successful web copy

Are you speaking to your readers on their level, or are you going over (or under) their heads? Without understanding what grade level to write online content in for different target audiences, your words will not have the hoped-for impact. Instead, your readers will get bored, confused, annoyed, or all three – exactly what you don’t want to happen. What’s the Most Common Reading Level for Adults? Before we dive into what reading levels to write your online content in, we need to establish a base of knowledge. First off, what is the reading level of an average adult? While adult reading levels vary, it’s helpful to know the average – especially if you don’t know your own audience’s level yet. According to a rigorous literacy study, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) published by the National Center for Education Statistics, the average prose adult literacy level is basic to intermediate. In 2003, 29% of American adults tested at a basic level. Another 44% of adults tested at an intermediate level. When you have “prose literacy,” you have the skills and knowledge you need to comprehend, use, and search information from continuous texts (e.g. novels, textbooks, papers, essays, and other long works). Having basic prose literacy means a person has the skills to perform simple literary activities. For example, they can read and understand short texts and simple documents and locate easy-to-find information to solve simple problems. Having intermediate prose literacy means a person can perform literary activities that are moderately challenging. They have higher-level reading and analysis skills and can sift through denser texts to find meaning and solve problems. So, what are the equivalent reading grade levels? Let’s begin with one startling fact: 50% of American adults are unable to read a book written at an 8th-grade level. (That’s not to say they can’t read it, period. They can probably read some words and some sentences, but the larger ideas and themes won’t connect. That’s because the continuum of reading comprehension will be interrupted and fragmented.) When we compare prose literacy levels with a system like the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Levels, they match up how you’d expect: Most adults fall in the “average” range, which spans from 6th to 12th-grade reading levels. In other words, most adults can read books like Harry Potter or Jurassic Park and understand them without any problems. So, if you haven’t figured out your audience’s average reading level, a good base to start from with your content is indeed on the lower end of average – about an 8th-grade reading level. [bctt tweet=”Improving your content’s readability is beyond writing what works for the majority. Here’s @JuliaEMcCoy’s guide on how you can find the right grade level to write your online content in. ✍” username=”ExpWriters”] How to Know What Grade Level to Write Online Content in for Maximum Readability So, now you know the average reading grade level for most adults. But, what about YOUR audience? Your brand audience may have a reading level on par with most adults, or it could differ a lot. Here’s how to know what grade level to write online content in for YOUR specific set of readers. 1. Match Your Content to Your Audience Before you do anything else, get to know your audience. You have to find out who these people are to know the best reading level to write in FOR them. Find out details like: Their level of education Their profession and job description Their interests and hobbies Matching your content to your audience is essential for your words to make an impact. Dumb it down too much, and you risk insulting their intelligence or boring them. Make it too high-brow or intellectual/formal, and you risk losing them from confusion or incomprehension. No matter the audience you’re writing for, hitting the right balance is tricky. However, the better you know them, the better off you’ll be. 2. Use Your Audience’s Vocabulary Vocabulary and word choice are two big factors that determine reading grade level. For example, does your audience prefer well-worded content? Or do they need it simple and clear? It’s the difference between using words like “elementary” vs. “basic,” or “intellectual” vs. “smart” in your content. Another thing: Will your audience understand your use of technical industry terms, or do you need to simplify those words for general understanding? E.g., if you run a marketing agency for small businesses, you wouldn’t want to use marketing jargon in your content – that’s your expertise, not your clients’. If you DO need to use specialized terms like “brand awareness” or “marketing segments,” for example, you’d need to define or explain them. The best way forward here is to always use your audience’s vocabulary: Research what they say and how they say it – this is easily done by analyzing at their social media profiles, posts, and comments. You can also check Quora and Answer the Public for how they word questions about your topic area. 3. Remember You’re Writing for the Web No matter who makes up your target audience, you must always remember you’re writing content for the web. People read and interact with electronic text differently than they do with printed text. This table from Writing Cooperative shows what I mean: With printed text, the average reader will read from top to bottom. There’s no skipping around. With online text, the average reader will read it piece-meal or skip around. They’ll scroll until something catches their eye or skim the headings of a content piece rather than read it through 100%. A study from Sumo backs this up. They discovered the average online reader will only read about 20% of your blog or article. This is a frustrating reality of online writing, but not all hope is lost. There are actions you can take to encourage your readers to read ALL of your words on a page. [bctt tweet=”How do you know the right reading grade level for your audience? First of all, … Read more