1. Writing for
Leland Mallett, Legacy High School
the Web

2. 10 BASIC RULES
Writing for the Web

3. Don’t Write, Tell the Story
 Don’t force stories
 Use Multimedia to tell the story
 Photo Story
 Video
 Audio
 Chat
 Graphics
 Social Media
 Blog

4. Don’t Write, Tell the Story

6. Don’t Shovel
 Create content for online online
 Never just move print to online
 Think online first!

7. Link, Embed, Expand
 Related materials
 Previous run stories
 Research and sources
 Related websites
 Additional Material
 Multimedia
 Author
 Editorial or Blog Companion
 (_target link to keep reader on site)
 Use clear phrases to show the link
 Never link “here”

9. Be First, Be Factual
 Break news via Social Media
 Use a Brief
 What happened and why
 Quote from an authority
 Who cares
 What’s next
 Instagram
 Caption story
 Subject, verb, direct object
 Check facts twice

10. Socialize and Promote
 Why Social Media
 Quick to your audience
 Your readers are there
 Drives traffic to your site
 Improves writing
 Improves reporting
 Readers help promote (retweet)
 Require media staff to tweet/promote
 Follow Us Cards
 Promotions: banners, magnets, talk it

11. Plan Ahead
 Work six weeks ahead
 Interactive, editorial, in-depth,
personalities, editorials
 Know trends (upcoming movies, no
shave November, bosses’ day, etc…)
 Package – photos, videos, graphics
 Research!
 Plan to keep site fresh
 Know your readership patterns

12. Chunk and Clean
 Use short paragraphs
 Lists
 Boldface Type
 Bullets
 Limit “chunks” to 140 characters
 Web sites have gone clean – no side
bars, extras, social media, etc
 Go thin and white
 Know the F pattern

13. Be Consistent
 Post Daily
 Set up a schedule or posting
 Know AP style – create a style manual
 Policies and procedures
 Story flow

14. Be You
 Your site should have a voice
 Tone
 Dependability
 Marketing sass
 Blog
 Avoid the “they”

15. Know Kinds of
Stories Social Media
 Blog
 News
 In-Depth
 Personality
 Entertainment
 Editorial
 Sports
 Quick Reads
 First Person Narrative
 Multimedia

16. Writing for
Leland Mallett, Legacy High School
the Web
mallett@therideronline.com