Writing for Online News Channels

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10 hot tips when writing for online news channels

 

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10 hot tips when you are going to write for the web - online news

1. Put yourself in the reader's position

What about the news you are writing is important to the user or reader? What is the most relevant, interesting or exciting element of the story, from the reader's standpoint? Focus on that!

2. Use the right trigger words

All topics have "trigger words" that provoke the mouse-click necessary to get a new reader. Words like "free" and "sex" are examples of proven click generators. Identify the trigger words that work for your topics and your audience, and use them when you write, as long as it is relevant.

3. Write meaningful headlines

In order to capture the reader's interest, and to provoke that extra click, he or she needs to understand what the text concerns. After that, the reader will decide whether this is relevant and interesting for him. A good headline tells what the article concerns by summing up the main point of the event in a simple sentence, such as "Expecting lower interest rates" or "Man shot in Oslo". NB! It is a proven mistake to lure the reader to click by simple rhymes or witticisms in the headline - in fact, it irritates more often than it attracts. In addition, you may find that users click because they misunderstood what the article concerned, and then feel as if you are wasting their precious time. That is not a good reading experience!

Remember that headlines can end up being the entire story (when the article falls much lower on the page, or when another site cites your content). Then the headline will have to stand alone - with neither picture nor sub-head to clothe it - and still be able to convey the news.

4. Write the article as a teaser

A teaser, consisting of headline, sub-head and picture, should be able to inform the user of an event to such a degree that a user that is in a hurry (or who is only reading superficially) does not need to read the whole story. This user is not going to click in to the story. An interested user, or one with more time, would conclude that the article was interesting and worthy of reading, as long as the headline is descriptive and topical.

5. Say it as simple as possible

There is never any point in writing difficult texts. Write simply and directly. To achieve this, think "How would I explain this to a child?" or "What would I have said if this was a classified advertisement?" when you write. The intention is not to underestimate the reader, but to write in an inclusive way. If you need to write an extensive and complex article (a scientific report, a medical analysis or the like), consider breaking it up into parts (see tip #9).

6. Help readers read down the page

Let the reader get a quick grasp of the article by simply glancing at the page. Techniques to help readers look down the page are:

• Sub-heads
• Links
• Bullet points
• Bold-face words (preferably trigger words)

Remember that these elements must give a complete description of the article when the reader simply looks down the page (seeing only headlines, links, points and bold or underlined words). Pay attention to the fact that you can spin or twist a whole article by choosing to make bold one word, so be careful!

7. Create space on the screen

Few things kill a reader's desire to read than a massive and visually impenetrable block of letters. Only the most dedicated readers will dare to begin upon such an article (basically less than 5 per cent - check your statistics if you don't believe me). Therefore, create space! Break text up into paragraphs, sub-titles, pictures, lists and bold-face words so that the page doesn't look like an impregnable fortress.

8. A picture speaks more than a thousand words...

Text is not the best medium to convey all types of information. Take a weather map for example; you get just about everything at a glance. If you tried to convey the same information in text, the page would become far more cumbersome and confusing. So consider whether your information can be conveyed better via pictures, numbers, models, statistical diagrams or the like.

9. Use a two- or many-layered strategy

If you must convey a demanding text, consider doing it over two different pages: Make one simple tabloid article, which explains that the content can be obtained or which presents the main point of the larger text. Set up a link to the entire report/text/evaluation for those who are particularly interested in it. This full-size version can be both a web-page and a downloadable document, which makes it searchable by search engines and easier to handle for those who want to download it, print it out and read it on paper.

10. Watch ouf tor typos!

It is hard to catch your own mistakes, so set up routines whereby a colleague double-checks your work, if possible. Remember that a misspelled word not only looks stupid, but can also confuse a search engine. A user looking for "Republicans" on your web-site will not get a hit for an article that mentions "Reppublicans".