How did web writing inherit writing techniques?

Writing techniques allow you to build a text that makes sense. What methods can the web editor take over? Journalistic writing techniques, administrative writing techniques, report writing, speech writing … Writing methods are legion. They are, in fact, as varied as the professions and environments in which they operate.

What writing techniques apply to the web?

When we speak of writing, in the sense of writing, of the act of writing a text, we mean all the language tools that make it possible to build a text that produces meaning, you can learn all these aspect of writing and copy writing from best copywriting course. It is therefore a matter of arranging our content in such a way as to respond to the grammatical, syntactic and semantic rules of the language. But also to maximize the understanding of our written communication, in form and content.

Discover the 3 great legacies of web writing, including the inverted pyramid and 5W, borrowed, among others, from journalism.

Two musts: the inverted pyramid and the 5 w method

Writing according to the rule of the inverted pyramid consists of treating the subject from the most relevant and universal to the most general and secondary. It is a question of starting the subject with the most important concepts. In other words, we must attack the subject from the conclusion. Hence the idea of the inverted pyramid. Then come the developments, one by one, following the logical sequence of the introduction. We end with the details, the more specific elements.

This method is applied among other things to maximize the key information above the waterline on the reading.

The 5 W method, dear to journalism, is also practiced in report writing, for example in project management. It has 2 advantages:

• It helps to structure a presentation in a minimum of questions and to follow the logical diagram of the human mind when it apprehends information.
• It allows the story to be ranked according to the importance the reader gives to the different levels of information. In B2B, we will often prefer to say who did what first, while in B2C, we will tend to deal with audibility above all else.

Writing techniques or formalized common sense

In the end, these writing techniques formalize good practices and obvious principles: readability, presentation plan, prioritization of elements, writing for the reader, etc.

The usefulness of these writing methods becomes evident when we consider them as real tools to aid in transmission and communication. Any writer can draw from it the tips and tricks to better construct his texts and make sure to respond as perfectly as possible to his initial objective: to inform, educate, entertain, convert, etc.

Writing techniques: a guarantee of efficiency

Knowing that most contributors today have not been trained in communication and writing, these writing techniques are largely unrecognized or overlooked by most writers. However, they are essential for the proper transmission of information to the target audiences.

In other words, any organization that assigns some of its employees the task of contributing to the website, newsletter and even the intranet or blog of the company benefits from providing these editors with training in web writing that incorporates these good editorial practices.

What frequency of publication to choose?

Posting content regularly is a good way to build a date for your readers and improve SEO. Set a posting frequency that matches your goal. For SEO, it is advisable to post at least twice a month. If you post more, great! Otherwise, that’s okay, just be realistic about your abilities. The important thing is to produce quality content.

• Are your strategy and editorial line ready? At your keyboard!
• Using editorial codes: the basis of a good web article
• The legacy of journalistic writing
• Web writing takes up many of the codes of journalistic writing. Key principles can be used in web writing, for example:
• prioritize information
• master the art of titration
• gain in precision and conciseness
• etc.

How do you speak to your readers?

Are you going to adopt a factual, informational tone? Or on the contrary light and humorous? You choose! The most important thing for a good editorial line is that it remains consistent. 

You also have to choose whether you are going to target or address your readers. Keep your personas in mind and choose accordingly.