WordCamp US 2016 - How to Talk Content: A Guide for Developers
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The document provides a guide for developers on how to effectively communicate about content with clients. It emphasizes understanding clients' needs, simplifying terminology, and involving them in the content development process through questionnaires and examples. The guide encourages proactive assistance and inspiration to facilitate better project outcomes.
WordCamp US 2016 - How to Talk Content: A Guide for Developers
- 1. How to Talk Content #WCUS A Guide for Developers Lisa Melegari @lmelegari
- 2. Why do I need to learn to talk content? How many times have youβ¦ ο Had a project held up? ο Had a project go over estimates? ο Had to go back and re-do significant amounts of work?
- 3. This does not have to be your reality!
- 4. EXAMPLE
- 5. I need an approval of this wireframe of your home page before we can proceed.
- 7. What do those boxes and numbers mean? And whatβs that nonsense text?
- 10. Are those pictures of Bill Murray going to stay that way?
- 12. βThe blank slate paralyzes clients.β - Karina Kreger
- 13. So what do we do about this?
- 14. Determine Where Your Client is in the Content Development Phase οDonβt use the word βcontentβ β break it down into the actual things you need. οHave them fill out a content onboarding questionnaire. οAsk for access to their existing assets or someone in charge of producing those assets.
- 15. Probably a picture gallery, maybe some videos. Iβm not sure yet, Iβll figure it out once you finish the site. Isnβt that your job?
- 16. I want a full image background that stays when you scroll down. Iβm going to be using a lot of pictures in my blogs and posting at least once a week. I might have a logo later, but not right now.
- 17. Offer Some Assistance οProvide basic, relevant filler content and encourage them to make it their own. οWork with a creator friend and have them make some samples.
- 18. Help Them Get Inspired οFind sites with similar goals or uses in your portfolio. οShow them some sites you think have great visuals or write a good block of text. οGive them homework.
- 20. Any questions? @lmelegari lmelegari@gmail.com Download this presentation and my speaker notes here: goo.gl/IT38Qm (thatβs an uppercase βiβ in front of the T, itβs case sensitive)
Editor's Notes
- #5: A friend of mine was developing a site and during the mockup phase, did a basic wireframe of the home page layout.
- #9: So the solution he came upon was to utilize Fill Murray, a custom placeholder script that puts images of Bill Murray in standard image sizes on your site mockup.
- #10: It was great, quirky, easy, andβ¦the client, kid you not, responded with
- #12: Custom placeholders, whether it be Bill Murray or Kittens (and believe me, there are dozens of them out there), just don't cut it when it comes to identifying content types, spaces and sizes. Or getting your clients to even understand what content IS.
- #13: At this yearβs WordCamp Orlando I caught this amazingly accurate quote from Karina during our business panel. She was asked how do you handle a client who has no idea what theyβre doing for content.
- #15: While getting a feel for the content your client is using, you donβt want answers like these.
- #18: I've seen design projects come to a grinding halt while waiting on a client to provide content. Placeholders only serve a purpose for so long before it's get real or get used to sitting around. One of the most effective ways to get your client moving on their content - besides billing them for extending the project timeline - is to provide some basic content yourself. If you're able to invest the time and effort, create some applicable but still filler content. It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to give them some inspiration of what they want that content to be. And if you don't have the time, that's fine - find a content writer or graphic designer who does, have them produce some samples, and at worst you'll give them the push to produce their own, and at best you'll give your friend some business!
- #19: If you've been a developer for any length of time, you know your job ends up being a whole lot more than code. I've heard stories of my friends who end up acting like business coaches, helping their clients develop a business model while building their site. If that's not above and beyond I don't know what is. At the very least, it doesn't take a lot of effort to help your client get inspired. If you have a substantial portfolio with sites in a similar vein, show off those projects and point out aspects that would work well for their site. If you don't have anything relevant to show, find some sites that you think really do the job your client is looking for. Give them homework - tell them to find examples of writing and images that they want to eventually see on their site. The more they look into how passionate retail sites sell their wares and how the best food blogs compose their photos, the more eager they'll be to get the content train on its tracks and let you get back to wrapping up that project!
- #20: Unless youβre like me and constantly shoving cats off your desk.