Writing For The WebSUNY CortlandMarch 31, 2010

Ann Scholl RinehartSenior Writer

ann.rinehart@stamats.com800-553-8878 ext. 5132

© Stamats, Inc. 2010

Agenda1. Embracing Language

2. Understanding your Audience

3. Creating Visual Content

4. Writing Persuasive Web Copy

5. Improving your Writing

6. Developing Searchable Web Copy

EMBRACING LANGUAGE

What are YOU looking for?

All Web Users Have Goals

• Complete a task• Locate knowledge• Keep up/keep current• Interact/connect

Survey of 1,000 college-bound high school seniors

How do they find a school online?

• Google or other search to find schools by name—41%

• Use a site to match me, like MyCollegeOptions or The College Board—38%

• Enter words or phrases into Google—35%

• Refer to a printed document with a URL—13%

• Use NCAA or other athletic site—5%

• Guess until I get it—4%

• Research on MySpace or Facebook—3%

72% land on a school’s home page after conducting a search

Source: Noel-Levitz; used with permission

2009 E-Expectations Study

What do college-bound teens want to do on a college’s web site?

Source: Noel-Levitz; used with permission

2009 E-Expectations Study

Descriptions of programs/majorsare the most commonly sought after items of interest for high school students when visiting a college Web site.

-Stamats TeensTALK

Qualities PercentDescription of programs/majors 31%Pictures of the college: dorms, classrooms, activities 24%

Current student testimonials 9%

Easy to navigate/use 9%

General overview/basic information 9%

Admissions standards 8%

Financial aid/scholarships 8%

Athletics 8%

Activities available 7%

Tuition, cost to attend, fees 7%

Virtual tours 6%

Basic statistics: GPA, grads, admission rate, etc. 5%

TeensTALK: Most Liked Web Features

• Instead of a person or department, marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders (AMA, 2004)– Create value

– Communicate value

– Deliver value

• Experience marketing – What elements combine to form the educational experience?

• The answer will involve becoming truly student-centric

Marketing Orientation for the Web

If you wanted to begin gathering information on enrolling in college, would you…

Adult UG Percent “Yes”

Visit specific colleges’ Web sites 96%

Contact the admissions office at a specific college 89%

Conduct a general Web search for college-related Web sites 78%

Talk with friends or family members 70%

Get advice from someone in a career I’d like to pursue 63%

Get advice from an employer for whom I’d like to work 40%

Talk with my supervisor 32%

Talk with my company’s human resources staff 36&

Adults - Sources of Information

Source: Stamats 2008Adult StudentsTALK

When students arrive at a Web site, 85% said that they used links to find answers to their questions instead of using a search box or site index, and they expect links to take them directly to answers

15% said they don’t pay much attention to the link choices and head straight for the search box or site index

80% said the content presented on a college or university Web site is more important than how it looks

18% said the look and feel of a school site is more important than what they find to read

Source: Noel-Levitz; used with permission

2009 E-Expectations Study

What Readers Often Find: Bad Language

•Catalogs and brochures

http://www.houghton.edu/academics/programs/education/program_overview.htm

•Information dumps

http://www.havenworks.com/

http://www.arngren.net/

•Non-visual text layouts

http://www.barclaycollege.edu/Information/

•Too many choices

www.classesusa.com

Just Plain Bad WritingYour inquiry about the use of the entrance area at the library for the purpose of displaying posters and leaflets about Welfare and Supplementary Benefit rights, gives rise to the question of the provenance and authoritativeness of the material to be displayed. Posters and leaflets issued by the Central Office of Information, the Department of Health and Social Security and other authoritative bodies are usually displayed in libraries, but items of a disputatious or polemic kind, whilst not necessarily excluded, are considered individually.

Why Does This Happen?• Copy is institution-driven, not audience-driven • Copy is an afterthought; not written in conjunction with/

developed independently of architecture and design• Many don’t yet acknowledge that writing is a big part of

what online experience is about– No editorial or review process– Not enough writers– Too many writers– Content moves too slow or fast– No single-source authority

Writing for the Web is Crucial to Quality Sites

• Successful Web sites employ professional writing, editing, and publishing strategies and tactics.

• Successful Web sites make life easier for readers, have large and loyal audiences, help accomplish institutional goals, and present an accurate and productive image to the world.

• Successful Web sites do not depend on technology to be successful.

The Web is a Publishing Medium

A Web site publishes content targeted at a group of readers and will benefit from an editorial infrastructure:• Managing Editor/Publisher: responsible for

whole site• Editor (s): responsible for nature and

quality of content per section• Author(s): creates content• Copy Editor: ensures content is

understandable and readable

A Working Editorial Process Delivers:

Complete and accurate information

Information in a user-friendly format

Consistent and natural writing style without errors

Multiple writers drawing from a variety of information sources

What Web Writers Do:

• Write new copy and creatively repurpose existing material

• Guide audiences to information, education, and action

• Convey right messages to right audiences at right time and place (contextually appropriate)

• Create language that draws search engines

Rachel’s AdviceParents and families are inextricably linked and we should be talking directly to/with them — and often

The experience prospects have on your web site weighs heavily in their decision whether to probe further into your programs and offerings, and how they’d fit on our campus

We need to focus more on content. Content, content, content. Make it readable, printable, reference-able, searchable

Focus on your navigation. Test it with college- bound students. Don’t use internal lingo

Source: Noel-Levitz; used with permission. With thanks to Rachel Reuben (rachelreuben.com)

Understanding Your Audience

Reader Characteristics

• Practical and impatient• Skeptical• Fickle• Seeking guidance

• To whom are we communicating?• What are their tasks? • What is critical to them?• What are they not getting?• How do they consume content?• How can we help them be effective?

Web Writers Need to Appreciate…

Web Readers are Impatient

• Six seconds—that’s how long you have to make an impression on a visitor to your home page before they will move on…

Identify & Limit Readers/Audiences

• Prospective undergraduate students

• Prospective graduate students

• Prospective faculty

• Community leaders

• Alumni

• Donors

• Parents

• Current students

Create Personas

• Focus on a representative audience member/type

• Identify their goals and tasks (1-3)• Create fictional identities• Build from usability research

Personas Should Include:• Personal Information Home, age, hobbies, media habits, personality, creative

work and ambitions

• Alumni/donor Information Major, grad year, career, age, location, aspirations

• Internet UsageExperience, primary uses, favorite sites, hours online, computer connection

• User GoalsInformation preferences, academic goals, outside needs, competitor information

Profile: Mary the International Student

It’s 7am Friday morning and Mary has been up for at least an hour. She has been working on a paper for her professor, Dr. Bishop, a world-renowned engineer. Plus, lately, she has been thinking a lot about what she should do next year, after graduation. She is torn between staying in the United States and returning to Nigeria. She would like to be near her family, but it is more important that she finds a good job to help support her other siblings. Getting a good job after graduation was ultimately why she chose to pursue electrical engineering in the first place. Her whole family has sacrificed a lot to pay for college in the U.S. and she feels obligated to help her other siblings enjoy the same kind of higher education opportunities.

Who is on your shoulder when you write?

EXERCISE: REVIEW A SELECTED PAGE, IDENTIFY YOUR KEY READER/AUDIENCE, AND SKETCH A PERSONA FOR ONE.

Creating Visual Content

Print Content• Linear and provides pre-determined order• Documents form a whole & provide entire

information• Uses familiar conventions: table of contents,

prefaces, indexes, etc.• Never changes

Web Content

• Non-linear and encourages visitor to take their own path

• More flexible and up-to-date• Content divided into multiple hyperlinked pages• More informative and less conceptually driven

How People Really Read The Web

• Surveys and studies consistently show that around 80 percent of test users always scan a page first before reading a section word by word.

Reading vs. Scanning

• Progression is word by word across the page and down

• Key information is not visually called out

• Meaning is gathered from the syntax (the way words are put together to form phrases or clauses)

• Progression is rapidly around the page as user looks for key words and phrases

• Key information is visually called out

• Meaning clusters around key words and phrases as the user finds them.

F-Shaped Pattern

Eyetracking Web Usability by Jakob Nielsen, Kara Pernice

So What Does this Mean?

•Users won’t read your content word by word•The first two paragraphs are crucial for conveying information•Subheads, paragraphs and bullet points are crucial for guiding readers to the information they are seeking

Typical Web Page

• Lots of running copy

• No visual call-outs

• Left-to-right, top-to-bottom progression

Scannable Web Page• Headers and short intro paragraphs• Photos and graphics• Bulleted lists, boldface copy, boxed copy

For Scannable Copy, Write:• Short

paragraphs

• Heads and Subheads

• Bulleted Lists

• Highlights and boldface

• Quotes and sidebars

• Short copy invites, introduces, and persuades– Top-level pages

• Long copy should be deeper on site– Two clicks in

• Long copy needs to be well-written and relevant– Compelling message, info, etc.– Gives readers what they want to hear

• Long copy doesn’t need to look long– Break up text into small paragraphs with heads,

subheads

Long vs. Short Copy

What are your Goals?

• Establish institutional/departmental identity• Exchange information• Inform• Instruct• Motivate• Persuade• Provide news• Provide technical support• Recruit• Request information

Readers’ Web Preferences

• Users can enter a site at any page and move any way they choose

• Online version of a given topic should be about half word count of print version

• Users read about 25 percent more slowly from screens than from paper

• Users don’t like to scroll through blocks of text

To Meet Reader Preferences• Make every page

independent & able to explain itself

• Link to background or explanatory information

• Place most important information at top of page

• Give them only what they want/need to know

Start With Good Heads• Main idea of the

page and clearly indicates content

• No longer than seven words on average

• Clear to reader why it’s important

Break Up Text• Short paragraphs divide information into useful chunks• Each paragraph should contain one main idea; second

paragraph contains second main idea, etc.• Sometimes one or two sentences per chunk• Be careful not to go overboard: Breaking up text into too

many chucks can frustrate readers• Links are for readers who want to learn more about the

topic

Love Subheads• Keep readers

moving forward• Emphasizes word,

phrase, or idea from copy

• Breaks up blocks of copy into readable chunks

Depend On Lists• Best way to highlight important information• Eases reading and slows down scanning eye• Satisfy the list-hungry• Use more lists than print, but keep lists short - limit items

to 9• Use numbered when sequence is important• Use bulleted when sequences is not important

How to Map Copy

• Study site architecture and content inventory• Study the template—layout, design elements, position of

images & photos, links• Write in relation to visual environment

Write Classic Newspaper Structure

• Header that

summarizes

• Lead/intro paragraph

delivers the

conclusion

• Body copy delivers

the details

• Who, what, why,

where, when, howwww.latimes.com

Paragraph Structure 101• Start paragraphs with topic sentences:• Use topic sentences in combination with specific heads

and subheads• Follow topic sentence with 1,2,3 structure based on

cause and effect– Writing for the web is challenging for most people.

• The web works differently than print• Web audiences are impatient• The Web is constantly changing

EXERCISE : EDIT/REVISE A PAGE OF “READABLE” TEXT TO MAKE IT “SCANNABLE.”

Writing Persuasive Web Copy

What Marketing Copy Can Do

• Balance institutional integrity with the need to appeal to various audiences

• Send consistent messages

• Extend institutional brand and build/enhance reputation

• Communicate character

How to Write Marketing Copy

• Avoid bragging• Avoid cheese and sleaze• Make a case• Emphasize benefits over features• What’s in it for me?

Features-driven Copy

“At X college, we pride ourselves on the personal attention our professors give their students. Our student-to-faculty ratio is 13:1, and our class size averages 22 students.”

Benefits-driven Copy“The only teacher/student ratio that matters is 1:1. Many colleges talk about small classes and how that facilitates interaction. Well, elevators are small too, and not much communication happens in there.

The point is this: real interaction happens not just when you’re in the same proximity as your professor, but when she actually takes the time to get to know you and how you learn best.

That’s what happens at SUNY Cortland.”

About ACC - Before

About ACC - After

Marketing Tips• Get reader’s attention right away and be specific• Avoid hyperbole, negative constructions, and

superlatives (most, best, perfect, greatest)• Make calls to action clear: what should readers do• Convey experience: what does it feel like to be here?• Appeal to emotion and intellect• Use human voices: tell real stories

Keep in Mind• It’s not an essay• It’s not about you• It’s not a brochure• It’s not a catalog

EXERCISE: REWRITE A PAGE OF YOUR SECTION TO EMPHASIZE BENEFITS.

Improving Your Writing for the Web

Web Copy Should:• Be direct, clear, and concise• Balance information and appeal• Speak to different audiences differently, yet maintain

consistent tone

Follow Writer George Orwell’s Rules1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of

speech that you are used to seeing in print.

2. Never use a long word when a short one will do.

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

4. Never use the passive [voice] where you can use the active.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Omit Unnecessary Words• Too many Prepositions

– Wrong: The most important part of the functionality of the site is meeting the marketing goals.

– Right: A site’s most important function is meeting marketing goals.

• Intensify words and vague adjectives (very, really, a bit, mainly)– Wrong: IPods are very common and very popular.– Right: IPods are common and popular.

• Redundant adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, and phrases– Wrong: This revolutionary new product adds audio to your site.– Right: This revolutionary product adds audio to your site

• Verbs converted to nouns– Wrong: Take into consideration the cost of maintaining data.– Right: Consider the cost of maintaining data.

Active Voice• Emphasizes person or thing acting• Built on strong verbs instead of forms of “to be,” past

participles, and strings of pronouns• Active voice:

– You can use graphic frames to keep footers visible at all times.

• Passive voice:– Graphic frames can be used to keep footers visible at

all times.

Word Choice• Avoid buzzwords and clichéd modifiers

– “State of the Art,” “Cutting-edge,” “Academic Excellence”

• Favor simple words over ten-dollar words– “Use” instead of “utilize”– “Ease” instead of “facilitate”

• Use concrete, precise, definite, specific words– “Ten” instead of “a lot”– “Bright orange” instead of “colorful”– “Blue-eyed” instead of “beautiful”

Key Editing Questions

• Is this clear?• Is there a simpler

way to say this?• Is there a shorter

way to say this?• Is this necessary?

EXERCISE: REWRITE/REVISE A PAGE OF YOUR SECTION

BY IMPROVING YOUR PROSE.

DEVELOPING SEARCHABLE WEB COPY

“It all starts with Google, from there I can go wherever I want.”

- Prospective student

83 percent of adult students would

use a search engine to find out information on

enrolling in college

I added this

Search – Be Discoverable

• Important, and will be for a while

• 80 percent of web traffic starts with search

• Google still the dominant search engine

I added this

This is Your Search Engine Visitor

• Hopefully, they’ll be back

• Search Engines don’t care if the result helps or hurts you

• Metadata feeds the machine

• Relevant content feeds the visitor

Your Job: Links, Page Titles, Footers, Contact Info, Forms, Instructions

Help readers understand

where they are and why they are there

Help readers know what to do next

Simple, clear, and obvious and compelling

Should work like good signage

Web Writers Write Metadata

• Metadata is language linked to the search process

• Works on keyword phrases and one word metatags embedded in HTML

• Connects to the Web Community

To Write Searchable Copy:

Do keyword research with services like WordTracker™

Use real text, not graphics (PICTURE)

Work into heads and subheads

Employ keyword phrases throughout entire page

Establish Standards

• Develop a web style guide

• Standards & accessibility issues

• Content/copy guide

• AP or Chicago Manual of Style for language

• “Web site” vs. “web site”

• “Home page” vs. “homepage”

• Graphic design interface/identity guide

In Closing, Remember These Copy Tips• Users read

language first• Visualize the

language you use

• Persuade, don’t sell

• Write well• Write for the

community

…and Keep in Mind

• Knowledge (content) is heart of a college or university• You publish more, read more, communicate more than

anyone/anything• Academics are original information workers• You should be good at writing and publishing Web

content

Resources• Content Strategy for the Web; Kristina Halverson

• Letting Go of the Words; Janice (Ginny) Redish

• Nielsen & Pernice Eyetracking Web Usability

• Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click? ; Susan M Weinschenk, Ph.D.

• Content Critical: Gaining Competitive Advantage Through High-Quality Web Content; Gerry

McGovern and Rob Norton

• The Web Content Style Guide: An Essential Reference for Online Writers, Editors and

Managers; Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton

• www.useit.com (Jakob Nielsen)

• Information Architecture for the World Wide Web; Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville

• Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability; Steve Krug

• Designing Web Sites That Work: Usability for the Web; Tom Brinck, Darren Gergle, & Scott

D. Wood

Thank you!

Ann Scholl Rinehart

Senior Writer

ann.rinehart@stamats.com

800.553.8878, ext. 5132

www.stamats.com

©Stamats, Inc. 2010