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Writing for the Web
September 2010 | Volume 8 Issue 9
Blogs, web sites, social media: Writers can communicate with their readers through the Web in so many more ways than with traditional media. The Web's more casual and interactive environment calls for a brief, engaging writing style. In this issue of CW Bulletin, our experts offer their tips for making your web writing more effective and reader-friendly.
Natasha Nicholson
Executive Editor
Amanda Aiello Beck
Managing Editor |
Features
ATTENTION-GRABBING COPY
by Nicole Henderson
Anyone can write for the Web, but not everyone can do it well. Your copy needs to clear a path through all the clutter readers sift through online every day—e-mail, web publications, blogs, social media and your competitors' web sites. This may seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be.
ORGANIZATION IS KEY
by Nancy Shawver
There are plenty of technical considerations in publishing on the Web—navigation and search optimization, for example—but a good site still starts with good writing. Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you write for the Web.
REMODELING YOUR WEB SITE
by Kate Rein
For corporate communicators today, the challenge isn't building new web sites, but rather cleaning out and remodeling old ones. Sometimes that's more overwhelming than just starting from scratch.
If you're about to renovate your corporate web site, here are some pointers from a writer who has been there many times.
WEB CONVERSATIONS
by Barb Sawyers
Digital communication, especially in social media, is often called a conversation because of the two-way flow. Your web writing needs to have a relaxed, conversational style that encourages reader feedback and engagement, just like a friendly chat.
WRITING BASICS MATTER
by Kate Raulings
Writing online content is relatively simple. After all, writing is relatively simple, right? Most of us have been writing since the first grade. But maybe that's part of the problem: We're so familiar with it, we forget that writing to suit our audience and the delivery medium is a skill and a craft. It's something we need to spend a little time and energy getting right.
Columns
Making Written Instructions and Directions
Crystal Clear
by Claire Meirowitz
As business communicators—whether corporate, nonprofit or independent—our jobs sometimes entail writing instructions, directions or how-to information for our clients, coworkers and employers, or handbooks for students, employees and the like. Here are a few guidelines we all should remember to use more often when writing instructions.
Highlights from the New Research Foundation/Buck Consultants Employee Engagement Study
by Marilyn T. Keyes
Marilyn Keyes reveals key findings from the second Employee Engagement Survey conducted by the IABC Research Foundation and Buck Consultants. There were nearly 900 respondents to this year's survey, representing a broad industry and geographic base.
- "Whirlpool Career Site—Phase I," PartnerComm Inc. and Whirlpool Corp.
- "Inside.HarlandClarke.com," Harland Clarke
- "McDonald's AccessMCD Global Intranet Portal," McDonald’s Corp.
- "Better Here' Recruitment Web Site," Communication Solutions Inc.
Communication in the News
Related Resources provides additional articles and resources for understanding this month's topic of writing for the Web. You can also find some of these links alongside each corresponding feature article for quick reference. Links include:
- "What Writers Should Know About Writing Online," by Michael Jung
- "How to Write for the Web," by Robert Niles
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This issue sponsored by:
The Northeastern University's Fast-Track Master of Science in Corporate and Organizational Communication prepares graduates with the communication skills and global strategic perspective necessary to advance organizational performance.
This 12-month, 100% online program offers students the flexibility to maintain work and life commitments while experiencing an interactive learning environment within a cohort model, where peers share their passion for communication.
For more information visit our site.
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