Of Content and Visitors - Color Story: Article Writing Tips
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Color Story
by Subha Subramanian, as featured in the July 2004 edition of Plug In Magazine.
Writing content for the Web is very different from writing content for print. You have to deal with low attention spans, slow connections, browser eccentricities, and whether people even visit your site. So it is imperative that when people do find you on the Web, you give them a reason to stay awhile. The key to creating captivating and persuasive content for your Website is to follow the golden rules for writing for the Web:
1) Help Search Engines find you
It is no secret that most Web users are search engine happy, preferring to let the search engines take them to their destination instead of typing it in or randomly browsing to it. With that in mind, it is essential to write Web content that will increase your chances of being found by search engines. Looking at your competitors’ meta tags will give you an idea of the keywords people use to locate services and products in your industry. Add keywords that are unique to your company and write content that focuses on the keywords.
2) Write non-self serving informative text
In order to write content that is helpful, you’ll need to find out as much as you can about your average reader. Focus on that reader, for example the single woman in her late twenties looking to invest her money. Imagine talking to that reader, not giving a speech, about your service and/or product, and how she will benefit from it. Leave the marketing spiel at the door, and talk from the heart.
3) People should be able to get the gist by scanning
Research by Jakob Nielsen tells us that reading from a computer screen is about 25% slower than reading from paper. We all know that from personal experience. No wonder people read very differently on the Web, scanning content instead of reading line by line. Bullet points and bold keywords assist readers in analyzing Web content faster. Keep paragraphs short, with headings that are clearly understood. Less is definitely more.
4) Keep it simple
Information should be should be timely and contextual. For example, provide users with specific information on how to subscribe to the newsletter and what to expect from it on the newsletter registration page, not elsewhere on the Website. On the other hand, don’t hide information that users need – such as customer service information – and make them dig through your site in frustration.
Next: Tips 5, 6, 7, 8, and Suggested Reading >>
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