Making Every Word Count

We now live in a multi-screen world. How many internet devices do you use? Laptop? Tablet? Smartphone? Did you say "yes," and "yes," and "yes"?

Many of your website visitors would also say "yes" three times. If they say "yes" only twice, it's probably for tablet and smartphone, not laptop.

How well does your website content work on all those screens?

In this fast-paced, very practical hour, content guru Ginny Redish will help you make every word count. You'll see developing great content as a process. You'll learn specific techniques for rapid planning. You'll realize that "content = conversation" and learn to engage site visitors with great conversations.

You may have to break some old-fashioned school-taught habits to become a world-class web content writer (or reviewer). Ginny's guidelines and examples will help.

Recommended for everyone who works on websites, especially content writers and editors, subject matter specialists who get web assignments, content strategists, project managers and other reviewers, designers, and usability specialists.
 

What You'll Learn

• The process of creating successful, engaging web content
• The power of rapid planning and specific planning techniques
• Practical guidelines with examples for writing great web content in our multi-screen, responsive-design world
   

Topics We'll Cover

• Setting the context
  • Stories – When and why people use websites
  • Content – What site visitors want
  • Conversation – Every use of your website is a conversation that the site visitor starts
  • Smartphones and tablets – Stats on mobile use and on where and when people use mobile apps and sites
  • Responsive design – A technology solution, not a content solution
• Planning great content
  • Creating content is a process that starts with planning
  • Everything we write in the workplace is functional
  • What do you want people to do? (purposes)
  • Who are those people and what should you keep in mind about them? (personas)
  • What's your key message? What questions are they asking? (conversations)
  • Examples: Using the power of this planning to evaluate a successful website and an unsuccessful one
• Writing great content
  • Guidelines with an explanation and at least one example for each guideline. For many of the examples, we'll see again the power of answering and applying the planning questions.
• Think "mobile first"
  • Cut! Cut! Cut!
  • Converse! – pronouns, active voice, strong verbs
  • Keep it short! – short sentences, tiny paragraphs, fragments, lists
• Engage people immediately
  • Assume people will skim and stop
  • Put the key message first
  • Answer site visitors' questions (but not with a separate FAQ page)
  • Break it up with meaningful headings
• Make every word count
  • Choose the shortest, simplest word that has the right meaning
  • Use microcopy wisely
• Finish the process (a few more tips very quickly as we end the hour)
  • Review and edit
  • Test for usability
  • But even before that – walk your personas through their conversations
  • Everyone: Put your ego in a drawer