The 5 Worst Mistakes for Online Writing

You've been writing online for awhile and still your only reader is your mother. Are you guilty of making the 5 worst mistakes in your online writing? Sounds like it to me. Let's look at each mistake. Let's see what you can improve with your writing for the Web.

Worst Mistake #1: Unclear, Unfulfilled Title

What does your title say about your article or post? Does it tell readers immediately what your page is about? Look at the title of this article. You know immediately what this article is about, and you expect me to give you all 5 mistakes. You might have even skimmed down the page to make sure there are 5.

A Dream About Betty Crocker. It's an interesting title, but what in the world would I find if I read that? Would I find information about better cooking? How to write a cookbook? How to create a huge business? Sounds like a great title for a mystery novel to me. But, not a good title for an online article.

Worst Mistake #2: Fluffy, Useless Intro

So, my friend and I were chatting yesterday and we talked about doing some fun craft projects and she thought I should write an article about how to make my felt flower bouquets. Then we kept talking and I realized...zzzzzzz. Time to hit the back button.

Let's get real here. I don't care what you and your friend were talking about. I care about what the article is supposed to be about. How it came about that you wrote this article or post is not of value to your readers. Get to the purpose of your article right away. Right in your intro.

Worst Mistake #3: Fluffy, Useless Content 

You might have heard that 300 words is the minimum your article should be. But, you've written your information in 200 words. If you start adding in a bunch of fluff just to get your word count up, you are guilty of Worst Mistake #3.

Instead of adding fluffy, useless content, find more information that can help your readers. Suggest ways they can use this info in their own lives. Offer tips for making this info more helpful. Give your readers more value. Skip the fluff to get the word count up.

Worst Mistake #4: Bulky Blocks of Text

Online readers are actually skimmers. They will scroll down your page letting their eyes be grabbed by:

• sub-titles
• images
• lists
• short paragraphs

The first thing they will scroll right on past are large blocks of text. Test it out for yourself. How often do you stop to read 15 lines of text all bunched together?

Keep your information grouped into short paragraphs. A few lines per paragraph are great for online readers.

Worst Mistake #5: Formal, Stiff Writing

Let your high school English teacher cringe. You don't want formal writing online. You want comfortable writing. This means short sentences, familiar words and talking to your reader. You are not writing a term paper for a grade. You are giving information to a person. Another human.

Comfortable writing does not mean bad writing. Watch your spelling. Use the right contractions. Remember, "your" means it belongs to you, while "you're" means you are. Online writing is not the time to mix those up.

Review Your Own Writing for the Web

Take a look at your own articles and posts for the Web. Are you guilty of making even one of the 5 worst mistakes? If you are guilty of all 5, then you have an article or post that only a mother could love.