Writing for the Web

WRITING FOR THE WEBJustin Stowell

• Usability

• Digital Content Best Practices

• Shareability

• Creating Shareable Content

• Your Audience

UNDERSTANDING CONTENT ON THE WEB

Usability is the ease of use of a website. Some broad goals of usability are the presentation of information and choices in a clear and concise

way, a lack of ambiguity and the placement of important items in appropriate areas.

Basic Usability

Basic Usability

F-Shaped Reading Pattern

Basic Usability

F-Shaped Reading Pattern• Headline & Image vitally important

• First two sentences–especially the first two

words matter most!

• Sub-headings and pull quotes can keep them

on the page

• Mobile–what they see at first load and swipe

Basic Usability

Make it Scannable• Users on average read 20% of text on a page

Basic Usability

Don’t Crowd It• Cutting half the words on a page increases

usability 58%

WHAT CAN YOU DO IN NINE SECONDS OR LESS TO GRAB THEIR ATTENTION?

DIGITAL CONTENT BEST PRACTICES

Digital Content Best Practices

Length• Default to 500-750 words

• Specialized content could be more

• Users can read 200 words per minute

• Use this with your time on page stats

• Break paragraphs into two sentences


What to do with Long Articles?• Could it be a series of articles?


What to do with Long Articles?• Could you make a paragraph into a list?


What to do with Long Articles?• Could it be an infographic?


What to do with Long Articles?• Different content for different platforms

• Think about all of your channels

• Different angles of the same story?

• Written to two different users (personas)


Imagery• Visual wins–you need an image!

• People-centric

• Intriguing and personal

• Clear (not grainy)


Headlines• 6 words or less

• Stand out in search, entice to read more

• Deliver what you promise–be clear

• Numeric lists like “The 10 Best…”

• Promises concise and authoritative content

• Teasing titles- Clear but intriguing


Other• Bulleted lists

• Pull quotes with intriguing words

• End with a call to action

• Additional videos and images when possible

• No dead-ends

• Social media has to be part of the process–

from the start!

“More content is being created in 48 hours than what was produced from the beginning of time until 2003.”

Eric Schmidt

Content Overload

• The problem is content saturation, how do you stand out?

• Just creating new content isn’t enough, it has to be engaging

Content Overload

THE KEY TO DIGITAL CONTENT IS

“SHAREABILITY”

WHY DO USERS SHARE?

http://nytmarketing.whsites.net/mediakit/pos/

To bring valuable and entertaining content to others

94%carefully consider

how the

information they

share will be useful

to the recipient

[I share] to enrich

the lives of those

around me.

- Immersion

participant, female

49%say sharing allows

them to inform

others of products

they care about and

potentially change

opinions or

encourage action

I try to share only

information that will reinforce

the image I’d like to present:

thoughtful, reasoned, kind,

interested and passionate

about certain things.

To define ourselves to others

68%share to give

people a better

sense of who they

are and what

they care about

- Deprivation participant, male

To grow and nourish our relationships

I miss the companionship and

conversations on Facebook.

I feel like I’m probably missing

out on some things without the

connection.

- Deprivation participant, male

78%share information

online because it lets

them stay connected

to people they may

not otherwise stay

in touch with

73%share information

because it helps

them connect with

others who share

their interests

Self-fulfillment

69%share

information

because it allows

them to feel more

involved in the world

I enjoy getting comments

that I sent great information

and that my friends will forward

it to their friends because

it’s so helpful. It

makes me feel valuable.

- Ethnography participant, female

To get the word out about causes or brands

I forwarded an article

about Proposition B to

Everyone in my union. I

wanted them to learn about

the issue and rally against it.

- Ethnography participant, male

84%share because

it is a way to support

causes or issues they

care about

WHAT MAKES CONTENT SHAREABLE?

What Makes Content Shareable?

It’s Timely


It’s Relevant


Catchy Title


Catchy Image


Unique Topic


Unique Angle


Learn Something Quickly


Self Analysis


“That’s Me!”


Audience Specificity

QUESTIONS FOR CREATING SHAREABLE CONTENT

• Would I read this?

• Would I share this?

• How does this add value for our audience?

• How will this help or entertain them?

• Why will they share it?

Questions for Creating Shareable Content

Questions for Creating Shareable Content

• What is the unique perspective?

• Is this content useful?

• Are readers able to do something better?

• Are readers entertained? Educated?

What keeps your readers up at night, and how can you help?

Creating Shareable Content

• Social can be your biggest driver of views

• Optimize for each social platform

• Use all of your media assets

• Reward your biggest fans with unique angles

• “Snackable” content

• What can they share that would touch on the

sharing motivations?

WHAT DOES YOUR AUDIENCE WANT OR NEED?

Identifying Your Audience

How to Find Your Audience• Analytics

• Where visitors came from, keywords, how long they spent on site

• Customer service interactions • Social media listening

• Your platforms, hashtags • Surveys and interviews • Focus groups

• Top 20 search words/terms of your audience

• What are the 10 topics of interest to them?

• Who are the influencers of your audience?

• What’s the latest news in that world?

• Social Media Listening- Real time view into your audience’s head



PersonasPersonas are fictional representations of your ideal readers. They help you identify who you are writing to and planning content for.

• Who are they?

• What do they need most?

• What information are they searching for?

• What action would you like them to take?


Personas• Name

• Demographic info

• Job title/Role

• Pains

• Needs

*Check out Lieze Langford’s session for more on creating personas

Get Started!

Get Started!

Questions?

Take your five most recent pieces of content and rework them for the web. Think about:

Length, formatting, links, imagery, new assets to pull in, etc.

Action Step

Writing for the Web

Spiritual