Online
readers love free information. They scour the internet daily
looking for specific information to solve their problems, help
them be successful, live longer or get healthy. You should join
the information revolution too! Publish your free helpful solution-oriented
articles to the web. But wait! There are a few things to keep
in mind when writing for the web. Long paragraphs are usually
acceptable for print media; they are not for the web. If you
want to write articles that web users will love to read and
put to use follow these 7 simple tips:
1.
Make Your Article Scan Ready. A study by Jakob Nielson
publicized as guru of web page usability by the New York Times
published that only 16 per cent of his test users actually read
the copy they found online; 79 per cent of them simply scanned
it. Your impatient web readers will want important information
to jump out at them.
Some
practical ways to make your text scannable are: headings, sub-headings,
bulleted list, numbered lists, easy steps and/or typeface variation.
For example, compelling headlines are considered an art. Are
you drawn to the author's article as "How to Write Web
Articles" or "5 Tips to Write Winning Web Articles?"
2.
Keep Your Articles Short. Get and keep the attention
of web readers by delivering short messages. You put effort
into gaining your web reader's attention; now make their click
worthwhile with brief compelling copy in bite sizes.
Start
with the conclusion. Your readers may not make it to the end
of your piece to get it. Web readers don't want to get bogged
down in long blocks of text. So get to the point early and use
the rest of your article to support that main point.
3.
Make Your Article Title Sizzle. Dull titles will not
capture your readers interest. It will make your article fade
into the sea of other boring articles listed in article banks
these days. You have to create a title that will reach out and
grab your reader by the collar. To get your article read, start
with a sizzling title. Make it short. Create interest. Include
the main benefit or solution in your title.
4.
Talk to Your Targeted Audience. Your information is
not for everyone. Avoid generalities. Choose a friend or family
member that's interested in your topic. Write your article to
them. Writing to a friend will make your copy personable and
friendly.
You won't come across as a fussy hen, do this, do this, don't
do that. You will connect with your readers as a friend giving
advice. Your article will do a better job of building creditability
for you. Creditability inspires trust and readers only trust
their friends.
5.
Add Article Substance. Resist fluffing your articles.
Include practical valuable information in your copy. Everyone
loses when you don't take the time to impart substance. It increases
the reputation of the web being an unreliable source of knowledge.
Additionally, lack of substance will block your road to profitable
referrals.
Do
the research and/or draw from your knowledge and experience
to illustrate. Your stories and real life examples will meet
your reader's need for practical information and connect with
their emotion. It's a known fact emotions will move people to
action. Whether you desire them to act by signing up or making
a purchase, add substance and improve your reader responses.
6.
Make Your Article Web Professional. Create a more web
professional look by using short sentences then format your
page to approximately 65 characters per line. Long stringed
sentences that stream from side to side of the web page look
visually unprofessional. Select a layout for your article from
several short article formats that include the how-to, tips
list, question-answer, problem-solutions and interview.
Make
your introduction and summary short but do add one. Your web
readers don't want just a list of boring facts and information.
They want to connect with you by reading your personable introduction
and practical tips with a definite ending or summary. Remember
excited readers become enthusiastic buyers and enthusiastic
buyers will refer your product or service to all their friends.
7.
Use Your Article Keywords. Thread your keywords throughout
your short article as naturally as possible. Otherwise your
copy will sound stiff and dull. To gain visibility on the search
engines, your site must be "indexed" by their robotic
software.
In
its most basic form, they must be able to compare the code,
keywords and other Meta tags with the actual content of the
site. From this they reach a conclusion regarding the context
of the site. This and other factors will affect how well your
copy or website places in the search engines.
You
may use these guidelines for all kinds of web copy. The same
elements of using keywords, making your article professional,
adding substance, keeping it short and making your copy scannable
will improve the quality of your articles. Practice the above
simple principles and write winning articles to distribute on
the web everywhere.
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