Copywriting: Seven reasons why medium matters
This is a guest Blog from Emily at Emily Cagle Communications Ltd. With more and more content being re-used in multiple mediums, we asked Emily to talk us through the key differences for copywriting in an online and offline context.
So you’ve been invited to write an article to be featured in a publication or blog. Fantastic.
Before you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) though, you need to be weigh up a whole range of factors.
- Does the host publication have a set style?
- What tone is appropriate?
- What types of people make up their readership?
- What level of pre-existing knowledge on the article subject can you safely assume readers have?
- What is the purpose of the piece?
- What messages do you want to convey?
The list goes on.
But in an age where almost every publication has an online presence, one key question is easily overlooked:
Is the piece destined to appear online or in print?
It might seem trivial, but there are raft of reasons why medium matters.
Immediacy: There’s usually a lead-time of at least a few days, often weeks between submitting a piece of writing and it reaching the readers in print, but online, your writing could theoretically be published by the blog or publication owner within minutes. The advantage of this online immediacy is that you can react to the very latest news and events, while for print, you’ll need to allow for the fact that events could have moved on considerably by the time your article is published.
Reading style: When reading online, we like to skim. Readers will look for clues to signpost interesting content and may only spend a minute or two reading an article of around 500 words. Opening with an engaging first line and keeping the reader interested with subheadings are good rules for any medium, but they are more vital online where your shot at keeping their attention is at its most fleeting.
Word count: When writing for print, word counts are generally set in stone. You will have been designated a page, for example, and so your article needs to be very close to the required word count of, say, 800 words or the publication will have a nightmare making it fit and be forced to trim it or come back to you for a second edit. Online, there’s usually room for greater flexibility. A publication might give you a range for your word count (e.g. 500 – 700 words), allowing you greater freedom to go with the length that works for your piece.
Interactivity: In print, any references to events, stats or people need to be given adequate context so as not to leave readers scratching their heads, but online, you have more options. Depending on the style guidelines of the publication, online you might choose to hyperlink your references so that readers can glean further information for themselves. In this way, online pieces can become parts of a larger network of information, rather than stand alone articles.
Multimedia scope: In print, the options for communication are pretty much limited to words and pictures. There’s a lot to be said for that, but with online copywriting, your options are much broader. Again, it depends on what the editor of the publication is willing to accept, but you might be able to introduce pictures, audio and even video to help bring you message to life.
Search engine visibility: Online publications – particularly those reliant on advertising – will usually have one eye on visitor numbers at all times. With a view to attracting relevant visitors via search engines, it will usually be necessary for online articles to include the key words in the title. This isn’t always the case, but it does mean that in many cases, there is less room to be mysterious, creative or use a good pun in an online headline as compared with a print one.
Longevity: Because print articles have a tangible form, they are often seen as less transient than online articles, but in fact the opposite is true. Whereas print content can disappear soon after circulation, content published online can survive indefinitely. For this reason, when writing for the web, you need to think doubly carefully about what opinions you are happy to have popping up on Google searches for your name.
So there you have it. Seven reasons why medium matters. Now you just need to figure out what you’re going to say…
© 2010, Emily Cagle Communications Ltd.
Emily Cagle, Director
After a number of years in senior marketing and communications roles, including Head of Public relations for a marketing group in London, Emily set up Emily Cagle Communications in September 2008. Emily Cagle has a proven track record in designing and implementing effective campaigns for both corporate and consumer facing clients which spans almost ten years. She is hugely passionate about what she does and with that comes an unswerving drive to meet and exceed targets for each and every client she works with. Emily regularly blogs on Writing, Copyediting, Proofreading and PR, and her writing has appeared in a range of business publications. You can also find Emily on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
Published on 31 March 2010
