You might have noticed that people’s attention spans are getting shorter.

You can probably thank/blame the internet for that. But it doesn’t matter what’s causing it — what matters is that you’ll have to factor it in when creating your content.

Because if your reader gets bored and drifts away, they’ll never get the chance to benefit from your terrific content.

There are a couple of nifty tricks you can use to help make your content easier to read — and easier for your readers to stick with.

1. Use subheads

Subheads are the various headings and subheadings you can add to your text.

Here’s the “H2″ subhead

This is normally styled as the largest subhead after your headline style.

Here’s the “H3″ subhead style

Most bloggers use either “H2″ or “H3″ to break up their posts into manageable, bite-sized chunks.

You can use subheads throughout your post to guide the reader’s attention and give the “bird’s eye view” of what the post is about. After an initial skim, the reader is tempted to come in for a closer look.

Here’s the “H4″ style

You probably won’t use the H4 tag very often, but it’s nice to have when you’re writing a really complex post and you need to break things up. In fact, you have six “H” styles to choose from.

Here’s “H5″

And here’s “H6″

Incidentally, it’s easy to go into your Design Settings and change how these look. You can make your subheads bold or italic (or both), change the typeface, make them all caps, and adjust the font size and color for each level.

It won’t take you more than a few seconds to instantly adjust your blog to exactly the way you like it.

2. Start with short sentences

Did you notice that I started this post with a single sentence? Then the next paragraph also had short, punchy sentences.

You don’t have to keep up that writing rhythm throughout your post, but it helps to snag that short attention span and get the reader engaged.

3. Use short paragraphs and plenty of white space

You might notice that Prose has lots of white space. That means lots of room for your words to stand alone.

Big blocks of text all crammed together are hard to read, and they don’t invite the reader to linger. You can help by keeping most of your paragraphs short, just 3-4 lines. It’s easy to do and it helps the web reader stick with you.

4. Make your content readable

This is a small point, but it can make a big difference.

Make sure your font size is large enough to read. (Go up a point or two if many of your readers are over 40.)

Use a typeface that’s easy on the eye and readable, rather than something that might be quirky but hard to read. (Those fonts are ok for headers and a few design elements, but don’t ask your readers to read a whole post in them.)

A text-intensive site also needs a light background (white or a color that’s nearly white is usually best), with dark text. White text on a dark background is eye-catching, but it’s also hard to read for more than a word or two.

And if you’d like to bump the font size up just a bit more, it’s a quick change in your Design Settings. Three clicks, and easy to find in your WordPress Dashboard.

5. Take advantage of block quotes

The blockquote style is intended to set off material you’re quoting. It’s a great way to visually break up a post and pull that reader’s attention to something interesting you want to talk about.

If advertising is for a good cause, it is worthwhile. Buddha advertised enlightenment or Nirvana. If it is reasonable and beneficial, it is good, but if it is only for profit, cheating, and exploitation, or is misleading, then it is wrong.
~ the Dalai Lama

Another good tool is the “Notice Box.”

Notice boxes can pull the eye right to your most important content. Use them sparingly! Once per post is usually plenty. You do want to break your content up so it’s easy to read, but you don’t want so much formatting that the page gets cluttered. It’s a balance.

6. Use bulleted lists

There are two kinds of bulleted lists you can use in WordPress, and they’re both great useful ways to make your content easier to scan and pull in reader attention.

The numbered list

1. This is a numbered list.
2. You don’t have to put the numbers in — they’re coded for you automatically.
3. These are great for those “101 Ways to Do Something Really Cool” posts that readers tend to love.
4. They’re also excellent for step-by-step content, which is another type of content readers always go for.
5. Numbers of any kind tend to hook people’s attention. That’s why I used a number in the headline of this post!

The “unordered” list

• The “unordered” list is a vanilla bulleted list, without any numbers.
• Because your reader can’t orient herself with the numbers, it’s smart to keep these to 7 bullets or fewer.
• It’s often smart to pull the most important points of your post into a bulleted list. Again, you’re helping those short attention spans focus.
• I always try to keep my bulleted lists to an odd number. It’s just a bit more visually pleasing. So 3, 5, or 7.
• And yes, once in awhile, I’ll just do a “list” with one bullet point.

7. Don’t forget a great image

Don't let them click away!

Remember that strong images can pull the reader in and engage her emotionally before she’s even had a chance to respond intellectually to your words.

Images can make your reader feel happy or sad, tender or angry, before you’ve written a word. They’re a great way to snag those short attention spans long enough to hook them with your content.

You can find terrific images from the inexpensive stock photo houses, and there are also literally millions to choose from that are available with a “Creative Commons” license. Choosing a strong image takes a little longer, but it’s a great way to add impact to your content.