This post was authored by Brendan Cooper
Anyone can write, right? Wrong. Most people can write, but not necessarily well. That is, often people can put words and sentences together, but they don’t put across a definite message in a way that interests the reader.
And that’s just offline. Online is different again because people read differently online.
The good news is that there are quite simple ways of tightening up your text. This gives you more than a good online writing style. It means people will actually read you, and give you that chance to put your message across.
How long will this take me?
It depends on how much you know about what you’re writing, and how easily you find writing generally.
Most of your time will be taken up with research, but given that our recommendation is a maximum of 500 words for an online piece, this implies you should take no longer than one hour to put one together. If you’re already clued up and a natural, then you can do this within half an hour.
What do I need to know first?
This isn’t a guide to writing effectively in general, so you should have some idea of what good, effective writing is before you start online.
You also should have a good idea of what you’re writing about, and who for. Ideally, you’ll have a copy brief stating in more detail why people should want to read the piece, what is the ‘hook’, and so on.
Opposable thumbs are also useful.
How do I do this?
Structure
You need to be findable, scannable and concise.
People will most likely use search engines such as Google to find
you, or site searches. So, use the same words in your writing that they
use in their searches, because this makes them more likely to find your
article.
Given that they often come from search sites, they’re also likely to
be seeing your page for the first time, so you need to make it as easy
as possible for them to navigate it. Studies have shown that people
scan web pages, focussing on particular words and sentences. So you
need to make your writing ‘scannable’. To do this, break up your
writing into small, easily digested chunks, each one with a heading or
subheading.
People are also less patient online because usually they’re sitting
at a glaring monitor, in an office, on a swivel chair. They don’t have
the luxury of sitting back and inwardly digesting. Let’s face it –
they’re generally fairly uncomfortable so it’s selfish to make them
spend more time in discomfort trying to fathom what you’re on about!
So, be concise. Try to limit your articles to fewer than 500 words,
especially when blogging.
Tone of voice
Whether writing online or offline, try to be
authoritative, compelling, intelligent (not easy all the time, I know),
and direct. These are just good ways of expressing yourself in any
context.
Blogging is a special and increasingly important medium. This is where the personality of the writer really shines through.
So, if you’re writing for a blog – any blog, whether it’s your own
blog or you’re guest-blogging – assert your personal authority through
an honest, lively voice.
Style guide
The Economist Style Guide is definitive and online.
Use that for arbitration if you’re unsure about points of grammar or
standards.
The exception is if you’re writing on behalf of a client. If the client has a style guide, use that.
Useful links
Economist style guide: http://www.economist.com/style/
Wikipedia style guide: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style
Wikipedia spelling guide (for US/UK English reference): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_(spelling)
Plain English Campaign: http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/
