Home
How to Write for the Internet
On the Internet many of the rules of the brick and mortar world do not apply. Competing websites are a mouse click away. The web is written for the MTV generation that was weaned on Nintendo. Think "short attention span. " Headline news, not The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. USA Today, not the New York Times.
The competition is fierce. Your writing must be accurate, compelling, to the point and fun! You can be sassy and cop an attitude, and you must make it personal so that the reader feels you have written just for them. Let's do a couple of exercises to get you started:
Grab'em
A catchy title means much more on the web. You need a short, catchy, attention grabbing title. Your title may be all that comes up on a search engine and you want the user to click and read your article. "Cultivating Bacterial Buddies" is better than "Facts about Probiotics." "Generation XXL" beats "Overweight kids." Print magazine covers offer great examples.
Hold'em
Now that you have grabbed eyeballs with the catchy title you need a snappy introduction. You must hold the reader with every sentence. Your writing must be tight. Edit carefully and delete every extra word. Boredom is the cardinal sin of the web. Play editor with some things you have written and see where you could delete words. Bonus points if you spice it up and make it more fun!
Link 'em
A hyperlink is an underlined or highlighted word, phrase or web address (URL) in an article linked. You click on the link and it brings you to another article, page on the website or to another website. You should think of possible links when you write. Visit the site you are writing for and search for keywords you will probably use in your article. Hyperlinks make your job easier as you can simply link to another article instead of explaining every term. Here is an answer about gas and bloating after eating veggies Carol wrote for her "Ask the Expert" column on Mothernature.com:
Dear Terry (use names),Good news! Beano (hyperlink to product on site) really works! Add a couple of drops to the first bite of any food that gives you gas, and your co-workers will thank you.
The bacteria that live in your gut just love beans and veggies. They digest some of the carbohydrates from the beans and veggies and, sadly, that produces gas. But you want to cultivate these bacterial buddies, (links to article Carol wrote on gut flora and probiotics) so this is a good thing. The little bacteria guys will calm down and not be a problem after they adjust to your new diet. Trust me! I have attended vegetarian conferences and sat in a lecture hall with 300 people who just ate bean-burgers for lunch.
