Web Content

Many savvy customers are armed with information about your company before they make their first contact with you. What this means is that your customer has already started forming a relationship with you, which makes it easier for them to buy your product or services. Read more >>

Writing for the web is different to other forms of writing.

Visitors to your website have a limited attention span, in fact -  you are lucky if they give you 4 seconds of their time before hitting their back button. People read 25% slower from a screen than from a printed page.

Writing for the web

This means that your web-writing needs to:

1. grab the reader's attention immediately
2. keep them engaged long enough to make them interested in your site
3. be easy to read and easy to understand

Effective internet writing

The best way to ensure good web-writing is to:

• use shorter paragraphs and break them into thoughts
• get to the point quickly
• use short sentences
• use Plain English 
• use simple words wherever possible: Utilize use - don't use utilize
• use bulleted-lists and headings

KISS - Keep it short and simple.

Wordy thought for today:

Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm not sure a bad person can write a good book. If art doesn't make us better, then what on earth is it for - Alice Walker.

Spotted Wombat is a comprehensive copywriting service in Brisbane, Australia. We provide a complete, online presence for your business.

Valuable and consistent web content that offers a solution to your information-hungry buyers, will create a powerful relationship between you and your clients.

You can attract sales by having an expert, online presence.

Forrester research discovered that 90 % of purchasing decisions begin online (2007). This means that BEFORE you even realise that a client exists - they know a lot about your business.

Google's new date-stamping process (Google Caffeine) of ensuring that the freshest, most relevant content outranks old, stagnant information - will send warning signals to "brochure" sites that are seldom updated.

You can seize this opportunity to educate potential buyers about your industry, by providing valuable and relevant content. If you provide answers to your prospective clients' questions before they even ask, you immediately portray expertise in your field.

Content marketing builds a high level of trust and encourages sales for a small financial outlay. However, your content must be useful and provide relevant information. Buyers know the difference between information and a sales pitch.

Boost your marketing now by adding fresh content to your website, white papers to download and if you haven't done so already - start your blog today!

Wordy thought for today:

A "latrant" means someone who constantly complains.

Spotted Wombat is a comprehensive copywriting service in Brisbane, Australia. We provide writing for brochures, newsletters, websites, articles, white papers, press or media releases, blogs or any other writing that enhances your business.

People don't read web pages the way they read printed materials. A website needs to grab a reader's attention immediately with a headline and a promise of useful information. 

Once your reader has started reading your web content, you've got to keep them engaged. Use bullet points, numbered lists and a combination of short and long sentences. It also pays to keep your paragraphs short.

Paragraph lengths

Have you ever looked at a Press Release? You'll notice that each idea or quotation is seperated by a double line space. It's similar with web content writing. Avoid long paragraphs and allow your readers' eyes to relax by providing plenty of spaces and white space.

Limit paragraphs to one idea

Ensure that your paragraphs only feature one idea. Your readers will find it easier to scan each paragraph and understand what each section is about. When readers get used to your style of writing, they will feel confident in scanning your page, paragraph by paragraph, and not feel as if they are missing anything important.

Spotted Wombat is a comprehensive copywriting and content marketing service in Brisbane, Australia. We get you online fast. We'll write your newsletters, websites, articles, white papers, press or media releases, blogs or ebooks. We'll also manage your mailing lists and provide detailed statistics for your email marketing messages. We can even design your website for you and give you access to update it as often as you like.

Are we talking down to people? Are we dumbing down society?

Our readers

As journalists, one of the first things we learn is to write for a 12-year-old audience. But is this always appropriate? I think we need to look at our audience first. If we need to write for a society where a large percentage of people do not have English as their native tongue, then we need to ensure that our writing is clear and concise. 

If we are to write a white paper aimed at Chief Executives - then our language obviously needs to adapt to a different level. I'm not suggesting that we fill our writing with technical jargon that we think, as writers, make us look clever. No. What I am suggesting is we still write in plain English, allowing our writing to reflect our readers.

Plain English

In 1978, President Carter signed an order requiring regulations be written in plain English. In 1998, President Clinton sent out a memo calling for "plain language in Government Writing."

Research shows that documents written in plain English improve readers' understanding. A US study showed a 91% increase in the comprehension of medical consent forms - after the documents had been rewritten in plain English. 

Plain English will always be the best method of clear copy. Creative snippets within the copy, where appropriate, will make the copy dazzle BUT the message needs to remain clear.

Ref: Cutts, M. 2004. Oxford Guide to Plain English.

Thought for today:

Spotted Wombat is a comprehensive copywriting and content marketing service in Brisbane, Australia. We write for brochures, newsletters, websites, articles, white papers, press or media releases, blogs and anything else that you may need a writer for.