|
The
web is a fantastic marketing tool. It's cheap, flexible and
virtually ubiquitous.
Unfortunately, it’s also a boundless
source of information. And all your competitors are setting
up shop there too.
That means you have to find ways of driving
readers to your site. What’s more, once they’ve
found you, you have to prevent your readers from clicking
elsewhere.
As a result, the web represents one of
the most demanding of all copywriting challenges.
Thankfully,
there are certain business writing rules you can follow
to maximise the effectiveness of your
web copy.
Copywriting
for the Web is a very unique communication skill. But
also one that you can pick up, as Writing Machine demonstrates
in its
business writing course, Writing for the Web.
Copywriting
for the online reader
Imagine your readers have all
clicked onto your web page to find the answer to a question.
If you don’t answer that question for them, you’ve
lost them.
What’s more, don’t expect your
readers to read every single word. Online
readers have less
of an attention span than
those reading print copy. They skim read.
You therefore need to write scannable, concise copy.
Think
short sentences and paragraphs.
Writing good web copy is not
just about brevity and clarity of expression, however. The
way you structure your page will also determine how effectively
your messages come across. The best online writers, for
example, always introduce their main argument or message
in the first few lines of any web page. And reinforce that
message throughout the copy via a range of copywriting devices
such as links and headings.
Ensuring
high search engine placement
If you thought Search Engine
Optimisation (SEO) was for techies, think again.
The position of your website on a search
engine such as Google is determined
not just by the
unseen html
text, but by the
actual copy on that web page. Today
it is the job of copywriters
to
weave the appropriate keywords into
what they write to ensure high search
engine
placement. Quite simply,
if
website promotion
is part of your brief, it’s
something you have to consider.
Writing
for the Web: the one-day business writing course
Learn
and apply the rules of web copywriting at Writing Machine’s
Writing for the Web training course.
This
one-day workshop uniquely addresses both the needs of online
readers and search engines to offer you an insight into
the world of web copywriting and website promotion. Combining
theory with practical computer-assisted sessions, we provide
you with a range of copywriting techniques and tools to
draw readers to your website.
And to keep them there.
Click
here for full course contents.
|
