Good writing is clear, concise, and precise. It is a word well chosen, a correctly turned phrase.

It tells stories, conveys information, states facts.

Above all, good writing is intentional. It suits the purpose at hand.

According to an article published by the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, good writing is a response.

What is implied is that good writing actively provides a solution to a problem.

In the business world, this means two things.

First, to respond to a problem, you have to know your target market; second, and this is the flip side of the first, is that you have to anticipate the “what’s-in-it-for-me?” your clients bring to the table and makes them interested  in reading what you have to say.

Facts and figures alone often are not enough.

People want to know how interest rates, statistics, and scientific research apply in practical ways to their lives.

They are looking for something that makes them say, “this applies to me.”

Writing for the Web

Writing for the web is different from writing for print in several ways. For one thing, web content needs to be written in a conversational, upbeat tone of voice, according to Writing for the Web, an article that appears on New York University’s website.

Also, the content needs to be “chunked” for scanability, with only one thought per paragraph. Then, too, the article or blog is generally shorter than print articles, usually no more than 700 words.

Content Strategy

Another great resource is Content Strategy Basics on the usability.gov website. The article walks you through the content creation life cycle.

Also included in the article are best practices.

This resource should be useful to anyone writing web content.