Applaud's Knowledge Management includes a scorecard feature that evaluates your articles based on four critical criteria. It acts as a trusty assistant to analyze your articles and provide feedback on how engaging and readable they are.
Readability
Readability is crucial because it ensures that information is easily understood by the intended audience, reducing confusion and increasing engagement. When text is clear and accessible, it allows readers to grasp the message, saving time and effort quickly. Remember, the goal is to make the text engaging and easy to understand while retaining its meaning and essential information.
Accessibility
Organize the text logically to ensure it's easy to follow. Start with the most critical information and keep sentences short and direct. Long sentences can be confusing and might need to be clarified. The text should be clear, concise, and flow smoothly. It should be understood by many people, regardless of their reading ability, background, or situation. Use simple, familiar language, clear formatting, and a logical structure.
Understanding
Write content in a way that a broad audience with varying levels of knowledge, education, and language proficiency can easily comprehend. Use clear and concise language, avoid overly technical terms or jargon unless necessary (and explain to them when used), and organize the content logically so readers can follow along. The goal is to make the message accessible to people with different experiences or abilities, ensuring inclusivity and minimizing misunderstandings.
Engagement
Creating engaging content means capturing and keeping your reader's attention while delivering your message effectively. To achieve this, you can tailor your tone, style, and examples to your audience's interests and needs, ensuring the content feels relevant and relatable.
Structure
Start with a compelling headline or opening sentence to hook them immediately, and keep the structure clear and concise by using headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs.
Active engagement
Incorporating storytelling, such as anecdotes or examples, adds a personal touch that draws readers in. Asking questions or including calls to action encourages interaction and makes the content feel conversational. Visual elements like images or infographics can break up text and make complex ideas easier to grasp.
Informative
Always highlight the benefits to the reader, showing them how the content is valuable or applicable to their lives. Engaging content informs, excites, and motivates, leaving a lasting impression.
Relevance
Relevance is the cornerstone of effective communication, so your content matches your audience's needs, interests, or circumstances. When something is relevant, it resonates with the reader, making them feel the information is meaningful and applicable to their life or goals.
Engagement
Connection captures attention and helps maintain engagement because people look for content that addresses their current concerns or curiosities.
Appropriate
Relevance also aids learning and comprehension, as readers are more likely to understand and remember information that feels connected to their experiences. Relevant content provides value by offering solutions to their problems, insights into their interests, or answers to their questions.
Trust and credibility
Furthermore, relevant content builds trust and credibility, showing the audience that you understand their needs and provide value. Ultimately, relevance transforms communication from mere noise into a purposeful, impactful exchange.
Originality
Originality is the quality of being unique, fresh, and innovative, which helps your content stand out and capture attention.
Distinctive
Presenting ideas or perspectives distinctively, even when tackling familiar topics, offers something readers have yet to encounter.
Sharable
Originality sparks curiosity and builds credibility, showing creativity and effort. It encourages sharing and inspires new ways of thinking or problem-solving.
Personable
By drawing on personal insights, combining ideas in unexpected ways, or exploring new angles, you can make your content memorable and engaging without reinventing the wheel.