Writing for Online

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Writing for Online

• Nora Paul Institute for New Media Studies
• Thanks to Elizabeth A. OsderVisiting Professor
  USC Annenberg

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What Is Writing for Online?

• Writing and editing stories for a specific
  audience in a specific medium. It requires
• Knowing the audience
• Understanding design
• Awareness of story elements
• Write for search engines

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Editing for Online Readers

• Provide value to your readers, viewers,
  interactors who have
• Limited time
• Infinite options
• Need for immediacy
• Expectation of personalization

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Know the audience

• Who are they?
• What are they looking for?
• What action do they want to take?
• How often do they come back?
• Do they read, printout, download?

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Writing for Online News

• Language is critical
• Reductive
• Literal
• To the point
• Structure and format matter
• Contextual and annotative
• Navigation is the narrative

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Scan-able Text

• Highlighted keywords
• Hypertext links
• Typeface variations
• Meaningful sub-headings
• Bulleted lists

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Scan-able Text

• One idea per paragraph
• Inverted pyramid style works
• Half the word count (or less) than conventional
  writing

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Elements of the Web Story
Full Story
Brief
Promo
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Elements of the Promo

• Homepage promotional copy
• Should
• Explain the story
• Work for the reader
• Work for search engines
• Contains
• Headline 30-40 characters
• Deck 20-25 words
• Links

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Promos
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Promos
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Headlines

• Fewer than six to 10 words
• Use strong verbs
• Put the most important word first
• Avoid articles at the start of a headline
• Use question headlines if the subject is
  interesting enough to entice readers

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Online Decks

• Entice readers to read more
• 1-2 sentences long
• Often repeats the lead
• Tips
• Write a clear summary
• Avoid writing summaries that repeat the headline
• Address the reader when appropriate

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Deck is the Lead
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Deck is Not the Lead
Time Stamp
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Online Briefs

• Similar to blurbs - often repeat lead of the
  story
• Can be a few paragraphs long
• Can stand alone - in place of a story
• Offers the reader a choice of layers.
• Some readers want to read only the headlines,
  others want a brief summary and others want the
  complete story.

Full Story
Brief
Brief
Promo
Proo
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Envisioning the Web Story

• Elements
• Headline
• Summary
• Main story (scroll or chunks)
• Breaking news (brief or update)
• Hyperlinks
• Timelines
• Full text docs (speeches, etc)
• Multimedia (video, audio)
• Searchable databases
• Interactive elements (polls, games, quiz, email
  links)

Storyboards
Main Story
Interactive
Timeline
Bios
Documents
Video
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Writing for Search Engines

• Search engines Google this
• Is copy easily searchable?
• Can copy be disambiguated by a search engine?
• Cute and clever dont compute
• Can a reader quickly get to the heart of the
  matter?
• Device constraints
• Have you edited your copy with the delivery
  medium in mind?

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An example of writing design for online

• Large Number of UROP Applications
  SubmittedForty-six CLA students have submitted
  UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities
  Program) grant applications in the arts,
  humanities, and social sciences for summer or
  fall projects. The variety of topics was
  remarkable, from images of Chinese immigrants in
  19th century dime novels to performance
  techniques for Chopin Etudes to community-based
  development in the Whittier Neighborhood. CLA
  students proposing projects in the natural
  sciences have their UROP applications reviewed by
  CBS, IT or Medical School faculty, so we don't
  know yet what our students are planning in these
  fields. The quality of the applications was very
  high this round. To quote Professor Andrew Cohen,
  a member of the review committee, "What sterling
  projects! It makes one proud to be in and around
  the U."

• Latest Round of UROP Applications Show Variety,
  Innovation Forty-six CLA students submitted
  UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities
  Program) grant applications in the arts,
  humanities, and social sciences for summer or
  fall projects. Proposals covered a range of
  topics
• Images of Chinese immigrants in 19th century dime
  novels.
• Performance techniques for Chopin Etudes.
• Community-based development in the Whittier
  Neighborhood.
• Information on CLA student sub-missions in
  the natural sciences is not yet available as they
  are reviewed by CBS, IT or Medical School
  faculty.
• High Quality Applications
• The quality of the applications was high. As
  Review Committee member Professor Andrew Cohen
  put it, "What sterling projects! It makes one
  proud to be in and around the U."

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Lets look at some examples

• http//advisingtools.class.umn.edu/enews/
• http//www.uml.edu/honors/events.htm
• http//www.mntriclub.com/newsletter.html
• http//www.mushroomcompany.com/events.html
• http//www.kurthanson.com/archive/news/041703/inde
  x.asp
• http//www.hofstra.edu/News/UR/UR_counselor_corner
  _0303h.cfm

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Thanks