Member Article

Back to basics - good web writing

For any writer, no matter what their level of skill, will appreciate the fact that writing online varies in style from writing on paper. Readers generally like to scan web pages to find the key pieces of information that they are looking for, therefore the information that you write must be well writen and precise. Knowing how to form a decent structure for your writing that will be both readable and enjoyable is tricky.

Given that readers tend to pick and chose which parts of an article they read, writing short sentences and paragraphs will increase the chances of all your article being read, as they are easier chunks to digest. Using bullet points or headings is another way of breaking down an article, as it can make the writing look less dense, which is overall more visually appealing to a reader.

Remove all jargon, as they tend to confuse and alienate those who aren’t as savvy or up to date with these types of words/sayings, doing this will minimise the risk of readers loosing interest as they can understand the entirety of your piece. If you write for an organisation, then stick to your house style to keep consistancy, and if you write for yourself try and maintain a particular style that uses simple language.

Most importantly of all, knowing your audience and what they want is key, by doing this your articles will always be on point and be valued by your readers. Keep your audience’s needs and characteristics in mind when writing, as it should keep you on track and allow less movement for digression.

Additionally, if you are looking to engage with your readers, try and introduce some call to action points in your articles as they can send your readers to other areas on your business site or other accounts you may have, like Twitter or Facebook - maintaining a sound online presence is beneficial as you can even gather more readers through social media engagement and interaction.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Natasha Graham .