We are all Tech Writers Now: Three Steps to Clear Writing for the net

Take some tips from technical writing that may make your ideas clear and persuasive in the new reading environment of the web.

Print media puts the reader in the passenger's seat. Imagine if you do not want a character to die? Imagine if you don't like the direction the story has had? Traditional reading is linear--you start at chapter one and you also visit the end, with no detours in between.

Instruction manuals will always be different. Who reads instruction manuals from starting to end? Instead  write for us technology  dip into it, try something, and when that doesn't appear to work, flip a few pages backward or forward and try again.

Now the internet has turned into a huge manual where in fact the reader can maneuver around at will--technology has stolen authorial control. You must expect your readers to jump around. To reach your goals, whatever you write for the web has to follow the same three rules that technical writers use:

Write in Chunks

Readers pick and choose. Understand that your audience is not expecting a story--they have specific goals. Points have to be self-contained and clearly marked to greatly help them find what they're searching for and move on. Respect your reader's time--don't make them eat the sundae when all they need is the cherry.

Follow a Structure

You can structure your content by category, rank, location--but there must be a structure. By organizing your information you're giving your reader a tool that lets them find what they're searching for and skip what they don't really need. If you cannot look for a structure that works, you have to define your points more clearly.

Connect it Together

You can't force your reader to check out the path you've set for them, nevertheless, you can give them access to information that supports your message. Don't be afraid to link, both to resources outside your document also to pages inside it. Your role is to help them achieve their goals; point them towards resources that help them do this.

Like technical writing, the web is about helping people find information. Adopt some of the principals of technical writing is likely to work to create it get results.