Many people writing for organizations today learned to write from a high school composition teacher. She many have taught you well, but the style of writing many of us learned just doesn’t work any more. Today’s “digital age” writing is based on solid old principals: clear, concise ideas, good grammar and effective construction of sentences. But there are also some new rules that apply, in particular, to writing for the web. Internet style is less formal and has to be extremely focused and direct. The way your words look on the page is important. And its ok to use bullet points so that your readers can skim your copy.
- Writing is more than delivering facts. Its about organizing those facts and showing their meaning.
- Fuzzy thinking leads to fuzzy writing. Even the smallest piece of writing, an email or a flier, needs to have a clearly-defined goal.
- The writing process involves brainstorming, outlining, writing and editing. The biggest mistake many associations make is to skip all but the writing part of the process. They lose the opportunity to bring together the entire organization to brainstorm on ways to craft and deliver a message. They fail to focus in on the goal of the message before its written. And they overlook the dramatic improvements feedback can make to almost any piece of writing.
- Effective writing goes beyond delivering information. It engages the reader. Many organizations produce materials heavy on facts and light on a personal touch. Think about the way you read a newspaper or Internet news. Do you like “just the facts” or do you find it enjoyable to read about issues and events through the eyes of real people?
- Your organization can build credibility by sharing your advice and knowledge. With tools like electronic newsletters and web pages, your organization has a chance to share useful knowledge that both helps your audience and spotlights your expertise and thought leadership.
