Writing for the Web Handout

WRITING FOR THE WEB: PERFECTING YOUR PROCESS

1. SET GOAL:
Knowledge Action
Your agenda Their agenda

HOW?

2. DETERMINE TIME LINE:
First draft
Revised
Finalize
Send/Publish Date

3. BRAINSTORM KEY WORDS (web content only):

4. ASSESS AUDIENCE:
Will these factors impact effective delivery of Income
your message? If so, how?
Relatio-
Gender
nship

Education
Location Interests
Level

Commun-
Age ication
Style
Life
Style

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5. BUILDING YOUR BRIDGE:
Where is your audience taking in their media? Where will you connect with them online to successfully
distribute your content? You will touch them multiple times before they make it over to closed business.

Your
Audience Closed
Business

What medium will be your bridge and which will be your net?

Your Closed
Audience Business

6. WHAT TO WRITE:
Where will you find inspiration?

What does your audience expect to find?



7. HOW TO WRITE IT:

Communication style:

D I S C
 Strong-Willed  Sociable  Steady  Precise
 Competitive  Talkative  Laid Back  Exact
 Demanding  Open  Modest  Analytical
 Independent  Enthusiastic  Trustworthy  Systematic
 Direct  Energetic  Family Oriented  Follows Rules
 Self-Centered  Persuasive  Sincere  Quiet
 Decisive  Spontaneous  Patient  Careful
 Tough  Emotional  Careful  Formal
 Impatient  Impulsive  Calm  Disciplined
Style writing tips
 Brief and to the  Positive and  Take your time  Go into details
point conversational
 Do what you say you’ll  Keep it formal
 Results oriented  Quirky and friendly do – builds trust
 Explain why
 Focus on the future  Ask for feedback  Remember the little
 Reflect on the past
things
 Get to business  Get personal (working results)
 Human interest
 Be excited!



Does your piece match the tonality of your company style?
 Conservative  Distinct
 Clinical  Brave
 Traditional  Courageous
 Professional  Heavy
 Resonate  Steady
 Powerful

 Agreeable  Innocent
 Fair  Warm
 Friendly  Calm
 Pleasant  Easy going
 Helpful  Gentle
 Tender  Laid back
 Kind  Neutral
 Quaint
 Lively  Witty
 Light  Comfortable
 Charming  Open
 Curious  Encouraging
 Thoughtful  Energetic
 Cheerful  Enthusiastic
 Trendy  Unusual
 Youthful  Wild
 Clever  Funny
 Alive  Different
 Outrageous  Noisy
 Bold  Edgy



7. GET IT ALL OUT (make an outline then free flow, don’t worry about the content or grammar):

8. REVISE FOR STYLE:
Is it written properly for your medium?
 Twitter: Max 140 characters, goal
1 2 3
124
 Facebook: Max 63,206 characters,
goal 100-119
1.  Blog: Max unlimited, goal 205-500
2.  Email Newsletter: Select your style,
magazine, hybrid
3. or single topic and follow suit

Where will you write and how often will you publish content?

Is it written inverted pyramid style?
 Does the intro grab the reader’s attention?
 Do you get the most important information first?

Is it properly formatted for easy skimming?
 Consider composing in Word to easily recognize spelling and grammar errors
 Keep paragraphs short, 3 -5 sentences
 Break up every few paragraphs with a sub heading to help viewers skim for content
 Create visual hierarchy with text sizing and colors
 Bold key information
 Break apart information into bulleted lists
 Place captions with graphics to emphasize key elements
 Use meaningful original graphics instead of clip art or stock photos whenever possible
 Remove content that isn’t needed



9. WRITE A WINNING TITLE:
 Short and sweet is best, keep it 50 characters or less
 Pack a punch, make it interesting, the subject is the first thing viewers see and maybe the only thing if
it’s not intriguing
 Capitalize Letters of Each Word for Easy Recognition
 Consider starting emails with the business name so they know who the email is coming from
 AVOID: help, percent off and reminder, special, ALL CAPS, !!!!!!!, free
 Create urgency and the must read feeling

10. TEST YOUR CALL TO ACTION
 Close your eyes and open them, what do you see first?
 Think of your text as blocks
 Put yourself in the shoes of a viewer, be objective
 Do you know where to click instinctively?
 Did you ask your viewers to take action? Is it front and center?
 Don’t forget your contact information

11. FINAL EDIT:
 Plug in additional keywords (web content only)
 SPELL CHECK!!!
 Read it out loud
 Skim it backwards
 Send to the proofing authorities in your process
 Grammar
o Look for consistent punctuation and capitalization of bulleted lists
o Check for correct comma, semicolon and colon usage
Comma (,) Semicolon (;) Colon (:)
 Separates a list of items  Separates two independent  Provides additional details
 Separates phrases clauses (one or both of the and explanation
 Separate clauses, connected clauses are short and ideas  To introduce a direct quote (a
by a conjunction such as 'but' expressed are usually similar comma can also be used
 Introduce a direct quote  To separate groups of words
 Separate appositives (noun, that are themselves
or noun phrase), or non- separated by commas
defining clauses  Semicolons are very effective
when used appropriately



Example Free Flow Exercise
Our experience in Joplin.

Our taskforce was deployed to Joplin, MO to search for missing persons. We were assigned to search the
Home Depot area. We piled in the car and drove toward the corner of Main and 20th Street. We drove in
circles around the fallen 19th Street sign a few times in search of 20th Street, looking for Home Depot but
didn’t see the store anywhere in sight. Finally we consulted our GPS navigation system and searched for the
Home Depot. Turns out we were on the corner of Main and 20th Street all along! The street sign from 19th
Street had been torn out of the ground by the tornado and thrown a full city block to the corner of Main and
20th were it lay impaled in the ground. All that was left of Home Depot was a bunch of shelves sticking out of
a bunch of concrete that looked like a parking lot.

The people of Joplin would greatly appreciate all supplies and donations you can provide. Much needed items
are water, bandages, blankets and canned food. Please contact Nancy with the Red Cross at
nancy@theredcross.org to coordinate supply pick up.


Writing for the Web Handout

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