Writing for the Scrolling Eye
by Iris M. Ford


SYNOPSIS Little has been said about writing styles
suitable for the Net. Authors must write with the scrolling
eye in mind or it's ZIP, CLICK and GONE..


This unique writing and formatting skill is discussed by the experienced author of the new

ebook "SPIRITUAL MUFFINS Food for Life's Journey".

Enjoy scrolling down these ten pointers, then save and store them on your hard drive, or in

that safe place where you mentally copy and save real good information - your brain.



1. TITLE AND PICTURE.

A good title catches that scrolling eye and through identification holds it!

You just have one second to do it, so your TITLE must be
a real attention grabber. Some call it a "Killer Title".

My title in this article invokes a passion! What kind of eye? Roaming?

Pay attention. This is going to be good!


A picture of you also helps to grab attention and cement the bond

between author and reader. A picture personalizes the author.

Find your best mug shot and crop it out of your scanner. Don't have

a scanner? That's sad, they are a lot of fun.


2. A SYNOPSIS

In an ezine article or ebook, a short synopsis at the top is great for catching

and holding a scrolling eye. A synopsis should be two or three sentences

summarizing the article's thrust.

With an ebook the synopsis needs to be a little longer, ten seconds MAX!.

If you catch your scroller's attention here they will continue to read on down.


3. LAYOUT

Think about size, fonts, colors and layouts These all give punch to your sentences.

Make your formatting style appealing. Use variety to catch the eye. Some emails do

not support different fonts, but size of letter and color, in important places,

does catch the EYE of a scroller. Experiment with lines and colors, and use BOLD with

certain words for effect.


a.. GREAT IDEA. From your word processor copy your work to
b.. the Notebook and clear-cut lines to 65 characters, or less. Then
c.. send your article to your own email address as a test.

4. USE A WHIMSICAL, PERSONAL STYLE

Net readers respond best to either a highly technical, information article or a personal approach.

Being personal helps contradict this very impersonal computer.

A whimsical style also goes over well. Write informally about the subject you know the best so

you come across with quiet authority. Be able to say, I guarantee it from my own
experience.

5. OOPS! SPELLING AND TRANSLATIONS

Spell check for heavenb sake. OOPS, I forgot! That one slipped by me.

By the way, my computer can't spell scroller or ezine! You will need to

bring your spell checker up to date!


a.. GREAT IDEA. Put a world-wide translator on your site. The world is a very
b.. small place online, and it is a courtesy to provide translations. There are
c.. several FREE programs available. Use your favorite search engine to find one.

6. SUBTITLES AND DREADED REWRITES

Now go over what you have written and place a catchy SUBTITLE on every paragraph. Cut

the paragraphs to just 6 lines and rewrite each one several times.
Rewrite! Rewrite! Sometimes I've done fourteen rewrites.
If what you are saying is important it deserves your careful attention to detail, while

cutting out the riff-raff . Bye the way, is that a word I should have cut or left in? The Dictionary

defines riff-raff as RABBLE!!! Cut it, your article does not need padding or rabble.

7. USE HUMOR AND STORY

If you want to catch a scroller's attention note this poorly kept secret:
people like to snoop!

Share something personal and you will hold the scroller's attention a little longer.

Tell a funny story about your computer experience, how it has controlled you and

contrived to throw you out of bed and up the wall!


Let your readers know what you have done with the naughty web.

Now see, secrets hold promise. It kept you scrolling, right? Well, this paragraph is

several enticing lines long and you still are reading it all the way THROUGH.


8. CATCHY WORDS AND RUN AWAY VERBS

Weave any of the following into your writing, making it sizzle with :

NEW, TRUE, AUTHORITY, YOU, SEXUAL,
GUARANTEED, BONUS, FIRST, QUICK, NOW, CATCH, FAST,
PERSONAL, SPIRITUAL, SUCCESS.

And use the preverbal FREE, only now it's not all so free.


a.. GREAT IDEA: Use present tense verbs and descriptive phrases.
b.. Keep the promise of great benefits coming soon by using the present tense.
c.. Sound alive and excited. Wow! This is great!

9. SUMMARY

A short summary in point form is helpful at the end of your article or chapter.

Not any good at that? Then let me share another secret. Use the PARAGRAPH SUBTITLES.

Presto! It's done!


10. LINKING TO MORE GOODIES

If you are writing an article post your four line RESOURCE BOX at it's conclusion, outlining your
personal claim to computer fame. Note your area of expertise. Make sure you include a link to your

web page, checking that it's correct.


If you are writing an ebook include a short biographical sketch on your home page, and

put links to your chapters or sections within easy reach. Keep it simple, don't confuse your

scrollers, you want your readers to continue so you have:

no more ZIP, CLICK and GONE.
Your scrollers are now your readers.
They gladly LINK and explore further....

Delving into the wealth of information you want them to know.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


RESOURCE BOX.

Iris Ford lives on the beautiful Sunshine Coast, BC. Canada.

She is the author of several books published off-line.

Her newest ebook is "SPIRITUAL MUFFINS: Food for Life's Journey. "

Find it by scrolling down to http://www.spiritualmuffins.com and enjoy the ride.

Iris M. Ford,
http://www.spiritualmuffins.com