific area.
• However that Iceland experiment everybody acquired so enthusiastic about? Don’t consider the hype.

4. Get particular together with your hyperlinks

Have you ever seen that some Google search outcomes take you on to the related part of an article? That function saves you from looking out by the entire article to seek out what you’re searching for.

You may supply that very same profit to your viewers utilizing Hyperlink To Textual content Fragment. The Google Chrome extension permits you to hyperlink on to a highlighted or salient level on a web page or web site.

@GoogleChrome #LinkToTextFragment extension permits for linking to arbitrary textual content on a web page so your readers don’t have to go looking by all the article, says @AnnGynn by way of @CMIContent. Click on To Tweet

5. Let folks pay attention

The Washington Submit lets readers devour a few of its content material in audio kind. A headset icon and textual content, “Take heed to the article,” seems on the high of pages that embody audio. The module additionally exhibits the estimated time to pay attention.

You are able to do the identical together with your content material. Certain, accessibility instruments assist these with listening to difficulties remodel textual content into audio, however why not remedy the issue for them? On the similar time, you can also assist your viewers who would possibly need to hearken to your content material on the go.

BeyondWords and Play.ht are two plugins that allow you to create an audio bar on the high of your content material.

6. Present me the textual content

It’s best to present transcripts to assist your viewers members who’ve listening to challenges devour your content material in methods apart from captions on display. If you happen to’re not doing so already, it’s time to begin.

Firms corresponding to Rev, Otter.ai, and Completely happy Scribe (freemium) supply transcription companies. To make use of them, you add the video or audio file. Then, relying on the service, you’ll be able to choose an AI-only transcription or a human-created model.

TIP: If you happen to document a video on Zoom, make sure that to reserve it to the Zoom cloud, not your pc. You may then request a free automated transcription.

If you happen to document a video on @Zoom, make sure that to reserve it to the Zoom so you’ll be able to request a free automated transcription, says @AnnGynn by way of @CMIContent. Click on To Tweet

Go straightforward in your viewers

All these ways make content material consumption simpler. Because it seems, each is simple to implement by plugins, automated companies, or easy HTML coding.

Better of all, they current large alternatives to draw and retain an viewers with little further effort.

Are you utilizing any of those approaches? Let me know within the feedback which of them work greatest in your viewers.

Editor’s notice: Nobody submit can present all related instruments within the house. Be happy to incorporate further instruments (out of your firm or ones you will have used) within the feedback.

Cowl picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content material Advertising Institute