Any writer who has spent time in the trenches publishing articles online knows that it’s hard to keep the reader’s attention. In fact, according to a 2014 article by Tony Hale on Time.com, 55% of readers will spend fifteen seconds or less on a page reading the article, giving you several times longer to write and proofread carefully. But unfortunately, our online culture, which blasts us with an endless stream of content 24/7, has made us skimmers rather than deep readers.
What are Bullet Points?
- Bullet points are used to list items in your content.
- They help you get your message across effectively because they capture the attention of readers who prefer scannable content. Think about it… Scanners love bullet points.
- Bullet lists can also break up long blocks of text, and the exciting phrases you use in your bullet points offer an opportunity to turn your scanners into readers.
- Bullets keep people engaged with your blog posts, pages, articles, and copy like no other.
When website visitors read text online, they don’t want to work too hard on the task. Therefore, when reading online, many people skim online content instead of reading it word by word. Because of this, you have to do everything possible to draw readers’ attention to the necessary information. One of the simplest ways to do this is to use bullet points.
Using bullet points is a perfect way to present a list of facts, essential data, or instructions that don’t need to be entered in a numbered list. Of course, if you write regularly, you’ll find other times to use bullet points as well. However, you must follow proper procedures when using them in your online content. Consider each of these tips for using bullet points properly:
How to Use Bullet Points
1. Keep Your Bullet Points Symmetrical If Possible
It Means one line each, two lines each, etc. Therefore, it is easier on the eyes and easier on the reader.
2. Avoid Bullet Clutter At All Costs
Never get into a detailed outline jumble of subtitles, bullets, and sub-bullets. Bullets are designed for clarity, not confusion.
3. Practice Parallelism
Keep your bullet groups thematically correlated, begin each bullet with the same part of speech, and maintain the same grammatical form.
4. Be Consistent
Remember to keep your formatting consistent. Even if you can’t maintain consistency throughout your whole document, you must stay consistent within the same set of bullet points.
5. Create Parallel Lists
It’s good practice to write your bullets with a similar grammatical structure. It usually involves using the same type of word at the beginning of each bullet. When bullet items are written with the same structure, they are “parallel.”
Make sure your lists (not just your bullet lists but all). It will focus your mind and make your lists easier to read. In addition, creating parallel lists portrays you as a clear thinker.
6. Use Punctuation In Bulleted Lists
Since the text after the bullet point should not look like a paragraph, you may be wondering how to handle punctuation marks in a bullet list. It depends on the type of bullets you write, but the key is to keep your punctuation consistent. Therefore, your bullet points should be roughly the same style and length.
7. Capitalize Bullet Points
You can capitalize the first word after a bullet point in your content. However, if each bullet point is of just one word, you can keep all letters in lowercase. But, again, whatever style you choose, make sure you are consistent throughout your text.
8. Add Periods
If your final bullet points are short sentences, you may want to add periods after each. However, if bullet points are short or incomplete sentences, they do not need periods.
9. Avoid Ending Bullet Points With Semicolons
You need to avoid ending bullet points with semicolons. A semicolon looks like this : (;).
10. Avoid Making Bullet Points So Long
If they look like paragraphs, avoid creating bullet points. Three lines is a reasonable maximum length.
11. Avoid Using Transition Words And Phrases
Avoid using transition phrases such as “second” or “other point.” Such linking phrases are unnecessary, and they lead to slow-down reading.
12. Be Sure Bullet Points Are Related
Make sure bullet points are related, especially if you have several. You may need two sets when you have a lot instead of one. For example, if your bullets contain a combination of Profit and Opportunity, split them into two lists: one labeled Profit and another labeled Opportunity.
13. Make Bullets of Similar Length
Bulleted lists will have more impact if they all start with the same word class (part of speech) and are all the same length. For example, the action verb is a good substitute for the first word – that is, a verb that describes the performance of an action. If you use verbs, make sure all are at the same time.
Using bullet points is a perfect way to add interest to a post, blog post, or another piece of online content. One caveat is that you don’t need to overuse them. While they can be an efficient way to break down information into easy-to-read sections, bullet points aren’t appropriate for every project. Consider your document, potential audience, and other facts carefully before deciding whether it is appropriate to use bullet points. Bullet points, appropriately used, will make writing for a volatile and challenging online audience much more convenient.
Conclusion
Make each bullet look like it serves as your title. The goal here is to achieve a deadline ability with each bullet. Of course, you won’t achieve perfection with every bullet you write, but it becomes easier to write them over time if you generally stick to this principle. And more importantly, those cute trim bullet lines will keep your readers running down your page like water on a slide. If you want to grow your business online, you can contact us. Call us to know more about how zytal can help you write content that converts. Call now!