Presentation from Confab London, March 2013.

1. Future-proofing authors: The
new rules of writing for the
web.
Confab London 2013

2. First a little story that starts
back in 2001…

4. Thankfully, the web has
changed a lot since then…

5. We are flexible and mobile
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomas_sobek

6. Looking beyond the desktop
• Customers are consuming content
differently.
• We are designing sites that work regardless
of screen size.
• 1 in 3 of us would rather give up television
than be deprived of our smart phone.
(Our Mobile Plant: US, Google/Ipsos OTX, May 2012.)

7. Structured content is in
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oskay

8. Flexibility demands structure
• To make flexible websites we need content
that’s structured.
• Structured content requires thought,
consideration and long-term planning.
• People care about metadata again.

9. WYSIWYG is under siege

10. Breaking away from traditional ideas about
‘publishing’
• We can’t control how our content is going
to be used.
• Our authors need to start writing for the
chunk, not the page.
• Moving away from the reliance on the
preview button.

11. The rise of the CMS has meant the demise of
editorial control
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amyguth

12. “In most situations, the decentralized
publishing model has been disastrous. The
people trained tended to be relatively
junior staff, for whom publishing to the
website was just one more responsibility. The
result was lots and lots of poor quality
content that was never updated or
reviewed.” Gerry McGovern.
http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/new-thinking/decentralized-publishing-equals-amateur-web-management

13. The changing web team
• Writing has devolved out to the business
areas.
• Some web teams have retained a content
specialist, but many have not.
• A focus on operations rather than strategy
means it is hard to make things different.

14. Meanwhile, content has turned into a
production line
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikefats

15. Content is everywhere
• Publishing content is easy and isn’t
restricted to the ‘website’ (think social
media, knowledge bases, help desk info,
libraries, call centre scripts, databases).
• Everyone is talking about content
marketing.
• Customers expect to find the information
they want, or they go elsewhere.

16. Head exploding yet?
© www.dirksbigbunnyblog.blogspot.com (used with permission)

17. But wait! What about our
authors? You know, the
people writing the content.

18. Content is easy, people are messy
www.flickr.com/photos/slemmon

19. Managing and training teams of authors
across an organisation is hard work
• Range of abilities and interest, means there
is no one-size-fits all approach.
• Internal politics and silos take the focus
away from long-term strategy.
• Competing interests, budgets and skills.
- Trent Walton
on collaboration.

20. Future-proofing our
authors. 5 new rules for
writing for the web.

21. Rule 1: Everyone is an author
Look beyond your CMS publishers
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seattlemunicipalarchives

22. Train the front line
• Get all publishers on board, not just the
people with access to the CMS.
• Everyone should be looking for ways to do
content better.
• Focus on front line staff – how do they use
content and more importantly, how do
your customers use content?

23. Rule 2: Someone needs to be in charge
The rise of the content czar
http://www.flickr.com/photos/quiltsalad

24. “Not having a content czar means that
teams run the high risk of reactive and ad
hoc operations, with little focus on where to
prioritize efforts.” Erin Scime, Razorfish.

25. Creating order from chaos
• Give someone editorial control.
• This person needs to be constantly looking
for ways to improve the connection
between content.
• It also means you can focus on teaching
authors what they need to know to do their
job well – not every single thing about
content management.

26. Rule 3: Content still has a soul
Authors are your new brand ambassadors
http://www.flickr.com/photos/randychiu

27. Make your authors great brand ambassadors
• Clear tone and voice direction with
examples.
• Metadata that helps with storytelling.
• Robot-ready content can still have a
personality.

28. © Tourism Queensland

32. Rule 4: Mind your verbs
Separating content from action
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevensnodgrass

33. Watch out for tying content to action that’s
specific to one type of context
• Use with care: hover, resize, hold, rotate,
stretch, press, pan, scroll, swipe, zoom,
select, drag, drop, surf, tap, click.
• Also think about: below, beside, above, to
the left, to the right.

34. Rule 5: Create style at a micro level
Keeping consistency across ‘chunks’
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml

35. Attention to detail counts
• Breaking content into chunks makes little
inconsistencies more obvious.
• Applies to micro copy, calls to action, links,
social media.
• Be clear on use of case, capitals, linking
and tone.

37. Also, use what’s in the pantry
Some old rules are as important as ever
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tsausawest

38. “There is no “how to write for mobile.” There’s
only good writing. Period.”
Karen McGrane, Content strategy for mobile

39. Some things will never go out of fashion
• Planning, content briefs and copy decks
(the perfect places to start applying
structure).
• Get the point across quickly (the inverted
pyramid still applies in this character-
restricted world).
• Links and headlines are important (the
ultimate decision makers).

40. A quick recap
The new rules:
1. Everyone is an author.
2. Someone needs to be in charge.
3. Content still has a soul.
4. Mind your verbs.
5. Create style at a micro level.

41. Continue the conversation
Sally Bagshaw
sally@snappysentences.com
@snappysentences