Writing stuff for online?  Whether you’re working on a blog, a sales landing page or an informational resource, here are ten things you can implement in your online writing to make it more effective.

1. Use meaningful titles and subheads.  Forget about clever — think descriptive.  That’s how people will find your content and that’s how they will know what to expect.
2. Lead with your main point.  When writing for online, don’t beat around the bush.  People skim and scan when reading on the web.  The sooner your main point appears, the quicker they can get to it.
3. Use short paragraphs.  Keep paragraphs to six sentences or less.  More white space looks friendlier on a computer screen.
4. Any series with more than three items should be turned into a list.  Bulleted and numbered lists are far easier to read than a ton of items separated by commas.
5. Use parallel lists.  Make sure your lists are all grammatically parallel.  Otherwise, they’ll look awkward, especially to someone skimming the text.
6. Use the active voice.  Try to stick to the active voice whenever possible.  They make text read faster, apart from sounding more conversational.
7. Always offer links when you reference sources.  The last thing you want to do is reference something from another website and not include a link.  That’s just irritating to the reader.

If you’re trying to improve your writing skills, then mindfully try to write better all the time.  It’s hard to turn good writing practices on and off — you can’t summon them for that term paper, while adopting terrible writing habits when posting Amazon reviews and blog comments.  One or the other is bound to stick, and it’s usually the undesirable elements that do.

The best way to develop good writing habits is to practice the skills you want to build every chance you get.  Posting comments on a Facebook wall, queries on eBay and reviews on Amazon are pressure-free opportunities to exercise new writing skills, so you best jump on that chance.

Don’t dismiss these writing opportunities as irrelevant activities not worth doing well.  Instead, go at them with the kind of attention and care you would bestow upon a paper when your grade for the semester hinges entirely upon it.

Treat casual writing tasks as you would any serious work and you can use it as an opportunity to grow in your abilities.    Write in a clear and concise manner,  trying out new techniques to see how they can help improve your communication.  Perform brief proofreading and editing, as well, making sure you get your message out the best way possible.

Effective online writing requires you to do some things differently than other mediums.  The nature of the medium, as well as the type of readers you get, make the differences necessary.

1. Lead with your best material.  Your best, most attention-grabbing material should appear early on — either in your title, your blurb or your introduction.  Online readers are exceptionally fickle and it pays to command their attention early.
2. Use meaningful anchor text for your links.  When you link to another page or site, make sure the anchor text is an apt phrase for the destination.  No “click here” please — they don’t help anyone whatsoever.
3. Use short paragraphs.  Short paragraphs between 3 to 5 sentences work best for online writing, as they keep text from being overwhelming.
4. Use lists.  Lists are easy to read and quick to scan — two qualities that online readers demand.
5. Make each page stand alone.  Work to ensure each page of content you write can be understood independently.  Use links to other pages within the text, if you need to reference information elsewhere that’s too long to include.  Online material isn’t meant to be read from the first page to the last — people can jump in anywhere in the sequence and they should be able to get what they’re looking for.

Online copy always sucks.  That’s not really true (for the sake of my self-esteem, I hope so).  However, rules (not to mention, expectations) are usually more relaxed when it comes to web-published writing compared to their print counterparts.

Of course, getting this leeway doesn’t mean you should turn out one half-hearted piece after another.  Like any form of writing, there’s a huge upside to putting in the effort to produce high-quality web copy.  Here are a few tips that can help you on that end.

Define the purpose of the piece. On the web, people rarely have time to read through blocks of text setting up the subject.  That’s why you must be clear about your purpose from the onset.  Do you want to turn readers off?  Do the “blocks of text setting up the subject” thing.  If you have a different purpose, though, then define it clearly from the start and let it guide the rest of your writing.

Please, do some real research. And, no, drawing information from Wikipedia and watered-down sources like About.com just won’t do.  Be different and do actual research for a change.  At the very least, that already sets you apart from 99% (okay, I just pulled that number out of my ass) of web content available.

Focus on the reader first, machines later. Sure, SEO is a big part of web copy.  All that on-page optimization can be done at the editing level, though.  As you work on draft, do it old-school style, putting the reader first and foremost on your list of priorities rather than Google’s next algorithm update.

Make it drip with details. Poorly-sourced web copy stinks the most with their lack of specific information.  You, on the other hand, will pile in the details, choosing to make your writing useful to your audience by providing real information they can use.

Always remember that automatic proofreading is only a push of a button away. Why hit submit without good proofing when it only takes one mouse click on your writing software?  Of course, a couple minutes of fixing up errors is also on the pipe.  But, still, that’s a small price to pay.

When writing for the web, short and simple has long been the order of the day.  Short sentences, quick paragraphs, plenty of white space and bullet item points are what you should be using to communicate your ideas to online readers, as standard guidelines go.

This idea of keeping your online writing in a specialized format, coupled with a detailed proofreading (which we recommend doing with an advanced writing software), has long been accepted as the de facto style necessary for web-based content.  More than simply serving as a guideline, its effectiveness has been proven to work time and time again.

So, does this mean long, flowing text has no place being published online?  Not exactly.

If you started reading a book published online and found it especially engaging, would you really refrain from reading because there are no bullet points?  When an excellently-written article breaks all the above rules bit features on the most compelling ideas  you’ve come across, are you really going to search for something else instead?

Just like with books, most people will be willing to pay full attention to your writing if it’s good.  If a piece of writing drips with passion, style, flair and vibrant language, there’s a good chance people will stay on it, even when it breaks the conventions of online copywriting.  In fact, I’d go so far as to say that you might generate a bit more interest from readers, as a direct result of your copy’s ability to break the monotony of generic web writing models.

Simply put, if you have something important to say and have the chops to stylishly detail it, you can get away with writing in a more traditional, less web-centric manner.

Compared to other forms of writing, web copy is typically less formal, foregoing a strict adherence to rules and style than even the most casual books and magazines.  The easygoing nature of most web writing is directly attributable to the medium: anyone can get published on the web, even those who mangle the English language like they’re mashing a piece of fruit.

Real-Time

The web gets updated in real-time.  For many web writers, the only barrier between catching a scoop, writing the piece and having it published is the SUBMIT button.  This is in direct contrast to traditional media where stories often need go through several channels before seeing print.

While this characteristic can lead to mistakes (and it has), most websites subscribe to the idea that it’s better to ask for apology (you can amend a piece in real-time as well, after all) than permission.  The medium simply makes it easier.

Conventions

For those used to formal writing conventions, the web can look like a strange place to write for.  Many  of the best examples of web writing, in fact, ditch adherence conventions, in favor of a more conversational style.  Unless you’re reading a website for a specific industry (e.g. Medicine which will use APA style), it’s more likely that it won’t follow any of the standard guideline (e.g. MLA, AP, etc).

If there’s a standard that permeates most web writing, it’s this: keep it short, simple, conversational and with plenty of white space.  Viewed on a computer with a myriad of possible distractions, it really is the best way for any piece of writing to get its message across.

Of course, it goes without saying that you should employ a good grammar software before publishing a piece.  The last thing you want is to be slotted among those who treat the language like a piece of fruit (see above).