Predicate | The Elements of Editorial Strategy

The Elements of Editorial Strategy Jeﬀrey MacIntyre Content Strategists of NYC Predicate, LLC Bond Art + Science

Introductions I’m an independent content strategist and writer. My practice focuses on: ‣ Editorial product strategy; ‣ Building CS capabilities for clients; and ‣ Contributing to our body of knowledge.

The Story So Far ... 2009 is the breakout year for content strategy.

No. Really.

… But Content? Not so much. ‣ Traditional publishing: circling the drain. ‣ Digital media landscape: shifting rapidly. ‣ Editorial content models: under scrutiny.

Trivia! Name the largest publisher in this country today.

Trivia! Name the largest publisher in this country today. Credit: NY Post

Content Strategy/Business Strategy 1. What problems can content strategists solve here? 2.What is our role in assisting the ongoing digital migration?

KA-BOOM ! “We don’t hire editors, we hire content strategists.” CEO Jack Griﬃn 21 February 2008

Genius Quip? Gaﬀe? Both. “I’m not sure what that means.” -- Jeﬀ Jarvis “Semantics or fundamental change?” -- Folio “Hope they teach that at Medill!” -- Gawker

Introducing Editorial Strategy ‣ What? Product development for content. ‣ Why? Because CS is descended from publishing. ‣ How? CSes, like product developers, work between “product” and “plumbing”.

Why Editorial Strategy

“Getting better at publishing is the only way you’re going to get better at content.” Gerry McGovern Content Critical

Deﬁning Editorial Content What is it? A publishing asset. ‣ Repeatable and repeatedly published content in a recognizable form (article, podcast, etc.) and packaged (e.g., edited) for consumption; ‣ Made valuable to an audience by: being innovative; through subject matter expertise or authority; by voice or other brand attributes.

The Value of Editorial Content? ‣ Ebb and ﬂow. ‣ Susceptible to: economic cycles, hype cycles. ‣ The function persists, remains coveted.

Example: “Today’s Papers” 12 years ago, Slate.com pioneered a daily form of content aggregation for news consumers. It evolved from novel convenience to meta-digest to spin-oﬀs to modular, near- realtime editorial.

The UX of Editorial Strategy Effective editorial content: 1. Creates engaging, unique experiences. 2. Drives traffic to related content. 3. Influences user behavior. Forms a bond. 4. Generates revenue, becoming a product.

The Principles of EDITORIAL STRATEGY

Old Testament ‣ The web is a publishing medium. ‣ Content is integral (to experience). ‣ Content producers = de facto publishers. ‣ To users, the web is awash in content. Site owners feel the ﬂoodwaters, too. So, sink or swim. Filter or be ﬂooded.

New Testament ‣ Why? Because publishing is hard. Consider the masthead. Credit: Jessica Hagy via Elena Melendy ‣ “We may all be publishers, but we are not all editors.” -- Jonathan Maziarz ‣ Curation is king. The ﬁlter on the ﬁrehose as an editorial function.

“The Day 2 Problem” Postlaunch is a project phase. Nothing shines a light on the good faith agreement between client and consultant than thoughtful aftercare. Editorial strategy is about caring for content after launch day. Credit: Flickr Commons

The 3 Tools of Editorial Strategy

1. Style Guide

1. Style Guide Think postlaunch: ‣ Reboot the model. ‣ More show bible (TV) or functional speciﬁcation (functional analysis). ‣ A training document, with publishing walkthroughs for each content module.

2. Editorial Calendar

2. Editorial Calendar Think big, think small: ‣ The killer app of content strategy. ‣ Credit: Rural Doctoring An exhaustive programming resource. ‣ Macro: Swimlane visibility across sites and channels, enhancing collaboration and crosspromotion, increasing lead times. ‣ Micro: Asset-level tracking of all content production to reduce LOE, and increase content quality (streamlining “roundtrips”). ‣ The foundation for benchmarking production--and further optimization via analytics. Basis for proof points of CS ROI?

3. Product Strategy Think product lifecycle: ‣ A plan for content publishing. ‣ Iterating distinctive content products, integrating with business and competitive analysis. (E.g., content revenue modelling.) ‣ Blueprint for each content type’s lifecycle. Programming framework for editorial calendar. ‣ Support technology recommendations and guidelines. ‣ Organizational design (process, workﬂow, roles and responsibilities).

Case Study* *Fake

The Role of Editorial Strategy in Real Estate & Hyperlocal? A crowded house full of legacy editorial and data-driven upstarts. Just one problem for startups ...

Zzzzzzzzz. Bone-dry data. Useful, usable and highly functional. Engaging? Deﬁnitely dull.

Times Editorial Mix Each week: ‣ “Living In …” ‣ “The Hunt” ‣ “Streetscapes” ‣ “Habitats” Rich oﬀering, but suboptimal.

Hmmmm. The story beat and the audience is becoming subatomic, street-level. Elapse 5 years.

New York Editorial Feature “Micronabe” appears periodically.

Print-Native Editorial Concept + Content Strategy = Editorial Product Online

Conclusion

The X-Prize of Content Strategy Bright minds beg to diﬀer with us: ‣ “Publish, then ﬁlter” --Clay Shirky ‣ “A messier web” --David Weinberger O RLY? This is the challenge of content strategy. What problems will you solve?

Panel Discussion IAN Alexander, Eat Media CRAIG Bromberg, AOL MATT Geraghty, Razorﬁsh

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Predicate | The Elements of Editorial Strategy

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