The task of creating high quality content for a web site can be intimidating. Many folks completely panic when they realize that “killer” content is the key to establishing themselves online, both with prospective visitors and the Search Engines. That’s understandable. Very few of us do much writing in our day to day lives, and most of us haven’t written anything creative since high school.
That’s OK. You CAN write great content. More importantly, you HAVE to. Sure, there are options for outsourcing content creation. For example, you can hire a writer from Elance or Guru.com, publish syndicated material on your web site, or buy PLR (Private Label Rights) articles. You can even use public domain material.
While these are acceptable supplementary sources of content (although I am not a fan of any of them and I will discuss why in another post), they can only be that; supplementary. You have to be the one to communicate your knowledge, your passion and your personality directly to your visitor, and your customer.
Of course, if you’re running a huge company, you have people who can do this for you. If you’re a stay-at-home mom, a senior, or a recently laid off employee looking to the Internet as a source of income you have to do it yourself.
Like I do. So…
The million dollar question is, “how do I write to communicate?”
Good question. Here’s my top tips for communicating effectively on the web…
1) Start writing now: Seriously. As with everything else, practice makes perfect. The more you write, the better you get at it.
2) Turn off the T.V. and read more: Refamiliarize yourself with books, and put the boob-tube on hiatus. As you read, be cognizant of the flow of the words, and how they work together.
3) K.I.S.S.: Yep, “Keep It Simple, Stupid” applies here too! Most people read at a grade 6-8 level. So you really don’t need to concern yourself with constructing long, intricately crafted sentences. All you need to do is get your point across effectively. That’s it, that’s all. Don’t try to impress people with your prose.
4) Read your material aloud: This is an easy way to isolate and identify any potential rough spots in your copy.
5) Keep your sentences short: Like this one. And the one directly preceding it. If there’s a common newbie writing issue it’s tying multiple streams of thought together with the word “and.” In fact, anytime you use the word “and” ask yourself – does it really need to be here? Can I simply end this sentence, and start a new one? Or do the two points really need to be tied together? This is something I always try to be aware of myself, since I’m prone to using lengthy sentences if I don’t remain focused.
6) Have a “bookworm” friend review your material: You’ve probably have at least one friend who loves to read. It’s time to strain that friendship to the breaking point. 
Ask him/her to review your material, and provide feedback.
7) Learn from the best: Paul Myers is the author of the TalkBiz newsletter. Jack Forde is a professional copywriter who publishes the “CopyWriter’s Roundtable.” I highly recommend you subscribe to both these publications. They contain superb content (of course), but more importantly, they are exceptionally well-written. Both of these guys are masters of using, short, impact-laden sentences. Kind of like the opposite of the one I’m writing now.
Read, absorb, and pay close attention to how these guys do it.
Get a little help: There are some great – even free -resources that can help you hone your skills. I highly recommend Ken Evoy’s free Make Your Content PRESell! (In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m proud to say I did play a small role in putting this document together). Download and read it now!
9) Try some dictation: When you speak, it’s likely you have no problems communcating with friends, collegues, and prospective customers. Try dictating your content, and then transcribe it.
10) Use lists when appropriate: You can get around having to worry about perfect sentence structure by providing some of your material in list format.
11) Speak TO your visitor/prospective customer: Try to imagine talking directly to the person who is reading your words. Do not speak “at” them. Instead, imagine them sitting right there, just on the other side of the computer monitor, hanging on to your every word. Write almost as if you are involved in a conversation.
12) Don’t be afraid to show some personality: Online, you’ll find a lot of material that is delivered without any “personality” at all (there are some rare occasions where this is appropriate, of course). It’s easy to differentiate yourself from your competitors by letting some of your true self shine through.
13) Have your material re-written: It could be that writing is not your thing. You are, however, still the best person to communicate the core of your message. You may just need someone to massage it, grammatically. You can find folks at Elance or Guru.com who can do this for you. It should be pretty affordable; if the copywriter does not need to do any research, but simply re-write your material, it’s a relatively straightforward task.
One last word of advice… don’t give up! Writing is an acquired skill. YOU can write to communicate effectively. And that’s all you need to do. Very few of us have the skill set required to craft the next great novel. And that’s OK… we don’t need to.
You CAN do this.
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