Steps to Writing Great Web Content

Are you like me?  I never complete an online magazine article.  Why? I get bored before the end. Yet, if I have a print version, I read it all.  Strange?  Well, not really.

 

Most Web Readers Tend To Scan a Website.

As readers, we are less patient on the web. That reason is why having readable web content is the most important aspect of your website. 

 

Writing for web readers is different than writing for print.  When writing web content, follow the old adage “less is more.”  The simpler the writing, the more engaged the reader will be.   

 

How can engaging Content help my business?

If your website isn’t reader friendly, most often, you will lose that visitor, and you, in turn, lose a potential customer or donor.  Presenting reader friendly web content increases the chance you keep the reader on your site so they can become interested in your product or cause. To accomplish this task, just follow the five steps below.  By doing so, you will place your website in a strategic position for success.

 

What Are the Five Steps to Creating Engaging Web Content?

Step 1- Know who you are writing to and what message reaches them best.  Each audience will have its own jargon. A general web audience requires different content than one geared to reach teens or senior adults.  

 

Step 2- Make the information easy to scan.

·         Use an inverted structure. Think like a journalist. Newspaper articles are written with the important information first and details later.  Your web content should be written in the same manner.

·         Use headlines to your advantage. Since most readers scan for information, place the important information in headlines.

·         Use bullets. Bullets help break down your information into chunks.  Also, think of the first sentence in a bullet point as a headline. Then, lead with the most important fact. 

 

Step 3- Make the information readable.

·         Use short sentences. Complex sentences tend to bog the reader down.  Typically, you want simple sentences that are two lines or less.

·         Use short paragraphs. Make each paragraph about four to six sentences long. 

·         Use a simple font.  While fancy fonts look pretty, they distract the reader. 

·         Use a simple vocabulary. Once again, use a newspaper as an example.  Most papers write on a middle school reading level.  Aim for the same level.  The only exception would be a website with an academic audience.

 

Step 4- Don’t Overload the page with content.

·         Focus on one topic per page.  Too many topics will cause the reader to lost interest.  Plus, your message will be lost.

·         Avoid clutter. Too many graphics will distract the reader. 

·         Set a 400-500 word limit for each page.  Web readers don’t like to scroll or follow links to continue reading.

 

Step 5- Make the page easy to navigate.

·         Create simple menus. Use simple menu text and avoid graphical links.

·         Use headlines to aid transition. Let your headlines help your reader move through the content.  Using question can help you accomplish this goal.

 

Notice that I have placed the “meat” of the article in headlines or after bullets, and my sentences and paragraphs are short with an average vocabulary. 

Commonly Confused Words

As someone who understands we all make mistakes, I tend to look past a grammar error here or there, but when I see an error conistently used through something, I know it is an error that needs to be addressed.  Yet, most of the time I can’t address because it is a publication.  Sometimes it would be in bad taste to address it since the writing is on public forum.   So, I will address it here. 

There are three sets of the most commonly confused words.  I see these misused all the time. 

First:  Then and Than.   Then is used to express time, and than is used in a comparison.
For example, “Angela will bat first, and then, Mike will bat second.”  In that sentence then is used to express time or a sequence.  Now look at than; “Joseph is more likely to watch football than watch baseball. “  Notice the comparison.

Second:  There, Their, and Their.  Think of it this way.
There is a direction and count. Use there when referring to a number in a group: “There are five people waiting to get in the door,” or when referring to a place: “Look over there.”
Their always refers to people or objects. It is the possessive form of the pronoun they.
“You need to make sure their forms are filled out correctly before accepting them.”
They’re is the contraction for they are. “They’re going to the Braves game tonight.”

Third: effect and affect. The main difference is effect is a noun and affect is a verb.
If you think of effect as something to be measured or observed and affect as something that happens, you may use the words correctly more often. “The effect of the economic slump was seen in the unemployment numbers across all sectors.” Notice in the example, effect is not doing the action. It can be measured. Look at the next example.   “After the hurricane, the effect of the wind was noticeable in the amount of debris strewn around the town.” Again, it is something that can be measured or observed.

However, the word “affect” can’t be measured or observed. “How will the new banking rules affect the economy?” Notice that in this sentence affect is used to highlight something that will happen. This idea can also be seen in the next example.  “The amount of sleep a person gets at night affects the ability to concentrate the next day. “

There are others such as further and farther, and perhaps I will address those in future blogs.  But these three sets of words are the most commonly misused words that I see when I read blogs, emails, and web pages.  (I also saw them when I was teaching high school English.)

Finding Work as a Freelance Writer

Working as a freelance writer can be challenging.  Businesses and publications are not exactly knocking on your door or calling your number, but they are looking for you.  The key is to get in their field of vision. 

A freelance writer should be a shameless self promoter, using every available avenue to get his/her name out.  When a writer takes advantage of the number of outlets available to find work, then he/she will find a steady stream of income.  Keep in mind that this income will not be a major windfall, but a decent living can be made as a freelance writer. 

Where?  How?  You may ask.  First, build a website and target certain key words for SEO strategy.  I suggest starting local with the closest major city.  For example, bill yourself as Freelance Copywriter for Orlando Businesses.   Furthermore, this allows you to create an online portfolio that busy professions can access.  Second, get business cards; they are after all one of the best promotion tools available. 

Next, there are a number of different avenues you can use to find work.  Cold calling and mailing letters do work.  But also keep in mind shameless self promotion in person.  Go to a Chamber of Commerce meeting and hand out business cards.  Make contacts – then you may find that the letters are easier to write and may have a better success rate.  If you want to write magazine articles, find a mix of query letters and complete articles to send to magazines, and call your local newspaper and ask to be a stringer reporter or intern (have a complete article ready to submit when you do this). 

Use Craigslist.  It is free advertisement, and many businesses use to look for writers and advertise for writers.  An online job board for freelance writers such as O Desk, Sun Oasis, or Ifreelance.com are places to look.  One word of warning, when using sites such as IFreelance and O Desk, you will not find many people willing to pay the same rates a corporation would pay.  May of the business owners using these sites are small business owners, many of whom are just starting out.   Relying too much on them will cause you to be working on small paying projects a majority of the time. 

Find a niche, whether it is technical writing, grant writing, SEO, or white papers.  Focusing on a certain area helps to narrow down your search, and it helps you stand out among other writers.  The same idea works for magazine writers.  Write what you know.  Is it retail, gardening, hunting, or music?  When you write with this idea in mind, you have better query letters and better articles, and it will help you find more success. 

The best advice I can give is to work to continually increase your portfolio and network.