One day a zebra.

On the 5th of March, I followed the first lesson about the Online Publishing Platforms at the London School of Journalism, by the tutor Chris Wheal ( you could visite his website http://www.chriswheal.com/ )  .

He arrived riding his motorbike painted like a zebra. It seems one of his passions, as journalism, blogging and vegetarian food ( you could be interested in visiting the website http://the-zebra.com/building-the-new-zebra-customised-bike/ ).

The zebra-man taught us a lot of tricks to make our "online products" able to keep the readers' attention. Because of my passion for blogging, I listened to him carefully and I'm ready to give you a short guide to become a good online writer, to make your posts interesting in order to increase your followers ( the zebra is not included ).

• Online magazines are not sold, but only news, so you can even not lying: if you are not interested in politics or economics, you can follow only sport news.
• It is open to everyone, even to your grandmother ( but I guess she'll ask you for help to switch on the computer).

What are the challenges of the web?

1. Read by everyone, it doesn't have a target audience: it means EVERYONE - Russia or Ukraine supporters, who loves Cameron and who don't, zebra-men or tiger-men - .
2. Found not sought - people are brought to sites without seeking them: so make them stay - but avoid porno pictures - .
3. Competitive - more than a football match -.
4. Immediate - more than light - .

Who are the web users?

1. They are human beings and live on the Earth. This is sure. 
2. They scan pages for key words and phrases, so be specific and mention all important proper nouns (a lot of people - more than you think - search the noun "vagina", but this is not an invitation to speak about that).
3. They don't like to scroll, keep it short - they are human beings, they have stupid ears - .
4. They prefer objective language than emotive phrases: no one is interested in your life, if you need, you can always choose the old diary with the lock.
5. Each page should stand alone, because they may come from a search engine - yes, your name can be found through Google, are you happy? -

What are the tricks to make the readers stay on your page?

1. Use key words - it is the "key" of the success - .
2. Use hyperlinks - not with hard content - .
3. Write for search engine - for the happiness of Google, or maybe yours - .
4. Write for achieving - as who takes part in a reality show - .
5. Write in plain English - be yourself - .
6. Use links to additional informations.
7. Use bullet points - like me, if you are still reading, it means that they work - .
8. Personalize your text - use "you" and "we"- : we are a big community.
9. Use real named examples - Putin, for example - .
10. Break up the text - only the text - .

What about the rules?

1. Entice the readers and let them know what exactly they will find out from your page - so don't write about bullshits - .
2. Attention to detail - my mother always tell me - .
3. Short sentences - I've already told you that human beings have generally stupid ears - .
4. Use active form - when I was at school I had problems to learn the passive form, I guess you too - .
5. Avoid unnecessary verbs and adverbs - don't waste your time - .
6. Headlines must describe accurately and quickly the contents - it doesn't mean to repeat the first paragraph - .
7. Sub-heading must take sense in isolation, describing the contents of the following text - it means that, with different words, you can repeat the first paragraph - .
8. Provide a date - your posts will become your new biological clock - .

Are you ready to start? Good writing, the zebra is with you!

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