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8 Simple Rules
to Globalize Your
Content Now!
By: Val Swisher, CEO & Founder, Content Rules


                                          http://twitter.com/contentrulesinc

                                          http://www.linkedin.com/company/
                                          content-rules-inc
         www.contentrules.com
About this eBook
Years ago, one of my favorite          Def. Global readiness. The ability of         Luckily, there are 8 simple rules you can follow to
television shows was “8 Simple         your company to take the content you
                                       create for use in one geography and           reduce the cost and time required to localize your
Rules for Dating My Teenage            reuse that content everywhere in the          content. And here they are:
Daughter” starring John Ritter         world, without losing your shirt in the
- a huge star in China BTW.            process.                                      #1   Not All Errors Are Created Equal
Maybe I liked it because I had a       Global readiness is important. Today,
daughter just entering puberty         companies must launch their products          #2   Creative Writing is A Myth
at the time that the show              in multiple geographies more or less
debuted. In the spirit of that         simultaneously. If they don’t, they’ll        #3   Real Editors Don’t Do It Without A Terminology Manager
                                       soon find that the market opportunities
show, I created 8 simple rules
                                       and profits are capped, as more nimble
on how to take the content you         competitors launch “me too” products
                                                                                     #4   Use a Red Pen on That Content & You May Lose Your Job
have and make it global-ready          in the markets they don’t penetrate
now. My goal with this eBook is        quickly.                                      #5   No Complaining About the Quality of Your Tech Writers
to have a personal conversation        Again and again, clients tell me that         #6   Flabby Content Will Cost You Dearly
with you about easy things             they face one major roadblock when
you can do to support global           attempting to launch their products in
                                       multiple geographies. Can you guess
                                                                                     #7   Delay This Product Launch & There Will Be No Next
readiness as you create content.
                                       what it is? It’s not regulatory affairs.           Product Launch
                                       It’s not adapting the product to the
                                       requirements of the local geography.          #8   Content Development is a Team Sport
                                       It’s content. If your content isn’t
                                       developed from the get-go to be
                                       global-ready, you’ll find that localization        Read on as I explore each of these rules in detail.
                                       takes way too long and costs way too
                                       much.




                            www.contentrules.com
                            © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Simple Rule #1     Not All Errors Are Created Equal

Last week, I attended the Inbound Marketing                                           cheaper to translate multiple short          •	 Reviewer provides comments and
Summit. At the summit, a very intelligent                                             sentences?                                      sends them back to translator

and friendly person sat down with me at                                               The translation savings is not in the        •	 Translator makes another attempt at
                                                                                      number of words. In fact, the true              translating the long sentence
lunchtime. She had a number of questions.
                                                                                      cost of translating long sentences is        Iterate with reviewer until the reviewer
Among them was this:                                                                         usually hidden, not monetarily        is satisfied.
                                                                                                 quantified. Here’s what
          “What is one thing that I                                                                  often happens when a          Lather, rinse, and repeat these steps in
                                                                                                                                   as many languages as necessary. By
          can do to make my content                                                                   translator encounters a
                                                                                                                                   the end, the process of translating the
                                                                                                      long sentence:
          easier to read?”                                                                            •	 Translator tries to
                                                                                                                                   long sentence has wasted a lot of time
                                                                                                                                   for both the translator and the reviewer.
                                                                                                      understand the 	             Wasted time costs a lot of money. And
          Write shorter sentences.                                                                       author’s intent           wasted time can also mean delayed
          This is my single piece of advice. If you do                                                        •	 Translator        go-to-market, which costs even more
          only one thing, write shorter sentences.                                                               may ask for       money.
          By the way, here is how I was originally going                                                           clarification   In addition, because the long
          to write the three short sentences above:                                                                                sentence had to be interpreted and
                                                                                                                                   re-interpreted, it is possible that each
             “If I were to pick just one thing that you
                                                                                                                                   translation has a different meaning.
                                                                                                                                   It is even possible that none of the
             can do to make your content easier to
                                                                                                                                   translated sentences even resemble
             read and, by extention, cheaper, easier,
                                                                                                                                   the author’s original intent!
             and faster to translate, it would be to
             write shorter sentences.”                                                                                             I’m not saying that this scenario
                                                                                                                                   happens all the time. I am saying that
                                                                                                    •	 Translator takes an         if you keep your sentences short, the
          See how much easier my three short sentences are                              educated guess as to the meaning of        likelihood of wasting time and money,
          to understand than the 35-word sentence? The short                            the long sentence                          and ending up with different meanings
          sentences are also cheaper, easier, and faster to                                                                        is greatly reduced. I have never heard
                                                                                      •	 Translator translates the sentence as
          translate.                                                                                                               a translator complain about content
                                                                                         accurately as possible
                                                                                                                                   having too many short, simple, and
          Hold on a minute, you say! Often, if we take                                •	 Translated content goes to in-country     easy to understand sentences.
          one long sentence and break it in half, we end                                 reviewer for review
                                                                                                                                   Just so you know, every time I wrote a
          up with more words. More words means a
                                                                                      •	 Reviewer also takes an educated guess     sentence in this post, I kept going back and
          higher cost for translation. So, how can it be
                                                                                               on the meaning                      counting the words. Writing short sentences is
                                                                                                                                   a learned technique to be sure!
                                   www.contentrules.com
                                   © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Simple Rule #2       Creative Writing is A Myth

Back in the dark ages, when I                 simple phrase, “Click OK” written at    to translate. And, it saves a lot of money. You can achieve the perfect trifecta –
was growing up in New York                    least 12 different ways in the same     cheaper, faster, better – by standardizing your content.
                                              documentation suite. Not sure what I
City, I was taught to be creative
                                              mean?                                   Whoa you say! It’s SOOOOO boring! Well, yes. It can be boring to say
when I write. Even in science                                                         the same thing, the same way, every time you say it. But, if you are someone for
reports (the equivalent of                    Click OK.                               whom English is a second or third language, or if you are an average American
technical writing for someone                                                         with a 6th grade reading level and you are trying to configure your VCR, boring is
who is 9), the rule was, never
                                              Click on OK.                            good! Boring is great! Especially if the boring sentence is simple, straightforward,
                                                                                      and easy to understand.
say the same thing the same                   Click the OK button.
way twice. Always use different                                                       Whoa again you say! I write marketing material. I’m not supposed to be
words. And use a lot of
                                              Click on the OK button.                 boring! Well, I understand. And I don’t disagree. Marketing copy is supposed
                                                                                      to pack an emotional punch. It is supposed to keep the reader engaged and
words. Using a lot of words                   Click the button.                       interested. Saying the same thing, the same way doesn’t always allow for the
shows off your vocabulary.
                                              Press OK.                               type of creativity that most marketing writers want.

I took these instructions to heart. I         Press on the OK button.
also think that many of the writers I
know took these instructions to heart,        Select OK.
too. Consequently, I have seen the
                                              … you get the gist.                           But let's remember how you pay for translation
                                              When it comes to spending money
                                                                                                                           price per         # of
                                              on translation, saying the same                              # of
                                                                                                                           word              languages
                                                                                                           words
                                              thing many different ways, using as
                                              many words as possible is the kiss
                                                                                                                        cost of translation
                                              of death. I’ve discussed this before,
                                              and I’ll say it again, you need to
                                              say the same thing, the same way,
                                              every time you say it.                  Once a segment has been translated into a particular language, the translation is
                                                                                      stored in translation memory. As long as you use the exact same words next time,
                                              Standardizing both your                 you will never have to pay to have that segment translated into that language
                                              terminology and your sentences          again.
                                              makes your content much easier
                                              to read. It also makes your             So, if you are a marketing writer, you need to find some middle ground. You
                                              content easier and faster               need to balance the emotional punch and creativity you want, with the cost of
                                                                                      translation. Keep in mind that much of the emotional punch cannot be translated
                                                                                      anyway. In fact, the phrase “emotional punch” is not translatable. What good is
                                                                                      a brilliant marketing message if the rest of the world outside of the U.S. does not
                                   www.contentrules.com                               understand what it means?
                                   © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Simple Rule #3          Real Editors Don't Do It Without A Terminology Manager

Let’s talk about managing terminology. Why bother? Well that’s                              Why do term                                  So, what does work? The best way
easy. If you are in the content creation business, your product is                          lists fail?                                  to manage terminology is to have:
your words/pictures/movies. And if words are your product, you                              There are many
                                                                                            reasons. In
                                                                                                                        your
need to care about them. You need to select them carefully and
                                                                                            my opinion, the                              •	 A database that is shared
consistently, and you need to manage them.                                                  main reason term                                with everyone in the entire
By this I mean you need to make sure you have a consistent lexicon that is                  lists fail is that they                         organization, corporate-wide.
simple, straightforward, and makes sense. And the most important word is                    require a pull mechanism
                                                                                                                                         •	 A mechanism by which incorrect
consistent. Consistent terminology is critical for so many reasons. It:                     for people to use them. By
                                                                                                                                            terms are flagged automatically.
                                                                                            that I mean, the author or
                                                                                            editor needs to:                             •	 A mechanism that pushes the
•	 Makes your content much easier to read                                                                                                   correction to the writer or editor
   for people of all reading levels.
•	 Preserves your company trademarks,
                                                           MANAGE                                                                           for consideration.
                                                                                            •	 Know that the term in question is
   service marks, copyrights, and so on.                                                       managed (the company cares about          In other words, an automated            t
                                                 seems so obvious to me, but often             correct usage).                           way of having the lexicon
•	 Safeguards your product and company
   branding.                                     doesn’t occur to other people), the task   •	 Know where to find the list of terms.
                                                                                                                                         pushed to the developer, rather         e
                                                 becomes how to manage it.                                                               than expecting the developer
•	 Ensures that everyone in your                                                                                                         to go and pull it. By sharing the
   organization uses the same words to           The two most common ways I’ve
                                                                                            •	 Get the list of terms.
                                                                                                                                         terminology database across the
                                                                                                                                                                                 r
                                                                                            •	 Search for the term and determine if it
   describe the same things.                     seen of managing terminology are                                                        company, you can make sure
•	 Allows you to use different XML chunks        Excel spreadsheets and Microsoft
                                                                                               is allowed or prohibited (or if it even
                                                                                                                                         that everyone has the same list         m
                                                                                               exists in the term list at all).
   in a structured environment without           Word tables. Usually there are at least                                                 of terms. And by using a push
   having to rewrite for consistency.            two columns: allowed terms and             •	 Make the correction, if necessary.        technology, you can make sure           i
                                                 prohibited terms. Sometimes allowed                                                     that errors are identified and
                                                                                            There is no way that this system can
•	 Lowers the price and time it takes to
   translate the content into multiple
                                                 terms are called preferred terms.
                                                                                            work. When I’m in the middle of writing
                                                                                                                                         corrected each and every time           n
                                                 Sometimes prohibited terms are called                                                   they occur.
   languages.                                                                               a document, even this blog post, I am
                                                 deprecated terms. Regardless of what
                                                 the terms are called and regardless        simply not going to remember if a term       There are various terminology           o
•	 Helps to ensure the quality and
                                                 of what application is used to create      is managed. Moreover, I am not going         management software packages
   consistency of the translations.
                                                 the list of terms, this type of system     to stop what I am doing every 10 or 15       on the market. And without              l
Sure there are additional reasons to             for managing terminology is simply         minutes (or more frequently than that)       making this post a commercial,
manage terminology, but I think you              a nightmare. I rarely see a company        to go and look up the term in the term       I want to mention that Content          o
catch my drift. Once we’ve established           that can grow and scale using lists or     list. Pull management of terminology         Rules uses a sophisticated
why to manage terminology (which                 spreadsheets as their management           just doesn’t work. And if it works at        terminology management                  g
                                                 system for terminology.                    your company, consider yourself the          system that makes sure your
                                                                                                                                         content is consistent each time
                                                                                            exception rather than the norm.
                                                                                                                                         and every time.
                                                                                                                                                                                 y
                                      www.contentrules.com
                                      © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Simple Rule #4        Use a Red Pen on That Content & You May Lose Your Job
I know some people who don’t                  Three of the tools you must implement to be                                                 2. A sophisticated authoring tool.
have a computer. I honestly                                                                                                               Okay, I’m going to be controversial. In
                                              competitive in today’s world include:                                                       my experience and opinion, Microsoft
don’t know how they live
                                                                                                                                          Word is not a sophisticated authoring
without one, but somehow they                 1. A content management system. A content management system                                 tool. It is ubiquitous. It is easy to use for
manage. I know companies                      provides so much structure for your work, it is hard to under-estimate the value            simple documents. But, it is definitely
                                              of having one. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about content management                   not sophisticated. I have yet to meet
that don’t have any systems
                                              systems:                                                                                    anyone who authors large documents
for managing their workflow,
                                                 A content management system (CMS) is the collection of procedures used to manage work    (like multi-chapter books) in MS Word
content, publishing, and so on.                                                                                                           who does not complain bitterly 100%
                                                 flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based.
I honestly don’t know how they                                                                                                            of the time. Just try typing “Hate
live without them either. And                 The procedures are designed to do the following:                                            Microsoft Word” into the search function
in today’s global world, I’m                  •	 Allow for a large number of people to contribute to and share stored data                in YouTube and you’ll see what I mean.
                                                                                                                                          There’s even a group on Facebook
not sure they are managing                    •	 Control access to data, based on user roles (defining which information users or user
                                                                                                                                          devoted to hating Microsoft Word. I’m
too well.                                        groups can view, edit, publish, etc.)
                                                                                                                                          sure someone reading this eBook is
                                              •	 Aid in easy storage and retrieval of data                                                going to tell me they love Word, but
Using the right tool for the right job
                                              •	 Reduce repetitive duplicate input                “But wait!” you say! “I’m               whoever you are, you are in the minority.
is extremely important. And if you
are creating content that is going            •	 Improve the ease of report writing               a lone tech writer. I’m not             Yet it amazes me how many companies,
to be localized and translated into                                                               collaborating with anyone!”             even medium-sized businesses, are still
                                              •	 Improve communication between users
many languages, it is even more                                                                                                           using Word to create their content. There
imperative to use tools to help                                                                                                           are many tools on the market now that
manage your process. Tools abound                                                                                                         provide advanced features for writing.
                                              Well, you might think you are
in the marketplace right now and                                                                                                          A fairly comprehensive and updated list
more are being created every day.             working all alone. But, you are not. You are (hopefully) working with                       can be found on Wikipedia.
So, do your homework.                         engineers, QA testers, product managers, editors, illustrators, and others who
                                              are part of the process of creating your content.                                           About 10 years ago, I was interviewing
                                                                                                                                          a consultant who wanted to do a writing
                                              And even if you create content all alone in a dark cave without any help from               project for one of my clients. I asked her
                                              anyone, if your content is going to be translated, you are now automatically,               what type of computer she used. Her
                                              defacto, collaborating with your translator(s). You may never see them or                   response? “Oh, I don’t use a computer.
                                              communicate with them (which is a problem unto itself that I’ve written about               I use legal pads, take my notes long
                                              many times), but believe me, you are collaborating. They are going to take your             hand, and then type them up.” This was
                                              content and work with it. If they can communicate with you, they’ll do an even              10 years ago. I swear. No, I didn’t hire
                                              better job. So, do yourself and your company a favor. Implement some type of                her.
                                              CMS system.
                                                                                                                                          3. A terminology manager. I wrote
                                                                                                                                          about this in Simple Rule #3. I won’t
                                    www.contentrules.com                                                                                  bore you with the details again.
                                    © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Simple Rule #5        No Complaining About the Quality of Your Tech Writers
I hear a lot of complaining these days about the quality of
technical documentation being written offshore. I hear it mostly
from the people who are responsible for making the decision to                                                                                               french
                                                                                                                                                                      german
move tech docs offshore to begin with. Let me try to elucidate the
                                                                                                  english
problem from end to end.                                                                                                                                                  chinese
                                                                                                                                                                      japanese
As time has gone on, and technology           commonplace now that I cannot think
has become more commonplace and               of one large customer who isn’t using           spanish
less mysterious, the information that         offshore writers for at least a portion
we create to explain how to install/use/      of their documentation creation.
administer technology products has            And, from an upper-management
become less important in the eyes of          perspective, it is compelling. Last time
our upper management.                                           I checked, you could
Ease of use has morphed     “Good enough is                     hire 3 writers and a
into “Do we have to                                             manager offshore for
provide instructions?”      good enough. I                      the same dollars as a
Technical writing as an     don’t care about                    single senior technical   The same problems are described over and over again:
art form has become                                             writer in the U.S.
commoditized. As with       quality. Just make                                            •	 The documentation is difficult to understand or it makes no sense grammatically.
                                                                However, almost
all commodities, the        it cost less money.”                across the board, I
                                                                                          •	 Managing the project is difficult. To have a phone conference with everyone on the
most important                                                                               project means someone is always in their pajamas; managers here in the US feel like
aspect from an upper-       Scary, no?                          have heard complaints
                                                                                             (and do!) work around the clock.
                                                                about the quality
management perspective
                                              of the content that is being written        •	 The culture clash between the offshore groups and the U.S.-based team presents work
is to get the docs created as cheaply
                                              offshore. Sure, there are exceptions.          issues.
as possible. I have actually heard
                                              I know a few managers who, after            •	 The loyalty of offshore writers is almost non-existent. As soon as you have them
upper-level managers say, “Good
                                              searching for months and hiring/               trained and doing a good job, they leave for a better paying opportunity elsewhere.
enough is good enough. I don’t care
                                              firing many offshore writers, are finally
about quality. Just make it cost less
                                              very happy. This is the exception
money.” Scary, no?                                                                        Now, I am not saying that all offshore situations fail or that there is no such thing
                                              rather than the rule. Most of the time,
Budgets for technical documentation           asking writers who have English as a        as a loyal, competent offshore writer who gets along famously with the U.S. team
have been slashed and much cheaper            second (or third or fourth) language to     and is willing to work odd hours. These people do exist. And as time goes on, the
alternatives to the U.S. tech writing         create technical instructions does not      quality of offshore content has risen and more managers who I talk to have found
market have popped up. Offshore               work out well for the documentation         adequate offshore help. But, I am saying that, overall, I hear more complaints than
creation of technical manuals is so           manager responsible for the project.        compliments.



                                   www.contentrules.com
                                   © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Simple Rule #5         Continued...

So, what’s a tech doc manager to do?
There is no magic bullet to solving             with it. I also don’t know of many
these problems. Usually, it takes a lot         companies that have metrics for the
of patience and time to find an offshore        correlation between poorly written
writer (let alone an offshore team) that        documentation and number/cost
produces to the level most technical            of technical support incidents. We
documentation managers would like.              intuitively know that if the instructions
Trying to explain to upper management
                                                are confusing, the customer is going        Here are a few ideas on how to handle the mandate
                                                to reach out for help. But we don’t
that penny-wise is dollar-foolish only
works to a point. If the economy
                                                have actual numbers to support it.          to use offshore resources that are underperforming:
has tanked and budgets are being                Now that many people are using              •	 Work with other groups, such as             •	 Examine your quality control/quality
slashed, getting upper-level managers           social media communities and                   technical support and training, to             assurance processes to identify holes
to pay for quality documentation                forums to voice their complaints,              gather metrics on customer satisfaction        that you can plug. For example, see if
is a Herculean task at best.                    the possible brand damage from                 as it relates to technical documentation.      you can implement QC/QA tools and
Sometimes, if customers complain                unhappy customers is more risky.               Be careful that this tactic doesn’t            processes to help catch and fix errors
loudly enough – usually to technical            In the past, I could complain to a             backfire, making you or your                   before the docs are released.
support departments – and if the                manufacturer. Now, I can complain              department look worse for pointing out      •	 Look for tools and processes that can
costs of technical support skyrocket,           to a forum and have many people                the problem. There is always a danger          help your offshore team perform better.
you can get upper management to                 echo my dissatisfaction. Unhappy               in pointing out weaknesses on your
listen. Customer satisfaction scores            customers can do a lot more harm               team.                                       •	 Solicit help from the community. If
(known as “CSAT” scores) can be                 as a community. This argument                                                                 customers are starting to complain,
                                                                                            •	 Consider onshoring your content.
very compelling. Unfortunately, I               might be compelling and upper                                                                 reach out to them and find a way to let
                                                                                               There are areas of the U.S. where salary
don’t know of many companies                    management might listen, but if                                                               them help make your content better.
                                                                                               requirements and hourly rates are
who measure CSAT scores for                     customers are already complaining                                                             User-generated content is a blessing
                                                                                               much lower than in high-tech meccas.
documentation. “Ease of installation”           in droves, you have a PR nightmare                                                            and a curse. Think about what you can
                                                                                               While I’ve never seen rates that are as
is often correlated to the product itself,      on your hands and it might be too                                                             do to incorporate community content
                                                                                               low as offshore countries, you might
rather than the instructions that ship          late.                                                                                         and ideas to help. It is amazing the
                                                                                               be able to find qualified writers here         goodwill you can garner by listening to
                                                                                               who are willing to work for compelling         your customer base.
                                                                                               wages.

                                                                                            And when your management finally wakes up and comes to you
                                                                                            complaining about the quality of the documentation, do your best
                                                                                            to stay calm and remind them that you always get what you pay for.

                                                                                            Always.
                                     www.contentrules.com
                                     © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Simple Rule #6      Flabby Content Will Cost You Dearly

I have said this so many times before: When it                                   That’s real money. If you can trim
                                                                                 even 10% of your words, you will start
comes to localization, keep your content short and                               to see significant savings:
sweet. Mainly short. The sweet part is up to you.                                   500,000 – 10% = 450,000 words                     A savings
                                                                                    450,000 words × 15¢/word × 8 languages
                                                                                    = $540,000
                                                                                                                                      of $60,000.
   Why? Because flabby content is expensive
   to translate. Let’s review the way you pay for
   translation. Translation companies charged by the                             To make your content skinny, remove all needless words. A needless word is any
   word/by the language. For example, you need to                                word that does not affect the meaning of the sentence. Here are a few examples
   translate 1,000 words into 8 languages. The average                           of flabby sentences:
   cost per word is $.15. The math looks like this:                              •	 Our software is absolutely the simplest to install.
                                                                                 •	 This software is very easy to install.
                                                                                 •	 It can be seen that the installation is simple.

           1,000        15¢ per           8                                      •	 First, create a new form.
           words        word              languages

                                                                                 Another place to trim your copy is to substitute single, simple
                        $1,200                                                   words for phrases.
         That doesn’t look too bad, does it?
         But, let’s say you have 500,000 words.                                     For example                                       Instead try
         Here’s the math:                                                           Our software works on a variety                   Our software works on various
                                                                                    of platforms.                                     platforms.

          500,000       15¢ per           8
          words         word              languages                              If you eliminate needless words                  from over 40 companies. I have found
                                                                                 and simplify your writing, your                  that it is easy to eliminate 10% of the
                        $600,000                                                 readers will have a much easier time             words. Often, we can eliminate 20% of
                                                                                 understanding your content. Increased            the words. The savings really start to
                                                                                 comprehension is a side benefit of               add up.
                                                                                 writing skinny copy.
                                                                                                                                  So, put your content on a diet. Your
                                                                                 I have analyzed over 5 million words             wallet will thank you.



                              www.contentrules.com
                              © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Simple Rule #7          Delay This Product Launch & There Will Be No Next Product Launch

Time to market. Those three                       Unfortunately, the typical workflow for the writing and translation process rarely
little words can make the                         affords enough time to do a quality job of creating, localizing, and translating
                                                  content. Usually, content is being created alongside the product itself. As the
difference between getting
                                                  engineers finish aspects of the product, writers scramble to create content for
ahead of your competition                         each part. Once the writing is complete, localization and translation takes over.
and being just another maker                      Then, the content is translated into all of the languages. Each translation is sent
of a smartphone (or whatever                      to the region for local language review. And, in many cases, this is where the
                                                  iterations start to occur.
product or service your
company sells). As product                        It is very common for each in-country reviewer to cycle through multiple costly
                                                  and time-consuming review iterations with each individual translator. Back and
managers and marketeers will
                                                  forth they go correcting the translations and making them appropriate to each
tell you, time to market is one                   specific marketplace. This process can take days or even weeks to complete.
of the crucial aspects of a                       All the while, the product team needs to launch on the scheduled date. In the
product launch.                                   end, what happens most often is that the materials go to market in a form that              LA
Nowadays, there is a mandate to
                                                  represents the best the team could do, given the timeframe they had. Rarely                   UN
launch products in multiple markets
                                                  does the launch get delayed. But the quality definitely suffers.                                    CH
simultaneously. It is no longer
acceptable to go to market in English              START
and follow up with other languages
later. In fact, I know of products that
have been launched in non-English                  There is one way to get ahead of the review iteration                                   If your content is global-ready from the
speaking markets before ever being                                                                                                         start, the localization and translation
available in the United States or other            curve: creating global-ready content from the start.                                    process is easier. If the translation
English speaking countries.                        By this I mean writing the content from the very first word on the page with the        process is easier, it is more likely
The need to launch in multiple                     knowledge and expectation that it will be translated. I’ve written in detail about      that translators will understand and
languages from the beginning puts                  the specific things writers can do to make their content global-ready. In brief, here   accurately translate the content on the
a heavy burden on the content that                 are things you can do to make your content easy and quick to translate:                 first try. If the translation is accurate on
ships with your product. Whether it                                                                                                        the first try, the number of in-country
                                                   •	 Eliminate unnecessary words
is the user interface, the online help                                                                                                     iterations decreases. And if the number
                                                   •	 Keep sentences short                                                                 of in-country iterations decreases,
system, product documentation, or
marketing collateral, it is critical to have       •	 Use nouns with the words this, that, these, and those                                the time-to-market is significantly
the appropriate content translated into                                                                                                    faster. Your product launches on time.
                                                   •	 Use correct grammatical structures
all of your languages as efficiently as                                                                                                    Your content is accurate and easy to
                                                   •	 Eliminate idiomatic phrases                                                          read. Your customers are happy. And
possible.
                                                                                                                                           everyone wins.


                                       www.contentrules.com
                                       © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Simple Rule #8       Content Development is a Team Sport You Want to Work Alone? Become an Accountant

Silos. Everyone talks about
                                                                                                                                              better, quicker, and cheaper. How
them. Disparate groups of                                                                                                                     about a brown-bag lunch every now
people in the same company,                                                                                                                   and then?
working on the same content,                 translation. They certainly                                      they play well together. But,   For a long time, I have advocated
with absolutely no knowledge                 know when a marcom                                               when pencil meets paper,        having content creators sit side-
of each other. For example,                  campaign has flopped                                             most technical writers I        by-side with the localization team.
                                             because the content either                                       know (myself included)          Share a cube wall. Have a chat at
technical documentation and
                                             didn’t translate accurately,                                     prefer to have the lights set   the watercooler. Find out what each
localization. Or, marcom and                 wasn’t translatable to begin with,                                                               person is working on. If we spent
                                                                                                  just so, the music playing just right,
localization. Or, technical                  or lost that emotional bang that                     and block out the entire world. How         a bit more time collaborating, we’d
support knowledge-base writers               marcom materials try to achieve. But,                many times have you walked by the           spent a lot less money translating.
and localization. Pretty much                in general, content creators usually                 cube of a technical writer to find a        We’d get content to the marketplace
                                             have painfully little interaction with               piece of “caution”                                   faster and the quality of the
any group creating content                   localization and translation teams.                  tape stretched across
                                                                                                                           How about                   translations would be much
is a separate silo from the                                                                       the doorway? You         a brown-bag                 better. In fact, the quality of
                                                                        Let’s take the
group responsible                                                                                 get the picture.                                     the English source would
                                                                        average technical                                  lunch every now
for localizing and                content                               writer. I know a lot of   I don’t advocate
                                                                                                                           and then?
                                                                                                                                                       also be improved. Afterall, if
                                                                                                                                                       content is clear enough to be
translating that                                                                                  writing by committee.
content.                          creators                      them. In fact, I used             Technical writing as a task is usually
                                                                                                                                                       translated easily, it is clear
                                                                                                                                              enough for just about everyone to read
                                                                to be one. Technical              best done by an individual. However,
                                             writers are usually extremely smart,                                                             and understand it.
Sure, there are some companies                                                                    if the content is going to be localized
who have figured out that content            able to figure things out from poorly                and translated, it makes a lot of
                                             written specifications (or able to
                                                                                                                                              So, let’s throw caution [tape] to
creators and content translators                                                                  sense, and a world of difference, if
                                             create documentation from absolutely                 the writer and the localization team        the wind! Let’s chat. Let’s work
should at least know each other’s
email addresses. I’ve seen companies         no specifications), and most have an                 communicate. Perhaps including              together. Let’s create the best
where the marcom group understands           excellent command of English. Many                   localization in the review process or       content that we can, translated
(and has a large stake in) the process       of the writers I know spend a large                  post-review process would help. Or
                                                                                                                                              accurately into every language
and end product of localization and          amount of time working alone. Sure                   having a translator available to consult
                                             they are willing participants in team                with on certain sentence structures                      we can think of.
                                             meetings, they meet with subject                     or idioms would make the writing
                                             matter experts to clarify points, and                and translation of the content                               Who’s in?
                                                                                                                                          translation


                                  www.contentrules.com
                                  © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
OK, Enough with Global. Let's Talk About Next Steps.
No eBook would be complete without a short
commercial for our services. So here goes. And
don’t worry. This won’t be painful. I promise.
Since 1994. The Experts in Global Content. Every day, Content Rules
works with Global 2000 companies to create content and execute their global
content strategies. Our services span the entire content lifecycle, from content
development to global readiness. The types of projects we regularly take on
include:

                                              Project Sourcing. We have a              Managed Services. Content                 Consulting. Content Rules
                                              network of over 2,000 experienced        Rules can help you set up an entire       consultants help your company to
                                              professionals you can call upon for      department from scratch. Often,           develop content more efficiently.
                                              your next content development project.   we handle this kind of work as a          We work with you to break down
                                              Our network includes copywriters,        managed service for our clients. We       silos between departments, and
                                              editors, graphic artists, coders,        can hire all the personnel, set up        establish a common lexicon across
                                              production editors and project           the department, and establish the         SBUs (strategic busines groups)
                                              managers. Many of our clients are        editorial workflow for you, so that you   and geographies. We help you
                                              technology companies that ask us to      can be successful that much faster.       evaluate and get trained on state of
                                              source people who have experience in     At the end of the project, when all       the art tools, such as Acrolinx IQ™,
                                              the specific technologies they sell.     content has been developed, we help       a technology-assisted approach to
                                                                                       you staff down to a core team that        editing that is taking the Global 2000
                                                                                       can maintain your content. Clients tell   by storm. We can help you establish
                                                                                       us that this no fuss/no muss way of       a content strategy or take the content
                                                                                       doing business enables them to focus      strategy you have and make it global
                                                                                       on what they do best, leaving us to       in scope.
                                                                                       sweat the details involved in content
                                                                                       development.




                                   www.contentrules.com
                                   © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Get in Touch Now and Help                                          Thanks for listening to my 8 simple rules of how to
                                                                   make your content global-ready now. If you need
Communities in Africa Fight Critical                               help getting content global-ready at your company,
Medical Problems                                                   we can help.


                                                                   To get started, go to
                                                                   http://contentrules.com/landing/global-fight-critical-medical-problems

                                                                   Use this form to contact us. If you come on board as a customer
                                                                   within 90 days we’ll donate $100 on behalf of your company to
                                                                   Translators without Borders. Translators without Borders is a
                                                                   dynamite organization that we’ve teamed up with to simplify the
                                                                   source English for various documents. From there, the documents
                                                                   can be translated with ease into various African languages.
                                                                   As a result of this work, you will be helping communities on the
                                                                   ground serve their citizens better when it comes to the prevention
                                                                   and treatment of HIV, improved family planning, and reduced
                                                                   mortality rates, especially among infants and young children.




                www.contentrules.com
                © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

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8 Simple Rules to Globalize Your Content Now

  • 1. 8 Simple Rules to Globalize Your Content Now! By: Val Swisher, CEO & Founder, Content Rules http://twitter.com/contentrulesinc http://www.linkedin.com/company/ content-rules-inc www.contentrules.com
  • 2. About this eBook Years ago, one of my favorite Def. Global readiness. The ability of Luckily, there are 8 simple rules you can follow to television shows was “8 Simple your company to take the content you create for use in one geography and reduce the cost and time required to localize your Rules for Dating My Teenage reuse that content everywhere in the content. And here they are: Daughter” starring John Ritter world, without losing your shirt in the - a huge star in China BTW. process. #1 Not All Errors Are Created Equal Maybe I liked it because I had a Global readiness is important. Today, daughter just entering puberty companies must launch their products #2 Creative Writing is A Myth at the time that the show in multiple geographies more or less debuted. In the spirit of that simultaneously. If they don’t, they’ll #3 Real Editors Don’t Do It Without A Terminology Manager soon find that the market opportunities show, I created 8 simple rules and profits are capped, as more nimble on how to take the content you competitors launch “me too” products #4 Use a Red Pen on That Content & You May Lose Your Job have and make it global-ready in the markets they don’t penetrate now. My goal with this eBook is quickly. #5 No Complaining About the Quality of Your Tech Writers to have a personal conversation Again and again, clients tell me that #6 Flabby Content Will Cost You Dearly with you about easy things they face one major roadblock when you can do to support global attempting to launch their products in multiple geographies. Can you guess #7 Delay This Product Launch & There Will Be No Next readiness as you create content. what it is? It’s not regulatory affairs. Product Launch It’s not adapting the product to the requirements of the local geography. #8 Content Development is a Team Sport It’s content. If your content isn’t developed from the get-go to be global-ready, you’ll find that localization Read on as I explore each of these rules in detail. takes way too long and costs way too much. www.contentrules.com © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 3. Simple Rule #1 Not All Errors Are Created Equal Last week, I attended the Inbound Marketing cheaper to translate multiple short • Reviewer provides comments and Summit. At the summit, a very intelligent sentences? sends them back to translator and friendly person sat down with me at The translation savings is not in the • Translator makes another attempt at number of words. In fact, the true translating the long sentence lunchtime. She had a number of questions. cost of translating long sentences is Iterate with reviewer until the reviewer Among them was this: usually hidden, not monetarily is satisfied. quantified. Here’s what “What is one thing that I often happens when a Lather, rinse, and repeat these steps in as many languages as necessary. By can do to make my content translator encounters a the end, the process of translating the long sentence: easier to read?” • Translator tries to long sentence has wasted a lot of time for both the translator and the reviewer. understand the Wasted time costs a lot of money. And Write shorter sentences. author’s intent wasted time can also mean delayed This is my single piece of advice. If you do • Translator go-to-market, which costs even more only one thing, write shorter sentences. may ask for money. By the way, here is how I was originally going clarification In addition, because the long to write the three short sentences above: sentence had to be interpreted and re-interpreted, it is possible that each “If I were to pick just one thing that you translation has a different meaning. It is even possible that none of the can do to make your content easier to translated sentences even resemble read and, by extention, cheaper, easier, the author’s original intent! and faster to translate, it would be to write shorter sentences.” I’m not saying that this scenario happens all the time. I am saying that • Translator takes an if you keep your sentences short, the See how much easier my three short sentences are educated guess as to the meaning of likelihood of wasting time and money, to understand than the 35-word sentence? The short the long sentence and ending up with different meanings sentences are also cheaper, easier, and faster to is greatly reduced. I have never heard • Translator translates the sentence as translate. a translator complain about content accurately as possible having too many short, simple, and Hold on a minute, you say! Often, if we take • Translated content goes to in-country easy to understand sentences. one long sentence and break it in half, we end reviewer for review Just so you know, every time I wrote a up with more words. More words means a • Reviewer also takes an educated guess sentence in this post, I kept going back and higher cost for translation. So, how can it be on the meaning counting the words. Writing short sentences is a learned technique to be sure! www.contentrules.com © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 4. Simple Rule #2 Creative Writing is A Myth Back in the dark ages, when I simple phrase, “Click OK” written at to translate. And, it saves a lot of money. You can achieve the perfect trifecta – was growing up in New York least 12 different ways in the same cheaper, faster, better – by standardizing your content. documentation suite. Not sure what I City, I was taught to be creative mean? Whoa you say! It’s SOOOOO boring! Well, yes. It can be boring to say when I write. Even in science the same thing, the same way, every time you say it. But, if you are someone for reports (the equivalent of Click OK. whom English is a second or third language, or if you are an average American technical writing for someone with a 6th grade reading level and you are trying to configure your VCR, boring is who is 9), the rule was, never Click on OK. good! Boring is great! Especially if the boring sentence is simple, straightforward, and easy to understand. say the same thing the same Click the OK button. way twice. Always use different Whoa again you say! I write marketing material. I’m not supposed to be words. And use a lot of Click on the OK button. boring! Well, I understand. And I don’t disagree. Marketing copy is supposed to pack an emotional punch. It is supposed to keep the reader engaged and words. Using a lot of words Click the button. interested. Saying the same thing, the same way doesn’t always allow for the shows off your vocabulary. Press OK. type of creativity that most marketing writers want. I took these instructions to heart. I Press on the OK button. also think that many of the writers I know took these instructions to heart, Select OK. too. Consequently, I have seen the … you get the gist. But let's remember how you pay for translation When it comes to spending money price per # of on translation, saying the same # of word languages words thing many different ways, using as many words as possible is the kiss cost of translation of death. I’ve discussed this before, and I’ll say it again, you need to say the same thing, the same way, every time you say it. Once a segment has been translated into a particular language, the translation is stored in translation memory. As long as you use the exact same words next time, Standardizing both your you will never have to pay to have that segment translated into that language terminology and your sentences again. makes your content much easier to read. It also makes your So, if you are a marketing writer, you need to find some middle ground. You content easier and faster need to balance the emotional punch and creativity you want, with the cost of translation. Keep in mind that much of the emotional punch cannot be translated anyway. In fact, the phrase “emotional punch” is not translatable. What good is a brilliant marketing message if the rest of the world outside of the U.S. does not www.contentrules.com understand what it means? © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 5. Simple Rule #3 Real Editors Don't Do It Without A Terminology Manager Let’s talk about managing terminology. Why bother? Well that’s Why do term So, what does work? The best way easy. If you are in the content creation business, your product is lists fail? to manage terminology is to have: your words/pictures/movies. And if words are your product, you There are many reasons. In your need to care about them. You need to select them carefully and my opinion, the • A database that is shared consistently, and you need to manage them. main reason term with everyone in the entire By this I mean you need to make sure you have a consistent lexicon that is lists fail is that they organization, corporate-wide. simple, straightforward, and makes sense. And the most important word is require a pull mechanism • A mechanism by which incorrect consistent. Consistent terminology is critical for so many reasons. It: for people to use them. By terms are flagged automatically. that I mean, the author or editor needs to: • A mechanism that pushes the • Makes your content much easier to read correction to the writer or editor for people of all reading levels. • Preserves your company trademarks, MANAGE for consideration. • Know that the term in question is service marks, copyrights, and so on. managed (the company cares about In other words, an automated t seems so obvious to me, but often correct usage). way of having the lexicon • Safeguards your product and company branding. doesn’t occur to other people), the task • Know where to find the list of terms. pushed to the developer, rather e becomes how to manage it. than expecting the developer • Ensures that everyone in your to go and pull it. By sharing the organization uses the same words to The two most common ways I’ve • Get the list of terms. terminology database across the r • Search for the term and determine if it describe the same things. seen of managing terminology are company, you can make sure • Allows you to use different XML chunks Excel spreadsheets and Microsoft is allowed or prohibited (or if it even that everyone has the same list m exists in the term list at all). in a structured environment without Word tables. Usually there are at least of terms. And by using a push having to rewrite for consistency. two columns: allowed terms and • Make the correction, if necessary. technology, you can make sure i prohibited terms. Sometimes allowed that errors are identified and There is no way that this system can • Lowers the price and time it takes to translate the content into multiple terms are called preferred terms. work. When I’m in the middle of writing corrected each and every time n Sometimes prohibited terms are called they occur. languages. a document, even this blog post, I am deprecated terms. Regardless of what the terms are called and regardless simply not going to remember if a term There are various terminology o • Helps to ensure the quality and of what application is used to create is managed. Moreover, I am not going management software packages consistency of the translations. the list of terms, this type of system to stop what I am doing every 10 or 15 on the market. And without l Sure there are additional reasons to for managing terminology is simply minutes (or more frequently than that) making this post a commercial, manage terminology, but I think you a nightmare. I rarely see a company to go and look up the term in the term I want to mention that Content o catch my drift. Once we’ve established that can grow and scale using lists or list. Pull management of terminology Rules uses a sophisticated why to manage terminology (which spreadsheets as their management just doesn’t work. And if it works at terminology management g system for terminology. your company, consider yourself the system that makes sure your content is consistent each time exception rather than the norm. and every time. y www.contentrules.com © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 6. Simple Rule #4 Use a Red Pen on That Content & You May Lose Your Job I know some people who don’t Three of the tools you must implement to be 2. A sophisticated authoring tool. have a computer. I honestly Okay, I’m going to be controversial. In competitive in today’s world include: my experience and opinion, Microsoft don’t know how they live Word is not a sophisticated authoring without one, but somehow they 1. A content management system. A content management system tool. It is ubiquitous. It is easy to use for manage. I know companies provides so much structure for your work, it is hard to under-estimate the value simple documents. But, it is definitely of having one. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about content management not sophisticated. I have yet to meet that don’t have any systems systems: anyone who authors large documents for managing their workflow, A content management system (CMS) is the collection of procedures used to manage work (like multi-chapter books) in MS Word content, publishing, and so on. who does not complain bitterly 100% flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based. I honestly don’t know how they of the time. Just try typing “Hate live without them either. And The procedures are designed to do the following: Microsoft Word” into the search function in today’s global world, I’m • Allow for a large number of people to contribute to and share stored data in YouTube and you’ll see what I mean. There’s even a group on Facebook not sure they are managing • Control access to data, based on user roles (defining which information users or user devoted to hating Microsoft Word. I’m too well. groups can view, edit, publish, etc.) sure someone reading this eBook is • Aid in easy storage and retrieval of data going to tell me they love Word, but Using the right tool for the right job • Reduce repetitive duplicate input “But wait!” you say! “I’m whoever you are, you are in the minority. is extremely important. And if you are creating content that is going • Improve the ease of report writing a lone tech writer. I’m not Yet it amazes me how many companies, to be localized and translated into collaborating with anyone!” even medium-sized businesses, are still • Improve communication between users many languages, it is even more using Word to create their content. There imperative to use tools to help are many tools on the market now that manage your process. Tools abound provide advanced features for writing. Well, you might think you are in the marketplace right now and A fairly comprehensive and updated list more are being created every day. working all alone. But, you are not. You are (hopefully) working with can be found on Wikipedia. So, do your homework. engineers, QA testers, product managers, editors, illustrators, and others who are part of the process of creating your content. About 10 years ago, I was interviewing a consultant who wanted to do a writing And even if you create content all alone in a dark cave without any help from project for one of my clients. I asked her anyone, if your content is going to be translated, you are now automatically, what type of computer she used. Her defacto, collaborating with your translator(s). You may never see them or response? “Oh, I don’t use a computer. communicate with them (which is a problem unto itself that I’ve written about I use legal pads, take my notes long many times), but believe me, you are collaborating. They are going to take your hand, and then type them up.” This was content and work with it. If they can communicate with you, they’ll do an even 10 years ago. I swear. No, I didn’t hire better job. So, do yourself and your company a favor. Implement some type of her. CMS system. 3. A terminology manager. I wrote about this in Simple Rule #3. I won’t www.contentrules.com bore you with the details again. © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 7. Simple Rule #5 No Complaining About the Quality of Your Tech Writers I hear a lot of complaining these days about the quality of technical documentation being written offshore. I hear it mostly from the people who are responsible for making the decision to french german move tech docs offshore to begin with. Let me try to elucidate the english problem from end to end. chinese japanese As time has gone on, and technology commonplace now that I cannot think has become more commonplace and of one large customer who isn’t using spanish less mysterious, the information that offshore writers for at least a portion we create to explain how to install/use/ of their documentation creation. administer technology products has And, from an upper-management become less important in the eyes of perspective, it is compelling. Last time our upper management. I checked, you could Ease of use has morphed “Good enough is hire 3 writers and a into “Do we have to manager offshore for provide instructions?” good enough. I the same dollars as a Technical writing as an don’t care about single senior technical The same problems are described over and over again: art form has become writer in the U.S. commoditized. As with quality. Just make • The documentation is difficult to understand or it makes no sense grammatically. However, almost all commodities, the it cost less money.” across the board, I • Managing the project is difficult. To have a phone conference with everyone on the most important project means someone is always in their pajamas; managers here in the US feel like aspect from an upper- Scary, no? have heard complaints (and do!) work around the clock. about the quality management perspective of the content that is being written • The culture clash between the offshore groups and the U.S.-based team presents work is to get the docs created as cheaply offshore. Sure, there are exceptions. issues. as possible. I have actually heard I know a few managers who, after • The loyalty of offshore writers is almost non-existent. As soon as you have them upper-level managers say, “Good searching for months and hiring/ trained and doing a good job, they leave for a better paying opportunity elsewhere. enough is good enough. I don’t care firing many offshore writers, are finally about quality. Just make it cost less very happy. This is the exception money.” Scary, no? Now, I am not saying that all offshore situations fail or that there is no such thing rather than the rule. Most of the time, Budgets for technical documentation asking writers who have English as a as a loyal, competent offshore writer who gets along famously with the U.S. team have been slashed and much cheaper second (or third or fourth) language to and is willing to work odd hours. These people do exist. And as time goes on, the alternatives to the U.S. tech writing create technical instructions does not quality of offshore content has risen and more managers who I talk to have found market have popped up. Offshore work out well for the documentation adequate offshore help. But, I am saying that, overall, I hear more complaints than creation of technical manuals is so manager responsible for the project. compliments. www.contentrules.com © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 8. Simple Rule #5 Continued... So, what’s a tech doc manager to do? There is no magic bullet to solving with it. I also don’t know of many these problems. Usually, it takes a lot companies that have metrics for the of patience and time to find an offshore correlation between poorly written writer (let alone an offshore team) that documentation and number/cost produces to the level most technical of technical support incidents. We documentation managers would like. intuitively know that if the instructions Trying to explain to upper management are confusing, the customer is going Here are a few ideas on how to handle the mandate to reach out for help. But we don’t that penny-wise is dollar-foolish only works to a point. If the economy have actual numbers to support it. to use offshore resources that are underperforming: has tanked and budgets are being Now that many people are using • Work with other groups, such as • Examine your quality control/quality slashed, getting upper-level managers social media communities and technical support and training, to assurance processes to identify holes to pay for quality documentation forums to voice their complaints, gather metrics on customer satisfaction that you can plug. For example, see if is a Herculean task at best. the possible brand damage from as it relates to technical documentation. you can implement QC/QA tools and Sometimes, if customers complain unhappy customers is more risky. Be careful that this tactic doesn’t processes to help catch and fix errors loudly enough – usually to technical In the past, I could complain to a backfire, making you or your before the docs are released. support departments – and if the manufacturer. Now, I can complain department look worse for pointing out • Look for tools and processes that can costs of technical support skyrocket, to a forum and have many people the problem. There is always a danger help your offshore team perform better. you can get upper management to echo my dissatisfaction. Unhappy in pointing out weaknesses on your listen. Customer satisfaction scores customers can do a lot more harm team. • Solicit help from the community. If (known as “CSAT” scores) can be as a community. This argument customers are starting to complain, • Consider onshoring your content. very compelling. Unfortunately, I might be compelling and upper reach out to them and find a way to let There are areas of the U.S. where salary don’t know of many companies management might listen, but if them help make your content better. requirements and hourly rates are who measure CSAT scores for customers are already complaining User-generated content is a blessing much lower than in high-tech meccas. documentation. “Ease of installation” in droves, you have a PR nightmare and a curse. Think about what you can While I’ve never seen rates that are as is often correlated to the product itself, on your hands and it might be too do to incorporate community content low as offshore countries, you might rather than the instructions that ship late. and ideas to help. It is amazing the be able to find qualified writers here goodwill you can garner by listening to who are willing to work for compelling your customer base. wages. And when your management finally wakes up and comes to you complaining about the quality of the documentation, do your best to stay calm and remind them that you always get what you pay for. Always. www.contentrules.com © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 9. Simple Rule #6 Flabby Content Will Cost You Dearly I have said this so many times before: When it That’s real money. If you can trim even 10% of your words, you will start comes to localization, keep your content short and to see significant savings: sweet. Mainly short. The sweet part is up to you. 500,000 – 10% = 450,000 words A savings 450,000 words × 15¢/word × 8 languages = $540,000 of $60,000. Why? Because flabby content is expensive to translate. Let’s review the way you pay for translation. Translation companies charged by the To make your content skinny, remove all needless words. A needless word is any word/by the language. For example, you need to word that does not affect the meaning of the sentence. Here are a few examples translate 1,000 words into 8 languages. The average of flabby sentences: cost per word is $.15. The math looks like this: • Our software is absolutely the simplest to install. • This software is very easy to install. • It can be seen that the installation is simple. 1,000 15¢ per 8 • First, create a new form. words word languages Another place to trim your copy is to substitute single, simple $1,200 words for phrases. That doesn’t look too bad, does it? But, let’s say you have 500,000 words. For example Instead try Here’s the math: Our software works on a variety Our software works on various of platforms. platforms. 500,000 15¢ per 8 words word languages If you eliminate needless words from over 40 companies. I have found and simplify your writing, your that it is easy to eliminate 10% of the $600,000 readers will have a much easier time words. Often, we can eliminate 20% of understanding your content. Increased the words. The savings really start to comprehension is a side benefit of add up. writing skinny copy. So, put your content on a diet. Your I have analyzed over 5 million words wallet will thank you. www.contentrules.com © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 10. Simple Rule #7 Delay This Product Launch & There Will Be No Next Product Launch Time to market. Those three Unfortunately, the typical workflow for the writing and translation process rarely little words can make the affords enough time to do a quality job of creating, localizing, and translating content. Usually, content is being created alongside the product itself. As the difference between getting engineers finish aspects of the product, writers scramble to create content for ahead of your competition each part. Once the writing is complete, localization and translation takes over. and being just another maker Then, the content is translated into all of the languages. Each translation is sent of a smartphone (or whatever to the region for local language review. And, in many cases, this is where the iterations start to occur. product or service your company sells). As product It is very common for each in-country reviewer to cycle through multiple costly and time-consuming review iterations with each individual translator. Back and managers and marketeers will forth they go correcting the translations and making them appropriate to each tell you, time to market is one specific marketplace. This process can take days or even weeks to complete. of the crucial aspects of a All the while, the product team needs to launch on the scheduled date. In the product launch. end, what happens most often is that the materials go to market in a form that LA Nowadays, there is a mandate to represents the best the team could do, given the timeframe they had. Rarely UN launch products in multiple markets does the launch get delayed. But the quality definitely suffers. CH simultaneously. It is no longer acceptable to go to market in English START and follow up with other languages later. In fact, I know of products that have been launched in non-English There is one way to get ahead of the review iteration If your content is global-ready from the speaking markets before ever being start, the localization and translation available in the United States or other curve: creating global-ready content from the start. process is easier. If the translation English speaking countries. By this I mean writing the content from the very first word on the page with the process is easier, it is more likely The need to launch in multiple knowledge and expectation that it will be translated. I’ve written in detail about that translators will understand and languages from the beginning puts the specific things writers can do to make their content global-ready. In brief, here accurately translate the content on the a heavy burden on the content that are things you can do to make your content easy and quick to translate: first try. If the translation is accurate on ships with your product. Whether it the first try, the number of in-country • Eliminate unnecessary words is the user interface, the online help iterations decreases. And if the number • Keep sentences short of in-country iterations decreases, system, product documentation, or marketing collateral, it is critical to have • Use nouns with the words this, that, these, and those the time-to-market is significantly the appropriate content translated into faster. Your product launches on time. • Use correct grammatical structures all of your languages as efficiently as Your content is accurate and easy to • Eliminate idiomatic phrases read. Your customers are happy. And possible. everyone wins. www.contentrules.com © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 11. Simple Rule #8 Content Development is a Team Sport You Want to Work Alone? Become an Accountant Silos. Everyone talks about better, quicker, and cheaper. How them. Disparate groups of about a brown-bag lunch every now people in the same company, and then? working on the same content, translation. They certainly they play well together. But, For a long time, I have advocated with absolutely no knowledge know when a marcom when pencil meets paper, having content creators sit side- of each other. For example, campaign has flopped most technical writers I by-side with the localization team. because the content either know (myself included) Share a cube wall. Have a chat at technical documentation and didn’t translate accurately, prefer to have the lights set the watercooler. Find out what each localization. Or, marcom and wasn’t translatable to begin with, person is working on. If we spent just so, the music playing just right, localization. Or, technical or lost that emotional bang that and block out the entire world. How a bit more time collaborating, we’d support knowledge-base writers marcom materials try to achieve. But, many times have you walked by the spent a lot less money translating. and localization. Pretty much in general, content creators usually cube of a technical writer to find a We’d get content to the marketplace have painfully little interaction with piece of “caution” faster and the quality of the any group creating content localization and translation teams. tape stretched across How about translations would be much is a separate silo from the the doorway? You a brown-bag better. In fact, the quality of Let’s take the group responsible get the picture. the English source would average technical lunch every now for localizing and content writer. I know a lot of I don’t advocate and then? also be improved. Afterall, if content is clear enough to be translating that writing by committee. content. creators them. In fact, I used Technical writing as a task is usually translated easily, it is clear enough for just about everyone to read to be one. Technical best done by an individual. However, writers are usually extremely smart, and understand it. Sure, there are some companies if the content is going to be localized who have figured out that content able to figure things out from poorly and translated, it makes a lot of written specifications (or able to So, let’s throw caution [tape] to creators and content translators sense, and a world of difference, if create documentation from absolutely the writer and the localization team the wind! Let’s chat. Let’s work should at least know each other’s email addresses. I’ve seen companies no specifications), and most have an communicate. Perhaps including together. Let’s create the best where the marcom group understands excellent command of English. Many localization in the review process or content that we can, translated (and has a large stake in) the process of the writers I know spend a large post-review process would help. Or accurately into every language and end product of localization and amount of time working alone. Sure having a translator available to consult they are willing participants in team with on certain sentence structures we can think of. meetings, they meet with subject or idioms would make the writing matter experts to clarify points, and and translation of the content Who’s in? translation www.contentrules.com © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 12. OK, Enough with Global. Let's Talk About Next Steps. No eBook would be complete without a short commercial for our services. So here goes. And don’t worry. This won’t be painful. I promise. Since 1994. The Experts in Global Content. Every day, Content Rules works with Global 2000 companies to create content and execute their global content strategies. Our services span the entire content lifecycle, from content development to global readiness. The types of projects we regularly take on include: Project Sourcing. We have a Managed Services. Content Consulting. Content Rules network of over 2,000 experienced Rules can help you set up an entire consultants help your company to professionals you can call upon for department from scratch. Often, develop content more efficiently. your next content development project. we handle this kind of work as a We work with you to break down Our network includes copywriters, managed service for our clients. We silos between departments, and editors, graphic artists, coders, can hire all the personnel, set up establish a common lexicon across production editors and project the department, and establish the SBUs (strategic busines groups) managers. Many of our clients are editorial workflow for you, so that you and geographies. We help you technology companies that ask us to can be successful that much faster. evaluate and get trained on state of source people who have experience in At the end of the project, when all the art tools, such as Acrolinx IQ™, the specific technologies they sell. content has been developed, we help a technology-assisted approach to you staff down to a core team that editing that is taking the Global 2000 can maintain your content. Clients tell by storm. We can help you establish us that this no fuss/no muss way of a content strategy or take the content doing business enables them to focus strategy you have and make it global on what they do best, leaving us to in scope. sweat the details involved in content development. www.contentrules.com © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 13. Get in Touch Now and Help Thanks for listening to my 8 simple rules of how to make your content global-ready now. If you need Communities in Africa Fight Critical help getting content global-ready at your company, Medical Problems we can help. To get started, go to http://contentrules.com/landing/global-fight-critical-medical-problems Use this form to contact us. If you come on board as a customer within 90 days we’ll donate $100 on behalf of your company to Translators without Borders. Translators without Borders is a dynamite organization that we’ve teamed up with to simplify the source English for various documents. From there, the documents can be translated with ease into various African languages. As a result of this work, you will be helping communities on the ground serve their citizens better when it comes to the prevention and treatment of HIV, improved family planning, and reduced mortality rates, especially among infants and young children. www.contentrules.com © 2012. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.