Writing for the Web – Less Is More

by Kim Niemi

If you’ve been a writer for more than five minutes, odds are you’ve done some blogging (it’s a rite of passage). If you’ve kept up a regular blog presence, good for you! 

If you’ve started a few that never quite caught on, I’m not surprised. Because writing for the Web is a specialized skill – and most of you are doing it wrong. 

Take a deep breath. I’m not knocking your writing skills. I’m telling you there’s a structure you’re unaware of, and embracing it will give you power (and get you work).

It’s about being concise. Here are some mistakes you don’t even know you’re making:

• Too many words per sentence
  
• Too many sentences per paragraph
  
• Too many paragraphs per post
  

Look, I appreciate a rambling, adjective-laden description as much as the next gal, but that’s what NaNoWriMo is for. The Internet is a place of quick visits and minimal patience. Nothing says “read me later” like a long block of text. 

If I had a nickel for every long piece I’ve bookmarked to read later and actually read – I’d have zero nickels.

Here are some best practices to grab readers in the moment (and keep them):

• Keep paragraphs to 2-3 sentences max (sometimes just one will do)
  
• Break up large blocks of text with subheadings or bullets
  
• Keep blog posts to 300-400 words
  

Other types of writing will allow for more words, but the first two rules still apply.

If you have a tendency to overwrite, it’s going to take practice. Use Rayne Hall’s The Word-Loss Diet as your bible, and try this exercise:

• Write a paragraph introducing your subject
  
• Write a second paragraph using all the words you think you need
  
• Rewrite the second paragraph using no more than four single-line bullet points
  

If you need more than four bullets, or more than one line per, you're muddying the message. Break it down to the most important bits.

Now go back and rewrite the paragraph, connecting the dots between bullets – economically. How does it read? How does the first paragraph read? I’ll bet you can tighten it up too.

Rules Were Made to Be Broken

I’m not trying to take the fun out of writing. And I’m not trying to stifle your voice. But you can’t break the rules until you’ve learned them (and if you plan to do any professional blogging or ghostwriting, you really need to master them) . Strip away the extraneous stuff and get down to the basic structure.

Once you can do that easily, you can layer in more of “you” in key spots, to greater effect.  When you’re succinct with style your readers will love you.

Got a tip for keeping your writing tight? Have a favorite exercise? Share in the comments!