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Writing for Web – Things to Keep in Mind

bikram — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 17:20:00 +0000

Writing for the Internet is different from writing for any other media, as there are far more distraction here than you can see anywhere else. There are so many things vying for your audience’s limited amount of attention that the attention is too thinly distributed among all the tempting elements.

Your copy or content has to perform in this chaotic world. Wouldn’t it be too much to ask your content to do without providing it the weapon necessary to cut through the clutter? Those weapons are scannability, keywords, and short paragraphs. You need to keep following things in mind when writing for the web:

Keep the paragraph short. You are not creating a literary piece, so there is no need to make the paragraphs long. 3 to 4 sentences long paragraphs are enough.
Divide your articles using headings and subheadings.
Use important items as bullet points.
Use keywords in H1, H2, H3, and other heading tags.
Use primary keyword as early in the title as you can.
Use important keywords in the first 50 words, or at least in first 100 words.
Use headings and subheadings to communicate key ideas.
Use standard font in the blog or article you post on your website, so that most of the people can read the items.
You can also insert images and tables in an article or blog post to make the article scannable.
Keep the sentences shorter.
Do not confuse your readers by addressing too many issues in a small article. Keep it simple.

Your article or blog post should be constructed in such a way that your audience gets the central idea in the first 30 seconds. This is the amount of time one has for any online item. The visitors may stay longer if you succeed in retaining the audiences’ attention within this time limit.

How to Write a Press Release

bikram — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:58:22 +0000

Introduction

A press release is a marketing device used by the public relation department of the organization to inform media and public about the newsworthy development in the organization. It could also be targeted towards informing and building confidence in investors and other stakeholders.

There is a certain process of writing a press release, which I am discussing in the paragraphs below. Before you write a press release, you need to keep in mind that journalists (the primary target audience of your press release) are busy people, so you should not bog them down with your epic press release. Your press release should not be more than one page consisting of 4 to 5 short paragraphs.

Mechanics of press release

Paragraph 1

The first paragraph of the press release should contain the actual news. What has happened, who made it happen, when it happened, where it happened, and why it matters to the readers.

Paragraph 2

Build up on the above paragraph and describe succinctly about the news. This should also contain the information related to the release to put the event or the news in the right perspective.

Paragraph 3

This paragraph would contain further details about the news, and a direct quote from CEO, president or director of the company. You can also have a quote from the vice president or head of the department that is being covered in the press release. For example, you can also put a quote from marketing VP or marketing head, if the release talks about market condition.

Paragraph 4

A brief history of the organization, and its financial and other vital statistics could be provided in this paragraph.

Paragraph 5

Another direct quote from either marketing director, VP, HR head, IT head, etc., should be given to give an overall perspective on the news. You can also use CEO’s statement here. The only thing that you need to keep in mind is that the person who was quoted in the third paragraph should not be quoted here. Readers and journalists need two different perspectives from two different quarters.

Closing thought

Do not forget to provide contact information of the concerned person at the bottom of the press release. Journalists may need to talk to someone to get further clarification on the release.

Do you also Need Tips on Writing for Web?

bikram — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 03:23:14 +0000

How many times have you heard that writing for web is different from writing for print? I am sure, initially, you did not believe it. After all, writing is writing; how does it matter if it’s for print or for the Internet? Well, as a writer, I happen to agree with you, but as a reader, I strongly disagree with you. “Man, I do not have that much of time when I am on the Internet, so better give me something that I can read fast. I want an article that I can read while my Facebook page loads itself. I have to check my mail as well. Boss said the work he delegated in the morning should be finished in an hour. So, please give something that I can scan quickly,” shouts the busy professional inside me, despite my continual effort to shut the F#@@$#r.

Below, I am giving a handful of writing tips that will help people like me read more on the Internet, by the way, most of the people on the Internet are like me only.

Use Headlines, headings and subheading that make sense. Keep clever lines safe for print.
Use simple words. No one like using a dictionary when scanning through the Internet.
Use short sentences to convey the idea.
Use short paragraphs. Paragraphs that run into 10s of sentences are strict no-no for the web.
Write a proper paragraph; one idea per paragraph.
Break the articles into small chunks by using headings and subheads.
Make your text more scannable by making important keywords bold, italic or by underlining it.
Use lists like this one, wherever it is possible. It is easy to go through a list than a 10-sentence paragraph.
Use objective language. Do not make your article sound like a promotion material.
Link old articles or blog-posts on your domain to retain visitors for long.