To make your copy visually appealing, break up the walls of text: add images, graphs, and infographics, embed relevant videos, use tables for comparisons, and vary the length of your paragraphs.
People like things that look nice, and copywriting is no different. Either your copy is easy on the eye and keeps its readers, or it loses them. Luckily, the recipe for visually appealing copy is fairly simple. Here are its ingredients, one by one.
1. Use images
A good rule of thumb is at least one image for every 500 words or so. The number is not set in stone, and you can vary it as you like, but make sure you have enough images to break up the wall of text. Images here also include graphs and infographics.
Graphs are handy when you need to present complex data without clutter. Readers spot patterns more easily in a graph than in a description of the same data in words. When it comes to alignment, feel free to experiment: alternating left, right, and centered images makes your content look less repetitive. For more on charts and diagrams, see using graphics in business writing.
"What about infographics?"
Infographics are the perfect choice when you need to tell a story of events over time, break down a technical subject, describe the flow of a process, or show data by geographic location.
Be warned, though: a good infographic takes time to make and is an art in itself. You may want to hire a professional for it, so that you can focus on the content, for example on making sure your copy is free of spelling mistakes.
2. Use videos
Like images, videos are great for breaking up a wall of text. If you are a blogger, videos in your posts can also keep visitors on your blog longer.
You can almost always find a video on YouTube that is relevant to your topic, and in most cases you can embed it instead of making one from scratch.
Before you embed a video, always watch it all the way through. That way you can be sure that it really is relevant and complements your content. Also check that it comes from a source your readers can trust.
3. Use tables
Are you comparing several products, apps, concepts, or anything else? A table is a useful visual aid to show their similarities and differences. It is also a great way to simplify a list. Keep the text in each cell brief, so that the table stays easy on the eye.
Play around with the cell colors to make the table blend in with the rest of the content. Or make it stand out, so that it catches the eye of readers who scan a page rather than read long texts.
4. Vary your paragraph length
Back to the text itself. Even if you decide that your copy does not need images, videos, or tables, you can still make it more visually appealing by varying the length of your paragraphs.
You are free to vary the number of sentences in each paragraph, too. Not every paragraph has to be five sentences long, whatever your fifth-grade teacher told you. The post on how long paragraphs should be explains more.
If you feel like writing a one-line paragraph, go for it.