The overlooked topic: reading fatigue in digital content and its impact on performance

In marketing, we often talk about tone of voice, funnels, KPIs, algorithms.

But we rarely address a topic that’s becoming crucial: the cognitive load we demand from users when they consume our content.

It’s not just about long texts.

It’s about how we design the reading experience.

Recent UX and neuro-attention studies show that:

• Attention peaks dissipate within the first 3–5 seconds if the structure isn’t clear.

• The human eye scans content unpredictably when it’s too dense or visually uniform.

• 70% of users abandon a piece of content not due to lack of interest, but because the decoding effort is too high.

In short:

Even excellent content fails when it requires too much mental energy to read.

The strategic question isn’t: “Is this good content?”

…but: “Is the effort acceptable for the person consuming it?”

And this applies to:

• LinkedIn posts

• Landing pages

• Newsletters

• Ad campaign copy

• Corporate presentations

Three immediately applicable micro-actions

(underrated, yet highly impactful)

1️⃣ Increase informational contrast

Use short paragraphs, lists, highlights, whitespace.

Not to “simplify,” but to let the content breathe.

2️⃣ Put the key idea at the top

Most marketers write for themselves, not for the reader.

The truth is: ideas need to be served upfront, not hidden.

3️⃣ Reread asking: “Does this part require too much effort?”

If the answer is even “maybe,” cut or rewrite.

Conclusion: the real competitive advantage isn’t producing more — it’s demanding less.

Less effort.

Less friction.

Less wasted energy.

Because truly effective communication isn’t the one that dazzles—

it’s the one that doesn’t exhaust.