When a lot of writers are enthusiastic in writing for Internet, it is essential to keep in mind the most common differences between writing for common audiences and for Internet audiences. Writing for Internet is surely a lot different from common publishing formats. They are:
~ Audience
~ Format
~ Lifespan
It is really crucial to consider each difference during writing process.
Audience is always a key consideration for any writers hence audience consideration is a crucial factor for Internet writers. Whilst basic considerations of audience remain the same, some important differences are to check out:
First of all, it is essential to keep in mind that our audiences are a kind of captive in traditional publications. Once they have gained a print media they at least give it few pages and then ditch it. Somehow on the Internet, audiences can move away from our words with a single click of mouse button so we need to focus on target. We of course can’t take time meandering slow discussion. If we, as the writer, do not look to be delivering the goods well, then our reader would simply move away. It does not mean we need to cater to the lowest denominator but it is more likely that we need to know our audiences quite well as well as how to respond to the audiences’ desires and needs.
Many Internet readers would scan documents quickly before they commit themselves to reading, and it is apparently another crucial point to remember. It is indeed important to write concisely and clearly as well as to use punchy headlines and subheadings as well as catchy introductions and conclusions as these are the key points for scanning our readers might look through.
Whilst Internet documents come up to mimic traditional print documents at first glance, there are a lot of major differences. One and the most important is the entry point. A search engine may encounter readers to some point in the middle or end of our document. If we have written a cohesive and coherent piece then those readers may hopefully move back to the beginning to read more properly. In response to this, it is best to part longer documents into several stand-alone pieces which could work together as a whole.
And finally, the other important difference between Internet publications and traditional publications is lifespan. While the lifespan of electronic documents emerges to be fleeting that is not true in fact. In print publications, magazine and newspaper articles might just be valid for a day, a week or a month but may be archived on the Internet. On the other hand, Internet publications are frequently archived on the Internet for years. Hence, whilst it is important for us as a writer to be fresh and up-to-date also remember that our reader may access our words at some undetermined point later on in the future.
In the end, considering these three key points — audience, format, and lifespan — when writing for the Internet would help you achieve better writing success.