The Zen Art of Writing Web Content

Long Tracts of information are notoriously difficult to read on a screen.

Good typography and layout will go along way towards making the copy more inviting and easier to read.

In the way of the Zen Master; ‘all journeys start at the beginning’.

Before layout is considered the actual content should be seen as the essential building block, A phrase I’ve been mulling over recently “Content = Brand” seems apt. With that in mind some writing strategies to consider before you start.

Put yourself in the reader’s position

What is the most important thing on your web-site for users? In each and every article, try to pinpoint what users will find to be most interesting or useful, and focus on this.
Ask yourself what’s the purpose of this copy? and keep it in mind. It’s so easy to get side tracked, and find yourself out on a tangent, a rule of thumb should be to define the purpose of the post and continually serve that purpose, if it has no value to your argument, sales tactic or theme, then delete it. writing web content is about being succinct and linear as possible.

You may find there are several reasons that will dictate your style, usually its to inform and sell, and both at the same time. In street performance they call it ’setting out the pitch’ which basically means you have a beginning, middle and end but all of the time your feeding into your desire to get rewarded with hard cold cash, not to heavily mind you, the art of ‘just enough’ is a lifetime of learning in itself as nothing turns people off like overt sales chatter.

Write the article as a teaser

Many would argue that keeping your content to the minimum has the effect of giving more impact, offering a better solution than more in depth articles. I strongly disagree, believing that we have to marry the two styles. A “teaser”, consisting of a headline, sub-head and picture, should be able to inform the reader of an event to such a degree that one in a hurry (or who is only reading superficially) does not need to read the whole story. Those who wish to be more informed about the topic can read the entire piece, this multi leveled approach is key.

Say it as simple as possible

There’s no point in writing involved flowery text. Write simply and directly. To achieve this, think “What would I have said if this was a classified advertisement?” when you write. The intention is not to underestimate the reader, but to write in an inclusive way. If you need to write an extensive and complex article (a scientific report, a medical analysis or the like), consider breaking it up into parts. or putting it away from the main content.
Edit and re-edit your content till it sings!

‘Often we can say the same thing with less words’

you will find that a simple change in sentence structure can shorten a sentence dramatically and make it easier to read’.

‘Short and snappy sentences using less words are far easier to read’

Give Yourself Some Space & Mix It Up

Don’t be afraid to add space between each block, make your paragraphs shorter than say; you would say in a business letter. Mix up the layout occasionally, consider using a list style like below to break up the mundane repetitiveness. The Results;

Allow plenty of time for Copywriting

Good copy takes time, generally its the most time consuming aspect of a site build and the number one reason for delays. As you become more familiar and your writing skills improve, the task will become quicker and easier.

Tags: blogging, marketing, writing content