The way we consume information has changed. Long gone are the days when we leisurely read articles in the peace and quiet of our homes. Now we feel the need to consume information as fast as possible so we can move on to the next thing. And there are many choices in how we do so. There's television, websites, apps, social media, computers, or our phones. And as we all know, most of the time, multiple outlets compete for our attention all at once. In fact, Statista found that consumers around the world spend an average of 7.5 hours per day with media.
Since information is now accessible to everyone at just one click, that means that writing for the web vs. print is very different. Read ahead as we explore three ways in which writing has changed and why it matters.
Keeping readers attention is more difficult
These days, reading an article online also comes with digital missiles constantly firing at you. We all know what it's like to get a few sentences in and immediately become distracted by pop-ups, banner ads, new emails, and app notifications. People have adapted, and now they scan what they are reading. This has led to articles written in a much shorter length, with multiple headlines and more bullet points.
Headlines have always needed to be attention-grabbing, whether in print or web. But for today's media consumer, a catchy title matters more than ever. Writing for the web needs to be entertaining yet to the point because readers can easily click anywhere and leave your screen in a second.
You're writing for both your audience and search engines
Print journalists never need to consider writing for search engines. But if online articles want to be found, they need to be optimized with frequently searched keywords and phrases. Online writing still needs to be well-written and entertaining, but if no one will ever read it, then what's the point?
The key to web writing is to find a balance between seamlessly weaving keywords and phrases into genuine and entertaining content. That way, readers find you through search engines while still making a connection to your content. This type of writing certainly takes practice, so it pays to lean on a copywriter with SEO writing experience.
Information is presented clearly and quickly
Online readers head to the internet ready for answers. Usually, people are strapped to their phones and on the go, so they scan web pages looking to gather the information they need as quickly as possible. To cater to this person's needs, you'll want to reveal the key details of an article at the onset, as opposed to at the end, as you'd typically see in print.
Writing for the web means that you generally lead the reader somewhere else with links and calls to action. So making these instructions both direct and enticing will keep visitors on your site, moving from page to page, for longer.
As you can see, writing for the web can offer some unique challenges, especially when compared to the simplicity of print. Thankfully, experienced copywriters know how to transition between the two mediums with ease.
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