Remember Your Mission

Tips for Effective Writing on the Web #3

Your visitor has come to your site for a reason. Perhap to make a purchase, perhaps to find something out or to subscribe. Keep driving them toward fulfillment of their mission: Give them quick links to more information, keep them interested, invite them to drill deeper into your site.

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"Flying North Over Tenney Mountain"


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Keep it Real

Tips for Effective Writing on the Web #2

There is a rule of thumb in fundraising and development that a letter soliciting donations should have the word “You” peppered throughout it. This applies to effective Web writing as well. Make your writing more personal, as if you were writing to a friend.

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"Spirit Pony in the Lupine"


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Give them Substance in “Web Bites”

You’ve heard of “sound bites” before. It is the phrase used to describe how a political figure or a public figure phrases a message quickly. The message has substance, but they know that they have only a few seconds on TV or the radio to give you that message so they paraphrase what they want to say. Your relationship to your Website visitor is very similar to the public figure’s relationship to the camera or mike. Your visitor will give you a few seconds, but if you don’t deliver, he’s likely to be gone.

Keep your paragraphs and sentences short and interesting. Try to minimize the number of words and maximize the reach of your point. You are trying to communicate, not impress.

This does not mean that your Website has to be a vacuous lump on the Web (as so many sites are). If you want to be more detailed or flowery, go ahead, just place this content deeper into your Website. Those who want the more detailed information will drill deeper and those who don’t won’t run away.

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"Storm Over Smith Bridge"


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Effective Writing for the Web

10 Tips for Writing for the Web
By Wayne D. King

Writing for the Web is just not the same as writing for a publication or penning the great American novel. Let’s face it, the medium is much different. The average Web browser wants information . . . and wants it quickly. Unlike the reader who sits down before the fire with a great book, your visitor wants you to convey your message personally, directly and fast.

However, don’t get the impression that words don’t matter. In fact they matter very much. It is simply a matter of which words you choose that dictates the success of your Website.

Here are 10 tips for writing effective web copy:

1. Give them Substance in “Web Bites”.
   
2. Keep it Real
3. Remember your Mission
4. Content is King
   
5. Walk a Mile in Their Shoes
6. Headlines Matter
7. Titles Too
8. Reference other Reliable Sources
9. Your “Webside Manner”
10. Proof Read
    

Moosewood Communications Home Page

Senator King Touts Reinvestment Side of the Stimulus on Political Chowder

Former Senator Wayne King, now President of Moosewood Communications, appeared this week on Political Chowder with Arnie Arnesen where he placed a heavy emphasis on the Reinvestment side of the Stimulus plan, particularly enhancing our position with respect to green energy and green jobs.

Watch Political Chowder.

Current Elements of the Stimulus Plan

Here is the current mix as of today - before the conference committee begins work.

$32 billion to transform the nation's energy transmission, distribution, and production systems by allowing for a smarter and better grid and focusing investment in renewable technology.
· $16 billion to repair public housing and make key energy efficiency retrofits.
· $6 billion to weatherize modest-income homes.
· $10 billion for science facilities, research, and instrumentation.
· $6 billion to expand broadband internet access so businesses in rural and other underserved areas can link up to the global economy.
· $30 billion for highway construction;
· $31 billion to modernize federal and other public infrastructure with investments that lead to long term energy cost savings;
· $19 billion for clean water, flood control, and environmental restoration investments;
· $10 billion for transit and rail to reduce traffic congestion and gas consumption.
· $41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13 billion), IDEA ($13 billion), a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion), and the Education Technology program ($1 billion).
· $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services, including $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas, $15 billion to states as bonus grants as a reward for meeting key performance measures, and $25 billion to states for other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.
· $15.6 billion to increase the Pell grant by $500.
· $6 billion for higher education modernization.
· $20 billion for health information technology to prevent medical mistakes, provide better care to patients and introduce cost-saving efficiencies.
· $4.1 billion to provide for preventative care and to evaluate the most effective healthcare treatments.· $43 billion for increased unemployment benefits and job training.
· $39 billion to support those who lose their jobs by helping them to pay the cost of keeping their employer provided healthcare under COBRA and providing short-term options to be covered by Medicaid.
· $20 billion to increase the food stamp benefit by over 13% in order to help defray rising food costs.
· $87 billion for a temporary increase in the Medicaid matching rate.
· $4 billion for state and local law enforcement funding.

Understanding Why It Happened

There's no end in sight on the financial crisis, but that has not kept several foundations from supporting efforts to understand how the crisis came about and ensure that it does not happen again. In the meantime, they also serve as a touchstone to the more immediate issues surrounding the crisis. We suggest that you bookmark the sites and return to them regularly to keep up with our understanding and future trends.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has provided three grants totaling $1.7 million to:

• The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania;
• The National Bureau of Economic Research; and.
• The Brookings Institution

Each has received funds to study the ongoing financial market crisis and to improve public understanding of economics and finance.

The Sloan foundation made an additional $1 million grant to the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer for a series of reports on the crisis, with the same goal of improving the public’s economic and financial literacy.

Wharton's Website provides timely analysis and insight into the origins of the financial crisis, how it's affecting our economy, and what we can expect for the future. Check this page frequently as news posts and information will be added regularly. Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

"National Bureau of Economic Research is the nation's leading economic research organization and posts working papers, data, and other resources for business professionals, public policy makers.

The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Our mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations that advance three broad goals:

• Strengthen American democracy;
• Foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans and
• Secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system.

"Sheep Parade"


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