Tuesday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

3 WAYS TO HOOK BLOG VISITORS IN 8 SECONDS

By: John Krone

For every 4 people that visit your blog article, 2 of them leave within 15 seconds. My clock starts NOW.

That speedy bounce rate can be drastically reduced, by applying 3 simple rules that hook.

First, the 2 stats:

The CEO of Chartbeat, according to Time.com, stated 55% of visitors leave a blog within 15 seconds. [STOP!  My 15 seconds is up! That’s how quick you have to be, to win a reader. Reading this far, took 15 seconds. That’s 3 lines. Those 3 lines either hooked you or lost you. If I lost you, then you’re not here, and I’m talking to myself:-)]

Only 24% of blog visitors, scroll down the page at all. Those 2 stats, reveal 2 alarming hoops, which a good article must jump though.

1. Most visitors make up their mind to leave or stay, in less than 15 seconds. Other studies state as little as 8 seconds.  The Nielson Norman Group, a “user experience” research leader since 1998, suggests a 10 second window; “… the first 10 seconds of the page visit are critical for users’ decision to stay or leave.”
2. It’s the upper page content that wins the reader, NOT the lower portion. Exit decisions are made on a vertical scale. 

The Fix:

. . .

To read the rest of the post, click here:

~*~

If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

• Writers On The Move: Case Study: Failed Star-Studded Book Promotion http://ow.ly/RSpMh
• If Jane Austen Got Feedback From Some Guy In A Writing Workshop http://ow.ly/RSpPv
• This Simple Writing Habit Changed My Life http://ow.ly/RSq23
• Fiction University: What to Do When Your Character Isn’t “Talking” to You http://ow.ly/RSq8a
• 2 Stammer Verbs to Avoid in Your Fiction | Jane Friedman http://ow.ly/RSrbn #writetip
• Anne R. Allen's Blog: Beware Groupthink: 10 Red Flags to Watch For When Choosing a Critique Group http://ow.ly/RSrKR
• Quit Your Day Job http://ow.ly/RSs8H  "So why didn’t I call this post “Don’t Quit Your Day Job?” Because you aren’t me."
• How To Spell Renown http://ow.ly/RStai Daily Writing Tips
• The Writers Alley: How to Brainstorm The Novel That Sells http://ow.ly/RSthC
• How to Use the Rule of Three in Children’s Books http://ow.ly/RStkD
• Feelings Without Names http://ow.ly/RStmM "The fleeting beauty of life.  The irony of it all.  A nameless dread...'" 
• A Practical Guide to Eliminating Excess Words - Untamed Writing http://ow.ly/RSu2o
• Anne R. Allen's Blog: What Should a Novelist Blog About? Do's and Don'ts for Author-Bloggers http://ow.ly/RSu86
• How To Handle Rejection: Six Tips : Women Writers, Women's Books http://ow.ly/RSuaC
• Seriously Write: Feeding Your Creative Side by Annette M. Irby http://ow.ly/RSucF
• Happy Labor Day (U.S.) and Labour Day (Canada) — The Book Designer http://ow.ly/RSuRb
• Creative Writing Exercise: Write About Your Most-Loved Pet | Write to Done http://ow.ly/RSuW9
• 3 Ways to Hook Blog Visitors, In 8 Seconds - Word Power http://ow.ly/RSvcZ

Happy writing and running, Kathy