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What Kind of Web Writer are You?

This industry is still young and many companies, including those that should know better, are still struggling with finding and matching the best writing talent to work on their web sites.

From my own experience, particularly with larger companies, web writers are divided up into two groups: content writers and copywriters.

This division reflects the old demarcation between editorial and advertising in traditional print media.

But...the web is not a traditional print medium

This division of writing roles in traditional media may make sense in the offline world, but it doesn’t make as much sense online.

How come?

For two reasons. And both of these reasons revolve around the reader experience online.

1. Writing content online is different

When it comes to editorial content online, it isn’t sufficient simply to write the facts and leave readers hanging at the end of the page. People come to your site for a reason. They are looking for something – information, products, services etc.

Will a single page give them all the information they want? Probably not. And that means there need to be elements on each page that help the reader forward. And no, it’s not sufficient just to put some links at the end of the page. The editorial itself, as well as being informative, also needs to build confidence – it needs to ‘sell the reader forward’.

If a page isn’t the final page the reader is looking for, then that page has to be written in such a way as to maintain that reader’s momentum, enthusiasm and confidence. It has to keep the reader moving forward, paragraph by paragraph and page by page.

This calls for a different state of mind in the writer. It’s not like writing a static, complete, self-contained piece for a magazine. It’s about writing one element that has to work and connect with other elements on other pages. It’s not a stand-alone piece...it’s part of satisfying the broader need in the reader.

As a result, every web content writer needs to carry a few strands from the copywriters’ gene pool.

2. Copywriting online is different

Now for the copywriters online. When it comes to writing promotional text online, it is not enough simply to sell. You also have to inform to a degree and in a way that isn’t the case offline.

When people come online to buy, or at least to check out product or service features and prices, they are a great deal more demanding and analytical than when reading a newspaper ad.

People come to the web in a different frame of mind. Sometimes they will research a potential purchase online and then actually buy the item or service offline. Sometimes they will complete the purchase online.

Either way, readers online are looking for a great deal more information than they want or expect in the world of print and TV. They are not just searching, they are researching.

As a result, web copywriters need to make sure they don’t just pitch benefits and try to make a quick sale. Copywriters online also need to write text that is informative, useful, engaging and thorough.

In other words, every online copywriter needs to carry a few strands from the content writers’ gene pool.

Concluding thoughts...

There will come a day, I hope, when companies and organizations take the value of text online seriously enough to look a lot harder at the talents required of their various writers.

A new breed of writer will also emerge – people who have the talent to write both the editorial and promotional elements on a page.

In the meantime, both content writers and copywriters need to work together with a deeper respect for each other, and write pages that truly meet the complex needs of their readers.

Resource Reviews:

1. Selling Yourself As a Copywriter: How to make $100,000 a Year

Do you want to earn $100,000 a year as a freelance copywriter? With this new course by Bob Bly, a target of $100,000 a year is the bare minimum. This course isn't about learning copywriting skills, it's about promoting your freelance writing business. Read my review...

2. For help with writing web page copy with a simple focus, read my review of Ken Evoy's "Make Your Content PRE-Sell"

Writing For the Web #1

7 Challenges every Writer and Copywriter faces when writing for the Web

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Copywriting 2.0 - Your Complete Guide to Writing Web Copy that Converts

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Writing Kick-Ass Website Sales Copy

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