Mind Mapping

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We will be looking at the importance of planning your site and content before you get going. If you are running a site that goes beyond the occasional blog post you'll need to consider how you are going to manage your content. Maybe some things can be done today, but other things may need weeks or months of forward planning. I'll be talking about: Demographics: who is your audience and why it is important to focus on market segments. Mind mapping: where does your content fit within your site. Planning your content in detail: does it fit the expectations of your audience? Tracking your content: who will write it, what is its expected life span? Time lines ­ - how long will it take to: create the content, get permissions and clearances, does it need to coincide with another event? - Andrew Renaut

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Wordpress Melbourne MeetupAndrew Renaut - April 2014 Mind mapping your Wordpress site.

Overview

Who am I?

Knowing your audience.

Mind mapping.

Planning your site.

Content management.

Who am I?

Andrew Renaut

50 Lux magazine and associated web site 50lux.org

Small time Wordpress developer.

Who am I?Photographer

Trainer

Curator

Photography, Media, and Info Technology teacher

Board member

Publisher / Photographer / Designer

Knowing your audience

Brief or Production Design Plan

Audience, Intention, Synopsis

Knowing your audience

Demographics

Age group

Income/Employment Status

Education

Location

Knowing your audience

You don’t make Hip Hop movies for someone who needs a hip op!

Knowing your audience

Demographics

Cleo

Women

Top Gear

Men

Knowing your audience

Demographics

Knowing your audience

Demographics

Cleo

Top Gear

Planning your content

Mind mapping vs. Concept mapping.

Planning your content

What is mind mapping?

Simply a way of organising your thoughts on a particular subject in a physical dimension.

A visual form of note taking that can simplify a topic containing complex information.

Planning your contentMind mapping tools.

Pen and paper

Post-it Notes / Flash cards

Whyte board

tablet

desktop

Planning your content

Key concepts

Specific thoughts and ideas.

Key words

Important words that describe your thoughts and ideas.

Planning your content

Mind mapping tools - graphic organisers -software.

Free

FreeMind

Popplet - iOS (iPad only)

Mindmondo (Free to a point)

Planning your contentMind mapping tools - graphic organisers - software.

Paid

Inspiration

MyThoughts

Mashable has a good article that list’s over 24 mind mapping tools.

Planning your content

Concept mapping.

Links different concepts and ideas using words and phrases that explain relationships.

Planning your contentConcept mapping.

Example.

Different areas of your site relate to different topics or product groups. A concept map gives an overview of the site and links the different areas together.

You may do multiple mind maps and use a concept map to pull those mind maps together.

Planning your content

Use Excel or another spreadsheet to keep track of content on each page or article.

Use a new tab for each page article.

Use programmes such as Evernote to sync details across platforms.

Structures

Map out the structure of your site before you start to build it!

Mind mapping software is also useful for this.

Don’t forget Post-it Notes and flash cards.

Structures

Tools such as Microsoft Word can be used for basic site map structures.

(Example)

Structures

Think about your audience and how they may move (navigate) around the site.

Is the structure logical?

Will people be able to find the information easily?

Content structureOutlining.

An outline is a preliminary summary of written work, typically organised in headings and subheadings, and it is often in a hierarchical structure. It is used to organise one’s thoughts and information related to a longer piece of writing. Outlining helps to clarify your ideas and demonstrate the thinking process behind a structured piece of writing. Structuring and organising large amounts of information in an outline is the first step in the writing process.

Content structure

An outline can often look like the contents of an academic book.

It may contain main headings, and subheadings, or like this presentation be a series of dot points.

Microsoft Word is particularly good at creating and managing outlines.

Timing

Lead times: content.

How long do you have until launch?

Is the material on hand and ready to go?

Remember clearances and copyright.

Timing

Construction times.

How long do you have until launch?

Are all pages going to be ready or will they be staggered?

Timing

Content life.

How long is the content intended to last?

How often will it need to be changed and updated?

Keep a spreadsheet of each article.

Timing

Content life.

Use scheduling plugin’s such as:

https://wordpress.org/plugins/editorial-calendar/

Set up reminders in iCal or Outlook.

Colour code different calendars.

Summary

Know who you are aiming your content at.

Audience demographics.

Summary

Plan ahead.

Mind map and track changes.

Summary

Plan the site.

How will people navigate and find the information they are looking for?

Summary

Plan the content.

How long will the content take to create, do you have clearances and copyright?

Summary

Plan the life of the content.

How long will it need to stay on the site, will it need to be updated regularly, or is it “static”.