Ann Wylie’s blog of writing tips

Stop wasting web visitors’ time with puffery, hype

Web visitors ‘get visibly angry’ at verbose sites

Here’s an interesting dichotomy: Killing time is the killer app for mobile devices. But mobile users are in a hurry and “get visibly angry” at verbose sites that waste their time.… Read the full article

What lede (or lead) should you use for web content?

4 types of web leads to try — and 3 to avoid

Lede or lead?

You won’t find it in the Oxford English Dictionary. But the alternative spelling lede was supposedly created during the linotype era so as not to confuse lead with the strip of metal that was used to separate lines of type.… Read the full article

Reading paper vs. computer screen

Reading online hurts readers’ eyes, their bodies, their brains

I don’t know about you, but one of my goals in life is to never write anything that makes my readers throw up, resign or forget where they parked their car.… Read the full article

What are the problems with reading on mobile devices?

Mobile reading costs time, attention, understanding and action

You may have heard that social scientists recently added a new item on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

The classic model of what drives human nature looked like this back in the day:

Self actualization: the feeling of doing what you were put on this planet to do
Esteem: feeling good about yourself and what you do
Social needs: having love, a tribe, companionship
Safety and security: not being afraid of getting eaten by a tiger
Physiological needs: food and shelter

Our modern world has revealed another, even more basic human need …

… Wi-Fi.… Read the full article

‘Readers’ are skimming and scanning online

Web visitors spend only a few seconds on a webpage

Tick tock. Visitors spend less than four seconds on 25% of the web pages they visit, according to a study by University of Hamburg and University of Hannover researchers.… Read the full article

Skimmable text boosts web usability by 47%

Increases understanding, memory, satisfaction

When usability guru Jakob Nielsen wanted to measure the effects of scannable web copy, he studied a webpage about Nebraska.

One of the original passages said:

Nebraska is filled with internationally recognized attractions that draw large crowds of people every year, without fail.

… Read the full article

Frontload your web page headlines

Get to the point faster by putting the topic up top

When it comes to web heads, focus on the front.

That is, place your topic words at the beginning of your headline.… Read the full article

Why get key content above the fold [statistics]?

And where is the fold, anyway?

“Instant gratification takes too long,” said Carrie Fisher, the late actress, author and wit.

When it comes to interacting with websites, she was certainly correct.… Read the full article

Modifiers are ‘the great deceivers’

‘The illusion of meaning without its substance’

Modifiers are “the great deceivers,” according to The Associated Press Guide to Good News Writing. “They give the illusion of specific meaning without its substance.”… Read the full article

Let’s get real

How much time will readers spend with your message?

Talk about TMI: Your readers receive the data equivalent of 174 newspapers — ads included — every single day, according to USC’s Annenberg School for Communication.… Read the full article

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