The internet has become a way of life and there has been an enormous shift for business’ to have online content. If you’re passionate about writing and want to take your talents to the internet, it’s important to know how to go about being an efficient web copywriter. Before you dive into the deep end of web copywriting, there’s a few things you need to consider.
Let’s start with the obvious; writing online is different than writing for print. Technically the process of writing is same, but being a web copywriter requires you to consider the way consumers read and scan online. The internet can be intimidating and overwhelming at times – especially if you don’t know where to look for what you want! Online readers scour the internet daily looking for specific information to solve their problems. Thank goodness for search engines, which is what most of us use to find what we need quickly without having to put forth much effort. Search results can turn over tens of thousands of results – but let’s face it, most of the time we only click on the first one or two. This is why SEO plays an important role, but that gets us into a topic that needs a blog post of its own.
Studies on reader behavior indicate that there are a handful of similarities for when it comes to reading online. For example, readers start at the top of the page and they usually only read one or two paragraphs before moving on. Sometimes, they don’t even read but instead quickly scan the page to see if anything immediately triggers.
So how do we ensure that our role as a web copywriter plays into what we know about how to best accommodate our online reader? The next time you go to write for the web, keep the following things in mind.
As a web copywriter, make sure your content is:
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Skimmable
– content should be concise and to the point so readers can scan it easily
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Simple
– content should be easy to read. If it’s overly-complicated, readers aren’t going to take the time and effort to decipher it
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Top-heavy
– content should list the most important content in the first paragraph, so readers scanning your pages will not miss your main idea
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User-focused
– content should be written for your readers and focus on what they want versus what you can do for them
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Well written
– Web copywriters should still follow the rules of print writing to create grammatically correct content, even if it’s simple
Above all, don’t forget that your content should hold value for your readers – it should be concise and interesting at the same time. At Nao Media, we will act as your own personal web copywriter and simplify the process of creating unique and original content to better help your business grow. Contact us at connect@naomedia.co to discuss how to begin a online content strategy.
