Writing For The Web: Don’t Use Big Words
Sep16Written by:
2010/09/16 08:26 AM 
The mistake often made by new bloggers is trying to write copy using big words. Words that are not found in your every day vocabulary. This is a big mistake and will often have a negative effect on your blog.
Don't use big words
When researching this subject I came across this little gem found written in an old bible somewhere.
In promulgating your esoteric cogitation’s or articulating your superficial and sentimentalities and amicable philosophical or psychological observations, beware of platitudinous panderosity.
Let your conversational communications possess a clarified conciseness, a compact comprehensibiliness coalescent consistency and a concatenated cogency. Eschew all conglomerations of flatulent garrulity, jejune babblement and asinine affectations. Let your extemporaneous descantings and unpremeditated expatiation’s have intelligibility and veracious vivacity without rodomontade or thrasonical bombast.
Sedulously avoid all polysyllable profundity, pompous prolixity, psittaceous vivacity, ventriloquial verbosity and magniloquent rapidity. Shun double entendres, previnient jacosity and pestifereous profanity, observant or apparent.
In other words, talk plainly, briefly, naturally, sensibly,truthfully, purely, keep from slang, don’t put on airs, say what you mean, mean what you say and DON’T USE BIG WORDS.
Keep it simple
If you had to analyse your blog stats you will find that the average reader is one that only has a high school education. He won’t understand the big words you use, nor will the next guy. They will run and never come back.
It’s almost an insult to them. As well as an insult to you. You are trying to be a person you’re not.
Who talks like that anyway? Do you? Would you rather use words like “ingenuousness”, “guilelessness”, “unequivocalness” or “complete honesty”.
Remember to keep it simple.
Write the way you talk.
Simplicity is the key to good conversation. How do you converse in your everyday life. How do you talk to your friends and family. Your wife, girlfriend, brother, sister or mother. Do your circle of friends use big words to impress?
If you are trying to use big words to impress your readers, they are not interested. They would rather be impressed by good quality information in your articles.
Now that does not mean that you should throw all the rules out the window. Use proper syntax, good spelling (yeah I’m one to talk). But don’t try and be the person you’re not.
Conclusion
My challenge to you is to be honest, write for your readers and not yourself. Keep them in mind when you make your word choice.
A fellow blogger, Rose DesRochers, wrote a very interesting article on this very subject. In fact she did a test on three blogs including Problogger.net. Read her post to see some very interesting results. The post is: What reading level is you blog.
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