If it looks easier to read, more people will read it
One technique for making sure even a long story looks easy to read is to use Edmund Arnold’s dollar-bill test.… Read the full article
Web writing
What goes viral?
Make messages positive, emotional
Nearly 6 out of 10 people frequently share online content (PDF). Every time someone shares a link on Facebook, an average of nine people click.… Read the full article
Your brain on the web
We’re clicking instead of concentrating
This is your brain on the web: Constant problem solving (To click or not to click?) and divided attention (You’ve got mail) lead to cognitive overload.… Read the full article
Mobile.com
Make story lists easy to use on the go
Jakob Nielsen recently redesigned a mobile website to make its story index more usable.
Now you can steal his approaches for your own mobile site:
1.
… Read the full articleWrite headlines for Google News
Keep ’em short
Want your release to get posted on Google News?
Make the headline 65 to 70 characters. That’s the best length if you want your news release to show up on the portal, according to a study by Schwartz Communications.
Out of the picture
Avoid photo fluff
Online visitors scrutinize some photos and ignore others. So how do you post images that get attention on the Web?
Make sure your images are content, counsels “king of usability” Jakob Nielsen — not decoration.… Read the full article
Cut videos short
2 minutes or less online
Two minutes and seven seconds.
That’s the average length of time people spend viewing videos on Twitter, according to “Online Video Best Practices” (PDF), a new study by TubeMogul, Brightcove and DynamicLogic.… Read the full article
The weakest link
You’re not still writing ‘click here’ and ‘read more,’ are you?
When it comes to link writing, “click here” is so 1996. We’re talking 14.4k modems, a CompuServe account and the Spice Girls singing “Wannabe” on your portable electronic device, aka a Sony Discman.… Read the full article
Segment your audiences
Let people target themselves
I once worked with an education advocacy group that blanketed all of its audience members with the same communications.
- Teachers got the same information as students.
Will you be my friend? Go viral on Facebook
How to write updates that fans like
“Make everything a conversation instead of a one-way megaphone, and go out of your way to be interesting and valuable.”… Read the full article