Monday, May 25, 2009

Writing for the Web - 1

Because the influence of the web and social networking media are so pervasive, today I embark on a series of EWAs devoted to writing for the web. In this essay (Essay comes from the French word for try.) I cover a few fundamental writing principles. In future months, I will cover writing effective tweets and direct response web writing, among other topics.

My comments here apply to business-to-business and corporate websites that describe capabilities and product offerings for the purpose of driving business.

Include key words but don’t get carried away. On the home page, make sure your copy includes relevant key words, but also make sure your desire to inject key words doesn’t keep the copy from being helpful and sounding authentic. Mentioning key words and phrases prominently on your home page is important because search engine spiders go out on the web and capture key words. Search engines then deliver up your URL when someone searches for key words that happen to be on your website. Some would say, ''Well, then, let’s just make our home page a string of key words. Stack 'em deep! Sell 'em cheap!'' If that sounds like a used car salesman, it is no coincidence. Today’s search engine spiders are intelligent enough to reject those URLs. So be aware of key words, but put the key-word list away when you write.

Write with authority and clarity to project trustworthiness. Your copy should be simple in structure and authoritative in tone. It should always be in active voice. It should sound natural so it inspires confidence. Make sure it tells visitors exactly what your company does and what they will get out of doing business with you. As with all copy, features and benefits must figure prominently.

Think usability first. Try thinking of your website as both an information utility and as the essence of your brand. Is there a contradiction there? How can a website give visitors useful information and still be the brand? There is no contradiction. The essence of a brand is not what we are; it is what we do for others. For example, there is no need for my ExcitingWriting brand to claim superior writing skills; my brand gives useful advice that demonstrates mastery. On the web, you walk the talk by doing for others.

See your home page the way your visitors see it. The corollary of the think usability first principle is this: See your home page the way your visitor sees it. When you are planning your website, make sure you take into account each audience segment and the information that segment will be looking for when it visits your website. Then design your navigation so your audiences can find what they want with as few clicks as possible.

Make sure your website gives useful information. Remember, sometimes visitors are looking for answers to simple questions that might not occur to you: What is the name of your CEO? What is your postal address? What is your physical address? What business are you in? Why do customers/clients choose to do business with you? When it comes to content, make certain each page is short and to the point. The maximum words on each page: 250 to 300. People scan when they read on the web. They don’t want a tome. It’s fine to attach longer PDFs, but make sure navigation and content are thought out in terms of what users want to know.

Do not be afraid to use the same key words more than once. When you were in school your English teacher might have taught you that you should never to repeat words in close proximity. She taught you to use a thesaurus and synonyms to avoid repeating. That’s over. In web writing you are allowed, even encouraged, to repeat, but be careful. Make sure the web writing sounds natural. For example, it’s okay to repeat some of the same concepts and key words on the About page that you use on the Why Choose page. Make sure you create a balance between usability of content and your use of repeated key words.

Think short and simple. I have already mentioned a maximum of 300 words on each page. Make sure each sentence is short and to the point. Make sure each paragraph doesn’t have too many sentences. The copy should not look too dense on the page. Use bullets and bold subheads to make the copy easy to scan. And make sure you are respectful in your writing and take a business point of view.

Use standard buttons. Websites today routinely use About, or About us, Why choose? Partners, Contact, Press, Investors, Services, Products, Blog, Bios, etc. People are accustomed to seeing those buttons and similar ones in websites. They feel comfortable using them. So make sure they are a part of your website.

What one client wrote about Chuck Lustig
After I wrote copy for her website, Clivia Bettelli Baskin wrote:
''It has been a real pleasure working with you. You have a wonderful grasp of how to present the information, and I like the way you talk through and review changes. Looking forward to another session/project.
All my best,
Clivia

The Semicolon, Semi-explained

This month we continue our journey down punctuation road for a discussion of that little understood and oft-feared mark, the semicolon. Yes, feared! I once feared it because I could not fathom why anyone would ever want to use it! Show offs, I thought! Once I found enlightenment, I became semi-confident about my semicolon use.

Once upon a time, a period married a colon and gave birth to a semicolon. The semicolon had some of the characteristics of a period because it usually came at the end of a clause that could stand on its own as a sentence. It had some of the characteristics of a colon because it caused the reader to slow down and nearly come to a full stop. It also resembled its uncle the comma because it gave a sense of flow to two clauses locked in a love embrace. When little Miss Semicolon grew to adulthood, she said, ''I'm all about relationships.''

The function of the semicolon is in bringing two clauses together in a relationship but not necessarily specifying what the relationship is. The relationship happens in readers' heads; that is the beauty of the semicolon.

Consider this sentence:
The credit markets are reeling over the sub-prime debacle; more economists are predicting a credit crunch, if not a recession.

The causal relationship is implied. I like semicolons because they enable a writer to use those relationships to weave subtext; they also make careful reading more rewarding.

For a moment, allow me to digress and comment on something called ''comma splices.'' When I taught writing at the college level, students seemed to be hooked on comma splices. What is a comma splice? Here's an example:

When my father was a boy, Studebakers were the cars everybody loved to hate, they would overheat in traffic and mechanics were hard to come by.

Comma splices are grammatically incorrect and annoying to read. They give me the impression that the writer does not know where one clause ends and the next begins.

Look at the difference a semicolon makes:
When I was a boy, Studebakers were the cars everybody loved to hate; they would overheat in traffic and mechanics were hard to come by.

My point: Those of you who love shaking comma sprinkles on your ice cream should try sprinkling semicolons for a refreshing change of pace.

I often see semicolons used with transition words such as however, on the other hand, moreover, thus and therefore.

I saw him at the store; however, he didn't see me.

Transition words ruin what I love about semicolons by making the relationship between the clauses obvious. On the other hand, those transition words can be very useful in business and technical writing because they contribute to readability.

Some punctuation guides say you must always place the semicolon before the transition word; however, Leslie Bivens points out that such a rule is misleading. All three of the examples below are correct:

Example #1: I saw him at the store; however, he didn't see me.
Example #2: I saw him at the store; he, however, didn't see me.
Example #3: I saw him at the store; he didn't see me, however.

Notice how the linking words can be placed at various points in the second clause, yet the semicolon is always placed between the first and second clause.

The second major semicolon use is in a complex series where the semicolon is used to keep hierarchies correct.

Examples of American Gothic architecture can be found in Lenox, Massachusetts; Hampton Roads, Virginia; and Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

When not every item in a series has a modifier, don't let that throw you. Use the semicolon between all the items in the series.

The group included Bert, IT manager; Sandra; and Jennifer, corporate comptroller.

And now a little bit about the history of the semicolon. First used by a London printer in 1560, Shakespeare's sonnets employed them regularly. For example, two couplets from one humorous sonnet:

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

And there you have it! My semi-humorous, semi-complete ode to semicolons.

Who Knows Where the Period Goes?

''Who knows where the period goes in this case?'' ''I do, Mr. Lustig,'' said the eager student. This month we review use of periods; it's a cross check between use of quotes and parentheses which we've covered in recent months. Then, farther below, read a short homily on the divine nature of business writing. Yes. The divine nature of business writing.

I noticed a curious contrast between the use of parentheses and the use of quotes: The quote always encloses the period at the end of a sentence, but a parenthesis sometimes has a period hanging out there, exposed at the end of a sentence. Examples:

Use of quote:

Mr. Jake Lancer, Dallas entrepreneur, said, ''I know most will disagree, but I believe the economy is fundamentally sound.''

Notice that the quote sign always goes to the right of the period at the end of the sentence.

Use of parentheses:

You can place an aside at the end of the sentence (as I have done here).

Notice that you place the period to the right of the parenthesis when (and only when) the parenthetical expression comes at the end of the sentence. When a parenthetical expression encloses the entire sentence, you put the period to the left of the final parenthesis.

Example:
(When the aside is a complete sentence, you put the period to the left of the final parenthesis like this.)

So now (in the case of quotes and parentheses) you know where the period goes.

On the Devine Nature of Business Writing

If you ever give yourself the gift of reading Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, you will notice that the divine nature of creativity is one of the most fundamental principles of her book. ''Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy: pure creative energy,'' she writes. And this: ''When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator's creativity within us and our lives.'' And this: ''Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.'' To Cameron (and to me) the process is highly spiritual.

I think it is generally accepted that higher forms of art are inspired by a higher power while lower forms, for example, advertising, marketing communications, architecture and product design, are not. I disagree. Why should other work, for example, the design of a circuit board, a semiconductor, or the writing of a software manual, be excluded from this cavalcade? When we produce anything positive in this world, even if it is work as lowly as taking out the garbage, we can do it while connected to our divine creator and be inspired as a result. A piece of business writing can be as informed by this inspiration as a novel or a play. It is only up to each of us to supply the connection.