Kristina Halvorson gave a presentation on effective web copy at the FOWA Miami conference on February 23, 2009. She began by introducing herself and her background in content strategy. She then discussed planning for web copy by conducting an audit, creating a content inventory, gap analysis, and style guide. Halvorson also covered the importance of substance, structure, and style when writing effective web copy. She emphasized writing copy that is clear, concise, personable and customer-focused.

1. How!To!Write!
Effective!Web!Copy
Kristina!Halvorson!!!|!!!FOWA!Miami!!!|!!!02.23.2009

2. Yes.!Hello.
• I’m!Kristina!Halvorson.
• I’m!the!President!of!Brain!Traffic!(Minneapolis,!MN).
• I’m!an!author.!In!theory.!
– Content!Strategy!for!the!Web!
(New!Riders!Voices!That!Matter,!Summer!2009)
• Thanks!for!having!me!in!Miami.!In!February.
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3. And!you!are!… ?
• Name
• Employer/Role
• Why!you’re!here
• One!thing!that!someone!might!not!guess!about!you
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4. Here’s!the!deal!for!today.
1:30quot;1:45pm We’ll!talk!about!“effective!web!copy.”
1:45quot;2:30pm We’ll!talk!about!how!to!plan!for!copy.
2:30quot;4:30pm We’ll!discuss:
! Substance
! Structure
! Style
4:30quot;5:00pm We’ll!wrap!with!collaborative,!freequot;forquot;all!Q&A.
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5. Suggestions.
• Use!paper,!not!your!laptop.
• Get!up!when!you!need!to.
• Stop!me!for!questions.
• Don’t!make!fun!if!you!hear!my!Minnesotan!accent.
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6. What exactly
is “effective
PART!ONE
web copy”?

7. Effective!web!copy!…
! DELIGHTS
! SATISFIES
! HELPS!ME!DO!SOMETHING
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8. Delight!me.
• Be!personable.
• Share!secrets.
• Surprise!me.
• Reward!me.
• Entertain!me.
• Make!my!life!easier,!right!now.
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12. Satisfy!me.
• Know!what!I!want,!and!show!me!you!do.
• Make!it!easy.
• Deliver!on!your!promises.
• If!you!make!a!mistake,!admit!it.
• Be!consistent.
• Get!out!of!my!way.
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16. Help!me!do!something.
• Educate!me!… quickly.
• Suggest!alternatives!or!addquot;ons!… but!don’t!shove!
them!down!my!throat.
• Prompt!me!… in!context.
• Warn!me!… but!don’t!freak!me!out.
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21. Effective!web!copy!…
! Communicates!SUBSTANCE!quickly!and!clearly.
! Is!communicated!in!a!STRUCTURE!that!provides!me!with!the!
necessary!context!to!act!with!confidence.!
! Is!written!in!a!STYLE that’s!personable,!respectful,!and!the!
embodiment!of!your!brand!values.
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22. How To Plan
for Web Copy
PART!TWO
(or, “Content
Strategy”)

23. My!favorite!web!copy!myths.
• “We!can!figure!it!out!later.”
• “The!copy!shouldn’t!be!that!big!of!a!deal.”
• “We!already!pretty!much!know!what!we!want!to!say.”
• “We!already!have!most!of!the!content.”
• “I!should!be!able!to!take!care!of!most!of!this!myself.”
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24. To: Kristina Halvorson
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 3:21 PM
Subject: RE: hey there!
… This is a very large client who is building a site using a number of
different agencies. When it came to the content discussion the room
just threw their hands up in the air (literally and figuratively) because
no one had said they’d be responsible.
The site is going to be very content heavy and they want to launch
July 15.
Interested?
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25. SRSLY, PPL.
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26. Writing!is!hard.
Writing!for!the!web!is!a!bitch.
• Write!for!online!readers
• Define!requirements
• Plan!workflow
• Agree!on!editorial!standards:!voice,!tone,!usage,!format
• Schedule!updates
• Find!all!the!“other” content
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27. CONTEXT USERS
Userquot;centered!design!!!!!!!!!!!!!User!experience!!!!!!!!!!!!!User!testing
ORGANIZING!INFORMATION PUBLISHING!CHANNELS
Business!strategy PUSH
Content!model Static/dynamic
Information!architecture Multichannel!delivery
COLLABORATIONS
Vocabulary!control Print
Blogs
Categorization/classification Web
ASSEMBLING!
Wikis
Interface/interaction!design PDA/cell
VERSIONS
Forums PDF
Versioning
Mailing!lists Email
Version!control
WORKFLOW!RULES Personalization
CRM Content!types
Localization
Business!rules Templates
Contact!info Rights!management
Policies/procedures Navigation
Access!control PULL
Roles/responsibilities Multilingual
LDAP Syndication
Content!owners! Compliance
User!databases Web!services
Editors/publishers Reuse
Search!enging
DATABASES!+! Rollback
Ecommerce
REPOSITORIES
Content!databases
CREATE!AND!EDIT File!system ARCHIVE!+!DESTROY
Authoring Native!XML
Retention!policy
Capture/collect Documents
Knowledge!base
Acquisition Records
Conversion Images/multimedia
Aggregation Data!warehouses
Ingestion/DRM Legacy!systems
Editing!Tools
Metadata!Tagging
Library!Services cmsreview.com/stages
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28. Writers!don’t!have!the!tools!to!deal.
• Articles
• Menu!items
• Buttons
• Link!naming
• Error!messages
• Task!instructions
• Search!returns
• Metadata
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29. Before!you!start!writing!…
• Do!an!audit.
• Create!a!content!inventory.
• Do!a!gap!analysis.
• Create!a!style!guide.
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30. The!audit
• What!copy!do!I!need?
• What!other!copy!do!I!need?
• Speaking!of!which,!where!do!I!need!copy?
• Also,!is!there!more!copy!I!need?
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31. The!content!inventory
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32. The!gap!analysis
• What’s!missing?
• Where!can!I!get!it?
• When!do!I!need!it?
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33. The!style!guide
• Brand!values
• Voice!and!tone!guidelines
• Usage!guidelines!(like,!“the!Web” not!“the!web”)
• Recurring!textual!elements
• Legal!requirements
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34. The!style!guide:!Example
All!copy!should!sound:!
• Clear!and!easy!to!follow:!Keep!writing!brief,!clean,!and!toquot;thequot;point.!
Use!crisp!language.!Introduce!your!point!early!without!complicated!
language!or!lengthy!clauses.!
• Engaging!and!casual: Write!the!way!our!customers!converse!with!family!
and!friends.!Use!warm!language!and!a!strong,!descriptive!style.!
• Upbeat!and!encouraging:!Speak!in!terms!of!users’ interests,!goals,!and!
challenges.!Use!active,!forwardquot;looking!statements.!Present!solutions!
and!ideas!in!a!positive,!informative!manner.!
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35. The!style!guide:!Example
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36. Substance
PART!THREE

37. Getting!at!substance!(the!“what”)
• What!do!you!NEED!to!say?
...!to!support!the!successful!attainment!of!user!goals
• What!do!you!WANT!to!say?
… to!meet!your!own!business!objectives
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44. Structure
PART!FOUR

45. Your!mission
• Get!out!of!your!user’s!way.
• Two!books!that!talk!about!this!brilliantly:
– Designing!the!Obvious by!Robert!Hoekman,!Jr.
– Don’t!Make!Me!Think by!Steve!Krug
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46. Being!smart!about!structure!(the!“where”)
• Where!should!this!copy!appear!on!the!page?
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51. Being!smart!about!structure!(the!“when”)
• When!should!this!copy!appear!in!the!application!design?
– To!support!successful!task!completion
– To!influence!behavior
• How!will!this!copy!impact!the!user’s!attitude?
– I!want!to!get!in,!get!this!done,!get!out
– I!need!help!making!a!choice
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59. One millllllllllllllllllllion dollars

63. Style
PART!FIVE

64. All!great!web!writing!is!…
• Personable
• Clear
• Concise
• Respectful
• Customerquot;facing
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65. Often,!crappy!web!writing!is!…
• Overwritten
• Lazy!about!spelling!and!grammar
• Lacking!focus
• Hard!to!act!upon
• All!about!you
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66. Rethink!your!approach.
• NO
– What!do!I!want!to!tell!you?
– What!do!I!want!you!to!understand?
– What!do!I!wish!you!would!do?
– How!can!I!make!you!care?
• YES
– What!do!you!want!to!know?
– What!do!you!need!to!do?
– What!do!you!need!to!feel!comfortable!and!smart?
– What!do!you!care!about!… really?
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70. Let’s!do!the!Top!10!List!thing.
• Because!everyone!loves!a!good!top!10!list.
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71. 1.!!Less!is!more
• Don’t!get!in!the!way!of!your!reader!gathering!information!or!
completing!a!task.
• Cut!all!unnecessary!words.!Then!cut!some!more.
• GET!OUT!OF!YOUR!READER’S!WAY.
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74. 2.!Get!to!the!point!
• Boredom!=!immediate!departure
• Save!your!niceties!for!when!they!call.
• Step!into!your!reader’s!shoes.!!
– What!information!do!I!want?
– What!do!I!want!to!do?
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77. 3.!Learn!to!love!the!inverted!pyramid.!
• Not!…
– Problem!statement!
– Related!work!
– Methodology!
– Results!
– Conclusions!
• But!…
– Conclusion
– Supporting!information
– Background,!technical!details
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78. 4.!Lead!with!active!words.!
You!know!you’re!getting!a!great!deal!every!time!you!log!on!to!
Target.com.!We!have!everyday!low!prices,!fabulous!moneyquot;
saving!offers!and!all!your!favorite!products,!right!here!online,
24!hours!a!day.
For!fabulous!savings!and!everyday!low!prices,!shop!online!24!
hours!a!day!at!Target.com.
Save!more!money.!!Shop!Target.com.
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79. 5.!Use!simple!sentences.
• Complex:
Best!Buy!Co,!Inc.!is!North!America’s!leading!specialty!retailer!
of!consumer!electronics!and!appliances,!operating!nearly!
700!retail!stores!in!the!United!States!and!Canada!under!the!
names!Best!Buy,!Future!Shop,!Geek!Squad!and!Magnolia!
Audio!Video.
• Simple:
Best!Buy!Co.,!Inc.!is!North!America’s!leading!specialty!retailer!
of!consumer!electronics!and!appliances.!!We!operate!nearly!
700!retail!stores!in!the!United!States!and!Canada.!!Our!
subsidiaries!include!Best!Buy,!Future!Shop,!Geek!Squad!and!
Magnolia!Audio!Video.
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80. 6.!Break!it!up.
• Put!the!reader!in!control.
• Paragraphs:!40quot;60!words.
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81. 7.!Design!for!scan!readers.
• Bulleted!lists
• Hierarchical!headings
• Clean!up!your!columns
• See!Luke!Wroblewski’s presentation,!Content!Page!Design!
Best!Practices:!http://tr.im/gHgP
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84. 8.!!Write!killer!headings!
• I’m!not!reading.!!I’m!scanning.
• Just!tell!me!what!I’m!going!to!find!on!that!page!or!in!that!
paragraph.
• Use!keywords.
• Don’t!be!clever.
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87. 9.!Set!expectations.!
• Deliver!on!your!promises.
• Tell!people!how!much,!how!long,!how!often.
• Make!sure!links!match!section!(or!page)!titles.!
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90. 9½.!!“Click!here” is!out!
Contact!usto!contact!us
Click!here
Learn!more
Click!here to!find!out!more
Order!nowto!order!now
Click!here
Sign!up!for!our!equot;newsletter
Click!here to!sign!up!for!our!equot;newsletter
FOWA!Miami!!|!!02.23.2009!!|!90

91. 10.!!Lighten!up.!
• Readers!want!to!enjoy!their!visit.
• Be!intimate,!friendly,!respectful.
• Use!contractions,!common!language.
• Make!your!reader!feel!smart,!not!stupid.
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94. Discuss
PART!SIX

98. Hey,!thanks!
email kristina@braintraffic.com
blog http://braintraffic.typepad.com
twitter @halvorson
Kristina!Halvorson!!!|!!!FOWA!Miami!!!|!!!02.23.2009