Hello, Managers and writers. I thought I’d do a piece on writing posts/news/current events since this is a great tool for you to get out your message in a timely manner and engage with your audiences. I hope you’ll be able to use the posts format to get out your ideas and leverage them to their maximum potential.
Use headings for posts more than a couple of paragraphs: style heading 2
Make your posts easy on the eye and break up long text. The online attention span is shorter than that for printed work.
This organizes the writing for the reader. It’s worth reminding ourselves that many people scan over writing to select pieces that interest them. Use headings that are meaningful and sum up the important information in your post. If you are writing about upcoming events and programs, make that clear in your headings and subheadings. So, for a post about a bird watching event coming up, you might have a heading: “Join SPES for our biggest ever bird watching event” rather than “Bird watching in Vancouver”.
Put the most important information at the beginning
Because the readers’ attention span is short, we have to catch the reader early. Summarize your post or put in something very enticing at the start if you are going to have a longer post.
How long should a post be?
This depends on what you are writing about and how you’re presenting it.
However, there are some general rules across the blogging industry. A post should be between 150 and 500 words. It should definitely not exceed 750 words.
If you have a long item, break it up into two or three separate posts. For example, you can do Bird Watching in Vancouver (Part 1): Why Vancouver is a Bird Watching Mecca, followed by Bird Watching in Vancouver (Part 2): The Unknown Rare Birds of BC. You can raise the anticipation levels by putting in teasers in earlier posts like: “Don’t miss part 2, where we’ll talk about the rare birds of BC and where you can find them”.
Emphasize your key points
Use bolds to draw attention to important information, but don’t do it too often.
Do not use:
- Exclamation points unless it’s a direct quote – although it’s tempting
- All capitals (unless it is a direct quote or an acronym)
Bullet points and numbered lists:
- Bullet points and numbered lists organize longer sets of information
- Point form can organize information in memorable and logical pieces for the reader
- Bullet and numbered lists make long information appear shorter
- Do not use periods, semicolons or colons at the end of a point
Use a photo – or two – if it tells a story
Pictures draw the reader’s attention and can be used very effectively.
Please remember the rules for using photographs:
- They must meet SPES branding guidelines for quality and style
- You must have authorization from the photographer and releases from photo subjects (or releases from a parent/guardian for child subjects)