1. @steph_hay
WHO CARES
ABOUT CONTENT?
steph hay {BT} nov 22, 2011
Hey! Thanks for being interested in content. I love you.

2. WHO DAT
I’m here because I care about content. A lot. Also I’m here because Marc asked me to come. Which is great. And plus Stefan told him I should
speak. Which is uber great. Thanks dudes!

3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/stn1978/5387611987/
THANKS MARC
I didn’t ask Stefan permission for this. Thanks Stefan.

4. ABOUT CONTENT
I CARE
I care about compelling content -- the kind of content that makes you want to DO something.

5. http://www.firebox.com/product/4719/Original-Beard-Hats?aff=512&awc=550_1321540108_1cc8bf4fa2db6885c466422ffb37eaa5
YOU ARE AWESOME
YOU WANT TO CONVEY TO USERS THAT
At some point, you and possibly a team of folks already made the decision that you want to compel someONE to do someTHING, like actually
READ your website, buy your app, vote for your congressperson, whatever. But really, above all else, you want the user to know that what you’re
promoting (be it a product or an experience) is quite kick-ass.
What you’re creating -- whether you’re designing a more topical, marketing website for consumers targeting some fairly high-level categorical
audience (you know, like “women”) or maybe a more niche, user-centric ipad, mobile, or web application -- will determine how your process likely
unfolds from there.
But let’s just say for purposes of this discussion that we’re designing a brochure-ware sort of marketing-focused website for our company, which is
a “full-service web consulting agency.”
So we might follow a process that looks similar to this:

6. CREATIVE BRIEF
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
WIREFRAMES
DESIGN MOCKS
BUILD!
SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION
CONTENT
QA + UNNECESSARY TWEAKS
LAUNCH!
In this sort of a common process, you might start from a common document like a creative brief, which captures the goals of the project and
outlines audiences, then move sufficiently through IA, wireframes, and comp iterations before getting approval to build it. Near the end, you might
pull in a Twitter feed, populate blank pages with content, do final QA and some maddening tweaks, then launch it.

7. CREATIVE BRIEF
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
WIREFRAMES
DESIGN MOCKS
BUILD!
SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION
CONTENT
QA + UNNECESSARY TWEAKS
LAUNCH!
So we think about content at the start -- when we’re creating the IA (which should be driven by content priorities) -- and at the end. But ignoring
(for now) the obvious vacuum of content in this process, we might arrive at a final website that has this formulaic-type of content:

8. WE BUILD SITES
DESIGN MOBILE
CREATIVE
TALENTED TEAM
DEVELOPERS
SUBMIT YOUR EMAIL
TWITTER
THANK YOU.
Here are some words about WHAT we do, WHO we are, and HOW a user can get ahold of us.
Pretty straightforward.

9. WE BUILD SITES
DESIGN MOBILE
CREATIVE
TALENTED TEAM
DEVELOPERS
SUBMIT YOUR EMAIL
TWITTER
THANK YOU.
?
But this is what our competition does! And in almost the exact same way! In fact, this is what the great majority of sites out there does -- they talk
about who they are and what they offer, but they miss the mark when it comes to bear hugging the user. Content needs to compel the user to *do*
something ... to feel confident in believing that you’re what they’ve been searching for. To rise above the many other people who seemingly do
what you do, to degrees of subjective quality that the user can determine.
And I think that’s accomplished by writing content that has three elements:

10. 3 ELEMENTS OF COMPELLING CONTENT
Focus
Credibility
Consistency
Compelling writing that conveys importance has 3 primary elements: focus, credibility, and consistency. THESE THREE ELEMENTS extend
beyond your typical website or application content creation process and into all your writing -- from email to Twitter, SMS messages, bios or
Facebook pages.
So I encourage you to consider these three elements from a rather global perspective and incorporate them increasingly into everything you write.

11. MAKE NO MISTAKE...
This
is
Hard
So the one caveat to everything I’ll discuss related to focus, credibility, and consistency is that achieving them every time is HARD. And not just
because it takes a strategic mind to consider how content can bridge business, marketing, and user experience goals. But also because it may
challenge that process I mentioned earlier -- it likely will require some re-thinking to integrate content into the wireframing and comp process. And
into the build, where content is equally essential. But it’s certainly possible, and just prioritizing the written word and taking one step and a time is
the best way to start moving forward toward more compelling content.
BUT BEFORE YOU TYPE A SINGLE THING....

12. FOCUS
IN WHICH AREAS CAN
BE DEMONSTRATED?
Consider this: Why are we writing in the first place?

13. FOCUSED CONTENT CONSIDERS...
Audience
Medium
Network
As with all things, you need to understand a few key pieces: Audience, Medium, and Network. Understanding the potential of these three areas
BEFORE you start writing will actually shape HOW you write.

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AUDIENCE
To whom are you PRIMARILY sending a message. Instead of thinking of broad, generic demographics, consider ONE person. Sitting across the
table from you.
What does that person look like? What kind of day is he having? How do you want the user to FEEL when she discovers you? And what do you
want the reader to *DO* when she reads your content? Is she a government person, hipster, baby boomer, or teenager? How web savvy is she?
What questions does she have that you can answer BEFORE she asks them?

15. AUDIENCE
Don’t: Consider everyone.
Do: Focus on *one* ideal
person, then speak
directly to him or her.
Writing for one person makes writing easier. You can imagine the conversation. You can write for that ideal conversation.
And after you’ve got some basic content that successfully speaks to this particular, primary audience, you can always go back to find the ways in
which additional or different content can be layered in to reach secondary or tertiary audiences. But if you start there -- trying to speak to every
audience at once -- you will have a much tougher time writing targeted, focused content right out of the gate.

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MEDIUM
Now that you know specifically to whom you’ll be communicating with your writing, consider which ways you can send that message.
Content will vary from web and mobile to email to LinkedIn profiles, Twitter updates, blog posts, business cards. Your method of delivering that
content is, arguably, a part of the message itself, so consider how you can best leverage the characteristics of each. For example, maybe you
CAN get away with creating a 2-3 page website with links to additional information that lives elsewhere, such as in a blog, on GetSatisfaction, or
on Twitter. As long as these additional media have been considered as part of a holistic approach to your content strategy, then you can feel
confident that your writing is going to complement itself across several channels and, hopefully, thereby paint a more vibrant picture of whatever
you’re offering.

17. MEDIUM
Don’t: Think in isolation.
Do: Capitalize on other
communication channels
to tell your story.
The flip side of course is that by taking stock of additional media, you’ll have to make sure they don’t undermine the work you’re putting into
writing specific content to begin with. There’s always a (pretty good) chance that people will Google your name or the product’s name before they
take action, so be sure that the various media promoting your work are aligned. And consider how you can better align them to provide a
comprehensive view of your awesomeness.

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NETWORK
Now that you’ve thought about your audience and the various media you can use to communicate with that audience, consider your network:
which people or influencers around you are going to facilitate those messages or serve as a reference to your product or service? Which people
do you owe a major responsibility to INDEED, BE AWESOME, well AFTER they refer you as being awesome?

19. NETWORK
Don’t: Forget others’ reach.
Do: Consider how your
network will describe
you -- and influence
your target audience.
The most active people who could be willing to help you might actually help you shape the content BECAUSE OF the people they’ll connect you
with. For example, if you know the editor of a major tech magazine, and that editor wants to write a glowing review of your app, you may in fact
decide to tailor some of the content you’re writing to appeal to the reader of that magazine. In doing so, you’ll be positioning the app to better align
with the readership, and hopefully increasing its likelihood of traction for that audience.
Or, you’ll at least call in a copy editor to go through everything with a fine-toothed comb to ensure nothing trivial like typos exist. After all, because
that editor is willing to offer such support, you have an a responsibility to NOT make the editor look like an asshole. Your network of people
SHOULD INSPIRE YOU TO WORK HARDER at making sure your writing doesn’t undermine your credibility or theirs.
SO, now that you’ve focused on your target audience, media for delivering messages, and network who help with connecting you with potential
adopters, it’s time to write credible content.

20. CREDIBILITY
IN WHICH WAYS CAN
BE CONVEYED?
In many ways, your content *is* your credibility. It’s what you’re saying, or it’s what others are saying about you. It’s separate from design,
features, and social media channels. It’s the thought behind each purposeful word.

21. CREDIBLE CONTENT IS...
Meaningful
Helpful
Results-Oriented
Confident
Credible content seems to universally have four qualities. It (1) substantively says something to convey meaning (2) Explicitly tells users what
they should do (3) Describes to users what outcome will be bestowed upon them should they choose to engage, and (4) Is confident -- without
being conceited -- which inherently makes users feel more confident about their decision to engage. And I’ll illustrate each of these qualities with
examples found in websites and applications online today.

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MEANINGFUL
ONLY WRITE CONTENT THAT’S
Compelling content serves a purpose. It’s substantive. It’s written for the reader. It’s written to illustrate what can’t be gleaned fully from visuals.
But, above all else, it’s written to communicate a message.

23. As an example of a site that starts describing the results of their efforts -- then interjects ambiguity that questions their credibility -- is here.
If you have nothing substantive to say, don’t add some meaningless crap to fill space. No one on Earth likes to read meaningless crap when
they’re trying to LEARN something.

24. ONLY WRITE CONTENT THAT’S MEANINGFUL
Don’t: Fill space.
Do: Take the time to ensure
your writing *says
something.*
If you’re going to make a page or a product, it should without a doubt add value to the user’s experience. And you should take the time to ensure
that value is obvious in every word choice. You can’t afford to leave your users hanging. And if you don’t have something meaningful to say
beyond a few bullet points, then don’t! Just really knock it out of the park with the meat of the message you DO have.

25. Designer David Desandro actually describes HOW he got a result -- in plain English -- that, in its honesty and knowledge sharing, is both
endearing and interesting. This is meaningful stuff to a front-end developer and reinforces his credibility AS a front-end developer.

26. The National Breast Cancer Foundation here is intentionally trying to push empowerment as a primary message. All of the content has meaning to
their target audiences, and credibility is crucial to their efforts in being the resource for finding meaningful information related to breast cancer.

27. LifeLock’s content is meaningful to anyone concerned with identity theft (which maybe is all of us). But in this case, they have content catered
toward HOW identity theft happens as told by someone who experienced it herself. This first-person storytelling of something meaningful (which in
this case is also the problem statement), reinforces LifeLock’s credibility as a provider of services catered toward preventing identity theft.

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HELPFUL
BE
Credibility is also reinforced when you’re obviously trying to help your user DO something on the site.

29. This is an example of a missed opportunity. For me, 2 questions come up immediately: What is this, and what am I supposed to do with it?
Layout aside (though content is very much intimately related with layout, design, and functionality), engaging your audience with obvious
language is absolutely essential to encourage adoption. There’s nothing helping me to my destination, and as a result, I’m finding myself
questioning the credibility of this site.

30. BE HELPFUL
Don’t: Assume users know
what to do.
Do: Tell users what you want
them to do.
It’s really the minority of people, companies, and products out there who can rely entirely on assumptions about the user -- namely, that the user
ALREADY KNOWS EVERYTHING S/HE IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW when s/he arrives at your site or application. And even when you do rely on
assumptions or minimize the amount of content you include, it can’t be at the expense of usability.
So, if you’re the vast majority of folks out there in today’s competitive marketplace, don’t assume. Have fun enthusiastically explaining yourself,
but be sure to blatantly tell (or show) your users what you want them to do. Be helpful!

31. DEMONSTRATE ENGAGEMENT
Freelancer Portfolio of Len Damico: Here’s what I do in plain English, here’s my face, here’s a bit about how I help your brand, check out some of
my work, and then contact me. Simple, frank, approachable. And definitely helpful in a way that reinforces his credibility.

32. The TribalDDB site is helpful even if you didn’t mean to land on their site.

33. Admittedly, I am a huge Mint.com fan. And I appreciate that they’ve taken some time to try and explain what they’re all about in a way that
describes how the product can benefit the user. It’s especially crucial to Mint that they be helpful and credible, because they’re asking users to
input bank account information! But on the homepage alone, they start very strategically with content that helps me to know what I’m supposed to
do here (both in written content and in the video content alongside it), which reinforces their credibility.

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RESULTS-ORIENTED
KEEP CONTENT
So now you’ve created meaningful content, you’ve told the user what to do, and now you have to describe the benefits they’ll get ONCE they take
advantage of your product or services. The result is so important.

35. In this case, it’s just a choose-your-adventure style listing of packages and features. But if I’m looking at you versus the rest of the competition
(who does this), then maybe I’ll be choosing a vendor based on price, or design, or something that has nothing to do with how you provide service
to me as the client.

36. KEEP CONTENT RESULTS-ORIENTED
Don’t: Just list what you DO.
Do: Explain what awesome
things users will GET
from you.
There’s always an opportunity to describe WHAT your users will get by choosing YOU, so don’t blow it! Tell users what they get from you that’s
different from what they get from others who offer the same thing as you.

37. The BentheBodyguard.com website, which I’ll get into in more detail later, is a great example of writing compelling content that’s results oriented.
What you DON’T see here in the heading is a product-specific angle of content; that is to say, it would have been MUCH easier to write “PRIVATE
CONTACTS,” which is what the app *does.* Instead, they made it about the user’s benefit -- protect your friends -- which is a result that goes
BEYOND the feature set itself and reaches into the daily life and challenges of the user.

38. Kenny Meyers talks about beating the crap out of projects and how his clients will learn the fine tradition of a weekend. If you’re someone with a
project and you aren’t sure how it’s going to get done, this, at the very least, is the kind of result you’re looking for. And the work included on this
page (beneath the screenshot) continues to reinforce the credibility he’s rather colorfully demonstrating here.

39. Nike Better World -- Here’s an example of a big brand that’s taking a humorous approach to its results. Of course, they don’t really mean that their
products themselves are rubbish, but literally they are -- at least, in terms of their production process, which includes using recycled materials
from landfills. This is a perfect example of writing results-oriented content that aligns with the greater mission of this particular microsite, which is
about Nike’s commitment to communities and the world around us, which certainly is reinforcing of its credibility. Brilliant.

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CONFIDENT
BE
, NOT CONCEITED
Now that you’ve been promoting all the great results users can expect to receive if they engage, be careful to sidestep arrogance or conceit. This
can be tricky, especially with the conversational nature of web, email, and social media.
We’ve all come across content that assumes its parent is so NATURALLY BADASS that words are unnecessary. In a small number of cases, this
is true. But even your fans may be turned off if you just get cocky or think you’re above reproach -- take Groupon and their SuperBowl ads, for
example. Someone wrote -- and a lot of people approved -- what many considered to be poor-taste humor that came across as arrogant and
impacted (negatively) their credibility.

41. Truthfully, this established agency has good reason to promote its accomplishments -- because they’re so many in number and because its
worked hard to earn them.

42. You may have significant rights to be confident if you’ve got 870 things people can read-through, but you want to be careful to sidestep conceit. I
mean, why even suggest to the user that s/he might have the time to read through 870 more praises of your company -- instead of just selecting
what’s most important and portraying confidence through quality (rather than quantity)?

43. BE CONFIDENT, NOT CONCEITED
Don’t: Over promote.
Do: Showcase confidence
while being humble.
Be selective. Talk about what makes your product or service EXTRAORDINARY. Sometimes being humble actually promotes your confidence and
therefore serves well to reinforce your credibility, like in this next example.

44. Sometimes you can say a lot in just a few words -- like Action Marketing Group. They’re confident they can give you a great experience in 2
seconds or 2 minutes -- and they’re giving YOU the choice -- which I think reinforces their credibility.

45. Peerless makes these hilarious instruction manuals with hand-drawn illustrations, and they work really hard to convey their personality online, too.
On their homepage is “Shameless Faucet Showoffery” where they actually promote their fixtures in homes, and that’s more confident than a
typical faucet factory shop that might just talk about specs and show a picture. Peerless is obviously proud of what they do and that confidence
reinforces their credibility.

46. Southwest is the king (or queen) of puns. And that somewhat corny approach to their language is a huge differentiator in the airline industry -- they
openly and confidently talk about the fine print in a ton of their communications. Rather than keeping it corporate and purposefully ambiguous,
they surface hot-button issues, describe their stance on it, and then give an easy link to learn about the fine print. The language on Southwest’s
site consistently is confident without conceit, and it’s always worked to reinforce their credibility across a wide expanse of branding opportunities.
And that consistency brings me to the last point of this talk.

47. CONSISTENCY
IN WHICH AREAS CAN
BEST BE ACHIEVED?
Last but DEFINITELY not least, the third element, consistency, is the easiest to achieve -- and the most often overlooked. It takes TIME and an
informed set of eyes. GLARING grammatical or spelling errors are obvious credibility killers, but beyond those, compelling content that achieves
consistency is truly detail-oriented writing.

48. CONTENT IS CONSISTENT IN ITS...
Structure
Voice
Style
The three areas of real opportunity for consistency to be realized is in structure, voice, and style.

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STRUCTURE

50. STRUCTURE
+ Lead with the meat
+ Include what’s relevant
+ Use keywords throughout

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VOICE

52. VOICE
+ Write in a genuine tone
+ Avoid bloated statements
+ Rewrite anything that
sounds ridiculous when
read out loud

53. Copyright © Lemuhr http://acidcow.com/pics/4553-dead-flies-art-15-pics.html
STYLE

54. STYLE
+ To end (or not) lists with
full-stops
+ Capitalization, punctuation
in headings
+ Website/web site, log in,
sign up

55. Woot continues to be a leader in intentional writing. The product descriptions are perfectly balanced between hilarious, entertaining storytelling
and true, technical product descriptions. The author(s) of these pieces even go as far as helping you to understand WHY this would be beneficial
in your life, taking time to paint the scene of why and how you’ll use the Woot of the day -- they are intentionally trying to help you visualize its
value to your life in an ultimate effort to facilitate your purchase.
Marvelous.

56. 3 ELEMENTS OF COMPELLING CONTENT
Focus
Credibility
Consistency
So, just to recap, whenever you’re facing a blank document that you have to write compelling content for, take it one step at a time: Focus your
energy, write with credibility in mind, and go back through to ensure consistency is achieved.

57. OK, BUT HOW
DO I START?
Ok, so to wrap up, perhaps you are asking yourself, “Yes, this is all well and good, but how do I incorporate this into my current process -- the one
that has all of the other elements like UX, design, and development already baked into it?” Well, I’m glad you asked!

58. BALLS TO THE WALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1. Write
2. Choose
3. Rewrite
4. Prioritize
So I’m just going to spend a few minutes talking about something you can do today, or tomorrow, when you’re sitting back in front of your
computer staring at some lorem ipsum or -- worse -- a completely blank piece of paper and thinking to yourself, “Ok, how do I actually get started
in writing some compelling content that Steph told me about at Beyond Tellerrand?”
Be fearless. Go balls to the wall in the following steps.

59. 0. DON’T PANIC. SERIOUSLY.
Really, before you start writing, there’s a zero step -- don’t panic. It’s going to be all right, man.

60. 0. DON’T PANIC. SERIOUSLY.
ZOMG
WTF?!
Seriously, I just said don’t panic. This is actually going to be liberating. Really.

61. 1. WRITE YOUR PITCH WITH ABANDON
We’re
an
app
for
your
iPhone
or
Android
device.
We
provide
security
for
your
contacts
and
photos.
Ben
is
a
beautiful
frenchman.
You
will
love
him.
You
don’t
have
to
worry
about
losing
your
phone
anymore.
We
will
protect
your
passwords,
too.
We’re
pretty
much
awesome.
Don’t
wait
until
you
misplace
your
phone
to
start
caring
about
privacy.
What’s
your
data
say
about
you?
First, brain dump 1-liners with reckless abandon. Edit NOTHING. Pretend you are having a conversation with that one person I mentioned earlier
while talking about audience. Imagine you only have 5 seconds to tell her something important about your service or app. Write down those
important things.

62. 2. HIGHLIGHT THE MEATIEST STUFF
We’re
an
app
for
your
iPhone
and
iPod
Touch
device.
We
provide
security
for
your
contacts
and
photos.
Ben
is
a
beautiful
frenchman.
You
will
love
him.
You
don’t
have
to
worry
about
losing
your
phone
anymore.
We
will
protect
your
passwords,
too.
We’re
pretty
much
awesome.
Don’t
wait
until
you
misplace
your
phone
to
start
caring
about
privacy.
What’s
your
sensitive
data
say
about
you?
Next, go through all of those one-line sentences and highlight the words you think are the most important. Maybe they’re representative of your
brand. Maybe they’re features that differentiate you from competitors. Maybe they’re values of your audience. Maybe they’re priorities of your
client or boss. Maybe you just like them. Whatever the reason, highlight the things you think are most important in your messages RATHER THAN
THE MESSAGES THEMSELVES.

63. 3. REWRITE USING THE MEAT ONLY
A
frenchman
protecting
your
secrets.
Yes,
seriously.
Protecting
your
passwords,
photos,
contacts,
and
other
sensitive
stuff
on
your
iPhone®
or
iPod®
Touch.
Next, write a new round of messages using ONLY those highlighted words you chose from the first round. This will ensure that the vast majority of
your new sentences are full of really good meaty qualities, features, and user-oriented values.

64. 4. PRIORITIZE
Message Motivation Goal
A
frenchman
Pique
interest
that
User
wants
to
solve
protecting
your
the
app
is
all
about
that
problem
and
secrets.
Yes,
seriously. data
privacy.
downloads
the
app.
Protecting
your
Describe
the
User
wants
those
passwords,
photos,
beneEits
of
the
app
features
on
her
contacts,
and
other
and
list
the
iPhone
or
iPod
sensitive
stuff
on
your
supported
Touch
and
iPhone®
or
iPod®
platforms. downloads
the
app.
Touch.
And, if you want to go the extra mile, here’s an example of a message hierarchy. You’ll see that in the left column are our finalists -- these include
the messages we think are the most powerful.
In the middle column, list the business motivation for having these messages. What’s the real value, from a business perspective, for including
this message in our site?
Finally, note what we hope the user will do once s/he reads that message. In the best-case scenario, what we does just reinforces the business
goal itself.

65. YOU CAN
DO IT.
Regardless if you ultimately choose to become a writer (hey, I can dream, can’t I?) and join the throes of us under-represented word nerds, you
CAN write compelling content that engages users effectively. You really can. I promise.

66. Thanks a bunch for listening!
YOU ARE
AWESOME.
@steph_hay
Thank you! http://www.stephaniehay.com