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Relief |
| Outdated, stale brochure-ware | Work with stakeholders to inventory, edit and update text and other content. Archive the good stuff and make sure the right people can find it. Then fix your content management system! |
| Too much text creating headaches for content management, migration and/or translation projects. | Assess text with stakeholders, edit it down and trash anything that doesn't help users find what they want and do what they need to do. Develop and socialize an editorial development strategy. |
| Typos, missing words, confusing punctuation, misspellings, bad grammar | Probe the content management system to identify and fix the source of the problem. Get an approved editorial style guide (or guides) up and running (and enforced!) a.s.a.p. |
| Big blocks of text, long sentences, punctuation hard to read or easy to miss. | Edit to allow quick scans of headlines and text; break it up into tables, bullet lists, shorter paragraphs; use punctuation that's easier to see on a computer display (e.g. em dashes instead of colons). |
| Monotonous, self-absorbed voice weakened by techno-speak and/or marketing jargon. | Help writers get to know your company, its business and its customers--then encourage them to engage in honest, open conversations with your site visitors. |
| Content doesn't match visitors' sequential use of site. | Review any/all user research, develop user profiles and task scenarios as needed; align both with appropriate content. |
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Text not optimized for search engines
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Identify key search terms and/or controlled vocabulary, insert in title bar and link labels, spread through text to create themes. |
| Content doesn't guide users through the site, help them find information or perform tasks. | Get content providers talking to information architects and vice-versa so content, site structure and navigation are an integrated whole tailored to specific user groups. Better yet... (see below) |
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Limited budget for developing and maintaining high-quality Web writing.
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Hire a Web writer who is also an information architect--read about my services or contact me to learn more. |
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Don't know where to begin.
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Get started with a fast, affordable CPR-Mini cure! |
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Ask your Web Strategist if CPR is right for you! |
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© 2004 Clearwater Communications |