Display copy

What’s the best subheading format?

Think contrast, hierarchy

Subheads tell readers what content exists on a page and how different sections relate to the others. That guides readers to the copy they want to read and shows them how the parts fit together.… Read the full article

Stop it with the ing-ing headlines (Examples!)

Present participle heads may be worse than labels

Barney Kilgore, the legendary editor of The Wall Street Journal, once wrote: “If I see ‘upcoming’ slip in[to] the paper again, I’ll be downcoming and someone will be outgoing.”… Read the full article

What’s the best link format?

5 ways to draw eyes, fingers

Your most important links are calls to action, writes HubSpot’s Kyle James. So how can you increase the chances that they’ll get clicked?… Read the full article

How to write a link that’s the right length

Give visitors enough information to decide to click

Think of links as the Goldilocks of microcontent: Some links are too long. Some links are too short.… Read the full article

Sell benefits, not features, in lists

Make benefits lists parallel, verb-based

When Mr. Wylie’s Writing Tips had a hip replacement recently, he had to take a break from grocery shopping. I went searching for my new BFF, an online grocery delivery service.… Read the full article

How to write killer headlines for web content

Google never laughs; so must web heads be dull?

There’s a lot of sniveling and squawking going on in the web writing community these days. Consider the headlines:

“This Boring Headline Is Written for Google,” grumble journalists.

… Read the full article

A way around the pyramid

Lift ideas off the page with display copy

There is one great thing about the inverted pyramid lead.

“The only benefit of the inverted pyramid lead was that it put a lot of valuable information high in the story,” write Mario R.… Read the full article