What is content strategy, and why is it a good career path for technical writers? This talk outlines why the world needs more content strategists, and how you can make the transition to this in-demand profession.

1. @melanie_seibert #stc18
technical writer
to
content strategist
from
Melanie Seibert

2. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Technical
Writer
• Introduction
• What is Content Strategy?
• The opportunity
• How to get started
• Followup & Q&A

3. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Technical
WriterDid you ever realize too late
the value of asking
why?

4. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Technical
Writer
story
my
(as told by cats)

5. Photo credit

8. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist

9. Photo credit

10. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Technical
Writer
• Why did we need to redesign the site?
• What content do the users want?
• What’s the best way to migrate
content?
I didn’t ask:

11. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
“content strategy is to copywriting
as
information architecture is to design”
Rachel Lovinger

12. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
“If I had an hour to solve a problem and
my life depended on the solution, I would
spend the first 55 minutes determining the
proper question to ask…”
Albert Einstein

13. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
“…for once I know the proper question,
I could solve the problem in less than
five minutes.”
Albert Einstein

14. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Source: CNN.com

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Source: Andy Thammavongsa/
Twitter

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Source: CivilBeat/Twitter

17. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Source: CivilBeat/Twitter
Problem solved!

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
We work for the user.

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Technical
Writer
Never let anyone take
away your questions.

20. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Technical
Writer
The world needs more
content strategists.

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
As a technical writer,
you are qualified.

22. Source: A List Apart

23. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Technical
Writer
• Introduction
• What is Content Strategy?
• The opportunity
• How to get started
• Followup & Q&A

24. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Why content?
Content deserves our attention
because it’s integral to the UI. It
enables users to achieve their
goals in the digital product.

25. Introduction01
25

26. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Why now?
As companies adapt to new
technologies, they rely on digital
content to reach customers in
emerging channels.

27. Content 20 years ago

28. Content today

29. fluidui.com
Plus
Smart speakers
Smart watches
Refrigerators
Cars
And more
Content today

30. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
“Content strategy guides
planning for the creation,
delivery, and governance of
useful, usable content.”
Kristina Halvorson
Enter Content Strategy

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Plan the content
• user research
• inventory
• audit
• business goals

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Design the content
• brand voice and tone
• page template
• content matrix

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Deliver the content
• content modeling
• workflow
• channels & platforms

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Maintain the content
• roles & responsibilities
• governance
• rolling audits
• optimization

35. @melanie_seibert #stc18
Facebook
Updated “connect
with friends” copy
56% more clicks
or
6 million users!
Case study

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Viewed
another
way…
“The Quad”
Kristina Halvorson

37. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Technical
Writer
• Introduction
• What is Content Strategy?
• The opportunity
• How to get started
• Followup & Q&A

38. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Google trends
“content strategy”
’04 ’18

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Source:
The
Creative
Group
U.S. Starting Salaries (dollars)

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
You are qualified
because you're:
curious
adaptable
resourceful

41. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Technical
Writer
• Introduction
• What is Content Strategy?
• The opportunity
• How to get started
• Followup & Q&A

42. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
1. Audit

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
1. Audit
Quantitative
To show the magnitude
& complexity of your
site or app.

44. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
1. Audit
Quantitative
To show the magnitude
& complexity of your
site or app.
Qualitative
To help prioritize
by showing content
problems & gaps.

45. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Cool stuff happens
when you audit your content.
1. Audit

46. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
The audit helps you find questions like:
• Why are there 2 different versions of the footer? Do there need to
be?
• We call our product by one name on the homepage and another
name on the interior of the site. Is that intentional? (What do our
customers call the product?)
• We have broken links—can we remove them? If not, how do we
fix them?
1. Audit

47. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
The concept is simple:
click through your site and make a list of pages.
1. Audit

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
1. Audit

49. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
1. Audit

50. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
1. Audit

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
3 more columns:
• Findable
• Actionable
• Understandable
1. Audit

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Findable
• How easy is it to find this content by browsing?
• How easy is it to find this content by search engine? (You
can guess based on keyword usage, or if you have time, do
an actual site search and see if you can find the page. This
is a good idea if the page is really important.)
• How relevant and timely is the content? If it’s not on-topic
or up to date, search engines will penalize it.
1. Audit

53. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Actionable
• How clear are the calls to action?
• How prominent are the calls to action (buttons, links,
etc.)?
1. Audit

54. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Understandable
• Does it have the right amount of text and is it laid out well
(not in a “wall of words”)?
• Does it make good use of subheadings, bullet points, and
hyperlinks?
• Is the content clear and easy to understand?
• Does it avoid use of passive voice?
• Does it avoid use of jargon?
1. Audit

55. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
1. Audit

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
“allocate 10-15% of your job to
[the content audit].”
Lou Rosenfeld

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
The audit is iterative.

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
2. Read

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
2. Read
Halvorson
& Rach:
Content
Strategy
for the
Web

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Sheffield:
The Web
Content
Strategist’s
Bible
2. Read

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Casey: The
Content
Strategy
Toolkit
2. Read

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From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
3. Follow

63. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
3. Follow
Twitter: #contentstrategy
Facebook: Content Strategists
Slack: Content + UX
http://bit.ly/ContentUXSlack

64. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
4. Meet up

65. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
4. Meet up

66. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
5. Blog

67. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
5. Blog
Not sure what to write about?
• Book review
• Your story
• Findings from your audit
• Critique a site or app
• Thoughts on a trend

68. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
5. Blog

69. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Technical
Writer
• Introduction
• What is Content Strategy?
• The opportunity
• How to get started
• Followup & Q&A

70. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Technical
Writer
Followup: the free
email course

71. @melanie_seibert #stc18
From Technical Writer
to Content Strategist
Thanks!