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How To Write Effective Web Copy Kristina Halvorson | FOWA Miami | 02.23.2009

How To Write Effective Web Copy

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-What is "Effective Web Copy"? -How to plan for copy -Substance -Structure -Style

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Page 1: 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.

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

I’m!an!author.!In!theory.!

Content!Strategy!for!the!Web!

(New!Riders!Voices!That!Matter,!Summer!2009)

Thanks!for!having!me!in!Miami.!In!February.

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And!you!are!… ?

Name

Employer/Role

Why!you’re!here

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.

Use!paper,!not!your!laptop.

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

Stop!me!for!questions.

Don’t!make!fun!if!you!hear!my!Minnesotan!accent.

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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.

Be!personable.

Share!secrets.

Surprise!me.

Reward!me.

Entertain!me.

Make!my!life!easier,!right!now.

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Satisfy!me.

Know!what!I!want,!and!show!me!you!do.

Make!it!easy.

Deliver!on!your!promises.

If!you!make!a!mistake,!admit!it.

Be!consistent.

Get!out!of!my!way.

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Help!me!do!something.

Educate!me!…

quickly.

Suggest!alternatives!or!add"ons!…

but!don’t!shove!

them!down!my!throat.

Prompt!me!… in!context.

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.

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PART!TWO

How To Plan for Web Copy (or, “Content Strategy”)

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My!favorite!web!copy!myths.

“We!can!figure!it!out!later.”

“The!copy!shouldn’t!be!that!big!of!a!deal.”

“We!already!pretty!much!know!what!we!want!to!say.”

“We!already!have!most!of!the!content.”

“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.

Write!for!online!readers

Define!requirements

Plan!workflow

Agree!on!editorial!standards:!voice,!tone,!usage,!format

Schedule!updates

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.

Articles

Menu!items

Buttons

Link!naming

Error!messages

Task!instructions

Search!returns

Metadata

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Before!you!start!writing!…

Do!an!audit.

Create!a!content!inventory.

Do!a!gap!analysis.

Create!a!style!guide.

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The!audit

What!copy!do!I!need?

What!other!copy!do!I!need?

Speaking!of!which,!where!do!I!need!copy?

Also,!is!there!more!copy!I!need?

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The!content!inventory

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The!gap!analysis

What’s!missing?

Where!can!I!get!it?

When!do!I!need!it?

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The!style!guide

Brand!values

Voice!and!tone!guidelines

Usage!guidelines!(like,!“the!Web”

not!“the!web”)

Recurring!textual!elements

Legal!requirements

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The!style!guide:!Example

All!copy!should!sound:!

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.!

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

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PART!THREE Substance

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Getting!at!substance!(the!“what”)

What!do!you!NEED!to!say?

...!to!support!the!successful!attainment!of!user!goals

What!do!you!WANT!to!say?

… to!meet!your!own!business!objectives

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PART!FOUR Structure

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Your!mission

Get!out!of!your!user’s!way.

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”)

Where!should!this!copy!appear!on!the!page?

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Being!smart!about!structure!(the!“when”)

When!should!this!copy!appear!in!the!application!design?

To!support!successful!task!completion

To!influence!behavior

How!will!this!copy!impact!the!user’s!attitude?

I!want!to!get!in,!get!this!done,!get!out

I!need!help!making!a!choice

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One millllllllllllllllllllion dollars

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PART!FIVE Style

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All!great!web!writing!is!…

Personable

Clear

Concise

Respectful

Customer"facing

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Often,!crappy!web!writing!is!…

Overwritten

Lazy!about!spelling!and!grammar

Lacking!focus

Hard!to!act!upon

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?

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

YES

What!do!you!want!to!know?

What!do!you!need!to!do?

What!do!you!need!to!feel!comfortable!and!smart?

What!do!you!care!about!…

really?

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Let’s!do!the!Top!10!List!thing.

Because!everyone!loves!a!good!top!10!list.

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1.!!Less!is!more

Don’t!get!in!the!way!of!your!reader!gathering!information!or!

completing!a!task.

Cut!all!unnecessary!words.!Then!cut!some!more.

GET!OUT!OF!YOUR!READER’S!WAY.

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2.!Get!to!the!point!

Boredom!=!immediate!departure

Save!your!niceties!for!when!they!call.

Step!into!your!reader’s!shoes.!!

What!information!do!I!want?

What!do!I!want!to!do?

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3.!Learn!to!love!the!inverted!pyramid.!

Not!…– Problem!statement!– Related!work!– Methodology!– Results!– Conclusions!

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.

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.

Paragraphs:!40"60!words.

6.!Break!it!up.

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Bulleted!lists

Hierarchical!headings

Clean!up!your!columns

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!

I’m!not!reading.!!I’m!scanning.

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

paragraph.

Use!keywords.

Don’t!be!clever.

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9.!Set!expectations.!

Deliver!on!your!promises.

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

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

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10.!!Lighten!up.!•

Readers!want!to!enjoy!their!visit.

Be!intimate,!friendly,!respectful.

Use!contractions,!common!language.

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

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PART!SIX Discuss

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Hey,!thanks!

email

[email protected]

blog

http://braintraffic.typepad.com

twitter

@halvorson

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