Keep the action in your content writing

Writing for the web should be powerful, direct and punchy. To do that, your sentence structure, word choice and style need to emphasize action.

For example, let’s take the common writing tip, “don’t use the passive voice.” The passive voice happens when you switch the subject and object in a sentence. Instead of “the lion attacked the village” you have “the village was attacked by a lion.”

Notice how the second sentence is somehow less exciting (even though it contains a killer lion?) That’s because the active voice emphasizes the action with “the lion attacked.” In the passive voice, the village is the subject. The agent (the lion that performed the action) is only mentioned afterwards using the prepositional phrase “by the lion.” It’s almost an afterthought.

As a web content writer, you should also use unique and exciting verbs to impact the reader. Try swapping out “sales climbed” for “sales rocketed.” Instead of “we cut costs” try “we slashed costs.”

Finally, remember to vary your sentence style. Try using short simple sentences get attention, then longer more complex ones to flesh out ideas. Use interesting verbs to highlight important actions, then more conventional ones for variety. Even passive voice has a place sometimes — for example, to share background information or highlight whom a particular action affected.

These small changes won’t add to your word count, but they will make your content writing more exciting and engaging.

When writing for the web, chop it up.

If you’re writing the next Great American Novel, it’s okay to end paragraphs when pauses seem natural. Writing for the web, however, is a whole different world.

Attention spans online are a LOT shorter than they are in Oprah’s Book Club, and your paragraphs need to reflect that.

Put simply: keep it short! A five-line paragraph is great, but a three-line paragraph is even better. Content kings like Derek Halpern even let single sentences fly solo.