3. Hilary Marsh, content strategist
Content strategy since 1999
Help content-rich organizations
conceive, create, publish,
promote, manage, and govern
their content to maximize its
findability, relevance, and usage.
4. Purpose of this workshop
• Understand the basic
principles of reader-centric
writing
• Make your content
• more engaging
• easier to read
• easier to discover, engage with, and
act on
6. Effective writing
• Sounds like the organization
• Has a goal
• Uses the active voice
• Is specific
• Is focused on the reader, NOT on your
organization
8. What does it mean to be
audience centric?
• Delivered when, where, and how they want it
• Using their words
• Show the benefit, not just state the facts
• Lead them to more
13. What audiences want
1. Give me benefits, not just information (What’s in it for me?)
2. Approach me as a person, understanding my life stage and
struggles
3. Give me the freedom to use the site as I want
4. Make it peer-centric
5. Simplify! Shorten! Avoid jargon
6. Don’t waste my time trying to find what I need
Source: American Medical Association content analysis document
14. “Users don’t care about your
org chart”
--Lou Rosenfeld
Author, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web
15. What does it mean to be
business sensitive?
• Is created to meet an explicit business goal
• Written in the organization’s voice
• Crafted in partnership with subject matter
experts
34. What does it mean to deliver a
message?
Watch these versions of the same information
(2 clips from http://www.nbc.com/chicago-med/episode-guide/season-1/
bound/106 – to parents, patient)
35. Who are you talking to?
Write for the people who read and use your content
36. The student
• Ages 22 – 26
• Worked really hard to get
into dental school
• High performer
37. The early career professional
• Age 25 – 35
• Money issues: juggling a lot
of school debt
• Joined an existing practice,
thinking about taking over
the reins
38. The achiever
• Age 35 – 50
• Runs a busy practice, may
specialize
• Went to school to learn
dentistry, but is a small
business owner as much as
a medical professional
39. The experienced pro
• Age 50+
• Has seen lots of changes in
every aspect of dentistry
and business
• Planning for / thinking
about retiring
40. What do you know about them?
• What are they already experts in?
• What don’t they know now?
• What keeps them up at night?
• How tech-savvy are they?
• What do they read?
• What do they do outside of work?
41. What are their content needs?*
Exercise 1
* Not topics, but style, pace, channels, timing
45. Reader-centered content…
• Has a goal
• Helps the reader do a task
• Is specific
• Is focused on the reader, NOT on the
organization
46.
47. What is the goal of this page?
Buy the product?
Get budget to buy the product?
Learn how to use the product?
The page must explicitly address the goal
The goal will translate to measures of success
Without those measures, it’s impossible to know whether it’s
working
48. Identify goals for your content
• Each piece of content should have a clear, well-defined focus
• Don’t try to squeeze too much into one article
• Think about what you want the user to take away from the
article
51. Introducing: the “we we” score
To convert a larger share of the
visitors, you must focus more on
the visitors than on the business.
http://www.customerfocuscalculator.com/
55. Planning for successful conversations
• What do I want to achieve from this content?
• Who am I talking to?
• What brings those people to my site or app? What are their
top tasks? Top questions? Conversations they want to start?
• Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, and focused
on what you want your site visitors to do.
- Ginny Redish, Content as Conversation
56. Write for the space
• Avoid long paragraphs or other heavy blocks of text
• Write half as much as conventional writing – people read 25
percent more slowly online
• Use bullet points, subheadings, and other visual cues to
make information more manageable
• Keep sentences short – ideally, no more than 15 words
57.
58. Clear, friendly, understandable
• Use the second person (“you”)
• Use contractions and a conversational tone
• Avoid jargon and abbreviations. If unavoidable, explain them
briefly.
• If there are steps or lists, make them explicit.
• Avoid qualifiers such as “generally” and “typically.”
• Avoid long sentences. Cut repetitive material.
59. Avoid the passive voice
Identify the passive voice
Form of “to be” + past participle = passive voice
• Dog bitten by man
• Request denied by management
• “Your request has been denied” ßby whom?
60. Avoid the passive voice
• Passive voice example:
“It was determined by the committee that the report was
inconclusive.”
• Active:
“The committee determined that the report was
inconclusive.”
61. Some notes
• Passive voice is not a grammatical error, so Word’s
grammar check will not highlight examples.
• Occasionally, passive voice can be useful or even
preferable:
• “4 percent pay hike approved by legislature”gets the important
news up front
• “Legislature approves pay hike of 4 percent” pushes it back.
Getting keywords or the most important news up front can be
important for Search Engine Optimization as well.
62. Bite, snack, meal
• Bite: A headline with a message
• Snack: A concise summary
• Meal: The full thing
– Leslie O’Flahavan, ewriteonline
http://ewriteonline.com/articles/2011/11/bite-snack-and-meal-how-to-feed-content-hungry-site-visitors/
67. How people read online
• They don’t read – when they first encounter a page, they scan it
• Users are looking for information-carrying words
• Users decide whether to continue reading a page based on the
first few words
• First paragraph or two must state the most important
information
• Users will scroll “below the fold” only if the information above it
makes them believe the rest of the page will be worth their
time
• Users dislike and skip boilerplate welcome or introduction text,
“marketese” with exaggerated claims
70. People scan, they don’t read
• They are pressed for time
• They’ve become “Twitter-ized”
• Screens are reflective and cause eye fatigue
71. Make text scannable
• “Chunk” content into sections
• Break up long passages with subheads
• Present information in short bullet points
• Use reader-focused keywords
72. What does this mean for writers?
• Write short, descriptive headlines
• Use inverted pyramid style (most important
information first)
• Use half the words you’d use in conventional writing
• Stick to one idea per paragraph
• Keep sentences clear, descriptive, and simple
• Keep sentences short – ideally, no more than 15 words
• Use the active voice as much as possible
73. Focus on the Words
Use fewer words
• Shorten verbose text, say more with less
• Write for clarity and impact
• Use standard words
74. Writing shorter is not easier
I have made this [letter]
longer than usual because I
have not had time to make it
shorter.
-- Blaise Pascal, 1657
76. What is “usable” content?
Four measures:
1. Task time: How long it takes users to find answers for specific
questions about the content
2. Errors: How well users do in getting the facts correct
3. Memory: How well users can recall the information
4. Satisfaction: How users rate the content on quality of language, ease
of use, likeability, and energy level after reading the content
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-on-the-web/
77. An example
Nebraska
is
filled
with
interna1onally
recognized
a"rac1ons
that
draw
large
crowds
of
people
every
year,
without
fail.
In
2013,
some
of
the
most
popular
places
were
Fort
Robinson
State
Park
(355,000
visitors),
Sco"s
Bluff
Na1onal
Monument
(132,166),
Arbor
Lodge
State
Historical
Park
&
Museum
(100,000),
Carhenge
(86,598),
Stuhr
Museum
of
the
Prairie
Pioneer
(60,002),
and
Buffalo
Bill
Ranch
State
Historical
Park
(28,446).
78. Shorter
Concise text
with about half the word count as the control condition
In 2013, six of the best-attended attractions in Nebraska were Fort
Robinson State Park, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Arbor Lodge State
Historical Park & Museum, Carhenge, Stuhr Museum of the Prairie
Pioneer, and Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park.
Usability improvement: 58%
79. Scannable
Scannable layout
using the same text in a layout that facilitated scanning
Nebraska is filled with internationally recognized attractions that draw large crowds
of people every year, without fail. In 2013, some of the most popular places were:
• Fort Robinson State Park (355,000 visitors)
• Scotts Bluff National Monument (132,166)
• Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum (100,000)
• Carhenge (86,598)
• Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer (60,002)
• Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park (28,446)
Usability improvement: 47%
80. Objective
Objective language
using neutral rather than subjective, boastful, or exaggerated language
Nebraska has several attractions. In 2013, some of the most-visited places were
Fort Robinson State Park (355,000 visitors), Scotts Bluff National Monument
(132,166), Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum (100,000),
Carhenge (86,598), Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer (60,002), and Buffalo Bill
Ranch State Historical Park (28,446).
Usability improvement: 27%
81. Shorter, Scannable, Objective
Combined version
using all three improvements in writing style together: concise,
scannable, and objective
In 2013, six of the most-visited places in Nebraska were:
• Fort Robinson State Park
• Scotts Bluff National Monument
• Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum
• Carhenge
• Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
• Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park
Usability improvement: 124%
86. The inverted pyramid
• Open with your conclusion or
most important point first
• Provide the most relevant and
compelling supporting
information next
• End with background
information and links related
pieces that help create
context
Most
Important
Informa1on
Suppor1ng
Informa1on
Background
89. Increase Your Content’s Readability
Flesch-Kincaid readability score is based on
• Average number of words per sentence
• Average syllables per word
• Number of passive sentences
Readability tools are a useful “early warning system” to let
writers know when their writing might be too complex
90. Increase Your Content’s Readability
Standard scoring
90-100 : Very Easy
80-89 : Easy
70-79 : Fairly Easy
60-69 : Standard
50-59 : Fairly Difficult
30-49 : Difficult
0-29 : Very Confusing
91. Increase Your Content’s Readability
Target scores
• Flesch Reading Ease test: Strive for a score of 40 or higher
• Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level test: Strive for a 10th-grade
level
• Passive sentences: Strive for a score of 15 percent or
lower
121. Writing SEO-friendly content
• Keep page goals and keywords in mind
• Use key words and phrases early
• Stay smart and user-friendly!
122. Writing mobile-friendly content
• Write fewer words
• Don’t rely on visual cues in the content – for example, “see
related links at right,” – since the visual placement of
components is likely to be rendered differently on a mobile
device
123. Writing reusable content
• Clear vs clever, especially for headlines.
A magazine cover line is not a good model for a headline
• Don’t assume context.
A headline will appear not only on a destination page but
also on a landing page, in related links, on social media, etc.