English for
Content Writing
HOW TO WRITE
FOR DIGITAL
Compiled by:
Yohana Ika Harnita Sari
September 2020
Six skills that a content and PR writer
should possess:
1. Writing skill
2. Research ability
3. Planning expertise
4. Problem-solving ability
5. Business/economics competence
6. Social media expertise
BASIC WRITING GUIDELINES
Outline the Purpose
1. What is the desired communication outcome? What do we want
our audience to do or not do?
2. Who is our target audience? Defining your audience in terms of
age, gender, and educational level helps set the framework of
the message.
3. What are our target audience’s needs, concerns, and interests?
4. What is our message? Do you want to inform or persuade?
5. What communication channel is most effective?
6. Who is our most believable spokesperson?
Sentences
Sentences should be clear and concise.
Shorten the common wordy phrases on the left to the single words
on the right when writing or editing copy:
a great number of many
at this point of time now
come to a realization realize
despite the fact that although
due to the fact that because
for the purpose of for, to
give approval of approve
of the opinion that believe
owing to the fact that because
since the time when since
take under consideration consider
until such time as until
with the exception of except for
would appear that seems
as to whether whether
Paragraphs
Short paragraphs are better than long ones.
Short, punchy paragraphs are particularly important for online news
releases and newsletters.
Word Choice
Good writing, however, requires you simplify the message as much
as possible.
“Stately” Words Reader-Friendly Words
frequently often
majority most
regulation rule
subsequent future
reiterate repeat
approximately about
additional more
fundamental basic
individual person
requirement need
accomplish achieve
characteristic trait
initial first
additional more
residence home
Active Verbs and Present Tense
Verbs vitalize your writing.
A sentence using active voice is more direct and usually shorter than
a passive sentence.
Original Statement Revised Statement
Our consultants can assist you in answering Our consultants can answer your floor treatment
questions about floor treatments. questions.
There is a considerable range of expertise The spam senders demonstrate a considerable
demonstrated by the spam senders. range of expertise.
It was determined by the committee that the report The committee decided that the report was incomp
was incomplete. lete.
Imagery
Strong visual descriptions are better than generalized statements.
Which one is stronger?
✓ Coca-Cola is sold in many nations or marketed internationally.
✓ If all the system’s customers lined up along the equator, a thirsty
consumer could purchase a Coca-Cola every 16 feet.
WRITING FOR DIGITAL
Two kinds of written content that are most popular in this digital era:
✓ Very short succinct updates that catch people’s attention or explain something
complex in a simple way (like in Twitter)
✓ In-depth, engaging storytelling that people want to spend time reading and
discussing (like in website).
Clear, engaging language is the heart of both styles of writing.
Short-form Writing
1. Writing a great headline
Example:
Let’s pretend, after too many sandwiches spilling out on to my shirt, I’ve
decided to create an ingenious new product called edible sticky tape. You
wrap it around your burger and viola - no more ketchup on your shirt. Sells
itself, right? Sadly not - I need to write something compelling social media
posts to promote it.
Let’s look at what a bad post on social media would look like:
Let’s look at some of the types of headline you could use:
✓ Alliteration
- Edible Sticky Tape - the secret solution to spilled sauce
- Don’t let dinner dates be disasters
✓ The tease
- Keep your shirt safe from stains with this crazy sticky tape
- Can burritos and sticky tape work together?
- This guy got tired of leaky burgers - so he invented a solution
✓ Numbers
- Five table manner tricks you’ve heard of
- Four ways to stop your kids causing chaos at dinner
- Three incredible ways to pimp your burger
✓ The shout
- Stop spilling and buy this!
2. Brevity
Brevity can be defined as explaining complicated subjects as simple as
possible.
In digital media in particular, we mustn’t waste time.
Every time you write, you must ask yourself: Is this as clear and as simple as
it could be? Have you found the information easy to understand?
3. The beauty of plain English
Something that is sometimes forgotten is the importance of plain English:
clear, simple language. Too many organizations use pompous, complicated
tone of voice:
Long-form Writing
Long-form pieces typically:
✓ are a few thousand words in length (although they can extend
into tens of thousands);
✓ are usually non-fiction but not necessarily journalistic;
✓ are based around very high-quality writing;
✓ may include other forms of media or interactive site design.
Storytelling
The hearth of most great writing is storytelling.
Storytelling is a fundamental part of journalism.
In marketing, when there is a powerful narrative or story behind a pr
oduct or individual, it means that audiences are more likely to reme
mber it.
Storytelling is also important for whole organizations. By sharing a st
ory you create a clear identity that others can understand as well as
people within your organization. This can then can be used as the b
ase for your branding and tone of voice.
Creating a Style Guide
Having a clear style also does wonders for branding.
Let’s go back to the edible sticky tape example:
Some tips to get started to decide the tone of voice which is right
for your organization:
✓ Use the active voice rather than the passive
✓ Describe your audience
✓ Keep it simple
✓ Don’t bully tour audience
✓ Be consistent
Press Releases
A suggested structure is:
✓ An effective headline
✓ The story - who, what, why, when, where and how?
✓ Quotes
✓ Contact details
✓ Content
Writing for Websites
Tips to design or write content for website:
✓ Create a style or tone-of-voice guide so that all the language has
a consistent style.
✓ If your budget allows, make sure you have an experienced UX de
signer as part of the project. Good UX means your website will lo
ok good on any device and be easy to use.
✓ Conduct user research to see what works with your audience and
what doesn’t.
✓ Use analytics.
ERRORS TO AVOID
✓ Misspelling
✓ Jargon
✓ Poor Sentence Structure
✓ Wrong Words
✓ Redundancies
✓ Too Many Numbers
✓ Hype
✓ Bias and Stereotypes
✓ Politically Incorrect Language
✓ Clickbait
✓ Robot speak
Examples of sound-alike words often give writers the most trouble.
accept, except less, fewer
adapt, adept, adopt lose, loose
affect, effect may, might
canvas, canvass negligent, negligible
compliment, complement peak, peek, pique
disinterested, uninterested pore, pour
dominant, dominate proceed, precede
desert, dessert principal, principle
ensure, insure, assure site, cite
farther, further stationery, stationary
foreword, forward there, their, they’re
imply, infer precedent, precedence
implicit, explicit adverse, averse
its, it’s antidote, anecdote
“How Dating Advice Can make You a Better Writer”
(Tips to avoid redundancies)
✓ Avoid too much information
✓ Don’t talk about relationship gone bad
✓ Dress for the occasion
✓ Keep your drinks to a minimum
✓ Order the steak
Examples of clickbaits:
Examples of Robot speak:
