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	<title>Brain Traffic Blog &#187; Elizabeth Saloka</title>
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		<title>Clients say the darnedest things: How to deal with bad feedback</title>
		<link>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2010/03/clients-say-the-darnedest-things-how-to-deal-with-bad-feedback/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2010/03/clients-say-the-darnedest-things-how-to-deal-with-bad-feedback/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:35:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Saloka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Editorial Strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[User Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.braintraffic.com/?p=1074</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Your writing is magic. Their feedback is tragic. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You spend weeks writing your client&rsquo;s site. And it pays off. Your messaging is dead on. Your copy is fresh, clear, and active. Deliriously tired but satisfied, you email the document to your client.</p>
<p>Two days later you get the document back. You open it.&nbsp;</p>
<p>MAMA SAY WHAAAATTTTT?!&nbsp;</p>
<div>She. Butchered. Your. Document. <i>Butchered </i>it! Using track changes, she reformatted your beautiful bulleted lists into gigantic paragraphs filled with run-on sentence after run-on sentence. She added &ldquo;dynamic&rdquo; and &ldquo;synergism&rdquo; to the home page intro. As an overall comment, she requested you please &ldquo;change all the links to &lsquo;click here&rsquo;, so people know to click.&rdquo;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>This feedback is bad. Very bad. But she&rsquo;s the client. What do you do?</div>
<div><b>&nbsp;</b></div>
<div><b>First, let&rsquo;s clarify something. </b></div>
<div>This article is about dealing with <i>bad </i>feedback. Not dealing with <i>negative </i>feedback. <i>Bad </i>feedback and <i>negative </i>feedback are two different things.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><b>Negative </b>refers to how the client <i>perceives</i> your work.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><b>Bad </b>refers to how the client <i>expresses</i> their perception (negative or positive) of your work.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>For my fellow visual learners, a chart: <span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><span><a href="http://blog.braintraffic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/3-19-2010-9-01-59-AM3.png"><img height="217" width="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1092" title="3-19-2010 9-01-59 AM" alt="" src="http://blog.braintraffic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/3-19-2010-9-01-59-AM3-300x217.png" /></a></p>
<p></span></div>
<div><b>Now let&rsquo;s talk about <i>types</i> of bad feedback&mdash;and how to deal with them.</b></div>
<div>Below, a profile of four popular types of bad feedback accompanied by coping tips:&nbsp;</div>
<div><b>&nbsp;</b></div>
<div>
<p><b>1. Jargon-y feedback. &nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
</b>Your client: &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like the copy to be more delightful.&rdquo; </p>
<p>You: &ldquo;Sure! No problem! I&rsquo;ll make it more delightful!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Wrong move, buddy.</p>
<div>When a client uses subjective, vague terms in feedback, you MUST call her on it. Right away. Even if you know stopping to dissect and analyze her feedback is going to take extra time and effort. Even if you have to revise schedules.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>In the long run, you will save time, the content will be better, and your client will be happier. Promise.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>If you can, help your client see the flaw in her logic. If she wants the intro to be more &ldquo;robust,&rdquo; respond with an open-ended question such as, &ldquo;What does &lsquo;robust&rsquo; mean to you, exactly?&rdquo;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Also, make sure you get examples&mdash;ask the client to email you &ldquo;robust&rdquo; copy samples. That way you have something tangible to work with.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><b>2. Vague feedback. </b></div>
<div>She says, &ldquo;Looks great!!!&rdquo; And that&rsquo;s, like, <i>it.</i></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Your client read all 87 pages of your copy deck and had <i>no</i> changes? Riiiiiggghhht.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>I&rsquo;d bet my bellybutton this is what&rsquo;s <i>really </i>going on: your client didn&rsquo;tactually read your whole content doc. Or at least not thoroughly. She&rsquo;s so busy worrying about the site&rsquo;s design/other projects/her newborn octoplets she didn&rsquo;t have time to read it.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>So she&rsquo;s cool with it. For <i>now</i>. That is, until her site is four hours from launch and she calls you for a boatload of last-minute revisions. </p>
<p>Do yourself and your client a big favor and make it very clear she needs to provide feedback now (remember, do so nicely!) or forever hold her peace. </p>
<p>Say something like, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m so tickled pink you went through ALL the content and you don&rsquo;t haveANYrevisions. I&rsquo;ll go ahead and send you the invoice and close out your project. It was great working with you!&rdquo;</p></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>If she responds with, &ldquo;Wait! Wait! I might still have some revisions!&rdquo; you can firmly (but nicely!) remind her of the feedback process you agreed to when the project kicked off. <b><br />
</b><br />
Tip: Include one or two questions using the comments feature in your document when you send it to the client. That way, if she gives you the &lsquo;ol, &ldquo;Looks great!&rdquo; you can respond by asking if she had any further thoughts about your questions. </p>
<p>If she has no idea what you&rsquo;re talking about, or if she responds with, &ldquo;Oh, right. We&rsquo;re going to have to change that,&rdquo; you know she didn&rsquo;t look it over thoroughly. Proceed with caution!</p></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><b>3. Contradictory feedback.</b></p>
<div>She says, &ldquo;We only call ourselves &lsquo;managers&rsquo; internally. Please don&rsquo;t use that term in the copy.&rsquo;&rdquo; </div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>You say, &ldquo;Okay.&rdquo;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>What&rsquo;s so contradictory about that, you ask? You&rsquo;re right: It&rsquo;s perfectly straightforward direction. Until you get your document back from your client and see she added &lsquo;managers&rsquo; to the company tagline, home page headline, global navigation, footer, and image ALT tags. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Clearly, you need to clarify what your client wants. <b></p>
<p></b>But, for the sake of your working relationship, you also need to be careful not to put her on the defensive or make her feel foolish. There are many ways to proceed. For instance, you could say &hellip; &nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Earlier you said I shouldn&rsquo;t call you &lsquo;managers.&rsquo; But throughout the document you inserted the word &lsquo;managers.&rsquo; What exactly would you like me to do?&rdquo;<b></p>
<p></b>There&rsquo;s nothing <i>wrong </i>with that approach. I guess. But doesn&rsquo;t this just seem friendlier &hellip; </p>
<p>&ldquo;Hey! Thanks for the feedback. I had one quick question regarding the word &lsquo;managers.&rsquo; I see you&rsquo;ve added it in a few places&mdash;is it okay to use that term now? Thanks!&rdquo;</p>
<p>See? Nicer. Generally, clients like it when you&rsquo;re nice to them.</p></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>
<p><b>4. Nonsensical feedback. &nbsp;<br />
</b>Maybe she&rsquo;s high on coffee. Or she prefers expressing thoughts verbally. Or maybe she&rsquo;s been up all night watching <i>Lethal Weapon</i> and its sequels. Whatever the reason, sometimes your client will give feedback that, well, makes absolutely no sense. </p>
<p>&ldquo;Could you please add another future verb to this entire beginning of copy paragraph? Thanks!&rdquo; </p>
<p>Huh?</p>
<p>&ldquo;I talked to Janice and she said Tom&rsquo;s player copy doesn&rsquo;t need any more action-oriented dropdowns (except maybe for twice?). Thanks!!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Whazza who? </p>
<p>&ldquo;Legal review. Stakeholders. Danny Glover. Thanks!!!&rdquo; </p>
<p>Mmm. &nbsp;<br />
<b><br />
</b>If you have no clue in sweet heaven what she&rsquo;s talking about (it does happen), schedule an in-person interview with her&mdash;over the phone works, too&mdash;so you can walk through her, um, &ldquo;points.&rdquo; <b><br />
</b><br />
Start by reading a couple of her comments back to her. Hopefully, she&rsquo;ll stop you after a couple minutes and say, &ldquo;Geez. I wasn&rsquo;t making any sense! I meant to say blah, blah, blah.&rdquo; Or whatever. If she doesn&rsquo;t, hopefully you&rsquo;ll be able to glean some insight into her state of mind through verbal cues.&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>Finally, a request.</b> </p>
<p>It&rsquo;s easy to roll your eyes when a client gives you slick, vague, contradictory, nonsensical feedback. But you know what? She&rsquo;s likely juggling a billion things, from wireframes to babies to <i>Lethal Weapon</i> DVDs. Your copy is just one of them. Cut her some slack. And remember, she&rsquo;s not a writer. If she were, she wouldn&rsquo;t need you.</p>
<div>If you&rsquo;re willing to have patience and put forth a little extra effort, you can help your client. You can educate her about content best practices. You can show her examples of successful websites with great content. You can take time to really understand where she&rsquo;s coming from, so you can put her feedback in context.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>In the end, your content will be better. And your client will be grateful. So, what do you say, &lsquo;ol chum?</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2010/03/clients-say-the-darnedest-things-how-to-deal-with-bad-feedback/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>13</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Secret’s in the source: Gathering useful source content</title>
		<link>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2010/02/secret%e2%80%99s-in-the-source-gathering-useful-source-content/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2010/02/secret%e2%80%99s-in-the-source-gathering-useful-source-content/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:47:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Saloka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Editorial Strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.braintraffic.com/?p=998</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Go beyond brochures. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-size: 10pt">We web writers like talking about bulleted lists. And keeping things short. And cake. </span>&nbsp;</p>
<div><span style="font-size: 10pt">But for whatever reason, we don&rsquo;t talk much about source content. We should. Because no matter how short our paragraphs, or how bulleted our lists, or how cake-filled our mouths, if we don&rsquo;t start with good source content, we&rsquo;re screwed.&nbsp;</span></div>
<div><b>&nbsp;</b></div>
<div><b><span style="font-size: 10pt">Back up. Why&rsquo;s source content so important?</span></b></div>
<div><span style="font-size: 10pt">Source content is to web content as marble is to the Venus de Milo. Or, more deliciously, as batter is to cake (mmm, cake). It&rsquo;s the material you shape into your final product. If you want to create worthwhile content, you need to start with worthwhile source content. </span></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><b><span style="font-size: 10pt">What is &ldquo;worthwhile&rdquo; source content, exactly?</span></b></div>
<div><span style="font-size: 10pt">Source content comes in many forms&mdash;from your client&rsquo;s current web content to print brochures to testimonials. Worthwhile source content gives you accurate facts and ideas relevant to your client and their users. Now, that&rsquo;s not to say it doesn&rsquo;t also contain outdated facts and irrelevant ideas. It probably does. That&rsquo;s why you&rsquo;re there&mdash;to separate the wheat from the chaff. </span></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><span style="font-size: 10pt">For example, if your client&rsquo;s current print brochure says they work with Adobe, Apple, and Hall and Oates, that&rsquo;s a <i>fact. </i>Arguably, a notable and powerful one. If your client&rsquo;s current print brochure says they &ldquo;work with many premier clients&rdquo; that&rsquo;s not really a fact. And it&rsquo;s not a very powerful statement. Wheat. Chaff. See the difference? </span></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><span style="font-size: 10pt">Now, I know what you&rsquo;re thinking &hellip; </span></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><span style="font-size: 10pt">But what if your client&rsquo;s source content is <i>all chaff</i>? In that case, you&rsquo;re going to have to do some digging. In other words, you&rsquo;re going to have to ask for<i> more</i> source content. Or &hellip; </span></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><b><span style="font-size: 10pt">Interview &#8216;em!</span></b></div>
<div><span style="font-size: 10pt">Okay, so. You asked the client for more source content. Turns out, they don&rsquo;t have any. Now it&rsquo;s time to dust off the ol&rsquo; notepad, hop in your Dodge Stratus, and conduct interviews!</span></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><span style="font-size: 10pt">That&rsquo;s right. You&rsquo;re gonna have to put on your reporter hat. Before you do, read up on how to do so effectively and efficiently: </span></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt">1. Exhaust your resources. </span></b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt">The great thing about being a web writer these days? We have a handy tool called the Internet. Not like when our great-grandmothers were web writers. Back then, web writers didn&rsquo;t HAVE the Internet.</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt"><br />
Not funny? Let&rsquo;s move on. My point is, the Internet obviously contains a lot of information. So, if you have holes in your source content, it can pay to do a quick Google search or two before approaching subject matter experts. If you get information from third-party sources, be sure to verify it with the client.&nbsp;</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt">2. Prepare yourself. </span></b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt">Don&rsquo;t go in to interview clients without a basic idea of what you&rsquo;re looking for. If you&rsquo;re working with a content strategy, refer to that. </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt">If you&rsquo;re not working with a content strategy, make a list of common questions users will likely ask when they come to a website that the source content <i>didn&rsquo;t</i> answer. Such as, &ldquo;How do I contact the company?&rdquo; Or, &ldquo;What, exactly, does this company do?&rdquo; Write these questions down. </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt">Then, when you interview stakeholders and subject matter experts, you can be very specific about what information you need from them. By being prepared, you save yourself and your client time. And you increase the likelihood you&rsquo;ll get exactly the source content you need. </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><b>&nbsp;</b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt">3. If you can&rsquo;t say something nice, don&rsquo;t say anything at all. </span></b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt">Source content is a sensitive area for a lot of clients. Because, at some point&mdash;maybe even now&mdash;it wasn&rsquo;t just their source content. It <i>was </i>their content. Their home page. Their brochure. They approved it. Maybe (though they might not cop to it) they even wrote it. </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt">So, instead of saying, &ldquo;Holy corn fritters your content&rsquo;s horrendous!&rdquo; say, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m SO thrilled to work with you. We&rsquo;re gonna make your website super awesome.&rdquo; When you show clients you&rsquo;re on their side, they&rsquo;ll open up. They&rsquo;ll trust you. Which means they&rsquo;ll be in a better position to answer your questions. And they are more likely to clearly, fairly judge your work once you start writing.</p>
<p></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt">4. Don&rsquo;t be afraid to ask dumb questions. </span></b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt">My kindergarten teacher used to say, &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no such thing as a dumb question.&rdquo; What a liar!</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt">But as a web writer&mdash;and, OK, just as a regular human&mdash;I ask dumb questions all the time. Questions like, &ldquo;So, what do your customers do with your toasters after they buy them?&rdquo; Or, &ldquo;What do you mean by &lsquo;good,&rsquo; exactly?&rdquo;</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt">Dumb questions can get you really far for two big reasons. First, dumb questions loosen clients up. They&rsquo;re so blown away by your sheer stupidity, they forget to be self-conscious. Instead of saying, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re an experienced team of technologists,&rdquo; they say, &ldquo;We fix computers. We&rsquo;re computer fixers. You <i>do </i>know what a computer is, right?&rdquo; They break things down in plain, direct, unmistakable terms&mdash;the same thing you&rsquo;re trying to do for users.</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt">Dumb questions also shake things up. They make people really think. By doing this, they open up all kinds of potential avenues. &ldquo;Hey, do we <i>need </i>an FAQ section?&rdquo; And, &ldquo;Why exactly do we have fourteen paragraphs about our CEO on the About Us page?&rdquo; </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 9pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt">You ask dumb questions. They start asking dumb questions. The content gods smile. </span></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><span style="font-size: 10pt">And there you have it, chief. You&rsquo;re now a source content rock star. Please, use your skills for good. And to score free cake for yourself and your loved ones (hint: me). </span></div>
<p><!--Session data--></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2010/02/secret%e2%80%99s-in-the-source-gathering-useful-source-content/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Email Etiquette: You are what you send.</title>
		<link>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/11/email-etiquette-you-are-what-you-send/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/11/email-etiquette-you-are-what-you-send/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:21:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Saloka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Resources]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.braintraffic.com/?p=746</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Email can be a tricky medium. Don’t let it trip you up—personally or professionally. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Ever send a super clever, funny, smart email, and then re-read it and realize you sound like a jerk? Or bat-dip crazy? Or full of yourself?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">It&rsquo;s not your fault! It&rsquo;s <em>email&rsquo;s</em> fault. </span></p>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">WHY IT&rsquo;S EMAIL&rsquo;S FAULT</span></strong></div>
<div>&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Email is a tricky medium, because: </span></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">1. It&rsquo;s crude.</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">  </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">In person, you convey information through:  </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">  </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">1.<span> </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: red;">Words</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">2.<span> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Vocal intonations</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">3.<span> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Facial expressions</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">4.<span> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Body language</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">5.<span> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Visual aids (e.g., PowerPoint slides)</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">6.<span> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Vibes (according to hippies)</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div><strong> </strong></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Over email you convey info through: </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1in;"><strong> </strong></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">1.<span> </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: red;">Words</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0in; margin-left: 40px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-indent: 0in; margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Communicating through email is like painting with one big, fat brush. Rendering subtleties&mdash;such as sarcasm and self-deprecation&mdash;is a tough, messy, and often impossible task. </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><strong> </strong></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.5in;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">2. It&rsquo;s easy. </span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Sending a birthday card is a full-blown process. You go to the store. Rifle through a bunch of cards. Buy one. Think out what you want to write. Grab a pen. Find a flat surface. Then, <em>finally</em>, put pen to paper. </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Email&rsquo;s free. And easy&mdash;just type and hit send. Because it carries no cost and requires little thought, people often don&rsquo;t put much care into their emails. It shows. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">  </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">THREE&nbsp;TIPS FOR GREATER EMAIL SUCCESS</span></strong></div>
<div>&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Writing clear, courteous emails ain&rsquo;t rocket science. Just stick with these three common sense tips: </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">  </span></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">1. Keep it simple, silly.  </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The fewer&mdash;and less fancy&mdash;words you use, the less likely you&rsquo;ll be to confuse (or, worse, offend) your recipient. Avoid sarcasm, irony, metaphor, obscure references&mdash;all the fun stuff that gets you in trouble. Need an example? Okay. </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Instead of saying: </span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1in;"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">&ldquo;Thad, you broke a leg&mdash;and two arms! You&rsquo;ve got the charisma of a young Ronald Reagan.&rdquo; </span></em></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Say: </span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">&ldquo;Thad, you did a really great job.&rdquo; </span></em></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">See? Not as creative. But less chance of confusing/offending/creeping out the recipient. </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">  <strong>2. Listen to your gut.</strong>  </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">You know when you read something you&rsquo;ve just written, and it doesn&rsquo;t sit quite right? Listen to that feeling.  Remember, once you hit &ldquo;send&rdquo; you can&rsquo;t take it back. So what&rsquo;s the rush? Go grab a pretzel stick from the office kitchen. Take a walk. Whatever. Any excuse to get away from your words for a few minutes.  </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">When you return, you might be surprised by how quickly you pinpoint what&rsquo;s off. &ldquo;Gee, maybe I <em>shouldn&rsquo;t </em>tell the client he reminds me of Larry King &hellip; &rdquo;</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><strong> </strong></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">3. Ask, &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;  </span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Before sending any email, ask yourself <em>why </em>you&rsquo;re sending it. Or, better yet, ask <em>what</em> your recipient will get out of it. Will it inform, amuse, or reassure them? If you can&rsquo;t think of even one little ol&rsquo; benefit, you probably don&rsquo;t need to send it. </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Remember, too, email isn&rsquo;t always the answer. Would your recipient prefer a text message or phone call? Or&mdash;gasp!&mdash;a face-to-face chat? Why labor over an email to a coworker when you could quick pop over to their desk? </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Finally, word to the wise: Sending YouTube videos over five minutes</span> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">long is just bad form. </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Seriously, people. Nothing&rsquo;s that funny. </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.5in;">&nbsp;</div>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">HOW TO DEAL WITH EMAIL SNAFUS</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">So now you know how to stop yourself from writing bad emails. But what if you&rsquo;ve already sent one? You have two options: </span></p>
<div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br />
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Say sorry.</span></strong></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p> </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 80px;"><strong> </strong>  <strong> </strong><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">When to say sorry: </span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Your coworker or boss says in very definite terms, &ldquo;Wow, you&rsquo;re a jerk.&rdquo; </span></div>
<blockquote>
<p style="margin-left: 40px;">&nbsp;</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">What to say: </span></strong></p>
<p style="margin-left: 80px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">&ldquo;Wow, I&rsquo;m a real jerk. I meant to be &lt;funny/sarcastic/goofy/whatever&gt; and I totally flubbed up. Please forgive me, yo!&rdquo;</span></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Say nothing. </span></strong></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-left: 80px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">When to say nothing: </span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Your aunt or friend seems put off, but doesn&rsquo;t actually say so. </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 80px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 80px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">What to say:</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Nothing. Let it blow over. Just make sure you take care with future emails. Chances are, in a few weeks, things will be just fine. What you <em>don&rsquo;t</em> want to do is cram your foot any deeper into your mouth. </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1in;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">YOU&rsquo;RE NOW AN EMAIL JEDI MASTER</span></strong></div>
<div>&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Feels good, doesn&rsquo;t it? You want to test your skills right now, don&rsquo;t you? Well, what are you waiting for? Go!</span></div>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
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		<title>Useful, Useable Costume Strategy</title>
		<link>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/10/useful-useable-costume-strategy/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/10/useful-useable-costume-strategy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:07:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Saloka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.braintraffic.com/?p=683</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Looking for a spook-tacular, recession-friendly Halloween costume? Sounds like you need a costume strategy—a.k.a., a Brain Traffic face mask!]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;-->Creepy, kooky, and altogether spooky, Brain Traffic&nbsp;paper face masks are specially designed to be worn on your face.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They&rsquo;re also:</p>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>
<p>100% paper</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>100% for your face</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Flat</p>
</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>Brain Traffic face masks come in four bone-chilling varieties.&nbsp; For best results, follow directions carefully.</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.braintraffic.com/wp-content/uploads/Kristina2.pdf"><br />
</a></p>
<p><a href="http://blog.braintraffic.com/wp-content/uploads/Kristina2.pdf"><strong>Brain Traffic President Mask </strong></a><br />
<strong>Trick AND treat. Then write a book. On occasion, nap.</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Tweet that you&rsquo;re going to put a mask on your face.</li>
<li>Put your mask on your face.</li>
<li>Tweet that you&rsquo;ve put a mask on your face.</li>
<li>Respond to several @ replies about you putting on a mask.</li>
<li>Go to airport.</li>
</ol>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.braintraffic.com/wp-content/uploads/Julie12.pdf"><strong>Account Manager</strong></a></p>
<p><strong>Make it a Halloween to remember&mdash;at your desk!</strong><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;--></p>
<ol>
<li>Block out a half hour on your calendar.</li>
<li>Change your email signature and voicemail message to reflect you&rsquo;ll be unavailable for said half hour.</li>
<li>Email a reminder to yourself to change back your email and voicemail.</li>
<li>Put your mask on your face.</li>
<li>Recap. What went well? What didn&rsquo;t? What did you learn about putting a mask on your face?</li>
</ol>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://blog.braintraffic.com/wp-content/uploads/Meghan2.pdf">Content Strategist</a><br />
</strong></p>
<p><strong>See dead people. And, content gaps.</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Check out competitor face masks. Pros? Cons?</li>
<li>Create a SWOT analysis of your face.</li>
<li>Collaborate closely with your hands and brain to create a useful, usable mask-putting-on strategy.</li>
<li>Implement the mask-putting-on tactics outlined in your mask-putting-on strategy.</li>
</ol>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.braintraffic.com/wp-content/uploads/Katie2 copy.pdf"><strong>Web Writer</strong></a></p>
<p><strong>Be afraid of &ldquo;click here.&rdquo; Be very, very afraid.</strong></p>
<p>Get this mask on your face in 5 easy steps:</p>
<ol>
<li>Got your mask? Great. Now, take a minute to get familiar with it.</li>
<li>Ask yourself what could go. &ldquo;Do I really need two eyeholes?&rdquo; Or, &ldquo;Could this nose be shorter?&rdquo;</li>
<li>Once you know what can go, cut. Literally. Like, with scissors.</li>
<li>Proof your mask for errors. Grammar, people.</li>
<li>All done? Great. Slap that mask on your mug!</li>
</ol>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<title>5 Tips on Working with a Style Guide</title>
		<link>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/07/5-tips-on-working-with-a-style-guide/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/07/5-tips-on-working-with-a-style-guide/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:07:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Saloka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Editorial Strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Add new tag]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.braintraffic.com/?p=520</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Don't let your style guide derail your sane train. Bone up on these tried-and-true tips.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When used correctly, your style guide can be a helpful tool.&nbsp; When used incorrectly, it can cause confusion and suck up time.</p>
<p>Don&rsquo;t let your style guide derail your sane train! Bone up on these tried-and-true tips:</p>
<p><strong>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don&rsquo;t put it off.</strong> Always have your style guide set before you start writing.&nbsp; A style guide will help you establish, guide and rein in all stakeholder expectations over the course of the project.</p>
<p>Whatever you do, don&rsquo;t fool yourself into believing you can write now and create your style guide later. You probably won&rsquo;t. And if you do, rest assured, it&rsquo;ll be a painful and messy process.</p>
<p><strong>Tip: </strong>If you already have a style guide, give it a good once-over. What should change, if anything? What should remain the same? If you&rsquo;ve found yourself ignoring major sections of the style guide in the past, consider updating it. A tight, clean style guide is a happy style guide!</p>
<p><strong>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Make sure you &ldquo;get it&rdquo; get it.</strong> Don&rsquo;t make assumptions about your style guide. If anything seems wonky, illogical, or even just &ldquo;off,&rdquo; clarify it. That goes double if other people are going to be using it, too.</p>
<p><strong>Tip: </strong>Everything&rsquo;s relative. Words especially. Nail down slippery terms by defining what each one means to you. If you&rsquo;re going for a &ldquo;conversational&rdquo; tone, put together a comparison chart:</p>
<p><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;--></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;<strong>Conversational is &#8230;</strong></p>
<table width="300" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="1" align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>More Like<br />
            </strong></td>
<td><strong>Less Like</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>For reals.</td>
<td>In all seriousness.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>It&#8217;s off the hook.</td>
<td>It&#8217;s extraordinary.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Cool it.</td>
<td>Patience is a virtue.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Give a shout.</td>
<td>Contact customer service.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bob for phrases.</strong> Okay, so, you&rsquo;ve nailed down the definition of conversational. Great. Now, go a step further.&nbsp; Hunt down real-world examples of conversational copy. Websites, blogs, Twitter feeds&mdash;they&rsquo;re all easily accessible content mines. When you see a turn of phrase you like, copy and paste that baby into a spreadsheet.</p>
<p>In a nutshell, build out the left-hand column of the diagram above.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<table width="300" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="1" align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>Word Bank</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>For reals</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>It&#8217;s off the hook.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Cool it.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Give a shout.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Raise the roof.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Don&#8217;t sweat the small stuff.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Sandwich is &quot;wow&quot; spelled incorrectly.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;--><!--[if gte mso 10]&gt;--><strong>Tip: </strong>The word bank is supposed to serve as inspiration. You should not copy phrases verbatim from your word bank into your content. In other words, don&rsquo;t plagiarize.</p>
<p><strong><br />
4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Check in. </strong>After you&rsquo;ve revised your style guide, run through it again. Make sure you&rsquo;re on board before proceeding. This might seem tedious. And time-consuming. That&rsquo;s because it is.&nbsp; But, it&rsquo;s the only, only, only way to stay on point.</p>
<p><strong>Tip:</strong> When revising a style guide (especially if you&rsquo;re not the person who created it) give justifications for your changes. This can be a short intro paragraph, or comments in the word document. Or, it could simply be verbal. Whatever you do, though, justify. <br />
<strong><br />
5.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Honor and obey your style guide. </strong>Inevitably, maybe after a few happy years with your style guide, you will see another one. It will appear fancy and wonderful. And you will think, &ldquo;Hey, no fair! I want a fancy and wonderful style guide.&rdquo;</p>
<p>You will be tempted to stray. DON&rsquo;T. Stay the course. Ditching your style guide mid-project, or&mdash;dread of all dreads!&mdash;near the end of a project, will only lead to heartbreak.&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Tip: </strong>If you&rsquo;re working on an ongoing project, and you&rsquo;re not happy with the style guide, consider revising your style guide for the next major content rollout.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<title>On Twitter, everyone’s a comedian. And a web writer.</title>
		<link>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/07/on-twitter-everyone%e2%80%99s-a-comedian-and-a-web-writer/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/07/on-twitter-everyone%e2%80%99s-a-comedian-and-a-web-writer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:58:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Saloka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Around the Office]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.braintraffic.com/?p=509</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Fake celebrity Tweeting is web writing. On crack. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Fake celebrity Tweeting is web writing. On crack.</p>
<p>Web writers have to adopt appropriate voice and tone while remaining pithy. Fake celebrity Tweeters have to adopt appropriate voice and tone while remaining super pithy&mdash;and telling pudding jokes. It&rsquo;s a hard job.</p>
<p>Here are some of our favorites:&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>
<p>&ldquo;Economy?&#8230; TRASH!&rdquo; <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/OscarTheeGrouch">@OscarTheeGrouch</a></p>
</li>
<li>
<p>&ldquo;Even though he looked like a wax figure, Mr. Jackson could do a strange backward jig, the likes of which I&#8217;ve never seen. He will be missed!&rdquo; <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/HalfPintIngalls">@HalfPintIngalls</a></p>
</li>
<li>&nbsp;&ldquo;Hulk smash!&rdquo; <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/incredible_rawr">@incredible_rawr</a></li>
<li>&nbsp;&ldquo;zippity hippity dop! zooba shawow! with the people, and the places, and the ohhh try some jello pudding. it&#8217;s such a good snack SHEBOP!&rdquo; <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/JelloPudding">@JelloPudding</a></li>
<li>&ldquo;Hey twitter.&rdquo; <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/HeyBrotherBluth">@HeyBrotherBluth</a></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
</ul>
<p>Would YOU like to be a fake celebrity Tweeter? Last we checked, these celebrities weren&rsquo;t taken:</p>
<ul>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>
<p>&nbsp;William Howard Taft</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>&nbsp;Jessica Tandy</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>&nbsp;Zach Morris (for real!)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>&nbsp;Kevin Costner</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Rudy Huxtable</p>
</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Kristina’s writing a book!</title>
		<link>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/05/kristina%e2%80%99s-writing-a-book/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/05/kristina%e2%80%99s-writing-a-book/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 May 2009 16:38:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Saloka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Brain Traffic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.braintraffic.com/?p=423</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hey, remember books? They're those things that are like websites you can hold.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A few months ago Kristina was asked to write a book about content strategy. Shortly thereafter she took off for a writing retreat in lovely Vermont. She must be busy, because no one has heard from her since!</p>
<p>We did manage to get our hands on an excerpt from chapter one:</p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <em>All work and no play makes Kristina a dull content strategist<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; All work and no play makes Kristina a dull content strategist<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; All work and no play makes Kristina a dull content strategist<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; All work and no play makes Kristina a dull content strategist</em></p>
<p>Watch your back, Hemingway!</p>
<p>You can <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Content-Strategy-Voices-That-Matter/dp/0321620062/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1242315663&amp;sr=8-1">pre-order&nbsp;</a> Kristina&rsquo;s book now. Can&rsquo;t wait? You can buy her <a href="http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/announcements/2009/05/kristina_halvorsons_content_st.php">webinar</a> today.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Web Writing for Dummies, Smarties, Oldies, and Newbies</title>
		<link>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/04/web-writing-for-dummies-smarties-oldies-and-newbies/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/04/web-writing-for-dummies-smarties-oldies-and-newbies/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:51:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Saloka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/04/web-writing-for-dummies-smarties-oldies-and-newbies/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tack this handy list of web-writing techniques to your wall.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sure, someday you’ll have a free decade or two to tackle the mountain of books out there on web writing. Until then,&#0160;use this nice, basic list of web writing best practices to tack on your wall: </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Trim fat.</strong> Keep your content short and sweet. (Would say more about this, but, you know.)
<li><strong>Stay focused.</strong> As you’re writing, stop yourself every once and awhile and revisit your topic sentence. Ask yourself: Is what I’m writing relevant? Delete what’s unnecessary and retool what’s awkward.
<li><strong>Don’t exceed 60 words per paragraph. </strong>Doing this will make your readers’ eyes want to jump out of their sockets. True story.&#0160;
<li><strong>Honor thy bulleted lists.</strong> Three items? Perhaps you should bullet. Ten items? Definitely bullet. This will help your readers quickly assess, divide, and digest information.&#0160;
<li><strong>Avoid fantastic, wonderful fluff and cutting-edge, innovative corporate-speak. </strong>Readers can smell it a mile away. They don’t like it. It’s just a big, dumb, useless mountain in between the user and what they want.
<li><strong>Speak to the audience as ‘you.’</strong> Make them feel special, like you’re speaking directly to them. Remember, conversational. If you went to check into a hotel, a friendly concierge would say “Here’s the key to your room. Hope your stay is pleasant.” A not-as-nice concierge would bark “Here’s the key to the room. Hope the stay is crap.” (The crap bit was for emphasis. But you get the point, right?)
<li><strong>Divide and conquer existing content. </strong>Sometimes a content expert will give you information for the About Us section that would actually be more useful in the Jobs section. Or, a sentence won’t fit with the rest of a paragraph. Don’t assume the person who put it there was smarter than you. Move it! When reorganizing existing paragraphs or forming new ones, a good rule of thumb is to use the inverted pyramid style.
<li><strong>Talk like a human.</strong> If you’re writing for an established brand, by all means use their existing tone—if that’s what the client hired you to do. If you’re hired to create a new tone, that’s great. Do that. But in all instances make sure you don’t sacrifice clarity for cleverness. Also, don’t get overly grammatical. Sometimes it’s better to break a few grammar rules than to sound stuffy.
<li><strong>Stay grounded. </strong>Don’t fall in love with your writing. You’ll lose perspective. And, you’ll probably be less open to constructive client feedback.
<li><strong>Stay active. </strong>Jog twice a week. Heeeyyyoooo! Seriously, though, use active voice. Say, “She rocked the content.” Not, “The content was rocked by her.” Active voice sounds more conversational and offers less potential for confusion. Make sense? Good! </li>
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</ul>
<p>Want to dig deeper? Check out <a href="http://braintraffic.typepad.com/braintraffic/2009/01/books-i-read-or-referenced-over-break.html">Kristina’s book recommendations</a>.</p>
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		<title>This just in: the New York Times is way smart!</title>
		<link>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/02/this-just-in-the-new-york-times-is-way-smart/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/02/this-just-in-the-new-york-times-is-way-smart/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:47:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Saloka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Information Architecture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/02/this-just-in-the-new-york-times-is-way-smart/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The best interactive graphics are the simplest. No bells and whistles, please.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Eight words. Just eight little words.&#0160; </p>
<p>With one outburst, “Now<em> that’s </em>what I call an “interactive graphic!” I’ve finally, officially given in to the power of the geek side. And you know what? I don’t even care. In fact, I’m psyched. Why? Because the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/" target="_blank">NYT </a>has rocked my world with an interactive graphic that’s totally jiggable.*</p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">The piece, titled <em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/09/04/business/20080907-metrics-graphic.html?scp=1&amp;sq=What%20Your%20International%20Neighbors%20Are%20Buying&amp;st=cse" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/09/04/business/20080907-metrics-graphic.html?scp=1&amp;amp;sq=What%20Your%20International%20Neighbors%20Are%20Buying&amp;amp;st=cse&quot;" target="_blank">What Your Global Neighbors Are Buying</a></em> provides an overview of spending habits across the globe. The information it presents is less than earth-shattering—does anybody outside of a diaper not know that Americans spend an ungodly amount of money on, um, <a href="http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102551453" target="_blank">everything</a>?</p>
<p>What I did not expect was to encounter an interactive graphic that simultaneously does its job AND looks good enough to eat.&#0160; </p>
<p>Specifically, I likey that NYT didn’t stink up its graphic with unnecessary bells and whistles. No long-winded copy. No extra stats jammed into the rollover. No convoluted keys or systems. </p>
<p>Just the gross total for the country, a bite-sized intro paragraph, and intuitive graphics (bigger boxes mean more spending). But what really makes me want to shoot off cowboy hat-shaped fireworks is that NYT made the information digestible. Content’s broken into categories which are broken out by tabs. Really lovely stuff. </p>
<p>Okay, NOW I’m hungry for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast" target="_blank">breakfast</a>. Think I’ll have a content-nerd McMuffin. </p>
<p>P.S.: I was just on <a href="http://www.cnn.com/" target="_blank">CNN.com</a>, and I noticed their <a href="http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/" target="_blank">story highlights</a> feature on each story page. It’s a bulleted list of four key highlights. This, as a web writer and a reader, makes me happy. Of course they could (and should) take it one step further and link each bullet point to corresponding content further down on the page. But for now I’m happy. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.&#0160;&#0160; </p>
<p>*(adj.) exhibiting characteristics worthy of inciting a celebratory jig</p>
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		<title>Bangalore, we have a problem.</title>
		<link>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/01/bangalore-we-have-a-problem/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/01/bangalore-we-have-a-problem/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:15:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elizabeth Saloka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/01/bangalore-we-have-a-problem/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I’ve just stumbled on a site that offers web content for $4. Four. Dollars. That’s like, a sandwich. A gas station sandwich. Since when did web content become such a cheap commodity?
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>My mind is a microwaved hot dog. I’ve just stumbled on a site that offers web content for $4. Four. Dollars. That’s like, a sandwich. A gas station sandwich. And here’s the best part: The company selling &quot;$4 contents&quot; (as they put it) is <a href="http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&amp;rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&amp;channel=s&amp;hl=en&amp;q=niche+writers+india&amp;btnG=Google+Search" target="_blank">Niche Writers India</a>. Yep, India.</p>
<p>People are actually outsourcing web writing—English web writing—to India. To a NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY. </p>
<p>Since when did web content become a cheap commodity? We’re not talking about zipper togs and baby socks! We’re talking about communication. Often, very technical and advanced communication. The idea that anyone would send English source content to India for editing just defies all logic ever. It’s a real-life <a href="http://www.intriguing.com/mp/" target="_blank">Monty Python</a> sketch. </p>
<p>With that premise, it makes sense that the NWI site itself is comic gold. Seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up: </p>
<p>“Niche Writers India is the core when it comes to writing and this is what our clients feel about our content writing services expanding to various domains and collaterals. We have bubbling, energetic and youthful warp and woof of writers!”</p>
<p>I’m a lumberjack and I’m okay!</p>
<p>“Website content writing is an elaborate terrain, which deals in content for websites and website content writer is one who maneuvers such copywriting skills.”</p>
<p>Who’s on first?</p>
<p>“Oops! You fall short of compelling content. Where will the traffic fall, have you ever given a thought! If not, then it’s the right time to think. Internet visitors are smart, in fact, smarter than you. <br />The moment they’ll see some prosaic content or no content, you are out and so will be they!”&#0160;</p>
<p>Daaammmn, Ginaaa!</p>
<p>The absurdity goes on and on, and it just gets better and better. Check out <a href="http://www.nichewritersindia.com/sample-articles/" target="_blank">Niche Writers’ writing samples section</a>. It’s a trove of confusing, incoherent treasures. </p>
<p>But&#0160;here’s the serious point: Niche Writers India, though not in the manner it intends, makes a compelling case for the value of a good web writer. Hopefully after seeing this site, would-be value shoppers will decide to invest (more than $4) in their content. Hopefully. </p>
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