Someone has to write Web site content. Someone has to write Web site content. I could repeat this statement a million times, as it is something of great concern and passion to me. Why? Let me explain in a brief, true story. Names have been masked to protect the, um, innocent.

There’s nothing like a Web site project completed on time and under budget. My colleague and I were proud of the job we did, integrating a design from a designer who wasn’t a Web designer, but we made it work very well. The site architecture was integrated well based on the up-front analysis and the new site looked great, with one exception – there was no content. Literally, pages were blank! When we presented the site to its sponsor, who was also the one who was supposed to have written the content by now according to the project plan, he was irate. After he gave us a short monologue, it came down to the fact he let this slip from his plate altogether, though he was attempting to pass blame onto us. Oh, and this person was also my boss, the president of the company I was working for at the time, and it was for the company’s own Web site.

Completing content for a Web site can be the critical path to the site’s success. Unfortunately this has happened to me more times than I would like. So how do you ensure it is completed on time, as well as being effective and optimized? Here are some tips to follow.

Define the content - Ideally when you sit down to write content for your Web site this should have already have been completed. The information architecture of the Web site will be the top-line for what content is in the site, and its sitemap will define the pages or organization of the content. Within those pages there may be sidebars, call outs, photos, quotes, videos – whatever you feel will effectively communicate what you want to share with the visitor to your Web site.

Envision the content - Once you have gone through everything in the first step, close your eye and envision what the completed Web site will look like. What do you see in your mind’s eye? As much as pages have been laid out with placeholder text and images, seeing the finished Web page will help you in creating what will go on it.

Outline the content - Now that you know what to write and what it will look like, break down the content into manageable pieces, which is in essence outlining what will be the content of your Web site. Will a page of text have several sections with their own headings? Where will the images go?

Don’t forget SEO - Early on in the process of designing your Web site, you should have done work on the target audience of your Web site and their expectations. This information served as the guide post, spaghetti test or whatever metaphor will help you throughout the entire project. From this early analysis, the keywords and who to optimize the content of your Web site to should have bubbled to the surface or shot up like a rocket. Keep this in mind as you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.

Just do it or delegate it - Yes, now someone has to write the content. Hopefully the previous steps have energized you to actually write the content, or scared you into hiring a copywriter to do it for you. But no worries, as with all of this preliminary work done, the copywriter should have all they need to create great content for your Web site.

What may be obvious to some – creating content – isn’t always obvious to all. Have you encountered this yourself, and how did you overcome it? Do you have any tips in addition to those presented here? Please leave a comment and help those whose role it is to create content, whether by choice or force.

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Business • Strategize • Web Design • Web Development • (0) Comments • Permalink

The next likemind will be Friday, June 18, 2010 in dozens of cities around the world.

In Chicago, it will be at Argo Tea, 140 S Dearborn St. at the corner of Adams and Dearborn Streets in the Loop from 8:00 am to 10:00 am.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more information on likemind, you can read this great article on likemind from the New York Times.

No RSVP is required. You are also welcome to join the likemind Chicago Facebook group.

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The next likemind will be Friday, May 21, 2010 in dozens of cities around the world.

In Chicago, it will be at Argo Tea, 140 S Dearborn St. at the corner of Adams and Dearborn Streets in the Loop from 8:00 am to 10:00 am.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more information on likemind, you can read this great article on likemind from the New York Times.

No RSVP is required. You are also welcome to join the likemind Chicago Facebook group.

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Trends research, innovation, and activation firm PSFK has just released their 2010 Good Brands Report. This is a study on 10 top global brands, their reason for inclusion and opinion on each from a panel of experts.

The Good Brands for 2010 are: Google, Apple, Jamie Oliver, MIT, Ace Hotel, IKEA, Nike, Twitter, Foursquare and Nintendo.

The opinions on each brand come from members of the Purple List, of which I, Mike Maddaloni, am a member. The Purple List is described as “a network of experts for hire. The list is comprised of designers, journalists, marketers, and entrepreneurs.” My quote for Google on page 5 of the report is as follows.

It Reads, “Google builds-in innovation, which most all other companies do not do. By allowing their employees the opportunity to explore their ideas, they are not only seeing fruits from this in new products, but surely happier employees and better primary work from them.”

You can get a copy of the 2010 Good Brands report here, or read the SlideShare report embedded below.

I appreciate the opportunity once again to be part of such a high-profile report, as I was quoted last year on Virgin.

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As much as I strive to not talk straight politics here at The Hot Iron, it comes up. In this case, I recently read the book Common Sense by Glenn Beck.

If you are still reading this after the last sentence, thank you! I know some have strong positive or negative opinions of Beck, however I am writing this as I do about all books I read, penning my takeaways from it, which I received the book as a gift from a family member.

My greatest takeaway from the book was not from Beck's writings at all, rather from its appendix which had the full text of Thomas Paine's Common Sense, written in 1776. With this, Beck reinforces his points with the complete writings of the original pamphlet. Many authors I have read use numerous quotes to make their point, but not an entire piece. Granted it was probably easier as Paine's writings are in the public domain. But if you can, why not? It made it easier to read one set of points, then another.

Another takeaway from the book was to publish what you say. i am not a regular viewer of Beck's Fox News show, but I have watched it. What I read was in line with what he says on his show.

My final takeaway from Common Sense is to be a well-informed member of society. And I'll leave it at that!

Common Sense was a quick read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys political discussions or watches the author's show.

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