Web Writing for the One-Minute Reader

Fifty-six seconds is the average amount of time a person will spend visiting your website and reading through your copy.  That’s right, less than a minute.  And that’s why your visitor’s reading experience needs to be like breathing fresh, mountain air rather than choking on thick urban smog.

Web readers tend to scan through your information, picking up what they need here and there.  Print readers tend to read more for detail, spending more time and effort digesting sentences.  Your web copy, therefore, requires a different style from writing in print.

Web writers often fall into the trap of telling visitors everything there is to know, especially when writing “About Us” and when providing descriptions of products and services.  But this doesn’t work.  Web visitors are less likely to stare at pages filled with text than at any other feature on the Internet.

What does work?  A few short paragraphs, short, simple sentences and everyday, common words. 

Remember, your visitors may be spending less than a minute on your website, and that’s why you need to engage them with your text.  Following these three simple guidelines can help.

First, write concisely.  Short, well crafted text is easier to understand and to absorb and will enable your visitors to remember the most important information you have to offer.  Too much information is easier to forget.

Second, write everything so it’s relevant to your visitors.  Your company history, for example, may be very impressive.  Your web visitor, however, is not as interested in what you’ve done for yourselves as in what you can do for him or her.  That’s why they’ve come to visit.

Third, write only what’s needed here and now.  Address the most important questions that your visitors will ask and provide contact numbers and e-mail links.  If what you’ve written is exciting and they want more information from you, they’ll ask for it.

In less than a minute, visitors to your website are unlikely to read through detailed information, and much of the clutter filling your web pages will go unread.  So, follow the advice of writer Elmore Leonard: “Leave out the parts that people skip over.”

Does Your Web(site) Trap Your Readers?

Browsing the Web has become as popular a pastime in Malaysia as watching TV.  Every month, more than 13 million Malaysians spend more than 15 hours online visiting more than 1,200 web pages each.  That’s a pretty impressive market to be tapping into.

But, to capture and retain the interest of these visitors, you’ve got to have an attractive website.  And right up there with eye-catching graphics and a stylish layout, engaging web copy is what gives your website quality.

Webpage visitors read differently from a screen then they do from print media, like newspapers and magazines.  They’re much more likely to scan for information than they are to read in detail.  Consequently, writing web copy requires a different style from writing print copy and this begins at the top with your headline.

David Ogilvy of the multinational advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather said that on the average, five times more people read the headline than the body copy.  So, when you’ve written your headline, you’ve spent 80 cents out of your advertising dollar. 

Take a look at the headlines on your web pages.  Do they engage you and encourage you to read further?  Here are three writing techniques you can use to ensure that they do.

First, ask questions.  Questions get your visitors’ minds working.  Unlike statements, which provide information on their own, questions prepare visitors for information that is to come.  Suppose you’re browsing the web looking for advice on investing and you run across these two headlines in your Google search: How to Invest Your Money and Are You Ready to Make Millions?  Compare.  Which of these two is more likely to arouse your interest?

Second, present problems.  People browse the web to meet their needs for entertainment and information.  What you write in your headlines, therefore, should immediately address these needs.  Of course, not everyone will have the problem you present, but that’s okay.  You’re not targeting everyone in the market, only those who need the products or services that you provide.

Third, arouse curiosity.  The headline you write will be more inviting if it gives your visitors a ‘sneak peek’ of what’s to come.  Suppose you’re surfing the web for tips to improve your golf game and you come across a headline that asks, Is Your Golf Swing Missing These Stroke-saving Qualities?  What could these qualities be?  Curious?  Better read and find out. 

Writing good headlines can be challenging, and even some of the best copy writers will tell you that they can’t write good headlines.  But as long as the headlines on your website ask questions, present problems and arouse curiosity, you’re three steps closer to keeping your visitors engaged.

Manage Stress: Be More Assertive

While assertiveness comes easier to some people than it does to others, it’s good for you to remember that assertiveness is skill that can be learned by anyone.  When you master this skillset, you reduce the amount of interpersonal conflict in your life.  You ensure that your needs are met without infringing upon the needs of others.  In addition, you overcome your resistance to saying ‘no’ and be more honest and open when meeting someone else’s needs does not fit into your schedule.

In short, learning how to become more assertive reduces major sources of stress in your life and allows you the time you need to take care of yourself.

How does it work?  Let’s look at a common scenario.  A colleague from work calls you at home during dinner asking for your help in solving a problem on a current project.  You have the know-how, but the work is clearly out of your domain.  A passive response would be to give your colleague all the time necessary because your help is needed.  A more assertive response, however, would be to tell your colleague that you’re willing to help, but you’d rather take care of things during office hours tomorrow.  In this way, you can return to your family and enjoy your dinner.

To practice becoming more assertive, begin by being firm and decisive.  Say no when you have to.  This becomes easier if you can turn small successes into big ones.  Begin your transition with the people who will encourage you in your efforts and as your skills develop, bring them into social settings and the workplace.

Ask for what you want and express your needs.  You can reasonably expect that you have a support network of people who will help you achieve them, just as you would help them achieve theirs.  As your needs are met, your self-esteem increases.  People will understand the real you once you have learned to be vocal rather than silent.

Work on resolving all forms of interpersonal conflict.  At home and at work, conflict is a given reality.  We all live with it and may choose to ignore it or resolve it.  Ignoring it, however, will bring the conflict out in the open in a different and unpleasant way.  It’s better to be honest and open with people to assertively resolve disagreements.  Listen assertively to the other point of view, and if no compromise is possible, agree to disagree and continue to respect each other.

Working on assertiveness can be a big step for some and an easy hop-skip-and-a-jump for others.  Regardless, becoming more assertive helps ensure that you have the resources to meet your own needs and get on track for a happier and healthier life.

"Just Say No"

Have you ever noticed that assertive people seem to have more free time on their hands to get their own needs met and, as a result, that they seem less stressed and a little more happy-go-lucky?  Why is that? 

Here’s a tip.  One of the most useful skills that assertive people have going for them is the ability to say ‘no’.  Think about this.  Have you ever found yourself giving up your own free time to chair the annual dinner organizing committee, or baby-sitting your neighbor’s cat, or shopping for a food item in Penang that your friend in KL has asked you to bring back, or attending your nephew’s kindergarten graduation ceremony?  If you didn’t want to do these things, why did you say ‘yes’?

Very often you may feel bound by obligation or fear of hurting someone’s feelings.  Sometimes you may feel that it’s simply nicer and more polite to say yes.  However, when you give in to these emotions, you’re giving up what you need in exchange for what somebody else wants.  This can be rewarding, but not up to the point where you take on too much and eventually burn out.

Saying ‘no’ does not have to be belligerent or intransigent, it’s simply being honest with yourself and with others and letting them know what you can or cannot do.

To help you make saying ‘no’ a little easier next time, here’s a few simple guidelines that you can follow.

First, be firm.  If you must say no, keep still.  Avoid body language, questions, and nods and  'ahas' that tell people you’re interested.  When they present a request, apologize and refuse politely.  If pressed for a reason, simply explain that it doesn’t fit into your schedule right now, and change the subject.  Most people will accept this.  However, if you are pressed further, then they are being rude.  Hold your position and repeat yourself, politely but firmly, so they know you’re unlikely to change your mind.

Second, offer what you can do.  So, maybe you’re too busy to work on the annual dinner committee, but you’d be happy to help out with decorations and cleanup on the day of the event.  In this way, you can still be involved, but it will be on your own terms.

Third, buy some time.  Rather than giving into your impulses and saying ‘yes’ right away, it’s okay to say, “Let me check and get back to you.”  Be careful that your response does not sound too encouraging.  People will be more disappointed by a later 'no' if they had expected a 'yes'.

Helping others meet their needs is admirable, but you can only help others to the same extent that you help yourself.  Honesty is liberating, so say ‘no’ when you must.