FROM ‘WHAT EXACTLY IS CONTENT STRATEGY’

TO ‘OH, I GET THIS NOW’

By Sydney Ratzlaff

Confab is a content conference that follows the Goldilocks principle

Not too big…

Not too small…

But juuuuuust right.

Here’s 5 main lessons I took home from my content

writing field trip to Minneapolis.

Lesson 1: Baby steps are neccesary ■ Having a small, scrappy content team is exciting, but you can’t get

overwhelmed with trying to implement everything at once.■ Figure out your Minimum Viable Content strategy.■ For all the things you can’t do: Keep a wishlist.■ “We can stop working on web process when the world blows

up!”

Lessons from Corey Vilhauer’s talk on Small Content Strategy

Lesson 2: Be funny, but do it right■ “What's it matter if I can't spell Armageddon, its not like its the end of the

world!”■ Committees kill humor. “I tried it once and it just didn’t work.”■ What comic character would fit best with your brand? (irreverent, cheeky,

deadpan, topical)■ The role of the court jester was actually a really important one. He was one

of the very few people that could challenge the King.

Lessons from Tracy Playle’s talk on engaging through giggles and guffaws

Lesson 3: We are not the customer (repeated 3x)■ We can't trust our content with 4 smart people in a room drinking lattes. We have to trust

40 customers in a room drinking lattes. ■ The stuff we want is probably not what the customer wants. ■ Have a group hug with employees, and have everyone say this 5 times: We are NOT the

center of universe. The customer is.■ More people have been to the top of Mt. Everest than the 5th page of search results. ■ We desperately need our marketing content to be less of a sales pitch, and more of a

conversation.■ You have a better chance of being struck by lightning then someone clicking on your

banner ad.

Lessons from Gerry McGovern’s keynote on creating better customer experience online

Lesson 4: Be where your butt is■ Play your scales – write, write, write.■ Look up writing prompts (this lead to my first blog post!)■ When you feel immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead, you have to rein

in self-doubt and just “be where your butt is.”■ Go beyond the rat race, because even if you win: you’re still a rat.■ “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor. Strive for 10% better. 10% is a

miracle. Try. Fail. Try again. Fail better.”

Lessons from Anne Lamott’s keynote at Confab 2015

Lesson 5: Start a writing diet■ Get rid of word bloat. Encourage strikethroughs.■ ‘Be-verbs’ are insidious and pop up everywhere, similar to the whack-a-mole game.■ Choose to notice them and improve your writing. E.g. is, was, were, will be, have, been■ We all think in bloated terms - get your content out and then go back over it.■ Write minimally - enough to meet your audience needs and accomplish your purpose.

"Write when there is something that you know; and not much before; and not too damned much after." – Hemingway

Lessons from Marcia Riefer Johnston’s talk Write Tight(er): Get to the point and save millions

Thank you to all who made Confab possible!