how to write effective web copy
DESCRIPTION
-What is "Effective Web Copy"? -How to plan for copy -Substance -Structure -StyleTRANSCRIPT
How!To!Write!Effective!Web!Copy
Kristina!Halvorson!!!|!!!FOWA!Miami!!!|!!!02.23.2009
FOWA!Miami!!|!!02.23.2009!!|!2
Yes.!Hello.
•
I’m!Kristina!Halvorson.
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I’m!the!President!of!Brain!Traffic!(Minneapolis,!MN).
•
I’m!an!author.!In!theory.!
–
Content!Strategy!for!the!Web!
(New!Riders!Voices!That!Matter,!Summer!2009)
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Thanks!for!having!me!in!Miami.!In!February.
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And!you!are!… ?
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Name
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Employer/Role
•
Why!you’re!here
•
One!thing!that!someone!might!not!guess!about!you
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Here’s!the!deal!for!today.
1:30"1:45pm
We’ll!talk!about!“effective!web!copy.”
1:45"2:30pm
We’ll!talk!about!how!to!plan!for!copy.
2:30"4:30pm
We’ll!discuss:
! Substance
! Structure
! Style
4:30"5:00pm
We’ll!wrap!with!collaborative,!free"for"all!Q&A.
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Suggestions.
•
Use!paper,!not!your!laptop.
•
Get!up!when!you!need!to.
•
Stop!me!for!questions.
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Don’t!make!fun!if!you!hear!my!Minnesotan!accent.
PART!ONE
What exactly is “effective web copy”?
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Effective!web!copy!…
! DELIGHTS
! SATISFIES
! HELPS!ME!DO!SOMETHING
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Delight!me.
•
Be!personable.
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Share!secrets.
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Surprise!me.
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Reward!me.
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Entertain!me.
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Make!my!life!easier,!right!now.
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Satisfy!me.
•
Know!what!I!want,!and!show!me!you!do.
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Make!it!easy.
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Deliver!on!your!promises.
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If!you!make!a!mistake,!admit!it.
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Be!consistent.
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Get!out!of!my!way.
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Help!me!do!something.
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Educate!me!…
quickly.
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Suggest!alternatives!or!add"ons!…
but!don’t!shove!
them!down!my!throat.
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Prompt!me!… in!context.
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Warn!me!… but!don’t!freak!me!out.
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Effective!web!copy!…
! Communicates!SUBSTANCE!quickly!and!clearly.
! Is!communicated!in!a!STRUCTURE!that!provides!me!with!the!necessary!context!to!act!with!confidence.!
! Is!written!in!a!STYLE that’s!personable,!respectful,!and!the!embodiment!of!your!brand!values.
PART!TWO
How To Plan for Web Copy (or, “Content Strategy”)
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My!favorite!web!copy!myths.
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“We!can!figure!it!out!later.”
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“The!copy!shouldn’t!be!that!big!of!a!deal.”
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“We!already!pretty!much!know!what!we!want!to!say.”
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“We!already!have!most!of!the!content.”
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“I!should!be!able!to!take!care!of!most!of!this!myself.”
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To: Kristina Halvorson Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 3:21 PMSubject: RE: hey there!
… This is a very large client who is building a site using a number of different agencies. When it came to the content discussion the room just threw their hands up in the air (literally and figuratively) because no one had said they’d be responsible.
The site is going to be very content heavy and they want to launch July 15.
Interested?
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SRSLY, PPL.
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Writing!is!hard. Writing!for!the!web!is!a!bitch.
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Write!for!online!readers
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Define!requirements
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Plan!workflow
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Agree!on!editorial!standards:!voice,!tone,!usage,!format
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Schedule!updates
•
Find!all!the!“other”
content
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ORGANIZING!INFORMATIONBusiness!strategyContent!modelInformation!architectureVocabulary!controlCategorization/classificationInterface/interaction!design
WORKFLOW!RULESBusiness!rulesPolicies/proceduresRoles/responsibilitiesContent!owners!Editors/publishers
CREATE!AND!EDITAuthoringCapture/collectAcquisitionConversionAggregationIngestion/DRMEditing!ToolsMetadata!TaggingLibrary!Services
COLLABORATIONSBlogsWikisForumsMailing!lists
CRMContact!infoAccess!controlLDAPUser!databases
DATABASES!+!REPOSITORIES
Content!databasesFile!systemNative!XMLDocumentsRecordsImages/multimediaData!warehousesLegacy!systems
ASSEMBLING!VERSIONS
VersioningVersion!controlContent!typesTemplatesNavigationMultilingualComplianceReuseRollback
PUBLISHING!CHANNELSPUSHStatic/dynamicMultichannel!delivery
PrintWebPDA/cellPDFEmail
PersonalizationLocalizationRights!managementPULLSyndicationWeb!servicesSearch!engingEcommerce
ARCHIVE!+!DESTROYRetention!policyKnowledge!base
CONTEXT USERSUser"centered!design!!!!!!!!!!!!!User!experience!!!!!!!!!!!!!User!testing
cmsreview.com/stages
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Writers!don’t!have!the!tools!to!deal.
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Articles
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Menu!items
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Buttons
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Link!naming
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Error!messages
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Task!instructions
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Search!returns
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Metadata
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Before!you!start!writing!…
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Do!an!audit.
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Create!a!content!inventory.
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Do!a!gap!analysis.
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Create!a!style!guide.
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The!audit
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What!copy!do!I!need?
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What!other!copy!do!I!need?
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Speaking!of!which,!where!do!I!need!copy?
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Also,!is!there!more!copy!I!need?
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The!content!inventory
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The!gap!analysis
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What’s!missing?
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Where!can!I!get!it?
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When!do!I!need!it?
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The!style!guide
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Brand!values
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Voice!and!tone!guidelines
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Usage!guidelines!(like,!“the!Web”
not!“the!web”)
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Recurring!textual!elements
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Legal!requirements
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The!style!guide:!Example
All!copy!should!sound:!
•
Clear!and!easy!to!follow:!Keep!writing!brief,!clean,!and!to"the"point.!
Use!crisp!language.!Introduce!your!point!early!without!complicated!
language!or!lengthy!clauses.!
•
Engaging!and!casual:
Write!the!way!our!customers!converse!with!family!
and!friends.!Use!warm!language!and!a!strong,!descriptive!style.!
•
Upbeat!and!encouraging:!Speak!in!terms!of!users’
interests,!goals,!and!
challenges.!Use!active,!forward"looking!statements.!Present!solutions!
and!ideas!in!a!positive,!informative!manner.!
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The!style!guide:!Example
PART!THREE Substance
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Getting!at!substance!(the!“what”)
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What!do!you!NEED!to!say?
...!to!support!the!successful!attainment!of!user!goals
•
What!do!you!WANT!to!say?
… to!meet!your!own!business!objectives
PART!FOUR Structure
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Your!mission
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Get!out!of!your!user’s!way.
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Two!books!that!talk!about!this!brilliantly:
–
Designing!the!Obvious
by!Robert!Hoekman,!Jr.
–
Don’t!Make!Me!Think
by!Steve!Krug
FOWA!Miami!!|!!02.23.2009!!|!46
Being!smart!about!structure!(the!“where”)
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Where!should!this!copy!appear!on!the!page?
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Being!smart!about!structure!(the!“when”)
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When!should!this!copy!appear!in!the!application!design?
–
To!support!successful!task!completion
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To!influence!behavior
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How!will!this!copy!impact!the!user’s!attitude?
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I!want!to!get!in,!get!this!done,!get!out
–
I!need!help!making!a!choice
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One millllllllllllllllllllion dollars
PART!FIVE Style
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All!great!web!writing!is!…
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Personable
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Clear
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Concise
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Respectful
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Customer"facing
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Often,!crappy!web!writing!is!…
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Overwritten
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Lazy!about!spelling!and!grammar
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Lacking!focus
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Hard!to!act!upon
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All!about!you
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Rethink!your!approach.•
NO
–
What!do!I!want!to!tell!you?
–
What!do!I!want!you!to!understand?
–
What!do!I!wish!you!would!do?
–
How!can!I!make!you!care?
•
YES
–
What!do!you!want!to!know?
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What!do!you!need!to!do?
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What!do!you!need!to!feel!comfortable!and!smart?
–
What!do!you!care!about!…
really?
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Let’s!do!the!Top!10!List!thing.
•
Because!everyone!loves!a!good!top!10!list.
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1.!!Less!is!more
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Don’t!get!in!the!way!of!your!reader!gathering!information!or!
completing!a!task.
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Cut!all!unnecessary!words.!Then!cut!some!more.
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GET!OUT!OF!YOUR!READER’S!WAY.
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2.!Get!to!the!point!
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Boredom!=!immediate!departure
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Save!your!niceties!for!when!they!call.
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Step!into!your!reader’s!shoes.!!
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What!information!do!I!want?
–
What!do!I!want!to!do?
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3.!Learn!to!love!the!inverted!pyramid.!
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Not!…– Problem!statement!– Related!work!– Methodology!– Results!– Conclusions!
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But!…
– Conclusion– Supporting!information– Background,!technical!details
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4.!Lead!with!active!words.!
You!know!you’re!getting!a!great!deal!every!time!you!log!on!to!
Target.com.!We!have!everyday!low!prices,!fabulous!money"
saving!offers!and!all!your!favorite!products,!right!here!online,
24!hours!a!day.
For!fabulous!savings!and!everyday!low!prices,!shop!online!24!
hours!a!day!at!Target.com.
Save!more!money.!!Shop!Target.com.
FOWA!Miami!!|!!02.23.2009!!|!79
5.!Use!simple!sentences.
•
Complex:
Best!Buy!Co,!Inc.!is!North!America’s!leading!specialty!retailer!
of!consumer!electronics!and!appliances,!operating!nearly!
700!retail!stores!in!the!United!States!and!Canada!under!the!
names!Best!Buy,!Future!Shop,!Geek!Squad!and!Magnolia!
Audio!Video.
•
Simple:
Best!Buy!Co.,!Inc.!is!North!America’s!leading!specialty!retailer!
of!consumer!electronics!and!appliances.!!We!operate!nearly!
700!retail!stores!in!the!United!States!and!Canada.!!Our!
subsidiaries!include!Best!Buy,!Future!Shop,!Geek!Squad!and!
Magnolia!Audio!Video.
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•
Put!the!reader!in!control.
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Paragraphs:!40"60!words.
6.!Break!it!up.
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•
Bulleted!lists
•
Hierarchical!headings
•
Clean!up!your!columns
•
See!Luke!Wroblewski’s
presentation,!Content!Page!Design!
Best!Practices:!http://tr.im/gHgP
7.!Design!for!scan!readers.
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8.!!Write!killer!headings!
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I’m!not!reading.!!I’m!scanning.
•
Just!tell!me!what!I’m!going!to!find!on!that!page!or!in!that!
paragraph.
•
Use!keywords.
•
Don’t!be!clever.
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9.!Set!expectations.!
•
Deliver!on!your!promises.
•
Tell!people!how!much,!how!long,!how!often.
•
Make!sure!links!match!section!(or!page)!titles.!
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9½.!!“Click!here”
is!out!
Click!here
to!contact!us
Click!here
to!find!out!more
Click!here
to!order!now
Click!here
to!sign!up!for!our!e"newsletter
Contact!us
Learn!more
Order!now
Sign!up!for!our!e"newsletter
FOWA!Miami!!|!!02.23.2009!!|!91
10.!!Lighten!up.!•
Readers!want!to!enjoy!their!visit.
•
Be!intimate,!friendly,!respectful.
•
Use!contractions,!common!language.
•
Make!your!reader!feel!smart,!not!stupid.
PART!SIX Discuss
Hey,!thanks!
blog
http://braintraffic.typepad.com
@halvorson
Kristina!Halvorson!!!|!!!FOWA!Miami!!!|!!!02.23.2009