Wednesday, January 03, 2007

The Three Biggest Mistakes That Webwriters Make




Writing for the web sometimes seems like a mysterious, almost mystical process. It's also the subject of much conflicting advice.

"Write short," say some experts. People who read the Internet only scan. "Nah," retort others. "Be absolutely sure you answer all of the customers' questions. Write as long as you need to make the sale."

Instead of getting stuck in the long-versus-short debate, I like to cut through the bafflegab by focusing on a web writing trick that's wonderfully simple, straightforward and non-controversial. It is: Think like your customer.

Why? The reason is simple. If you think like your customer, more people will read your website and if you're selling something, more of them will buy.

If you doubt the effectiveness of this advice, I urge you to imagine yourself walking into a retail shop. How would you feel if the clerk was dressed in a Chanel jacket, looked down her nose at you, frowned and turned in the opposite direction when you asked her a question?

Not a very welcoming thought, is it?

But funnily enough, many websites give the impression of being "guarded" by an equally fussy, snobbish clerk. How?

It's the writing...


Need to write better, faster? Sign up for Power Writing. Daphne Gray-Grant, a former journalist, and author of this article, is a writing and editing coach. Power Writing is her weekly newsletter and it's free. Sign up at http://www.publicationcoach.com

Article Source: Bytepowered Articles

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