Dan Ariely, a professor of psychology at Duke, recently tweeted: "If we have data, let’s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine." I think that sums up why data should be a part of your content strategy. I wrote a post for TriUXPA on how to use...
I wrote a post for Triangle UXPA's blog about how content strategy is essential in user experience design. Check it out: Content Strategy in User Experience Design: The Prophets in the Process
The content inventory is the unsung hero of content strategy – it’s an invaluable tool for content planning, but few people want to hike that deep into forest. It can get scary out there. I'll admit it: creating a content inventory is monotonous work. But the value of...
If you want a successful content project, start with step one. Before the content launches, before the writing begins -- before anything, really -- start with content requirements. Content requirements can be simple. Sometimes called a content brief, the document's...
In Don't Make Me Think, an excellent book on usability basics, Steve Krug talks about a trunk test. The gist: if you were stuffed in the trunk of a car, moved to a location, and then let out of the trunk, could you figure out where you are? The idea in relation to Web...
I am attracted to the new, the exciting, the different. I assume you are, too. As a writer, writing the same old thing 50 different ways is not new or exciting. In fact, that’s writing at its most boring. But, in a lot of instances, readers find it more valuable than...
All writers have a grammar pet peeve list -- phrases and writing errors that really get under our skin. It's/its. Their/there. But I think there's a whole other list of web writing pet peeves, and one sits at the very top: click here. Click here, when used as link...
Over the weekend I had to explain what I do to someone who doesn't deal with content, and I found it a good exercise. Finding the right words to make foreign concepts relevant and doing it succinctly -- that's a hallmark of good content. I wear many hats, but the most...
For an existing site, one of the first things I recommend is a content assessment. This process involves evaluating the content on the page for clarity and comprehension, but also looking for what is missing. To do this, I have to think like a new user, but I also...