Wordpreneur.com

BY CHARLES K

Check out few guidelines for achieving a comfortable, easy-to-read writing style:

Writing easy is tougher than you might think it is. Being simple and descriptive is not that simple but you can always learn how to be a simple writer. A simple and free flowing copy is what people always admire. Here are few tips to do that:

Write as you converse: Writing as you speak is the most natural way to write. Try writing the same way you speak to a friend. You’ll end up being more concise, clearer, and more engaging. Use “you” instead of “me” or “us” or “them.”

Make it tighter and shorter: Writing naturally is not enough your copy must be tight and precise. First go ahead with your writing style now; go back and edit your work so it says what you want using the fewest words possible. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but it’s a good technique to use when publishing on the Web. Being precise has many advantages.

Breaking it in to smaller bites: People on the Internet just prefer to skim the material. They don’t have time to read. No one likes to scroll through a long narrative looking for better information.

Take a look at what you just wrote. Draw a line between each unique “thought.” Write a headline for each thought. Better yet, avoid narrative paragraphs whenever possible. Look at what you wrote again; are you listing or comparing information? Try using a bulleted list or a table instead. It’s a lot easier on the eyes and better for the Internet environment also.

Learning to write better is only a matter of willingness and observation. Have you ever thought of why a good newspaper or magazine is more readable and actually more interesting? Try to figure out what makes you read that article.

Though there is no magic in it, there are some sure techniques you can follow to acquire the same results for your own writing.

Try action verbs: Try avoiding flat verbs like “is,” “have,” and “was.” No one likes to read slow writing snippets these days. Get action in your writing and see the result yourself.

Grab their minds at any cost: Never ever be afraid to be playful or clever. Your goal is to draw the reader in to read more.

Write more expressive copy: Include the key elements of the “thought” in your headline. Give readers a good idea of what they’ll get if they read further. Which tells you more: My Summer Vacation or The Highs and Lows of My Summer on the Road?

Always re-check your work: Look at your pages using as many browsers as you can get your hands on that will assure you of a better result always.

Spelling mistakes should be zero: Get an HTML authoring tool with a built-in spellchecker or use some other word tool but make sure your copy is free of spelling mistakes.

Edit-edit-edit: Spellcheckers won’t catch grammatical errors. You’ll have to train yourself to catch them. They’re organized into three categories:

• editorial style
• grammar
• punctuation

You must edit your copy until you are pretty confident your output is great and readable.

Charles K writes for Contentbean, a global content writing solution provider which offers affordable website content.

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