People aren't interested in reading long paragraphs of writing unless they're reading a novel - especially when you're writing for the internet. So you need to make sure you say everything you need to say, in as few words as possible. Here are some tips on how to cut your word count and make your writing more concise, and therefore more compelling.
Be careful of repeating yourself
Watch out for unnecessary words that are already implied, like "end result" - it's already implied that the result is at the end. Other examples include "I saw it with my own two eyes", "close proximity" or "round in shape".
Also be watch out for phrases that mean the same thing as an adjective you've already used, like "Underprivileged people who don't have a lot of money can't afford luxuries."
Cut down on phrases
And then, like above, when you're describing something don't use a long phrase when just a word or two will do. So instead of saying something like "People who are honest always tell the truth.", you could simply say "Honest people always tell the truth." Or "The boy at the end of the queue had red hair." could rather be "The last boy had red hair."
Remove superfluous phrases
There are certain "filler" phrases that don't add any meaning to your sentences. This includes phrases "who was" or "that is" used in this way: "The man that is driving the red car is speeding." could just be "The man driving the red car is speeding." Other examples are "due to the fact that", "for all intents and purposes" or "a total of".
Ease up on the modifiers
Modifiers are words like "very" and "really", and they also don't add a lot of meaning to a sentence. Rather find more powerfully descriptive words than add modifiers to increase the meaning. For example, instead of saying "When I get home from work I'm always very tired." you could say, "When I get home from work I'm always exhausted."
Beware the clichés
Clichés are used so often that they've become completely worn out and don't add any meaning to your writing. All that it does is adds to your word count, and sometimes annoys your readers. So stay away from phrases like "tried and tested", "time is money" and "money makes the world go round".
