Writing Digital Content That Works (Wherever It Might Live)
Once upon a time, websites were akin to brochures—these fairly static, informational things that all organizations should have. And once they were up, they were up, and only webmasters would manage changes and updates (seriously – remember webmasters!?). Things have of course changed, and nowadays, the web is everyone’s job. But are web communicators training and developing the right skills to become effective digital content creators?
Increasingly (as I’ve written about recently), organizations are becoming more and more software- and web-driven. That means content – whether it’s a tweet, a blog post, a headline, a newsletter, or a product description – has to not only meet internal objectives but also gives users something of value. This shift in focus requires more hands on deck, so to speak, and communications teams are being built around all of this digital-first content.”
But not all communications are created equal, and digital content in all its manifestations requires a different skillset than, say, public relations or advertising or journalism—where many modern communications specialists have formal training. In order to become the best digital content creators we can be, we must train. No pain, no gain, all that jazz. Cue montage.
Let us begin our training.
Thankfully, we don’t need to train alone. UX Booth columnist Carrie Hane is doing everything in her power to come to our rescue. On Tuesday, April 4th, she’ll be running her Digital Writing Workshop in Arlington, Virginia, from 9:30am until 4:30pm.
Here’s how she describes her workshop:
Now that digital is the default method of communication, the web is everyone’s job. Learn to create effective content for your website, social media, and email newsletters.
This 1-day workshop will provide participants with tools, tips, and tricks for creating content that gives users what they want and helps achieve business goals. We’ll cover technical aspects of digital content as well as how to write useful, usable, and findable content.
She also describes in very helpful detail what kinds of things folks will walk away with, when all is said and done:
- How to write so readers can get information or complete a task quickly
- Techniques for writing conversationally and persuasively
- What search engines look for and how to create web pages that are findable
- Think from the user’s point of view to create user-centric and goal-oriented content
- Write for easier reading on screens
- Create findable and usable content that is focused on user task completion
Space at this workshop is super limited (currently sold out, unfortunately – but if you’re interested, let her know on Twitter!) in order to allow for individualized attention. Which is super cool, if you’re like me and are kind of bored with huge “workshops” that are essentially lectures.
So if you…
- write copy for websites
- send official email communications
- are new to digital writing
- want to learn how to create user-centered content
- want to write better web copy or send email communications for your organization
…I’d strongly recommending checking out Carrie’s workshop (and her awesome articles here on UX Booth) next time it rolls around. Because let’s face it: most of us are content creators now, one way or another. We might as well be awesome at it.
