How many of us copy and paste the information from our print publications into our electronic ones? I'll admit it, I'm guilty. Take a few minutes and update a few key things, though, and you'll get more attention to your online material!

This tips are a summary from Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, June 9, 2008:

Basically think of print as a passive medium that people with time sit down to see what's going on and the web as a tool that people use to search out the answer.

From there, let's start with titles. Creative titles are fun and can work when the text and images are right there, but if you're putting a title somewhere without the info or want people to catch it with a search engine, leave the creativity behind. Use simple phrases with words that literally apply. You should be able to tell what the story is about just by reading the title.

Second, don't tell stories in your online information. Just get to the point and answer their question.

Nielsen even advocates for simplicity overruling well-crafted sentences. Think back to "classic" literature - writers used to be a lot more verbose and eloquent than they are now and web is moving even farther in that direction.

In summary - web means the READER is in charge and wants to fill in certain holes in their knowledge, print means they'll let YOU tell them what they should know.

Anyone want to provide an example or suggest a title or sentence for a re-write? Feel free in the comments!