If You’re Writing Anything Online, You’re Probably Doing It Wrong—Here’s How to Fix It

Print and digital media are strikingly different. If you want to write great content online, use these tips.

It takes the average person about two seconds to decide if they’re going to stay on your page. TWO SECONDS. That’s less than the time it took you to read the first sentence. So how do you keep people from bouncing before they’ve read your great content?

“You need a 5-star article that makes the reader lose all sense of time, surroundings, gravity, and distractibility.”

First, let’s assume that you’ve already nailed your title. It’s an irresistible, can’t-help-but-click-on-it home run: “5 Writing Techniques Buzzfeed Doesn’t Want You To Know About.” Boom, good to go.

Ah, ah, ah — not so fast! A word of caution: never, I repeat never give your article a clickbait title that has nothing to do with your content. No one likes feeling duped, and it destroys all sense of trust and credibility.

“Between sketchy, fake news and half-assed blog posts, it can be slim pickin’s out there.”

Moving on. Now, you need a 5-star article that makes the reader lose all sense of time, surroundings, gravity, and distractibility. (Okay, maybe not gravity.) Content that has the reader anxious to add it to Buffer and Pinterest, post a status on Facebook, write an email to a fellow entrepreneur, and ping your whole company on Slack. (Dangit, Steve! Enough with the @channel.) But really, I get it — it’s hard to contain yourself after reading something that good. Between sketchy, fake news and half-assed blog posts, it can be slim pickin’s out there.

For Writers, Spotted Zebras Don’t Come Often

As many entrepreneurs, bloggers, and web users know, it’s hard to make viral-status posts. That’s because the rules of digital writing have changed and most people are using flawed, outdated, or platform-irrelevant tactics.

“The good news is that you don’t need to be a published author to create content people are dying to read and share.”

For starters, guidelines for digital writing (i.e. blog posts) are completely different than those for print writing (i.e. books, newspapers, etc.). Therefore, if you’re using print rules, chances are your article is still sitting with zero shares and a big ol’ goose egg down at the comments section. The good news is that you don’t need to be a published author to create content people are dying to read and share (in turn getting you more exposure.)

Let’s Start With the Basic Rules For Writing

Define Your Purpose

What is the main point of writing your article? Are you trying to entertain, to inform, to persuade, or do something else? Without a purpose, it’s common to ramble and get sidetracked. All that does is confuse and frustrate your readers — squirrel! — and, you guessed it, make them click the dreaded back arrow.

Define Your Audience

Before you write the first word, answer these questions, so you write specifically for the group you intend:

• Who is my audience?
• What do they know before getting here?
• What do they need to know to understand this?
• What are their demographics?
• Why should they read this? (Read: Why should they care?)
• What do I want them to know?

Set an Intention

Fill in the blank with the value you are providing: I want my audience to _____________________. For instance, I would say,

“I want my audience to learn from common online writing mistakes, so they can effectively communicate with their audience and achieve their business goals.”

You can also try this: After every paragraph or important statement, ask the question, “so what?” If you can’t answer that, then you’re not providing your audience value and it’s time to re-word and reimagine. (Thank you @jasoncarr for that nugget.)

Check for Spotless Grammar and Spelling

This is huge. Even the most engaging post will have readers rolling their eyes and clicking away if you make silly spelling or grammatical mistakes. You also lose a ridiculous amount of credibility when writing “to” when it should be “too.”

If you use bad grammar, you’re forcing your reader to use unnecessary energy to decipher your post. They’ll get frustrated and leave.

After running a basic spell check, see if a savvy friend will glance over it. If you don’t have any grammar police in your circle, turn to a free tool like Grammarly. Even the basic version will catch most of the mistakes that are easily overlooked in a proofread.

Divergence From Print: The Rules for Digital Writing

Always Include Readability Elements

Don’t neglect the importance for formatting (i.e. the UX). After clicking on an article, many people scan through it briefly to see if it looks worthwhile. No one has time to waste on clickbait garbage. Therefore, you must make sure your article is as scannable as possible with the important information highlighted in:

Headings…

Subheadings…

“…and pullout quotes — just avoid using irrelevant quotes as they are distracting.”

Make sure headings, subheadings, and pullout quotes tell a story all on their own. You should be able to read through them and know exactly what the article is about — you might have even learned something.

In this initial scan, the reader is also (mostly subconsciously) looking for how painless it’s going to be to read. No one will bother if it looks like a lot of work (i.e. huge blocks of text, small font, no pictures.) That’s why it’s equally important to include:

• Short paragraphs.
• Larger text (don’t be afraid to go bigger than you think you should because you’re no longer limited by the cost of paper and ink like with print media.)
• Eye-catching visuals.
• Bulleted lists. (See what I did there. 😉)

Add Supporting Info for Clarity

If you have reputable articles that you or others have written that would support your post, use them by linking specific phrases. For instance, I believe grammar is important, so if I’m not sure if a word, phrase, or sentence is correct, I use this resource.

Another way you can supplement your article is to include quotes from authors you love, figures in history, or other badass people.

CTA or Lead Capture

Finally, you want to make sure you stay connected with your audience. Consider how you can continue to provide your readers value. Is that in the form of a weekly email with more tips and tricks on great writing? Ask them to subscribe to your newsletter. Do you have a free ebook with advice on how to start a blog? Prompt them to visit your landing page to download it.

Make your mission to constantly provide as much value as possible and it won’t be hard to get a loyal audience who loves your product/service.