Traditional writing skills don’t work online

Most Web content is overwritten; too much content and not nearly enough focus on the action. Unfortunately, we’re taught to write this way.

How often are you presented with content on the Web that begins something like this: “Exciting, compelling, and effective user experiences result in high levels of customer loyalty, satisfaction, and referral.”

On the surface, this seems like an okay sentence. It’s how we’re taught to write: set the scene, establish the context. However, it’s utterly useless. It’s like saying: “Every business is an end-to-end network of interrelated people and processes. The more seamless and flexible the network, the more successful the business.”

Or: “Your people are your most valuable resource. They contribute to the success of your company.”

Or: “Even during the best of times, companies are always looking for ways to trim costs, optimize processes, drive efficiencies, and create greater value for their clients.”

The problem with the above sentences, other than the fact that they are utterly useless, is that they are utterly useless. (Not to mention the fact that they are utterly useless.) They don’t tell you anything you don’t already know, and they give you no real sense of what the product or service is actually about.