Become a Better Online Content Editor
There is a difference between editing print writing and editing web writing. This is because online readers have different expectations – online readers are browsers, they tend to very quickly reject or read-on depending on how the content is presented, how it is written and whether the content or webpage ‘grabs’ them in the first few seconds.
Some important considerations when writing for online readers includes:
- Your writing style – it must be succinct and easily understood yet engaging.
- Your audience – the style of your writing must be attractive to your audience and change as the audience changes.
- The way in which your page is structured – it must be visually appealing, interesting, consistent in appearance and style and relevant to the topic.
Modules
Note that each module in the Qualification - Certificate in Online Content Editing is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.
WHAT NEEDS ONLINE EDITING?
Anything that is published on the internet is potentially in need of editing. This obviously includes the general content of web sites; but more specifically can include blogs, articles, postings on social media, newsletters, electronic books and magazines; online course materials and much more.
Editing online content may have different challenges to editing material for printing. Online editors need to understand, and probably be able to edit, the layout as well as images and text, all at the same time. This can have challenges that a book editor who is focused purely on text, might not face.
What is a Blog?
A “Web Log”, commonly abbreviated and known as “blog”, is a term that represents a personal online diary or journal written by one or more people. Blogs are one of the various internet marketing strategies used by individuals and businesses to promote their business online. Blogging generally requires a great deal of care and dedication from the people maintaining the blogs.
Blogging is considered to be a very effective internet marketing strategy, although it can prove to be considerably time consuming. It is considered by many people as a simple way to share opinions or ideas or to sell one or more products online.
You have probably seen professional bloggers online. Today, some specialists are able to earn a living just writing blogs. They make their money (and they can make a lot of money) by selling advertising on their blogs. You even get high earning bloggers who write blogs about writing blogs!!
The main advantage of using web blogs as an internet marketing strategy is that it’s free and doesn’t cost anything to start up. There are a couple of platforms available to choose from in order to start a blog, or some IT savvy people might choose to setup their own blog, but it is possible in either case to choose a layout from the many available free templates, or to customize your own.
If you do an internet search, you will find that there are quite a few platforms to set up your own blog quickly and easily. These are often free.
Also, many websites now have the option of adding blogs to their sites, which can also be useful.
So we have talked about what a blog is, but we have not really explained what a blog can be. A blog is basically someone’s online journal, but blogs have evolved somewhat since blogging originally started. So what can a blog be? Well, how long is a piece of string? A blog can be:
- What is was originally intended to be – an online diary or journal about someone’s life, sharing their thoughts, feelings and stories about things that happen to them. This type of blog can still be used to sell products. Authors might write a blog about their writing, events in their life and use it to sell their books. Some authors have actually sold their blogs and they have been published as books, so many authors make use of blogs.
- It can be a place to share factual information, for example, some bloggers write about world events or new products or how to prune a tree. The blogger may share factual information about something, and link that to a product. For example, they may write about how to prune a rose bush. Then add an advert or link for the reader to buy a new brand of pruning shears or a new rose bush.
- They may also write a blog to share information about special offers on their products, new products they are offering and so on. To keep their customers informed.
There are many different forms of blogs out there now. All have their own purpose and many are used as a way to sell products or direct online traffic to a website where goods are for sale. However, there are also people who write blogs just for fun or because they want to inform people about things, not necessarily to drive business.
What Will This Course Teach You?
- The ability to characterise quality online content
- How to keep your content current
- How to structure a web page
- How to keep your writing in line with your company brand and style
- How to use key words to optimise your search engine standing
- How to be concise
Who Will Benefit From This Course?
- Online content writers
- Online content editors
- If you want to work in this field but have had no formal study
