Writing for the web.

I snagged this from marketing professionals.

Whether writing for an online catalog, a blog or an e-newsletter, certain rules hold true. (In many cases, they’re similar to those your 8th grade English teacher taught you.) “How to write for the Web” at USC’s Online Journalism Review, edited by Robert Niles, offers some concise tips for highly effective online communication:

Keep it short and sweet. Online readers have remarkably short attention spans. Expect them to skip over flowery prose and any paragraph running longer than five lines. Break text up with bullet points, bold headers and block quotes.

Maintain an active voice. Overly complex tenses (e.g. will have been) and overuse of the passive verb “to be” (e.g. is, was or were) lend a passive tone. We handily exceeded expectations has more punch than We will have handily exceeded expectations or Expectations were handily exceeded.

Attribute your sources. You earn maximum credibility by making it easy for readers to find your source material. Provide a URL (a Web page’s address) or—even better—a hypertext link (a highlighted word that links to the URL) embedded in your text with simple html codes.

Finally, do a quick spell-check before publishing. Even one mistake looks sloppy and can weaken your authority on the subject.

The Po!nt: Writing effectively for the Web optimizes communication to your online audience.

Tips for artists

Create your personal details so that the community can find you get to know you. Your account is not your personal details. Create one by clicking on the "create personal details" in your "Tools" block on the left of every page.
Although you may think we understand you and your art... most of us are clueless so try to add context to your works by writing in the description.
You know, everybody is pressed for time and attention these days! It requires hard work on your part to gain the mind-share of even the most inexperienced visitor or member. Simply tossing up your Works is not enough in today's hyper-competitive world.
We urge you to seriously participate in the community. Be smart. Start writing about your experiences in your blog. Bookmark articles. Leave comments. Add reviews. Be relevant. The more smarts you can demonstrate, the greater the opportunities you'll have to advance your career and grow. Think about it. From Kathy Sierra, Better Beginnings: how to start a presentation, book, article... [1]