I recently finished a job that changed the way I view what I do. The assignment was to revise operating manuals for a mainframe computer software company. For resource material, I was given the old manual and a summary of updates, upgrades, new procedures, and all of the new information that had to be included in the revised manuals. (Stay with me, this does have a point.)
I mean, everything I know about mainframes fits in this sentence. After I reviewed the old manuals to learn the jargon, I was able to write the new manuals using standard IT-ese – an arcane argot filled with mystery words, trouble tickets and dire “downstream consequences.” To anyone outside the IT business (that includes me, big time), the new manuals were gibberish, developed by identifying nouns and verbs and substituting new nouns and verbs from the update summary. (No, really, there’s a point here.)
Anyway, as I was rewriting these tomes of troubleshooting steps and default, remote input protocols, it occurred to me that what I was writing would only be useful to a small, select group of insiders – the IT crew – and wouldn’t it be great if this information was understandable to all stakeholders in the company – from the CEO, to the VP of Marketing, R&D, Accounting, to the guy on the loading dock? If everybody involved understood what, why, how and so on, the information in those manuals would have more value.
So, how do web copywriters add value to their product – words by the pound? Some suggestions:
Utility. The more useful the information to more readers, the more valuable the content. If your client site sells refurbed, high-end calibration gear, it’s not reasonable to assume that the visitor/reader understands the tech specs of that electron microscope on sale. The reader may well be the organization’s purchasing agent, or even the head of the hospital who has an MBA, not an MD.
To increase the utility (and therefore value) of content, avoid the unnecessary use of jargon, and if insider jargon is required, provide a definition, example, case study, or something to clarify what an angstrom is. This doesn’t mean copywriters shoot for the lowest common denominator (an 8th grade reading level, really). But it does mean a careful examination of the role of the reader of your text to ensure that the “downstream” stakeholder fully understands choices, options, consequences, benefits – in plain English.
One way to increase utility of information is through the use of pie charts, bar graphs and other visual aids. These devices take a great deal of complex information and present it in an easier format for non-insiders to understand.
Reliability. I received a list of statistics from an associate to support her argument regarding the cost of “poor communications” within business. I’m not even sure how you develop hard data without first defining the term “poor communication.” Is that communication that isn’t understandable to the receiver? Is poor communication filled with lots of typos and grammar gaffes? How do you even define the terms to develop reliable data?
More about this bullet list of stats: there was no citation, no source given, no details about the study (did they study five people or 5,000?), no study guidelines – just a bullet list of so-called facts. With a cited authority and the means to verify the “facts” that appear on site, value is added. The information becomes more credible.
I’m not suggesting that each fact receive an APA formatted citation, but by providing additional resources, interested readers can dig further.
Clean. Nothing says amateur night like site text that’s loaded with typos. I recently ran across a site for a “sucess coach.” Throughout the site, in 20-point type, “sucess, suceed, sucsessful” and every variation were misspelled, and no, I’m not a member of the grammar police. But if you’re a success coach, at least spell success correctly.
Truthful. Is there anyone over the age of 10 who believes the hype in long-form sales letters? I edited one the other day – 33 pages of 100% pure tripe, but the mortgage was due (and to those who stumble upon this mega-hype, I apologize in advance) so I took the assignment.
Most well-trained chimps can spot hype and outright lies. Fake testimonials, bogus promises and unverifiable “facts.” A 33-page lie in full color with clip art, handsome charts and graphs, and even a Flash clip of the company “President.”
There may be other ways to increase the value of information, but this is not yet a fully-baked idea. It’s half-baked. Understood.
Site text has to be pithy, on point, optimized for SEO and higher conversion ratios, and, of course, it must have real utility to the reader. That much I know.
Still working on other ways to add value to site content – things like information velocity, relevance, writing quality and other factors.
Thoughts from the YOUmozzarati?
