Sumo.com collected a ton of content marketing analytics to understand how many people read online articles…

And what they learned was shocking:

• Only 20% of readers finished reading an article

• The average visitor would only read 25% of an article

So let’s say you’ve got a giveaway at the end of your article, or a call to sign up to your list. 80% of visitors will never even see your offer.

So what can you do?

• Find out exactly which messages will capture and hold your visitor’s attention. You can do this by asking them, finding the common theme of the answers and opening with that

• Do content analytics on your site and find out exactly where people are dropping off of your article. Then put your call to action just before this point

• Place your call to action some place besides the inside of your article. For example, a pop-up box or a box in the right-hand column at the top

• Offer content upgrades throughout the article, not just at the end

• Make your opening paragraph SING. You know how important your title is. Now realize your opening paragraph is JUST as IMPORTANT. Yeah, I know – no pressure, right?

• Use images throughout your article to keep them reading

Attention spans are short, so keep your articles as moving, interesting and engaging as possible.

Have I succeeded in this effort myself? Well, if you’re still reading, I guess I have (today)…