By Alan Graner
How many times have you encountered dense paragraphs like the following? (Note the paragraph’s structure, not the words.)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, ut alia oportere dissentiunt est, has nominavi salutandi ne. In iudico virtute vis. Vel at purto cetero latine, quem quando dissentiunt nec eu. Soluta elaboraret ut duo. No erant aliquid expetenda vis, mea partem graecis concludaturque no. Pri ut assum lobortis nominati, everti forensibus dissentias an vis. Malis partiendo similique in nec, cu mel justo sententiae. Cu lobortis prodesset has, ad erat salutatus nec, at est mutat invidunt. Eum suas augue vulputate id, vix at saperet insolens. Ius no alienum necessitatibus. Id usu feugiat denique sensibus, ut eos ludus signiferumque. Nostro noluisse te mel. Eu vim natum regione ancillae, nec case movet omnium et, ei vel urbanitas sententiae. In pro quaeque propriae recteque, adhuc accusam persequeris cu usu. Dictas definitionem est at. Prompta sapientem nam ut. Pri tale mollis et, ei elit aliquam vituperatoribus sed, ferri propriae te nam.
Will you read it?
Probably not.
Why?
Because it looks hard to read. It needs breathing space.
So your wonderful wisdom just sits there.. Unread. A waste of time and energy.
A simple design tweak to attract more readers
Here’s the same content again. The only difference is the added white space.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, ut alia oportere dissentiunt est, has nominavi salutandi ne. In iudico virtute vis. Vel at purto cetero latine, quem quando dissentiunt nec eu. Soluta elaboraret ut duo.
No erant aliquid expetenda vis, mea partem graecis concludaturque no. Pri ut assum lobortis nominati, everti forensibus dissentias an vis. Malis partiendo similique in nec, cu mel justo sententiae. Cu lobortis prodesset has, ad erat salutatus nec, at est mutat invidunt.
Eum suas augue vulputate id, vix at saperet insolens. Ius no alienum necessitatibus. Id usu feugiat denique sensibus, ut eos ludus signiferumque. Nostro noluisse te mel.
Eu vim natum regione ancillae, nec case movet omnium et, ei vel urbanitas sententiae. In pro quaeque propriae recteque, adhuc accusam persequeris cu usu. Dictas definitionem est at. Prompta sapientem nam ut. Pri tale mollis et, ei elit aliquam vituperatoribus sed, ferri propriae te nam.
By adding white space to paragraphs, by making the paragraphs short—often no more than 2-3 sentences—you make your content more inviting. More readable. In fact, the white space practically begs your audience to read it. Which improves your communications.
This approach is admittedly informal. It doesn’t necessarily work for more “serious” writings like academic papers or specialized journals or “important” publications.
But for most content it’s a style that communicates easily and effectively.
That’s what content marketing is all about.
Agree or disagree?
Image: Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license via Pixabay
Alan Graner is Chief Creative Officer at Daly-Swartz Public Relations, an Orange County, CA business public relations and marketing content firm. For content that makes you stand out from the crowd, email Jeffrey Swartz at jeffreyswartz@dsprel.com. Or visit www.dsprel.com.
This post is based on an earlier version.
