In this course, you'll learn proven principles of web writing and how to help online visitors find the information they want, navigate your site and stay on your site.

With personal, supportive feedback from your tutor for every assignment of the course, you will:

• set up your own blog and Facebook Site and learn how to run them effectively,
• write several articles to help you practice a wide range of web writing skills, and
• learn about conciseness, effective hypertext links, targeted keywords, putting the message "above the fold", among many other aspects of web writing.

Course Details:

• Establish a blog and run it effectively for at least three months with two posts a week minimum.
• Write two web press releases that are placed on an online article syndication site
• Join Facebook and one other Social Networking site and "work" them. 500-word report
• Find/establish a website that needs content and write at least five articles that are accepted and used by the owner/webmaster/mistress
• Write an ad for a Facebook Advertising campaign and a brief marketing strategy
• Write an ad for a Google campaign

Admission Requirements:

• Basic writing skills are essential
• Computer skills, e-mail and Internet access required
• Some Internet skills would be helpful but not essential.
• No previous tertiary qualification required

Note: This is not a theoretical course. You get plenty of hands-on experience learning new techniques. Be prepared for practical involvement as you learn by spending extra time online and doing a lot of writing.

Tutor:

Karen Lotter is a journalist and writer based in South Africa. She runs a company (http://www.ethekwiniweb.co.za/) specializing in creating websites, writing creative and interesting content and optimizing sites for search engines.                                           

She has written profiles, features, advertising copy, obituaries, press releases, and columns in magazines, company newsletters and newspapers, and written and produced corporate scripts.

Since she stopped writing political speeches (after 13 years in the trenches), she has focused on writing for the web and presenting workshops on communications-related issues. She has been a Feature Writer at Suite 101.com (http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/ethekwinigirl), a Canadian based Contents Website for 18 months. Her first novel will be published in 2009.

Course Curriculum:

Module 1 - An Introduction

• What is Web writing and why is it different from paper writing?
• How do people read online?
• Motivating readers to respond
• Helping the reader find your material
• Who are you writing for?
• Quality check procedures
• How site navigation affects web writing
• Related web issues - downloadable documents, international communication and interactivity

Module 2 - Format

• How to format Web documents
• Headlines, subheadings, length of copy, bullet points
• How to repurpose print documents for the Web
• Cutting text that was originally written for paper
• Shortening your paragraphs, sentences, and phrases.
• Moving related materials into linked pages
• Making clear what people will get if they click
• Writing good, short paragraphs around a central theme/idea
• Avoid ambiguities passive voice and negatives where you can
• Say what you mean
• Style, language and grammar pointers

Module 3 - Working with Keywords

• What are Keywords/ Key phrases?
• Write to be found
• Use old words
• Finding Keywords
• Keyword Density
• Writing powerful key phrases
• Good linking - anchor text
• Use hyperlinks effectively

Module 4 - Blogging

• Blogging, Facebook and other Social Networking
• Setting up a blog and writing blog posts
• Setting up a Facebook presence

Module 5 - Web Advertising

• Internet Advertising
• Banners PPC
• Google and Facebook

Module 6 - Writing Content for your Reader

• Content Writing
• Writing for Your Target Audience
• Identifying goals for your content
• Considering look, feel and voice
• Developing personas
• Writing styles, use of tone and storytelling
• How to keep the trust of readers through good content
• Creating an effective landing page
• The power of the About us page

Module 7 - e-Releases and Web Newsletters

• Web PR
• Distributing content to outside platforms
• Writing e-mail newsletters

Module 8 - Making Money with Web Writing

• Earning money on the Web
• Blogging for money
• Content writing for money
• Getting a job as a web writer
• Writing an effecting online CV

Module 9 - Creative Web Writing

• Creative Web Writing
• Refining your technique
• Web Fiction
• Blog Fiction
• Flash Fiction
• Fan Fiction

Module 10 - Pooling Your Knowledge

• Review of techniques
• Plagiarism - Content Theft
• Wrap up
• Requests and questions from students

How does the course work?

Detailed class notes covering the content of each module are e-mailed to students. At the end of each module, students will be required to complete one or two writing exercises as well as some online tasks. In total, the course includes ten short writing assignments, all of which count towards the final result of the student. Students must also create a presence on Facebook and set up and run a blog.

Once the writing assignment has been completed, and e-mailed to the lecturer, an assessment and feedback will be sent to the student, and the module will be considered complete.

Students can also participate in ongoing online discussions by posting comments about the materials covered in the course, as well as give feedback to students who have posted their pieces in the Discussion Forum.

Conditions of Certification:

Students will receive the NZ Writers' College Certificate upon successful completion of the course, provided they meet the following conditions:

• Students must have completed all 12 assignments (namely: 10 writing exercises, the blog and the Facebook Site).
• The course must have been completed within twelve months of registration.
• Students are expected to attain a minimum average of 50% for the course

Minimum Estimated Time Commitment:

 To benefit from the course, the minimum time commitment is roughly:

• Reading time: 10 hours
• Writing time: up to 20 hours
• Research time: up to 20 hours