Writing for the Web and for Newsletters

It’s no secret that some Web sites are a lot more effective and generate a lot more interest than others. While some sites get millions of regular visitors every day, others are hardly ever stumbled upon and are quickly overlooked when they do get visited. Interestingly enough, many of the sites that fail to generate interest do have interesting content, but it’s simply not written and presented in a user friendly manner. The way the content of your site is written will play a major role in its success.

Similarly, although newsletters may be extremely beneficial to your company, they can also have adverse effects if you are not careful about the way you deliver content.

What does it take to write for the Web?

Here is a list of key characteristics we’ve gathered that should be taken into consideration when writing content for the Web:

• Easy to scan—Web users do not read a Web page from top to bottom like they do a book. Only a limited amount of people will actually read all the content you have on your page. Instead, most people will quickly scan through the text. As a result, the information you have on a page needs to be easily accessible and scannable;
• Use objectives—Try to use objectives or to categorize your sections. Bullets are extremely efficient and are more likely to generate interest from your readers. When you use objectives, your Web users will be able to find the information they want more quickly, and to skip over the sections that do not interest them. Clearly listing the subject and content of a page from the very beginning will also be beneficial;
• Get to the point—Studies have shown that Web users prefer short sentences, and that they dislike long pages requiring a lot of scrolling. Try to avoid using long paragraphs one after another, and make your words matter;
• Content over style—On the Web, content is more important than style. Web users like to search for and gather the information they need as quickly as possible. They are not likely to pay too much attention to the writing style, and will focus more on the content. On the other hand, avoid writing carelessly as this is likely to cost you some readers;
• Be specific—People want to access specific information when they reach your site. They want to learn something new, not generalities that they may already be familiar with;
• Summarize—Sometimes, details and longer pages are absolutely necessary. If this is the case, try to add a summary of your content early on. This way, people who visit your site will know early on if your article has the content they need and act accordingly.

A note about Newsletters

In newsletters, even more so than on Websites, people are very likely to scan through the content to see if anything is of interest. As a matter of fact, users typically only spend 51 seconds reading the average newsletter . If you use long paragraphs and do not clearly identify your content, they are not likely to bother with your newsletter for very long.

Even though the tips on writing for the Web also apply to newsletters, a few additional tips need to be considered when writing newsletters:

• Know your audience—Make sure the information you send is relevant to your audience and that it is current. Although this may seem obvious, if you regularly send out information that is outdated or of no interest to those who receive it, they are likely to add you to their “blocked senders” list or to unsubscribe from your mailing list;
• Don’t send too many—If you send too many newsletters, you are likely to irritate some of your readers. A common complaint with regard to newsletters is that they arrive too often. When this is the case, people are less likely to read them and may end up labeling your e-mails as spam.

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