Content! content! content! : People come for the content ; Content = conversation ; Web = phone, not file cabinet ; Online, people skim and scan ; People do read online -- sometimes ; People don't read more because ... ; Writing well = having successful conversations ; Case studies : Conversing well with words ; Conversing well with few words ; Revising web words -- Planning: purposes, personas, conversations : Why? Know what you want to achieve ; Who? What's the conversation? : Gather information about your site visitors; List groups of site visitors; List major characteristics for each group; Understanding the conversations they want to start ; Breathing life into your data with personas ; Breathing life into your data with scenarios -- Interlude 1: Content strategy : Why is content strategy so important? ; What is content strategy? ; What does content strategy cover? ; Who does content strategy? ; Seven steps to carry out a content strategy -- Designing for easy use : Integrate content and design from the beginning ; Build in flexibility for universal usability ; Color ; Space ; Typography ; Putting it all together: a case study : Revising a poorly designed web page -- Starting well: home pages : Home pages: content-rich with few words ; Be findable through search engines ; Identify the site ; Set the site's tone and personality ; Help people get a sense of what the site is all about ; Continue the conversation quickly ; Send each person on the right way -- Getting there: pathway pages : Site visitors hunt first ; People don't want to read while hunting ; A pathway page is like a table of contents ; Sometimes, short descriptions help ; Three clicks is a myth ; Many people choose the first option -- Breaking up and organizing content : Think "information," not "document" ; Divide your content thoughtfully ; Consider how much to put on one web page ; Use sparingly and only for good reasons -- Focusing on conversations and key messages : Seven guidelines for focusing on conversations and key messages : Give people only what they need ; Cut! cut! cut! And cut again! ; Think "bite, snack, meal" ; Start with your key message ; Layer information ; Break down walls of words ; Plan to share and engage through social media -- Interlude 2: Finding marketing moments : Marketing on the web is different: pull not push ; Join the site visitor's conversation ; Find the right marketing moments ; Don't miss good marketing moments ; Never stop the conversation -- Announcing your topic with a clear headline : Seven guidelines for headlines that work well : Use your site visitors' words ; Be clear instead of cute ; Think about your global audience ; Try for a medium length (about eight words) ; Use a statement, question, or call to action ; Combine labels (nouns) with more information ; Add a short description if people need it.
Includes useful headings : Good headings help readers in many ways ; Thinking about headings also helps authors ; Eleven guidelines for writing useful headings : Don't slap headings into old content ; Start by outlining ; Choose a good heading style: questions, statements, verb phrases ; Use nouns and noun phrases sparingly ; Put your site visitors' words in headings ; Exploit the power of parallelism ; Use only a few levels of headings ; Distinguish headings from text ; Make each level of heading clear ; Help people jump to content within a web page ; Evaluate! Read the headings -- Interlude 3: The new life of press releases : The old life of press releases ; The new life of press releases ; How do people use press releases on the web? ; What should we do? ; Does it make a difference? -- Tuning up your sentences : Ten guidelines for tuning up your sentences : Talk to your site visitors: Use "you" ; Use "I" and "we" ; Write in the active voice (most of the time) ; Write short, simple sentences ; Cut unnecessary words ; Give extra information its own place ; Keep paragraphs short ; Start with the context ; Put the action in the verb ; Use your site visitors' words -- Using lists and tables : Six guidelines for useful lists : Use bulleted lists for items or options ; Match bullets to your site's personally ; Use numbered lists for instructions ; Keep most lists short ; Try to start list items in the same way ; Format lists well ; Lists and tables: what's the difference? ; Six guidelines for useful tables : Use tables for a set of "if, then" sentences ; Use tables to compare numbers ; Think tables = answers to questions ; Think carefully about the first column ; Keep tables simple ; Format tables well -- Interlude 4: Legal Information can be clear : Accurate, sufficient, clear: you can have all three ; Avoid archaic legal language ; Avoid technical jargon ; Use site visitor's words in headings -- Writing meaningful links : Seven guidelines for writing meaningful links : Don't make new program or product names links by themselves ; Think ahead: launch and land on the same name ; For actions, start with a verb ; Make the link meaningful ; Don't embed links (for most content) Make bullets with links active, too ; Make unvisited and visited links obvious -- Using illustrations effectively : Five purposes that illustrations can serve : Exact item: what customers want to see? ; Self-service: what helps people help themselves? ; Process: will pictures make words memorable ; Charts, graphs, maps: do they help site visitors get my message? ; Mood: which pictures support the conversation? ; Seven guidelines for using illustrations effectively : Don't make people wonder what or why ; Choose an appropriate size ; Show diversity ; Don't make content look like ads ; Don't annoy people with blinking, rolling, waving, or wandering text or pictures ; Use animation only where it helps ; Make illustrations accessible -- Getting from draft to final : Read, edit, revise, proofread your own work ; Share drafts with colleagues ; Walk your personas through their conversations ; Let editors help you ; Negotiate successful reviews (and edits) -- Interlude 5: creating an organic style guide : Use a style guide for consistency ; Use a style guide to remind people ; Don't reinvent ; Appoint and an owner ; Get management support ; Make it easy to create, to fine, and to use -- Test! test! test! : Why do usability testing ; What's needed for usability testing ; How do we do a usability test? ; What variation might we consider? ; Why not just do focus groups? ; A final point: test the content!!
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