Nothing fantastic here, just some basic pointers on how to write for the Internet.

After some 3 years of 7-days per week editing several web eZines/webZines, I thought perhaps some folks would be interested in my observations.

Internet and print are somewhat similar in needs, however they are at the same time very different.

The Internet is driven by search engines and so the exposure of content depends on those spiders. Some cosmetic issues are also important.

You are free to use these pointers or ignore them.

First and foremost: DO NOT USE ALL CAPS IN THE TITLE OF THE PIECE

A general rule of thumb is that 1/2 of your submission is the title and the other 1/2 is the 1st paragraph. The balance of the piece is content.

The above rule will get your submission found or noticed, reading will slowly become less as the piece continues. Move the important content to the front of your piece.

Title and 1st Paragraph

If your piece is about a specific person or subject, be sure that it is part of your title and 1st paragraph.

Otherwise, the search spiders will not let people know what your article is about.

Use the KISS concept and remember few folks ejected from public schools in the last 20 or 30 years can actually read English.

Don't dumb-down your content, just keep in mind the ability of your reader to comprehend what you are writing.

Avoid using a "word processor" to write your submission. Word processors, such as Word, generate special characters and junk that most Internet publishing packages can't handle. You will always be safe if you use Notepad or another pure ASCII text editor.

If your piece uses links, add them to the end of the piece as specific URLs or type them into the content with free space around the URL.

As a very general rule, question and examine rather than accuse or label. If you wish to directly label or accuse, be prepared for possible legal problems.