book

Letting Go of the Words, 2nd Edition

Name: Letting Go of the Words, 2nd Edition
Author: Janice (Ginny) Redish
ISBN: 9780123859310

by Janice (Ginny) Redish

September 2012

Intermediate to advanced

368 pages

7h 19m

English

Morgan Kaufmann

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Cover image
Title page
Table of Contents
Praise for Letting Go of the Words
Copyright
Dedication
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introducing Letting Go of the Words
1. Content! Content! Content!
People come for the contentContent = conversationWeb = phone, not file cabinetOnline, people skim and scanPeople do read online – sometimesPeople don’t read more because …Writing well = having successful conversationsThree case studiesSummarizing Chapter 1

2. Planning
Why? Know what you want to achieveWho? What’s the conversation?Breathing life into your data with personasBreathing life into your data with scenariosSummarizing Chapter 2
Interlude 1. Content Strategy
Why is content strategy so important?What is content strategy?What does content strategy cover?Who does content strategy?Seven steps to carry out a content strategy
3. Designing for Easy Use
Who should read this chapter – and why?Integrate content and design from the beginningBuild in flexibility for universal usabilityColorSpaceTypographyPutting it all together: A case studySummarizing Chapter 3
4. Starting Well
Home pages – content-rich with few words1 Be findable through search engines2 Identify the site3 Set the site’s tone and personality4 Help people get a sense of what the site is all about5 Continue the conversation quickly6 Send each person on the right waySummarizing Chapter 4
5. Getting There
1 Site visitors hunt first2 People don’t want to read while hunting3 A pathway page is like a table of contents4 Sometimes, short descriptions help5 Three clicks is a myth6 Many people choose the first optionSummarizing Chapter 5
6. Breaking up and Organizing Content
1 Think “information,” not “document”2 Divide your content thoughtfully3 Consider how much to put on one web page4 Use PDFs sparingly and only for good reasonsSummarizing Chapter 6
7. Focusing on Conversations and Key Messages
Seven guidelines for focusing on conversations and key messages1 Give people only what they need2 Cut! Cut! Cut! And cut Again!3 Think “bite, snack, meal”4 Start with your key message5 Layer information6 Break down walls of words7 Plan to share and engage through social mediaSummarizing Chapter 7
Interlude 2. Finding Marketing Moments
Marketing on the web is different: Pull not pushJoin the site visitor’s conversationFind the right marketing momentsDon’t miss good marketing momentsNever stop the conversation
8. Announcing Your Topic with a Clear Headline
Seven guidelines for headlines that work well1 Use your site visitors’ words2 Be clear instead of cute3 Think about your global audience4 Try for a medium length (about eight words)5 Use a statement, question, or call to action6 Combine labels (nouns) with more information7 Add a short description if people need itSummarizing Chapter 8
9. Including Useful Headings
Good headings help readers in many waysThinking about headings also helps authorsEleven guidelines for writing useful headings1 Don’t slap headings into old content2 Start by outlining3 Choose a good heading style: Questions, statements, verb phrases4 Use nouns and noun phrases sparingly5 Put your site visitors’ wordsin the headings6 Exploit the power of parallelism7 Use only a few levels of headings8 Distinguish headings from text9 Make each level of heading clear10 Help people jump to content within a web page11 Evaluate! Read the headingsSummarizing Chapter 9
Interlude 3. The New Life of Press Releases
The old life of press releasesThe new life of press releasesHow do people use press releases on the web?What should we do?Does it make a difference?
10. Tuning up Your Sentences
Ten Guidelines for Tuning up Your Sentences1 Talk to your site visitors – Use “you”2 Use “I” and “we”3 Write in the active voice (most of the time)4 Write short, simple sentences5 Cut unnecessary words6 Give extra information its own place7 Keep paragraphs short8 Start with the context9 Put the action in the verb10 Use your site visitors’ wordsSummarizing Chapter 10
11. Using Lists and Tables
Six guidelines for useful lists1 Use bulleted lists for items or options2 Match bullets to your site’s personality3 Use numbered lists for instructions4 Keep most lists short5 Try to start list items the same way6 Format lists wellLists and tables: What’s the difference?Six guidelines for useful tables1 Use tables for a set of “if, then” sentences2 Use tables to compare numbers3 Think tables = answers to questions4 Think carefully about the first column5 Keep tables simple6 Format tables wellSummarizing Chapter 11
Interlude 4. Legal Information Can Be Clear
Accurate, sufficient, clear – You can have all threeAvoid archaic legal languageAvoid technical jargonUse site visitors’ words in headingsFollow the rest of this book, too
12. Writing Meaningful Links
Seven guidelines for writing meaningful links1 Don’t make new program or product names links by themselves2 Think ahead: Launch and land on the same name3 For actions, start with a verb4 Make the link meaningful – Not Click here or just More5 Don’t embed links (for most content)6 Make bullets with links active, too7 Make unvisited and visited links obviousSummarizing Chapter 12
13. Using Illustrations Effectively
Five purposes that illustrations can serveSeven guidelines for using illustrations effectively1 Don’t make people wonder what or why2 Choose an appropriate size3 Show diversity4 Don’t make content look like ads5 Don’t annoy people with blinking, rolling, waving, or wandering text or pictures6 Use animation only where it helps7 Make illustrations accessibleSummarizing Chapter 13
14. Getting from Draft to Final
Read, edit, revise, proofread your own workShare drafts with colleaguesWalk your personas through their conversationsLet editors help youNegotiate successful reviews (and edits)Summarizing Chapter 14
Interlude 5. Creating an Organic Style Guide
Use a style guide for consistencyUse a style guide to remind peopleDon’t reinventAppoint an ownerGet management supportMake it easy to create, to find, and to use
15. Test! Test! Test!
Why do usability testing?What’s needed for usability testingWhat’s not needed for usability testingHow do we do a usability test?What variations might we consider?Why not just do focus groups?A final point: Test the content!!
For More Information – A Bibliography
Subject Index
Index of Web Sites Shown as Examples
About Ginny Redish

Content preview from Letting Go of the Words, 2nd Edition

2 PlanningPurposes, Personas, Conversations

Successful writers don’t start by writing. They plan before they write (and they plan while they write and through all their revisions).

Planning is part of developing a content strategy. See Interlude 1 right after this chapter.

At every level and for every piece of content (entire site, web page, mobile app or site, social media message, blog article), start by asking yourself:

• Why?

• Who?

• What’s the conversation?

You might call what I’m covering here your creative brief.

Your site = you = one side of the conversation. You have to know what you want that conversation to accomplish.

Your site visitor = the other side of the conversation. To have successful conversations with your site visitors, ...

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Letting Go of the Words, 2nd Edition

by Janice (Ginny) Redish

2

PlanningPurposes, Personas, Conversations

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.