Writer who just can't please.

[Roger]

Hi!
My name's Roger and my current job is "the writer who just can't please."

I've been getting the Daily Writing Tips (which are great!) for a few months now, and I thought I'd take the opportunity today to join the community. You see I'm the only writer at work, and like I said, it's a pretty hard gig cos my boss is never really happy with whatever kind of writing I write.

It's not that he doesn't like it, but it's an Internet company and he's obsessed with whether or not my work is appealing exactly to the so-called demographics and statistics he carries around all day long. He seems to think that writing is simply addressing statistics and demographic criteria-- he has no idea about creativity and individuality and entertainment, and doesn't appreciate these either. His question is always: "but is it what our members want."

Anyway, I thought I'd join the community to see if there's any advice I can provide about anything, and also to see if anyone can relate to my story at work.

Thanks!

[susabelle]

Ah, your boss sounds like a practical man, actually!

Writing for the web is completely different than normal "creative" endeavors. I have been in the web business going on 20 years now and there are some hard and fast rules to writing for the web:

1. Write short, sweet, and to the point. Most web readers will not read more than four or five paragraphs TOPS. It's not like reading a magazine or story or novel...they want to get the info quick and get out of there. This the nature of the web reader.

2. Write what your readers want to know/learn about/hear. This is truly important if your website is for a business. Write about what the reader needs or wants to know. I write for a tech blog three times a week, and a disability services tech blog twice a week. For each of these, I write articles that are geared to those audiences. If I were to post a story about my kids' latest encounter with wildlife on a tech blog, I'd be not-so-politely asked to stop posting. Keep the writing on target for the intended audience.

3. Keep it fresh, be sure you can back up your research and provide documentation, and don't write the same old boring information that is being written on another similar site. One thing that bugs readers is finding the same "headline story" on fourteen different blogs. I will quickly pass a blog by if it is simply regurgitating other information that I've already read.

My suggestion is that you keep your "creative" writing for your own purposes. Put that energy into your personal work. Use the day-to-day work-related writing as just that...work. It's just a J.O.B. It doesn't have to define you.

[Roger]

Thanks heaps for that reply! You're making perfect sense, and you know what, it couldn't have come at a more appropriate time. I've realised I've been trying to inject too much creativity into my work writing, and the "feedback" I've just read confirms this, and that it's a mistake, and to do exactly what you suggested: stick to the facts and be short and sweet. Cheers!

[susabelle]

I'm glad I could help, Roger!