Flawless writing online is becoming increasingly hard to find. In an age of acronyms and obsessive shortening, standing out online, as a competent and thoughtful writer, isn’t hard to do it just takes a little practice. Here’s a few simple tips to help perfect online writing:
- Do write for Google. The internet is a massive, tangled web of information that Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines help organize for us. When writing online, it is important to use trigger words, or easily searchable words that Google can pick up. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This means that Google displays your writing higher up on the search page which helps flow online traffic to your site. More SEO means more shares, likes and comments.
- Do use the right voice. Just like in person, different tones of voice give off different vibes to your audience. Always focus your voice in terms of the medium you have chosen. Food blogs are more informal and allow a casual and conversational tone whereas journal articles or highbrow magazines call for a more scientific and proper voice.
- Cut to the chase! The worst kind of writing is writing that drones on and on and on… Edit, edit edit! The internet is a very distracting place and readers attention is being called in every which direction. If your writing is clear and succinct you are more likely to hold a readers attention and create a more engaging corner of the web.
- Don’t be a copycat. News circulates faster than ever before and the internet is a place where everybody has a voice. This creates an environment that fuels op-ed pieces in the worst way. Because of this, it is more impactful to publish work with an engaging viewpoint or angle that provokes a new conversation not just a regurgitation of the the New York Times home page.
- Do have fun. Anyone with access to a computer and internet connection can start a blog and if you’re reading this, you’re one of them! Write because you want to, because you want your opinion heard and because you love it. Readers will respond to a thoughtful, passionate post that comes from the heart! Keep in mind there is a corner of the internet for everyone, even a place for cat’s to bounce.
