A lot of beginning copywriters start out by applying their skills to writing for the Internet. You must keep in mind, however, that there are some key differences between writing for the Internet and how one would work with an offline audience. Keep these 'golden rules' in mind while you write and you will achieve great success in your Internet writing.
Traditional publishing and writing for the Internet differ in three crucial ways:
Audience
Format
Lifespan
You must take each of these differences into consideration when writing for the Internet.
Audience
Any writer must consider their audience. But audience consideration is even more important when writing for the Internet. The basics won't change (like identifying who your primary target audience will be, for example), but there are some huge differences in other areas.
First, in traditional publications your audience is somewhat a given. Once they have actually picked up or purchased a newspaper or magazine they are likely to at least give it a few pages before setting it aside. However, remember when writing for the Internet your audience can move on from your words with one click of the mouse. You need to be highly focused and on target all the time. You can't take much time for introductions, slow buildup or indirect discussions. If you, the writer, do not seem to be delivering the goods then the reader will simply move on and fast. This does not mean you need to cater to the lowest denominator " please do not treat your readers as stupid " but it does mean that you need to know your audience well and how to respond to that audience's needs and desires.
Format
A second point to consider when writing for the Internet is the fact that some online readers simply skim and don't read every word. Quickly scanning your copy, they will only commit to reading the entire thing if you catch their attention. Therefore you must be concise and clear in your writing. Punchy headlines, accurate subheadings, and solid introductions and conclusions are important to use with "skimmers."
A big mistake I see in new writers is trying to look like an offline magazine article or mimic traditional print documents. There are many major differences. Writing for the Internet, by nature of the way the reader looks at a screen as opposed to physical print, requires some different strategies. One of the most important is the entry point. A search engine may deliver readers to some point in the middle or end of your document. If you have written coherent and cohesive content, then those readers may well move back to the beginning to read properly. In response to this, and the scanning readers mentioned earlier, it is best to break longer pieces into several stand-alone sections that can work together as a whole, or even as separate documents if approached in that manner. (A good example of this is how I broke this article into individual stand-alone segments.)
Lifespan
Finally, an important difference between traditional publications and writing for the Internet is lifespan. While the apparent lifespan of many electronic documents appears to be short-lived, this is simply not true. In fact, I would argue the exact opposite is more the reality. Newspaper and magazine articles in print are only current for a day, week or the month of their publication, but then are archived on the Internet where they may frequently reside for years. So while it is important as a writer to be fresh and current, also keep in mind that your reader may access your words at some undetermined point in the future. (In other words, try not to be too topical. You may severely date your article in the process.)
Keep in mind the 3 Golden Keys. By concentrating on audience, format, and lifespan when writing for the Internet, you will achieve great success. - 26221
Traditional publishing and writing for the Internet differ in three crucial ways:
Audience
Format
Lifespan
You must take each of these differences into consideration when writing for the Internet.
Audience
Any writer must consider their audience. But audience consideration is even more important when writing for the Internet. The basics won't change (like identifying who your primary target audience will be, for example), but there are some huge differences in other areas.
First, in traditional publications your audience is somewhat a given. Once they have actually picked up or purchased a newspaper or magazine they are likely to at least give it a few pages before setting it aside. However, remember when writing for the Internet your audience can move on from your words with one click of the mouse. You need to be highly focused and on target all the time. You can't take much time for introductions, slow buildup or indirect discussions. If you, the writer, do not seem to be delivering the goods then the reader will simply move on and fast. This does not mean you need to cater to the lowest denominator " please do not treat your readers as stupid " but it does mean that you need to know your audience well and how to respond to that audience's needs and desires.
Format
A second point to consider when writing for the Internet is the fact that some online readers simply skim and don't read every word. Quickly scanning your copy, they will only commit to reading the entire thing if you catch their attention. Therefore you must be concise and clear in your writing. Punchy headlines, accurate subheadings, and solid introductions and conclusions are important to use with "skimmers."
A big mistake I see in new writers is trying to look like an offline magazine article or mimic traditional print documents. There are many major differences. Writing for the Internet, by nature of the way the reader looks at a screen as opposed to physical print, requires some different strategies. One of the most important is the entry point. A search engine may deliver readers to some point in the middle or end of your document. If you have written coherent and cohesive content, then those readers may well move back to the beginning to read properly. In response to this, and the scanning readers mentioned earlier, it is best to break longer pieces into several stand-alone sections that can work together as a whole, or even as separate documents if approached in that manner. (A good example of this is how I broke this article into individual stand-alone segments.)
Lifespan
Finally, an important difference between traditional publications and writing for the Internet is lifespan. While the apparent lifespan of many electronic documents appears to be short-lived, this is simply not true. In fact, I would argue the exact opposite is more the reality. Newspaper and magazine articles in print are only current for a day, week or the month of their publication, but then are archived on the Internet where they may frequently reside for years. So while it is important as a writer to be fresh and current, also keep in mind that your reader may access your words at some undetermined point in the future. (In other words, try not to be too topical. You may severely date your article in the process.)
Keep in mind the 3 Golden Keys. By concentrating on audience, format, and lifespan when writing for the Internet, you will achieve great success. - 26221
About the Author:
Anthony James Goolsby (Jim) is a freelance copywriter and creator of the Ultimate Web Copy Academy. To learn how to write effective copy that gets results, visit his site and download your free e-book, "Is Sales Copy Dead? Internet Copywriting Basics."
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