Writing for the Web
Your headline should be short and as literal as possible, explaining clearly what your story is about. Remember, the headline is the only thing potential readers have to go on when scanning for interesting stories; if your title is interesting and accurately reflects what your article is about, then your readers’ expectations will be fulfilled.
Most internet users will scan a story looking for links and relevant keywords before committing to reading it in full. By putting important words or sentences in bold text and hyperlinking text from the story page to a relevant destination page (think Wikipedia, or another NowPublic story) you encourage potential readers to read your entire piece and help them find the information they’re looking for.
Keep your story concise. Reading onscreen is much more difficult than reading on paper, so be direct in your arguments. Paragraphs should be short and express just one idea at a time - steer clear of dense blocks of text or wordy sentences. Online readers love bullet points and lists, so if it makes sense to present information in this way do it. Stories should ideally be between 200-800 words.
Explain the context of your story upfront, and let your readers know immediately why they should care. If you don’t get to the point right away, you’ll lose your audience. When using Highlight, be sure to introduce the story or highlighted text with your own original thoughts. Clearly you think the story is important, but don’t forget to tell the rest of us why.
Take advantage of the ability to edit your NowPublic story by updating the headline and introduction if new details emerge. You can also time-stamp updates within the article if there are continual developments in a breaking story.
To boil it down, remember that the key points of successful online writing are: simplicity, accessibility and intelligence.
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