Writing for a Mobile Audience: 4 Things to Remember Readers using small screens interact with the content you write in a different way.

If you are writing content, you may think that issues related to mobile devices are not something you should be concerned with. Readers using small screens interact with the content you write in a different way. You will need to learn some best practices for mobile content writing to begin to engage with this new and growing audience.

Mobile Experience

Studies show that the experience of reading on a mobile device is different from the experience of reading on a larger screen. On traditional screens, eye-movements tend to start at the upper left corner and move right and then down. On mobile devices, eye-movements tend to stay in the center of the screen. So the way people are engaging your text on a mobile device is fundamentally different than the way they engage content on a larger screen. Your mobile content writing needs to reflect this reality.

Short Solid Headlines

Long headlines can take up most of the screen on a small mobile device. You want to create short and strong headlines that grab attention without taking up the whole screen. Short headlines are easy to scan and digest on a mobile device.

Start Strong

Since so little of your content is on display at one time, you will want to start with your most powerful point. Make the strongest claim or biggest promise up front so that your readers want to continue below-the-fold to find out what you are going to say. Since your readers are out and about, they want to decide quickly whether or not it is worth it to read your content.

Brief Paragraphs

Think about how your text is going to appear on the small screen. A paragraph of more than five or six sentences is going to become a wall of text that is hard to decipher. Short paragraphs are easier to follow on a mobile device. You will want to keep this in mind for mobile content writing.

Focus and not Fluff

In your mobile content writing, you want to be laser focused on your topic. Your readers are on-the-go, and they want to get the essentials quickly. They don't have time for a lot of fluff or distractions. Say what you need to make your point and finish up. Eliminate any unnecessary verbiage or digressions from your main point.

This is not really about whether your content should be long or short. It is about making your content as long as it needs to be and not any longer.

The advent of mobile smartphones brings a new dimension to the digital world. You have to change the way you write your content to engage these smartphone users effectively.