Content Company: Content News, February 2004

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Content News, February 2004: Building a Website from the Outside In

Welcome to the February 2004 issue of Content News, the newsletter that provides solutions to your content issues. Feel free to send this newsletter to anyone you know who is choosing a content management system, thinking about implementing content management in their organization or developing a content management system. Also, I welcome your feedback on this newsletter or my site -- send it to feedback@contentcompany.biz.

Best,

Hilary Marsh
Editor, Content News
President, Content Company

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Feature Article: Writing for the Web -- Building a Website from the Outside In

Note 1. Upcoming Speaking Engagements

Note 2. Upcoming NetContent/Chicago meetings

Note 4. Recent updates to the Content Company website

FEATURE ARTICLE:

Writing for the Web -- Building a Website from the Outside In

by Hilary Marsh, President, Content Company
originally published in February 2004 Content News, the newsletter that provides solutions to your content issues

1. What does it mean to build a website from the outside in?

2. Why should writers be part of a Web team?
The Web is fundamentally a medium about communication (and functionality too)

Basic sites only communicate TO an audience
Sophisticated sites communicate WITH an audience
As communicators, writers are accustomed to putting themselves in the reader's shoes.
A website is likely to have content developed in various parts of the organization - which means it will probably differ in tone and may offer contradictory messages.

Someone needs to serve as a central point for the content.

3. How can writers can add value to the process of creating a website?

Ask questions to pin down the site's goals.
Develop personas, short descriptions of particular readers, either real or imagined, that each represent an audience segment.
Work with IT to understand the site's technology, to ensure that it is serving the business goals and will be usable for internal content owners.
Set voice-and-tone guidelines for the entire site, and model those guidelines through sample content, or complete launch content for the site.

4. Why aren't writers always included in the process, and how can we change that?

Why not?

All too often, Web projects start in IT. The Web is no more about technology than TV is. (TV viewers don't know or care what kind of cameras, filming techniques or videotape they use, and neither do visitors to your website. The only thing that matters to visitors is the quality of the experience.)
Businesses think they understand their customers' needs and don't need to delve further.
Businesses don't know the value that a writer can bring.
Writers don't demonstrate what they could offer, just do what they're asked.

How to change this

Assume that you will be and should be included in the process from the beginning.
Know how to describe and show the value of what you can offer.
Speak business: show an ROI both for a usable website overall and for your services in particular. For example: "Every time one our customers downloads an instruction booklet instead of calling our customer service center and then having us send it to them, we save $18. We estimate that we will get 300 downloads a month on our site, saving us $64,800 annually."

Content Company can help your organization

develop a content strategy
use your in-house communicators more effectively to create and maintain your Web content
train in-house communicators in how to write for the Web

If you are interested in any of these services, contact us at info@contentcompany.biz.

NOTE 1. Upcoming Speaking Engagements

March 29, Best Practices in Content Management for Financial Services conference in New Orleans. Three-hour workshop: "A Step-by-Step Approach to Developing an Enterprise Content Management Strategy for Financial Services Organizations."

April 22, Community Media Workshop. "Using Email to Enhance Marketing and Communications."

May 27, Intranet Summit for Corporate Communicators in Chicago. Three-hour workshop: "How to Manage the Content of Your Intranet or Portal." Conference details will be available shortly.

NOTE 2: Upcoming NetContent/Chicago Meetings

Net Content/Chicago is one of only three organizations in the world for online content professionals. We host monthly events covering topical issues for the online content industry, and sponsor two email lists. Net Content/Chicago is a SIG of the Association for Multimedia Communications.

To subscribe to the NetContent/Chicago email discussion list, visit http://www.amcomm.org/dynamic/subscriptions.php

To subscribe to our announcement list:
http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/netcontent-chicago

Check out the archives of our previous presentations: http://www.amcomm.org/contemplate/assembler.php?page=SIG_content_archives

MARCH: Myths of Mobile Device UI Design

NetContent/Chicago is joining other Chicago user experience groups to host this special meeting. Our speaker will be Aaron Marcus, President, Aaron Marcus & Associates, a world-renowned expert in user-interface design.

There are many myths about mobile devices:

users want power and aesthetics - features are everything
what we really need is a Swiss army knife
3G is here
focus groups and other traditional market analysis tools are the best way to determine user needs
if it works in Silicon Valley, it will work anywhere
the next killer app will be games, (er, no, I mean, horoscopes - no, I mean...)
mobile devices will essentially be phones, organizers, or combinations, with maybe music/video added on
the industry is converging on a UI standard; highly usable systems are just around the corner
one underlying operating system will dominate; mobile devices will be free-or nearly free
advanced data-oriented services are just around the corner

As mobile devices continue to proliferate, user-interface designers and software developers need to work together to make the most useful, appealing products and systems. Keeping in mind the difference between myths and misconceptions may help developers to design UIs that show the right things, in the right way, at the right time, to the right people. We'll all benefit.

Wednesday, March 10, 2004
5:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Harold Washington Library, 400 South State Street, Chicago
Cost: $10. Refreshments will be provided.

Sponsoring Chicago user experience organizations:
Association for Multimedia Communications' NetContent SIG and eLearning SIG <http://www.amcomm.org>
Chicago Usability Professionals Association <http://www.chicagoupa.org/>
CHI-Squared <http://www.acm.org/chapters/chi-sqrd/>

You can find complete details at http://www.amcomm.org/scripts/content.cgi?page=SIG_content

APRIL: Search Engines -- Helping Your Site Get Found through Smart Content and Marketing Choices

More details to come shortly.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Harold Washington Library, 400 South State Street, Chicago

NOTE 3: RECENT UPDATES TO THE CONTENT COMPANY WEBSITE

New Projects

Read about our latest endeavors in our news section.

Case Studies:

Read our latest case study, of the the first Web-based intranet for Household International

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ABOUT CONTENT NEWS

Content News is the monthly newsletter from Content Company where we share our learnings about and insights into content management and other issues related to content, lists our latest projects and reports on other tidbits.

ABOUT CONTENT COMPANY

Content Company provides a variety of content services, from content management strategy to content development. Content Company helps organizations achieve dual goals: to fulfill their business goals and help their audiences (employees, customers, partners, etc.) meet their needs.

Our clients are corporations, associations and nonprofit organizations. Our projects have included intranets, public websites, newsletters and video scripts. If you are interested in disucssing how we can work with your organization, please feel free to contact Hilary Marsh, Content Company president, at hilary@contentcompany.biz

Content News, February 2004, No. 6, copyright © 2004 Content Company, Inc. You are welcome to pass along this newsletter, as long as you do not change the content, you keep the opening and this closing material, and you notify Hilary Marsh at hilary@contentcompany.biz. Hilary Marsh retains copyright of this material.

This newsletter was originally sent to 428 subscribers on Saturday, February 28, 2004.

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