How you say something is just as important as what you say.
This can be a challenge, especially for subject matter experts who either want to expound upon their speciality, or just naturally talk about five miles over the heads of most of us. There are several things at play here:
- Most people want to fairly quickly get information from a website. If they have to think too hard about what they're reading, they will just scan over it, possibly missing important points.
- In some cases, if your reader can understand what you're saying at your level of expertise, maybe they don't need your help.
- Simple language makes it easy for people to understand you and make a decision about your offer.
- Giving away the full technical details of your subject on the website doesn't leave anywhere for the conversation to go.
A few quick tips about website content writing:
- Simplify and shorten.
- If you are tempted to use five words to explain something, make yourself use four words instead.
- If you want to use a three syllable word, try to find a two syllable word that will work.
- Spend the time required to edit your content down so that you are making your point in the fewest possible words. A favorite quote from Mark Twain is "I wanted to write you a short letter, but didn't have time, so I wrote you a long letter instead."
Just remember that people don't travel to a hospitality zone to ingest nutritious, scientifically formulated biomass. They go out to eat.
If you want people to understand what you are offering, tell your story in simple, to-the-point language and encourage them to contact you for more information.