If an organization producing an electronic newsletter wants people to read all about it, it might do well to keep in mind that writing all about it for the Web can be different from writing for print.
In their book Every Nonprofit’s Guide to Publishing, Cheryl Woodward and Lucia Hwang offer suggestions for effective writing for the Web:
- Help readers skim. The standard print newspaper story places the most important items at the beginning of the story. Online writers can take this practice a step further by putting less-important details on a different page and linking them, rather than just adding them to the main article.
- Be concise. Because computer screen resolution is not as sharp as print on paper, people tend to read up to 25 percent more slowly off a computer. Keep it short, and keep sentences at less then 20 words.
- Break up long paragraphs. A solid block of types is even harder to read on the screen than on paper.
- Identify links. Make sure to tell readers what they will find on a link and why they should go there.
- Use searchable terms. Many readers find themselves reading news articles after using a search engine.
tip to The NonProfit Times
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