Business owners and our marketing staff often make the mistake of writing for our websites or digital ads like we write for brochures or print ads.

With "traditional" marketing, we promote goods and services by sending information to people. We design and write brochures, send direct mail or email, or buy advertising. We start the conversation. We "push" it.

In digital marketing, there is much more "pull". People go online to be entertained or to find information. If they like what they see, the potential customer starts the conversation. And it's imperative that you converse—you must satisfy the visitor's need for information (or even entertainment) before you can market to them.

To develop online marketing content, keep these tips in mind:

1. 10 seconds- that's all you've got to convince someone that your site or content is worthy of more time. You have 10 seconds to draw people in. In fact, the average page visit is less than a minute overall! Although reading is the primary action that people perform on websites, they really do not spend much time reading. If they come upon a page on your site that is entirely text, they will most likely leave quickly unless something about the content is immediately compelling.

2. Visitors come to websites for very specific purposes, such as getting answers to questions, researching a product or service, or performing a task. Your writing needs to address this by giving users factual information as quickly and easily as possible.

3. Because people do not tend to spend a lot of time to find what they are looking for, your writing needs to be clear and simple. This is not to say that it should be "dumbed down", but it should be conversational and direct. When you write simply, your site accommodates the impatient, the busy, and even those whose first language is not English.

4. Your writing style should be conversational. Spend some time thinking about the questions that your potential customers will likely be asking and answer those in your content. This will also help with your site's Search Engine Optimization and enterprise content management process, as people will often stumble upon your content if you include key phrases that are commonly searched for in your industry.

Writing for a brochure or whitepaper is different than writing for a web page. We can help you adapt your message to both print and digital media.