Deadly Sin # 1: I think I'm God
You cannot sell the organization by selling the organization.
"We're celebrating our 50th anniversary!"
"So?"
"50 percent off because it's our 50th anniversary!"
"Happy anniversary!"
Deadly Sin # 1bis: I think I'm God
- Never ever start a heading or a sentence with your company/department names
- Always start with the need of your target reader
- Before you write, repeat to yourself: "It's not about me. It's about my reader, my customer."
Deadly Sin # 2: I go on and on and on …
- Quality web writing is rarely about volume and it is never about padding
- If you expect someone to read more than 500 words on a single topic, it better be super!
Deadly Sin # 3: I can’t spell and I’ve awful grammar
- If you can't spell and you've awful grammar, you're not going to make it as a business writer. Take up avant-garde fiction, but forget about writing for the Web
- Good web writing is difficult. It requires a lot of skill and experience
- Sloppy emails create a very bad impression
Deadly Sin # 4: I’m locked in a print view of the world
- Writing for the Web is not the same as writing for print. If you can't see the difference, you need to look harder
- Web writers never say: "How do I quickly get this brochure up on the website?
- Rather, they say: "How do I create content that works on my website?
Deadly Sin # 5: I’m not very good at writing headings
If you're not good at writing headings, you better find someone who is.
- Keep them short (no more than 8 words)
- Keep them clear & descriptive
- Avoid being clever
- Include the most important keywords
Deadly Sin # 6: Actually, I don’t think content is very important
- Content matters
- Great content makes your organization look great
- It'll sell more products
- You'll have happier readers/customers
