Five Reasons for Re-Reading ‘Letting Go of the Words,’ Part 2
Posted under: 
This is the second part about why you should re-read the classic (and by classic I mean 2005) book by Ginny Reddish, Letting Go of the Words. Read part 1.
Improving your web writing recap
In part 1, Ginny makes a couple of important points in her book. Drum roll, please.
1. Use informational and transational verbs
2. Don’t let your headlines float.
Two more ways you can write great web content
3. Seven-to-twelve-word links is a best link building strategy. I’m guilty of keeping links short. (This is why reviewing classic books is worth your time!).
Instead of “read, more, browse” make the link pop. Give it context.
Bad
“More…”
Good
“Browse this month’s calendar of conferences and live webinars.”
4. Use perspective. Talk to your audience; don’t talk at them. Help them feel like they are partnering with you by using pronouns like you, we, I. Here’s an example from Ginny’s book (p. 258)
Bad
“In the process of or following consultation of this web site, data pertaining to identified or identifiable persons may be processed.”
HUH?
Good
“When you use this Website, we may collect data about you or people you tell us about — for example, people to whom you are sending a gift. We may use that data to…”
5. Give people only what they need. Don’t add pages, sentences or words if you don’t need to. You’ll only clutter and confuse the message. Determine “the star of the show” of each page — what you want the user to focus most on first. If the words don’t matter to the message, leave it out.
Ignore good time management skills – read this book over again.
It is a challenge to find time to read a book cover to cover. Noisy children, 45-hour work weeks, and exhaustion abound. Isn’t it hard enough the latest Stephen King novel? Sometimes, though, it’s worth sticking with what you know. Books like Janice (Ginny) Redish’s Letting Go of the Words is a fine example of an instruction manual to use over and over again. Don’t ever let this one get dusty.
1 Comment + Add Comment
Share this Page
Hi Jay,
Thanks for pointing out that the first edition of Letting Go of the Words is still relevant.
Your readers might want to know that a second edition will be out in mid-August. All the guidelines you wrote about in your two-part blog are still there, and I’m emphasizing “content as conversation” even more this time.
For the second edition, I’ve brought in many new examples, as well as information about content strategy, mobile, SEO, and other topics that have become so important in the last few years. You can pre-order it now at Amazon.
Best,
Ginny Redish