WebWise Solutions

A lot of people mistakenly believe that once they've got their web community designed, coded, hosted, and posted, their job is mostly done. Nothing could be further from the truth. If it's going to be a true community, it's got to reach out and engage people enough to make them want to interact. Readers need to have a sense of who you (the persona of the site) are (what makes you mad, what you believe, what you are trying to sell or promote) and what you think about them. They need to get to know you first, and then they'll think about letting you know them.

How does this happen? It's all in the writing. If you master the fine art of web writing, you'll be able to infuse your entire site with warmth, humor, and energy. If, on the other hand, your writing is overly formal, academic, self-centered or pompous, your readers will slip out the back and never return.

Here are some suggestions to help you write candidly, graciously, and conversationally with your readers.

• Pay attention to the readers.
  • Respond to their emails.
  • Congratulate and reward good contributions.
  • Anticipate their reactions to things that you post.
  • Provide frequent surveys and polls.
  • Approach everything from the reader's point of view.
  • Admit when you're wrong, and thank the reader who pointed it out.
• Play fair with the readers.
  • Never mislabel a link just to get more clickthroughs. As Dan Bricklin says on GoodDocuments.com,
    "Write links that don't have to be followed."
  • Help readers understand what they'll find at the end of a link.
    • Use rollovers to supply a brief description of the target.
    • Write a brief link, and provide a paragraph explaining it.
    • Show relevance clues, such as reader ratings.
• Write inclusively, not exclusively.
  • If you use jargon, make sure you define it.
  • Be careful with your examples and pronouns. Don't exclude portions of your community by assuming they're all male, and live in the US.
  • Use examples that will resonate with your readers, not make you look erudite.
  • Use "we" and "you" rather than "I."
  • Write sentences that sound more like email than term papers.
  • Be generous with your competitors. Take the high road and readers will respect your opinion on everything else.
• Give them what they came for.
  • Establish and maintain the focus of your site. Once the reader has invested in you, don't change direction.
  • Find something new or surprising to introduce to them.
  • Approach the topic from their point of view (their problems and concerns) rather than your point of view (how much you know)

OPEN CALL: Know any sites that really get this right? How about sites that are tragically wrong? Let us know your Picks and Pans, and we'll post them here.

Recommended Reading

• Web Writing That Works
• Good Documents
• The Clue Train Manifesto