Content problems. We all have them: Your clients can't get you copy on time. Marketing's massive paragraphs break your tidy designs. Or maybe your site's overflowing with stuff, and no one's responsible for keeping track of where things are and why they're there. Content strategy to the rescue, right? Well, sorta. It'd be nice if a few well-placed deliverables could solve the problem. But editorial plans and style guides won't change things. Neither will structured content and a custom CMS. We can't mastermind solutions and expect them to stick in organizations full of complex people, histories, and challenges. When it comes to improving content, it's not about fixing. It's about facilitating—helping organizations adapt, so their content can adapt with them. If you're used to designing and building, this is a big shift. This talk will help you get started.

1. CONTENT&CONTROL
sara wachter-boettcher / web design day / october 25, 2013
www.flickr.com/photos/hectoralejandro/4533858235

2. www.flickr.com/photos/barkbud/4772858837
content
problems.

3. IT’S OK. WE ALL
HAVE THEM.

4. it’ll just be a
simple content
migration!
www.flickr.com/photos/puuikibeach/8564682770

5. our mobile site
has everything onthe-go users need!
www.flickr.com/photos/amatuerphotographer/8133278472

6. our authors are
pretty good at
publishing!
From NBC Miami

7. i’m important!
put me on the
homepage!
www.flickr.com/photos/bevgoodwin/9482142313/

8. i’m important!
put me on the
homepage!
me too!
no, me!
www.flickr.com/photos/bevgoodwin/9482142313/

9. www.flickr.com/photos/miaochronicles/2509326023
when did you say
you’d have your
content done?

10. www.flickr.com/photos/merlym/3512356738/
SRSLY?

11. GOOD NEWS!
I’M A CONTENT
STRATEGIST.

12. SO OF COURSE
CONTENT STRATEGY
WILL FIX THIS!

13. www.flickr.com/photos/merlym/3512356738/

15. Blah
Blah
Blah
Blah
Blah
Blah

16. www.flickr.com/photos/nickwebb/3904325807/
we got this,
you guys!

17. ‘‘
You know exactly what to do, but not
everyone here is ready for that. You’re
jumping to the answers, but they don’t
understand the questions.
— My client

18. www.flickr.com/photos/familymwr/5084724949

19. HE WAS RIGHT.

20. i saw content
as an input.

21. BUT CONTENT
IS ALSO WHAT
COMES OUT OF
ORGANIZATIONS.

22. www.flickr.com/photos/patchworkharmony/8206364973
it reveals our
values and beliefs.

23. our ownership
issues.
www.flickr.com/photos/seabamirum/2848715801

24. our fear of
change.
www.flickr.com/photos/paulvaarkamp/481912299

25. WE USED TO JUST
MAKE WEBSITES.

26. NOW THE WEB IS
EVERYTHING.

27. NOW THE WEB IS
EVERYONE.

28. ‘‘
Content is easy, people are messy.
—Sally Bagshaw,
@snappysentences

29. DELIVERABLES
WON’T FIX THIS.

30. www.flickr.com/photos/justsketchy/6639463877
we have to bring
them with us.

35. GSD

36. www.flickr.com/photos/paulmannix/261313412
what’s happening
over there?

37. www.flickr.com/photos/departmentofed/7894648550
can’t do this all
day, every day.

38. www.flickr.com/photos/west_point/5357124683
parallel
processes.

39. www.flickr.com/photos/clam113/2666711074
content is a
team sport.

40. WORKSHOPS: NOT
JUST FOR KICKOFF.

41. MESSAGING
EDITORIAL STYLE
CONTENT AUDITING
CONTENT MODELING

42. MESSAGING
EDITORIAL STYLE
CONTENT AUDITING
CONTENT MODELING

43. who are we?
what’s important?

44. MESSAGING
EDITORIAL STYLE
CONTENT AUDITING
CONTENT MODELING

45. do we sound
like that?

46. MESSAGING
EDITORIAL STYLE
CONTENT AUDITING
CONTENT MODELING

47. go through
it, together.

48. look for shared
traits as you go.

49. MESSAGING
EDITORIAL STYLE
CONTENT AUDITING
CONTENT MODELING

50. what’s a user’s
path really like?
Paul Kahn and Christophe Tallec

51. WHICH CONTENT
DO THEY NEED
ALONG THE WAY?

52. what would make
that possible?

53. www.flickr.com/photos/darrensnow/2566687702
specialized,
not special.

54. rules aren’t
everything.
www.flickr.com/photos/dsifry/2205839462/

55. when it fits,
it just works.
www.flickr.com/photos/bluryee/2850257762/

56. www.flickr.com/photos/scott1723/6290094282
but we’ll have
to let go first.

57. thank you.
@sara_ann_marie
sara@sarawb.com