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.
Display copy
Format links for clicking
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
Write for surfers and divers
Try the 30-3-30 rule
All readers are not created equal. So how can you give your in-depth “divers” enough information without overwhelming your casual “surfers”?
Use Clay Schoenfeld’s 30-3-30 rule.
… Read the full articleDon’t get your head cut off
Web headlines must fit on mobile apps and more
Not everyone wants to play, “What’s the last word in the headline?” says Andy Bechtel, associate professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UNC-Chapel Hill.… Read the full article
Keep captions short
How to sell crisp cutlines to clients who want to include too much
“Help us with captions,” wrote Sue Grabowski, president of Grabowski & Co., in our recent member survey.… 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
Avoid online ADHD
Embed links carefully
Where do you put your links?
Embedded links are distracting.
Embedded links like this one can cause problems. Among them:
- They’re distracting. Because they capture eyeballs, embedded links “foster a kind of attention deficit disorder, creating casual, easily distracted surfers instead of committed, engaged readers,” writes Jan H.
A link is a promise
Don’t disappoint readers
A suitor asks you on a date but doesn’t show up. A parent says she’ll play a game but never does. A link on a website says Products & services but opens a registration page instead.… Read the full article
The Goldilocks Conundrum
Write links that aren’t too short or too long
Think of links as the Goldilocks of microcontent: Some links are too long. Some links are too short.… Read the full article
Why tipsheets?
Service stories get read, shared, used and acted upon
How-to information is the No. 2 type of content that gets retweeted, according to research by Dan Zarrella (PDF), viral marketing scientist for HubSpot.… Read the full article