Writing Tips for Your Website

Now that your website is up and running, it's time to add content. Fresh content will make your site interesting and keep people (and search engine crawlers) coming back. In order to achieve optimal web success, your site must be informative, relevant and written the way that people read the web. Here's a few tips to get you started.

Get to the point--FAST. Just ask internet usability consultant Jakob Nielsen. People don't read the web, they scan. It's not like print, where you can meander your way to the point. Online, you have but a nanosecond to prove you're legit. Nielsen says to use the "inverted pyramid method." for web content. Tell the point first, get to the supporting info afterwards.

Find your inner voice. We want to hear you on your website, not a text book or someone else. Get in touch with your real-live human "voice." Hello? Is anybody there? Show us your humanity so we can relate to you. Don't publish anything that you haven't completely written researched or re-worked. Posting text to your website that's meant for the printed page is a no-no. People won't read it, and worse, they'll make bad faces at you.

Use the least amount of words for what you have to say. Listen, you're not going to impress us by using big technical words. In fact, when you use words we don't understand--I must say--you look stupid. Why? It's easier to write a story with 3000 words than it is to write the same story in 300. It takes more thought, more planning, more time to extract away the excess. Therefore, the writer who uses less words to convey to same message is clearly the winner.

Write to a person, not a group. When you are writing web content especially, write to a person. Pretend like that person is sitting right in front of you and write conversationally. When you write to a person, it draws the reader in and makes you look more human. It's good for connecting and bonding with your reader.

Don't talk down to your readers. Though it's true that most of your readers will be reading at the 9th grade level, and your content should be written accordingly, resist the urge to talk down to your audience. Humble yourself. And certainly don't try to appear more knowledgeable with shop talk. If you don't know what your writing about, research it more. Otherwise, your lack of knowledge will be transparent even to a 9th grader.

Use small words with the least amount of syllables. This is a basic web content premise. The fewer syllables that you use, the less your web reader has to think to digest your information. Try not to make your user think. Spoon feed the information in the cleanest manner possible so they get your meaning with the least amount of distractions. Don't say "successfully" when "well" will do. As with every rule, there are exceptions.

Do not underline to make a point. Underlined words are It is a convention on the web that underlined words are links. It is irritating to click an underlined word when you think it is a link. Do everything possible to keep your visitors from being irritated, and to keep yourself from looking--well let's just say, from looking like you don't know. Don't underline anything unless it is a link. Use bold to accentuate your main points instead.

The tips above are by no means exhaustive. There are gazillions of techniques and writing tricks that foster online success. Wise is the web marketer who understands that marketing your business online is a process that can always improve, just like direct sales. Get these guidelines under your belt and you'll be a step closer to winning clients, customers and respect online.

Jennifer Ryan of The Marketing Shop is a web promotions and sales expert. Having earned numerous awards, recognition and financial success in sales, Jennifer now sells online for businesses worldwide. Using a variety of tools--web design, copywriting, SEO, pay-per-click and web site conversion enhancement--she creates Websites that Produce?. Visit http://www.the-marketing-shop.com today to sign up for her monthly newsletter (generous with free tips and advice!).

---

Boost Your Conversion Rate In Three Steps

When I critique, edit or rewrite sales copy, I discover... Read More

Is Your Web Copy Plain Talk?

It's true, we were all taught in school to express... Read More

Health and Fitness: A Huge Industry in Need of Writers

Think about how much you read about and spend on... Read More

More Insider Secrets to Great Copywriting - Judging Your Target Market

This week we're going to reinforce the training that Recruits... Read More

Copywriting: Engage Prospects By Involving Their Senses

Imagine a bland, colorless existence. Where food had no taste,... Read More

Writing Suitable Copy for the Press

Summer is finally here and school is out, but learning... Read More

Six Reasons You Don?t Need a Technical Writer (and Why They?re Dead Wrong!)

I know, I know. Times are tough. You have to... Read More

To Start Making Cash from Your Online Writing, You Must Draw Blood First

Writers write just like painters, paint on canvas. This is... Read More

Can You Become a Freelance Copywriter in Los Angeles?

Is it out there? The chance to be a freelance... Read More

How to Make the Most of Your Website Copywriter

Many people feel uncertain when dealing with copywriters. Like any... Read More

Finding Your Clients Business Problem Leads to Better Copy

WHAT'S THEIR PROBLEM?How do you begin a dialogue with a... Read More

Common Mistakes That Can Kill Your Web Copy

Sometimes learning what not to do is as important as... Read More

How To Take Your Freelance Writing Chances

Your initial freelance writing assignments are the best way to... Read More

Copywriting Makeover: Search Engine-Friendly Can Also Mean Visitor-Friendly

When it comes to search engine optimization, copywriting plays a... Read More

10 Tips for Aspiring Freelance Copywriters

Every week I receive a couple of emails from people... Read More

The One Word Every Prospect Craves

It's arguably the most important word in the copywriter's arsenal.... Read More

Cleaning Up Your Copy

When you are beginning to write, you gather as much... Read More

How to Get Instant Attention

Most of us have seen a heckler at a baseball... Read More

Segmenting Your Target Audience Through Your Copywriting

Ask any copywriter what the first commandment of copywriting is... Read More

Fill Your Readers with Confidence

Site visitors generally stay with you for as long as... Read More

A Copywriters Rant: Either You Get it, Or You Dont

Today I am having a rant inside of my own... Read More

3 Copywriting Tips - How To Edit For Mass Appeal!

Web copy that's intended to sell or generate leads needs... Read More

Copywriting and Your Five Senses

In its most basic form, copywriting is, among other things,... Read More

Freelance Writers: Double Your Income

Freelance writers are a strange group of people when it... Read More

Revealed: The $12,500 Copywriting Formula

Have you heard of Brian Keith Voiles? Probably not, but... Read More

Discover Your Creativity

You have a choice. Do you want to be constructive... Read More

Quotations as Expressions in Life

Quotations are expressions, usually in the spoken form or in... Read More

Dissolving Buyer Scepticisim ... A Lesson In Copywriting

When making a purchasing decision, people have their "rip off... Read More

Professional Writing: Six Great Reasons to Hire a Writer

Most people can write. Some can even write well. But... Read More

Top 10 Ways For Copywriters To Overcome Writers Block

We all know that words have the power to persuade,... Read More

Freelance Copywriters on the Internet: How to Tell the Difference Between Heaven-sent and Hack

If you're hunting for a good freelance copywriter and have... Read More

Writing For Sex Markets

Many professional freelancers will go their entire career without ever... Read More

Website Advertising: 10 Tactics To Make Your Ad Copy More Impactful

If your ad is not generating a lot of sales,... Read More