How To Write Effective Web Copy

How!To!Write!Effective!Web!Copy

Kristina!Halvorson!!!|!!!FOWA!Miami!!!|!!!02.23.2009

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Yes.!Hello.

•

I’m!Kristina!Halvorson.

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I’m!the!President!of!Brain!Traffic!(Minneapolis,!MN).

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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

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Why!you’re!here

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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.

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Use!paper,!not!your!laptop.

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Get!up!when!you!need!to.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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:!

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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.!

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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

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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

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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?

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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

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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?

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How!can!I!make!you!care?

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YES

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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?

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What!do!you!care!about!…

really?

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Let’s!do!the!Top!10!List!thing.

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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.

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5.!Use!simple!sentences.

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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

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Hierarchical!headings

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Clean!up!your!columns

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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.

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Just!tell!me!what!I’m!going!to!find!on!that!page!or!in!that!

paragraph.

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Use!keywords.

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Don’t!be!clever.

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9.!Set!expectations.!

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Deliver!on!your!promises.

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Tell!people!how!much,!how!long,!how!often.

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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.

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Be!intimate,!friendly,!respectful.

•

Use!contractions,!common!language.

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Make!your!reader!feel!smart,!not!stupid.

PART!SIX Discuss

Hey,!thanks!

email

kristina@braintraffic.com

blog

http://braintraffic.typepad.com

twitter

@halvorson

Kristina!Halvorson!!!|!!!FOWA!Miami!!!|!!!02.23.2009