If there’s not, then start one. Yes. Looking at you. Just follow the instructions, post your link wherever you can (those groups we mentioned would be great places), and see what happens. It’s super simple, and it’s low risk: If at least one person shows up, then at least you can enjoy a drink together while venting about how no one at your company gets content except for you.
Bonus: If you do start a Meetup, find Kristina (@halvorson) on Twitter and let her know. She’ll help you advertise it. And don’t forget to use the #contentstrategy hashtag wherever you can!
Share the Dream
Once you connect with all of these fellow content lovers, ask them to keep reminding you of the following:
Content is a huge, pain-in-the-butt, expensive, out-of-control problem. And, as with any big, messy problem, getting to a solution is going to take time.
Be. Patient.
Creating a smart content strategy means research and reflection, trial and error. And selling it to The Powers That Be—winning attention, approval, and resources—may take even longer. And you know what? That’s okay. You have time. (Remember: It’s only the Internet.)
Along the way, keep reminding everyone (including yourself) of the benefits:
• More lasting website improvements
• Huge savings on content licensing
• Streamlined, more efficient workflow
• Vastly improved user experiences
• New types of cross-team collaborations
• More consistency in multi-platform content
• Better realization of overall business goals
These are the things you get when you put content strategy to work for your organization. What’s not to love?
And That About Covers It
Congratulations! Because you have now read Content Strategy for the Web, we hereby anoint you as a member of The Order of People Who Have Read Content Strategy for the Web. As a member of TOOPWHRCSFTW, it’s now your job to get out there and figure out what can be done to improve the way you and your clients or colleagues create, deliver, and govern your web content. With your help, we can all consider content at the strategic level, so we can start to deliver the right stuff: content that matters, both to our audiences and to our bottom line.
So, get busy! There’s a whole lot of content out there in the world that needs your help. Be brave. Be informed. Be awesome. Be the hero you were born to be.
All of us here at TOOPWHRCSFTW wish you well as you begin your quest for content success. Now, go put on your cape and get to it. We’re counting on you!
Content Strategy Reading List
Content Strategy at Work: Real-world Stories to Strengthen Every Interactive Project
by Margot Bloomstein
Content Management Bible
by Bob Boiko
Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning
by Dan Brown
The Necessary Art of Persuasion
by Jay A. Conger
The Elements of User Experience
by Jesse James Garrett
Content Rules
by Ann Handley and C. C. Chapman
The Accidental Taxonomist
by Heather Hedden
Clout: The Art and Science of Influential Web Content
by Colleen Jones
The Elements of Content Strategy
by Erin Kissane
Don’t Make Me Think
by Steve Krug
Responsive Web Design
by Ethan Marcotte
Audience, Relevance, and Search: Targeting Web Audiences with Relevant Content
by James Mathewson, Frank Donatone, Cynthia Fishel
Killer Web Content: Make the Sale, Deliver the Service, Build the Brand
by Gerry McGovern
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web
by Peter Morville & Louis Rosenfeld
Letting Go of the Words
by Ginny Redish
Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy, second edition
by Ann Rockley and Charles Cooper
Designing for Emotion
by Aarron Walter
What Is Strategy and Does It Matter
by Richard Whittington
The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
by Barry Schwartz
The Web Content Strategist’s Bible: A Complete Guide to a New and Lucrative Career for Writers of All Kinds
by Richard Sheffield
Building Findable Websites: Web Standards, SEO, and Beyond
by Aarron Walter
Mobile First
by Luke Wroblewski
Acknowledgments
Every acknowledgments page starts off with how it’s impossible to write a book alone, and there’s very good reason for that: it’s SO TRUE. So here’s where we extend our thanks to the small army of contributing individuals and teams who helped bring the second edition of Content Strategy for the Web to life.
Our deepest thanks to...
Tenessa Gemelke, editor extraordinaire. Because of your tireless efforts, elegant diplomacy, and ruthless optimism, this book is a reality. We were so lucky to have you on this project, and we can’t thank you enough for your work. Also, nice outfit.
The team at Brain Traffic, whose groundbreaking work has informed much of what we’ve included in this second edition. You exceed our expectations every day. You inspire and delight us. Thanks for working here. We love your faces.
The best readers ever: Christine Anameier, Christine Benson, Meghan Casey, Tenessa Gemelke, Colleen Jones, Erin Kissane, Chris LaVictoire Mahai, Claire Rasmussen, Lee Thomas, and Julie Vollenweider. Thank you for whipping our chapter drafts into shape with your insightful feedback.
The people who contributed the lovely images and graphics herein: Christine Benson, Shelly Bowen, Kevin Cornell, and Sean Tubridy.
The case study participants, who have brought content strategy to life: Laura Blaydon, Dominique Bohn, Matt Crawford, Carrie Dennison, Lynne Figg, Kate Kiefer, Erika Knudson, Mary Krugerud, James Mathewson, Blair Neufeld, Rebecca Salerno, and Shelly Wilson.
Michael Nolan, our New Riders acquisitions editor. Thanks for (strongly) encouraging a second edition.
Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel, vice-president of Pearson Technology Group and publisher at Peachpit Publishing, who first opened the door for this book to be published.
Margaret Anderson, Cory Borman, and the entire New Riders team.
All those who made invaluable contributions to the first edition of Content Strategy for the Web. No first edition, no second edition; thank you for making this book possible: Ian Alexander, Rahel Bailie, Margot Bloomstein, Jennifer Bohmbach, Bob Boiko, Jennifer Bove, Shelly Bowen, Craig Bromberg, Paul Ford, Maggie Fox, Colleen Jones, Jonathan Kahn, Rachel Lovinger, Erin Malone, Jeffrey MacIntyre, James Mathewson, Mark McCormick, Gerry McGovern, Elena Melendy, Chris Moritz, Clare O’Brien, Joe Pulizzi, Lou Rosenfeld, Dan Saffer, Richard Sheffield, Amber Simmons, Daniel Souza, Molly Wright Steenson, Krista Stevens, Lisa Welchman, Carolyn Wood, and the participants of the 2009 Content Strategy Consortium.
Also, Melissa says...
A special thanks to my career mentors (so far): Don Johnson and Jeff Iseminger, for getting me started; Cindy Larson, for showing me how to be a “business woman”; Brenda Kienan and Sole, for countless hours collaborating; Lisa Brezonik, for the reality checks; and Chris LaVictoire Mahai, for teaching me a great many things about strategy and success.
I’d also like to give a shout out to all of the incredible teams I’ve worked on during the last few decades. Specifically, I’d like to thank my friends from KeyTech/AisleFive/Aveus—the early internet agency(ies?) where I “grew up”. (We turned out pretty well for web geeks.) And, to the Brain Traffic team: You keep me growing and learning new things every day; thanks for all of your brilliance, hard work, humor, and moral support on this project and always.
To Julie Vollenweider and Krist
ina Halvorson: Running a business isn’t always easy, but it is so worthwhile. I’m proud to be a part of the “triangle.” Thanks for all you do.
Most of all, thanks to my family, who give me substance, structure, and—sometimes—a little governance. My parents, Liz and Dick, who always believe in me no matter what; Matt, who gives me courage when needed; Marcie and Elsa, who watch from afar; and Beatrice, my very best girl. Thank you for your patience and support. I love all of you more than I can say.
And finally, Kristina says...
I’m not exaggerating when I say that I owe my career and personal sanity to these extraordinary individuals:
Liz Danzico, Peter Merholz, Jared Spool, and Jeffrey Zeldman, who opened doors. I can trace nearly every opportunity I have today back to your initial actions and support. Thank you, thank you.
Lisa Brezonik, Ann Handley, Ginny Redish, Ann Rockley, Lou Rosenfeld, and Dan Roam, who lead by example. Thank you for inspiring me professionally and personally.
Erika Hall, Jeremy Keith, Ethan Marcotte, Eric Meyer, Mike Monteiro, Sarah Parmenter, Jason Santa Maria, Nicole Sullivan, Aarron Walter, and Luke Wroblewski. You are the people who make the Web go.
Mandy Brown, Elise Diedrich, Laura Funke, Symantha Huhn, Erin Kissane, Rachael Marret, Karen McGrane, Kate McRoberts, Melissa Rach, Julie Vollenweider, and Christine Weeks. Thanks for knowing everything about me and being my friends anyway.
My parents, who—along with my extended family—support me in everything I do. Thanks for rolling with it.
And finally, Gus and Ingrid, who are the smartest, funniest, toughest, sweetest creatures alive. It’s such an honor to be your mom. I love you infinity.
About the Authors
Kristina Halvorson is widely recognized as the industry’s leading advocate for content strategy. She is the CEO and founder of Brain Traffic; the founder of Confab, the content strategy conference; and the host of Content Talks, a 5by5 podcast. She is a celebrated speaker on content strategy—her humorous, lively talks are regularly top-rated at conferences all over the world. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her two children.
Melissa Rach is vice president of content strategy at Brain Traffic. She leads a team of consultants that continues to evolve content strategy process and core tools, helping clients tackle messy content problems every day. Her methodologies have been taught at universities nationwide and recognized in books and blogs for more than a decade. Melissa lives in Minneapolis with her family and names her pets after punctuation marks.
Visit http://www.contentstrategy.com to get in touch with the authors.
About Brain Traffic
Brain Traffic collaborates with organizations to create and implement content strategies for projects and enterprises. Its renowned consulting team is credited with developing many recognized industry best practices. Brain Traffic was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Index
A
A/B and multivariate tests, 83
accuracy, qualitative audit factor, 55
Achieve-Be-Do concept, 97
actionability, qualitative audit factor, 55
advocacy for content strategies
attending or organizing meetings, 180–181
blogging, 176
campaigning for, 175–177
emphasizing importance, 173–175
following tweets, 180
hero image, 179–180
joining online groups, 180
sharing dreams, 181
using simple language, 171–173
Alexander, Ian, 176
aligning web content
importance of, 40
stakeholders
continuing involvement with, 45
identifying, 40
kickoff meetings with, 43–44
providing interesting challenges, 42–43
setting expectations for, 44–45
types of, 41–42
understanding each other, 44
analyzing web content
impact factors, external
competitors, 85–88, 164–165
influencers, 88–89
interviews, 83–84
usability testing, 84–85
user research, 83–84
users, 82–83
web analytics, 84
impact factors, internal, 70
focus topics, 73
group discussions, 71
guidelines, 71–72
interviews, 71–73
questionnaires or surveys, 71
importance of, 70
results of analysis, 89–90
Anameier, Christine, 60
Anderson, Erin, 72
audience
advisory councils, 140–141
identifying, 104–106
internal impact factors, 73–74
qualitative audit factor, 55
auditing web content, 9–10
content sampling, 60–62
delegating responsibilities, 54
guidelines for selecting audit types, 50–51
importance of, 49
qualitative audits, 9–10
best practices assessment, 50, 53–55
strategic assessment, 50, 53–55
quantitative inventories, 9–10, 50–53
reports, 64
casual summary, 66
formal detailed, 64–65
presentation-style, 67
results
sharing, overview, 63
tabulating, 62–63
rolling audits, 62
spreadsheets
basic, 56–57
content flexes and changes, 57–58
indexed inventory, 58–59
links to when sharing results, 64
technology tools, 49–50
human review necessity, 48
B
Bailie, Rahel, 176
Balance Interactive, 49
“Bangalore, We Have a Problem,” 18–19
baseline measurements, 152
Benson, Christine, 166
best practices assessments, 50, 53–55
Blaydon, Laura, 87
Blogger, 176
Boiko, Bob, 143
Bowen, Shelly, 98–99
Brain Traffic
Achieve-Be-Do concept, 97
auditing content, criteria, 60
“Bangalore, We Have a Problem,” 18–19
“The Inside Job,” 166
listening techniques, 72
prioritizing content, 117
SEO (search engine optimization), 137
branding
coordinating with other disciplines, 34, 52
qualitative audit factor, 55
Brown, Tiffani Jones, 175
business units, content ownership, 131–132
business value, qualitative audit factor, 55
C
case studies
audits, 49
competitors, analyzing, 87
content strategists, 33
governance, 142
SEO (search engine optimization), 137
voice and tone of content, 113
champion stakeholders, 41
channels
analysis, 73, 75–79
structure of content, 119–120
Clout: The Art and Science of Influential Web Content, 83
Colter, Angela, 84–85
committees and councils
audience advisory councils, 140–141
internal advisory councils, 139–140
competitors, content analysis, 85–88
Confab: The Content Strategy Conference, 162
The Content Management Bible, 143
content-ment.com blog, 176
content strategies
definition, 28–30
governance
content analysis stage, 73, 80–81
quad, 29–30
inventories, 149
maintenance checklists, 149
&nb
sp; maintenance logs, 149
versus other disciplines, 34
IA (information architecture), 34
messaging and branding, 32–33
metadata, 34, 52
SEO (search engine optimization), 34, 52
web writing, 33
ownership and roles
business units, 131–132
committees and councils, 139–142
core content strategy, 30–32
definition, 130
individuals, 132–138
responsibility for content, 11–12, 118–119
strategists, 30–32, 132
requirements checklists, 145
sampling for audits, 60–62
structure, 29–30
channels, 119–120
formats, 119–120
future of, 122
links, 121
listening techniques, 10–11, 45, 72
metadata, 123
microcopy, 121–122
navigation, 120
nomenclature, 120
ownership and roles, 11–12, 30–32, 118–119
platforms, 119–120
tagging, 123
tools, 123–126
substance
audience, 104–105
core strategies, 29–30
language’s voice and tone, 111–113
messaging, 106–108
prioritizing, 117
purpose, 110–111
source of content, 9–10, 112–116
topics, 108–110
workflow
content analysis stage, 79–82
core strategies, 29–30
doing less not more, 6–9
taking action...now, 12
Content Strategy Google Group, 180
content-strategy.meetup.com, 180
#contentstrategy on Twitter, 181
coordination with other disciplines, 34
information architecture, 34
messaging and branding, 32–33
metadata, 34, 52
SEO (search engine optimization), 34, 52
web writing, 33
core strategies
definition, 29–30, 96–97
developing, 97
aspirational goals, 98
fear of Magic Layer, 98–99
governance, 29–30
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