Keep ’em short Want your release to get posted on Google News? Make the headline 65 to 70 characters. That’s the best length if you want your news release to show up on the portal, according to a study by Schwartz Communications. Despite Google’s preferences, 77 percent of the 16,000 Business Wire releases Schwartz reviewed for the study exceeded that recommendation. The … [Read more...] about Write headlines for Google News
Web writing
Cut videos short
2 minutes or less online Two minutes and seven seconds. That’s the average length of time people spend viewing videos on Twitter, according to “Online Video Best Practices” (PDF), a new study by TubeMogul, Brightcove and DynamicLogic. The researchers analyzed the average viewing time of more than 100 million random video streams on social networks and search engines. … [Read more...] about Cut videos short
Out of the picture
Avoid photo fluff Online visitors scrutinize some photos and ignore others. So how do you post images that get attention on the Web? Make sure your images are content, counsels “king of usability” Jakob Nielsen — not decoration. Avoid ‘visual bloat’ Online, readers are looking for two kinds of images, Nielsen says: Product photos that help visitors buy People … [Read more...] about Out of the picture
The weakest link
You’re not still writing ‘click here’ and ‘read more,’ are you? When it comes to link writing, “click here” is so 1996. We’re talking 14.4k modems, a CompuServe account and the Spice Girls singing “Wannabe” on your portable electronic device, aka a Sony Discman. Remember Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal? Your “click here” link does. “But our visitors have … [Read more...] about The weakest link
Give great verb | May 2010
“A story should be a verb, not a noun.” — Byron Dobell, former editor of Esquire and American Heritage 'Spank those naughty little oxidants' Creative communications from London London: How can I miss you if you won't let me go? After presenting a writing workshop for TELLABS UK and CCGroup last month, I was treated by a volcano to an extended stay in London. Although … [Read more...] about Give great verb | May 2010