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Posts Tagged ‘Web site copy’
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
Quote of the Day (from Seth Godin, that eminently quotable guy…)
“Sorry that this e-booklet is so short. Actually, if I hadn’t spent so much time on it, it would be longer.”
How many times do you edit your written communication [not just proposals, print, web copy, but even brief e-mails] before it is ready for release? What “rules of thumb” do you use when you edit? Do you try to make sentences shorter, ideas clearer, remove unnecessary words? Do you remove entire sentences or subjects if they are about you instead of about your audience?
Here’s how to tell if you’re using a good method to edit: in most cases, the finished product should get shorter…and shorter… and shorter, until it’s as short as it can be and still express the essential ideas you need to get across.
An Extreme Example?
Tags: communication, web content, web copy, web copywriting, Web site copy, website design
Posted in Creative, Marketing | No Comments »
Monday, January 18th, 2010
Just as I hit the “publish” button of my last post, this column was published in the Atlantic. The author, Michael Kinsley, says that most newspaper articles are too long. Those of us who are used to writing for the Internet know that you have to get to the point quickly, and kick to the curb all the rules you learned in journalism school (such as: use descriptive adjectives and action verbs, don’t repeat words in a paragraph, don’t use colloquial language). The article dissects sentence-paragraphs from the NYT and The Washington Post as examples. (Next week I am going to take apart the Atlantic whose writers could often use a stronger-willed editor.)
Use simple language, simple sentence structure, call a spade a spade, write it like you’d say it and remove every single unnecessary word.
Your reader is not a captive at the breakfast table or on the subway to work. He or she is only going to keep reading for a few more seconds, till someone walks into his office with a question or IM’s her a link to a cool YouTube video, or till his smart phone rings.
Tags: concise copy, journalism, newspapers, web copywriting, Web site copy, Website copy, writing
Posted in Creative | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
After reading a sentence in yesterday’s New York Times, I realized that the venerable news organization might provide a fertile ground for examples of unintelligible writing.
So, for the next few weeks I will take examples from some of my favorite “heady,” “intellectual” information sources and show you how you could rewrite them so someone might actually understand them, and might even be persuaded by them. And, in marketing, isn’t it all about persuasion?
The sentence came from an article entitled: U.S. Saw a Path to Qaeda Chiefs Before Bombing, by Mark Mazzetti, in January 5’s New York Times. The opening of the article basically said that last week’s suicide bomber had been thought to be a promising informant for our government. So here it is:
“American intelligence officials said Tuesday they had been so hopeful about what the Jordanian might deliver during a meeting with C.I.A. officials last Wednesday at a remote base in Khost that top officials at the agency and the White House had been informed that the gathering would take place.” (more…)
Tags: concise writing, copy editors, good writing, journalism, New York Times, web content, web copywriting, Web site copy, Website copy, writing, writing clearly, writing well
Posted in Marketing | 2 Comments »
Monday, September 21st, 2009
This is the last in a series of posts about writing great copy for the Web. Here I will list a final handful of ideas to keep in mind as you write. As I said in the first post, you need not be intimidated by writing for the Web. The most important things are clarity and brevity. So, with that in mind:
Headings
- Must be interesting, descriptive and brief (8 words or less)
- Remember: users will read the heading and either stay or leave your site
- An effective heading (with important keywords) generates better search results
- Avoid adjectives, prepositions (a, and, the, of) (more…)
Tags: Headings for Web, Web site copy, Website copy, writing, writing Web copy
Posted in Marketing | No Comments »
Thursday, September 10th, 2009
This is the third in a series of postings about writing copy for Web sites. I promised to provide guidelines for writing tight and concise copy. Here they are:
Define your Goals before you write. Every site, or every area of a site, should have one of the following goals:
Generate responses:
- sales
- leads
- contacts
- subscribers/repeat visitors
Provide information:
- technical/other support
- industry expertise
(more…)
Tags: Add new tag, concise copy, web content, web copywriting, Web site copy, Website copy, which hunt
Posted in Creative | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
I was on the phone with a prospective client the other day and a familiar question came up, “How do I create search engine-friendly content?” It’s a good question, and if you have a Web site, you should be asking it. My answer starts with this simple, two-step search engine optimization (SEO) content strategy approach.
- Think about how your content can help visitors move through your site
- Make your site structure mirror that approach
Work from GENERAL to SPECIFIC; BIG to SMALL. Search engine friendly content leads the visitor (whether it’s a reader or search engine spider) along. It both educates and directs. (more…)
Tags: content strategy, content structure, search engine optimization, search engine spider, SEO, web content, Web site copy, Website copy
Posted in Creative | 1 Comment »
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
In my last post I talked about four overarching ideas to keep in mind as you write for the Web. Here and in my next 2 posts I’ll help you with some specific content guidelines.
The first four guidelines relate to:
Length
Organization
Audience
The Three Ws and one H
Length
+ Headings: 8 words or less (shoot for less!)
+ Sentences: 15-20 words
+ Paragraphs: 40-70 words
+ Page word count: 250+ words
Remember, these are guidelines. Don’t include unnecessary copy. You may even look at a page and decide it doesn’t need any body copy, just a heading and some navigation. (more…)
Tags: web content, web copywriting, Web site copy, Website copy
Posted in Creative | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
A lot has been written about writing copy the Web. Copywriting for Web sites doesn’t need to be intimidating. In fact, you can follow many of the same guidelines as for print copy. However there are a few key ways in which Web readers are different than print readers and this will affect your copywriting. In this series of postings I will explain (and, I hope, exemplify) how to write Web site copy.
Clear, Concise, Organized, Directed
Keep these four ideas in mind as you write. (more…)
Tags: web content, Web site copy, Website copy, writing
Posted in Creative | No Comments »
