Most famed for his chilling novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell also wrote an essay called Politics and the English Language through which he communicated six simple rules about how to write good English. Considering the essay was published back in 1946, it’s amazing how well Orwell’s language rules translate into advice about how to write for the web.

Here they are:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print*.
2. Never use a long word where a short word will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive when you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules rather than say something barbarous.

* If websites had existed in Orwell’s day he would surely have included them in his first rule.

The most important thing about the style in which you write is to sound sincere. As a general rule avoid all of the following: cliches; corporate speak; excessive punctuation; fancy words; and long sentences.

At present all of our SEO training takes place on a private basis, but we are putting together a public copywriting course as well. Please let us know your feedback!

Event Concept

Course name: Website Words - Copywriting Course

Date: TBC

Cost: £295 – includes handouts, lunch & refreshments and post-workshop email support

Capacity: Up to 15 delegates

Copywriting Course Description:

Choosing the right words for your website is just as important as choosing the right design. You need words that communicate the benefits of your product or service in the customer’s language. Plus, when you’re writing for the web, you need words that appeal to the search engines.

“Website Words” is a one-day interactive copywriting course, designed to give you a thorough overview of what you need to do in order to write engaging, optimised web copy.

By the end of the course, you will know:

• How to write SEO content
• Where to find your keywords and how to select the best ones
• How to structure the text on your website to achieve maximum enquiries and sales from your visitors
• Why customers treat websites differently to other forms of media
• Essential “do’s” and “don’ts” of website copywriting

Learn how to create text for your website that simultaneously appeals to your customers and to the search engines. This copywriting course will give you hands-on, practical techniques that you can put into action straightaway on your own website.

Your trainer

We are pleased to introduce your trainer Heidi Williamson, a highly experienced website copywriter and trainer. For the last seven years, Heidi has been responsible for training the copywriting team at Virgin Money.

Heidi has written and edited web copy for many of the Virgin brands (Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Holidays, Virgin Wines, Virgin Megastores, Virgin Vie, and Virgin Experiences), as well as other big brands such as HSBC and Prudential.

Get in touch

If you’d like to receive details of this course when it’s up and running simply send your details to training@writemysite.co.uk. If you have feedback on the proposed course contents, please post a comment!