writing for the web (2015 edition)

Writing For The WebApril 11, 2015

Rogue Repairman Productions | Alexandria, VA | [email protected] | 7035424025

How is Writing for Online Different?

● Medium is fundamentally different – staring at screen (active, more tiring) vs. staring at paper (passive, less tiring)● Why more tiring? You're staring directly into a

bright light● Readers change their reading habits when

moving from print medium to online● Smart communicators adapt their strategies to

match


People Don’t Read Online

● Users read only about 20% of the text on an average page

● Total amount of page content read drops off as amount of text increases


People Don't Read Online

Source: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percenttextread.html

“Obviously, users tend to spend more time on pages with more information. However, the bestfit formula tells us that they spend only 4.4 seconds more for each additional 100 words... users can read 18 words in 4.4 seconds. Thus, when you add verbiage to a page, you can assume that customers will read 18% of it. ”

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percent-text-read.html


People Don't Read Online

“On an average visit, users read half the information only on those pages with 111 words or less... in the full dataset, the average page view contained 593 words. So, on average, users will have time to read 28% of the words.”

Source: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percenttextread.html

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percent-text-read.html


Online Readers Graze

● Instead of reading the whole page, readers scan it looking for nuggets of useful information

● Graphics and things that look like advertisements are typically skipped over (“banner blindness”)

● Navigation elements also skipped


Grazing: The FShaped Pattern

Source: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html


“Banner Blindness”

● Lots of Web sites place noncontent elements in roughly the same places● Navigation● Fine print● Ads

● Users learn from this that those places are safe to ignore


How You See Your Site


How Visitors See Your Site


Micro Level: Optimizing Your Copy

● Omit needless words● Chunk your content● Use formatting to draw the eye


Omit Needless Words

● “Vigorous writing is concise”● Avoid passive voice● Remove introductory text● Avoid “weasel words”


Omit Needless Words: Before

Please consider supporting our campaign with a financial contribution.

By contributing, you make it possible for us to continue to work on the

causes you believe in. At least three ways have been provided for you to

support our work with a financial contribution. First, merchandise may be

purchased from our online store. Another option is for a donation to be

made directly, through the usage of our online contribution form. The third and

final option is for services, such as legal advice, to be contributed to the

campaign; such contributions are known as "inkind“ contributions.


Omit Needless Words: After

There are three ways you can support the campaign

financially. The first is to purchase merchandise from

our online store. The second is to make a direct

contribution through our online donation form. The

third is to make an "inkind" contribution of services,

such as legal advice.


Chunk Your Content

● Large blocks of text are hard to scan, so readers don’t try

● Instead, break those blocks down into smaller chunks that each express a single idea

● Use numbered and bulleted lists to break out key ideas


Chunk Your Content: Before


financially. The first is to purchase merchandise from our

online store. The second is to make a direct contribution

through our online donation form. The third is to make

an "inkind" contribution of services, such as legal advice.


Chunk Your Content: After


financially:

1. Purchase merchandise from our online store;

2. Make a direct contribution through our online donation

form;

3. Make an "inkind" contribution of services, such as legal

advice.


Use Formatting To Draw The Eye

● Readers seek visual cues to find important chunks of information

● You can use formatting to provide these visual cues

● Examples: bold/italic, headers, links


Use Formatting: Before


financially:


2. Make a direct contribution through our online donation

form;

3. Make an "inkind" contribution of services, such as legal

advice.


Use Formatting: After


financially:


2. Make a direct contribution through our online

donation form;

3. Make an "inkind" contribution of services, such as

legal advice.


Optimizing for Sharing

● More and more traffic to Web content is driven by social sharing

● This increases the importance of writing content so that it is as easy to share as possible


Optimizing for Sharing

● Socially shared stories usually carry two elements with them● Headline● URL

● Depending on the service, they can also carry other info● Short descriptive blurb● Thumbnail image


Sharing: Headlines

Source: https://xkcd.com/1283/

https://xkcd.com/1283/


Sharing: Headlines

● The headline is the most important factor in making highly sharable content

● Socialoptimized headlines can be:● Funny● Intriguing● Challenging● Selfcongratulatory


Sharing: Short Description

● Try to include a single sentence in every piece that summarizes your argument

● Use metadata to force sharing services to use that sentence as the description when the article is searched for or shared● META DESCRIPTION● Open Graph


Sharing: Thumbnails


Sharing: Thumbnails

● You can also use metadata to specify which image will be used for the thumbnail when the story is shared● Open Graph● Twitter Cards


Sharing: Testing Your Content

● Many social services provide free online tools to show you exactly how your content will appear when shared● Facebook Debugger:

https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/● Twitter Validator:

https://cardsdev.twitter.com/validator ● Pinterest Rich Pin Validator:

https://developers.pinterest.com/rich_pins/validator/

https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/

https://cards-dev.twitter.com/validator




Macro Level: Writing Strategically

Beyond good writing practices, what broader principles should we embrace to write effectively online?


Writing Strategically: Core Ideas

● Find the right tone/”voice”● Make it personal● Write conversationally● Be interactive


Tone And “Voice”

● Disembodied “corporate” tone doesn’t work anymore – people tune it out

● People trust messages more when they come from real people


Make It Personal

● Put a name and a face to the message to give it personality

● Keep the approval chain short – don’t overedit● “Too many cooks spoil the broth”● Better to err occasionally and apologize than say

nothing


Write Conversationally

Best advice for how to write for online:

Write as if you were writing a letter to a friend


Be Interactive

● Interactive communications give you unique opportunities to interact with your readers: comments, response emails, usergenerated content

● Take advantage of these opportunities. Listen to your readers, and respond!

● Connect platforms together: Email, Web site, blog, others


Thank You!

Jason A. LefkowitzPresident, Rogue Repairman Productions

http://roguerepairman.com

[email protected]

@jalefkowit

Technology sucks. We make it suck less.

http://roguerepairman.com/

mailto:[email protected]

writing for the web (2015 edition)

Presentations & Public Speaking