More thoughts from Jakob Nielsen:
"In linear media — such as print and TV — people expect you to construct their experience for them. Readers are willing to follow the author's lead ... In non-linear hypertext, the rules reverse. Users want to construct their own experience ... People arrive at a website with a goal in mind, and they are ruthless in pursuing their own interest and in rejecting whatever the site is trying to push."
Article about goal oriented copywriting from A List Apart:
"... anyone who touches copy can make a difference by insisting that every chunk of text on the site is doing something concrete. And alas, “selling product!” doesn’t count: “selling” is a muzzy, undefined process, so you can’t tell if you’re doing it properly just by looking. Copy needs specific goals to accomplish."
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writingcontentthatworksforaliving
"An understanding of what makes a piece of copy really good is one more useful device a web designer or developer can slot into his or her mental tool belt ... So what makes good copy good? Perhaps we can find out by considering what’s made the best of the best…the best."
"Consider this: Have you ever been blocked while playing Frisbee? Eating doughnuts? Dancing naked in your living room? Those are joyful things and there’s nothing at stake: if you fail, who cares? Nobody. If there are no rules, and no judgment, psychological blocks are impossible. And remember writers like making names and overthinking things: there is no term for architect-block, painter-block, juggler-block or composer-block. Every creative pursuit faces similar pressures, but they don’t obsess about it the way writers seem to do."
http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/54-writing-hacks-part-1-starting/
"Content is the heart of a brilliant user experience. From the body content to the alt text to the footer, the words that shape the page lie at the very center of an engaging visit. If the words aren’t beautiful and meaningful, the sleekest design in the world won’t compensate for it. The body can never replace a missing heart."
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/revivinganorexicwebwriting
"It’s one thing to write copy that fits on a website. It’s quite another to write copy that fits in with a website. You wouldn’t try to force an incongruous visual element into a carefully considered design. Same goes for written content. Even if you’ve wisely designed a site around the content it delivers, written copy may fit neatly physically but still ring false to the intended audience."
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/betterwritingthroughdesign
