Unsuck-It.com: A Clear Content, Anti-Jargon Resource

 BFC Blog, Confusing Content, Content Creation, Content Strategy, Web Writing, Website Content  No Responses »
Oct 052011
 

I took a break from a new post to listen to Content Talks. Episode 9, with Mike Monteiro, to be precise.

The topic was the business of design. But along the way, they mentioned UnSuck-It.com.

I’d never heard of it before. (Which, given this blog, is outright bizarre!)

So of course I checked it out. The site is a database of witty common-sense alternatives for jargon terms. Rewritten – “unsucked” – so they make sense.

I am ecstatic to see this. Not only did we badly need this out there, but it means I don’t have to build it myself! (I did have a similar idea in my notes.)

Whoever wrote the ‘unsucked’ explanations deserves a medal. Lots of great sarcasm to quash any jargon-user’s (self-)righteous fury.

I’ll quote a few examples:

Gamification

-Unsucked: “A popular product strategy fantasy about turning every mundane task into Farmville.”
My Comment: While balancing work and play is healthy, the fact that ‘gamification’ exists worries me.

Red Flag

-Unsucked: “Concern.”
My Comment: If you’re in Texas, you can use this. (It’s in the state business code, I think.) Everywhere else? It’s just a concern.

Social Media Strategy

-Unsucked: “Typing into text areas.”
My Comment: Heehee! Hey, wait a second…

Solution

-Unsucked: “Software. Please, just call it software.”
My Comment: Yes! We even have extra add-ons to make it clearer! Software program, software application…a “solution” is what you reach after USING the software!

Take It to the Next Level

-Unsucked: “Improve it.”
My Comment: Hatred of this term has sustained me for years.

“Unsuck” Your Content Before Posting It

I happily recommend this site to everyone writing content. If you’re using a term that’s listed on UnSuck-It.com, reconsider.

Can you be clearer? Chances are you can. Then your content won’t suck.

Next time I’ll write on content development for startups. (Product’s not the only thing you’ll need to work out!) Watch for it soon.

While you wait, why not follow me on Twitter or add Blue Ferret’s Clear Content Writing to your RSS?

 Posted by at 1:55 pm  Tagged with: , , , , ,

Know Any Thought Followers? Why the ‘Thought Leader’ Classification Doesn’t Work (And What to Say Instead)

 BFC Blog, Case Studies, Confusing Content, Content Creation, Content Marketing, Social Media, Web Writing, Website Content, White Papers  2 Responses »
Sep 222011
 

The Hidden Dangers of Using Jargon, Example 4

Last week the Content Strategy Google Group (of which I’m a member) discussed the term “thought leadership.”

Everyone in the group (and most people reading this) pegged ‘Thought Leader’ as jargon. Even a client rejected it for a category header.

“My problem is everyone in my industry (other than us) seems to use that term, so my firm is rejecting that outright.”

So, what should they use instead?
Some group members proposed alternatives, like:

  • Knowledge Center
  • Reader Resources
  • [Subject] White Papers
  • Our Publications (I kind of like this one)

Then the conversation swung toward Thought Leadership’s underlying problem: The implications you make if you use the term ‘thought leader.’

Has Anyone Ever Done Business with a “Thought Follower”?

When used, Thought Leadership claims a hierarchical position. Namely, the top.

But nobody claims a “thought follower” position, do they? Of course not. No one would.

Well, we can’t ALL be Thought Leaders. What do we do?

“Thought Leader” as a jargon term tries to claim the high ground. Like everyone else. So the classification goes flat. Being a Thought Leader among thousands is kind of useless, isn’t it?

In the group discussion, one person pointed out that this whole thing is meaningless. Why? Because readers aren’t interested in these kinds of classifications.

At all.

They just want to find information on a specific topic.

Which is the only thing that really matters. Are you able to deliver information on that topic? If yes, then you don’t become a thought leader to the reader.
You become a resource.

Be a Resource Instead of a Thought Leader

If “Thought Leadership” implies a hierarchy that doesn’t really exist, how should we classify ourselves? What will the reader respond to?

If you have the information they’re looking for on a topic, you become a resource to them. So, aim for that!

Try being a resource instead. It’s more specific, and more valuable. For example, you could be:

“A resource for financial management software for HR consultancies.”

This fosters more of a collaborative space online, not an arbitrary hierarchy. Resources share information & audience attention with other resources, instead of competing for every last second.

One resource aids another. One website sends traffic to others. People find more and more information as they go – noting the businesses that PROVIDE those resources.

Readers don’t look for thought leaders. They look for specific resources.

Do YOU go looking for thought leaders? I don’t. I look for information from Kristina Halvorson (for Content Strategy), or John Jantsch (for B2B marketing), or Brian Clark (for Web writing techniques & Internet marketing strategies) or Steve Slaunwhite (for the business of copywriting).

Because these people have made resources of their websites. And by extension, their businesses. Last I checked, none of them are hurting either!

There’s no high ground in the term “thought leader.” Readers don’t care. They DO care about good resources. Look at social media – people share resources all the time, every day. Isn’t that a more powerful marketing approach than using jargon?

Look at your content. Ask yourself: “Is this something the reader can use? How? When?” If your content answers those questions, you have the makings of a resource.

What could your business be a resource for? A product you made? A specific audience? A region?

(DISCLAIMER: I wrote this post as a comment on the CS group discussion. These opinions are my own and are NOT intended as a reflection of the group. It was a great discussion!)

 Posted by at 1:19 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

How to Create Your Own BOGs

 BFC Blog, Content Creation, Content Marketing, Content Strategy, Persuasion Techniques, Web Writing, Website Content  No Responses »
Aug 252011
 

(And Why Your Company Needs Them)

Creating business guidelines unique to YOU makes your company trustworthy.

What evokes more trust: Content full of generalities, or content that explains precisely how you (and only you) work?

Last month I wrote a post about the term “best practices.” How too many businesses use it instead of detailing how they do things, expecting their readers to “just get it.”

I argued for writing out specific guidelines. If not for your industry, then at least for your company. Last week I created a name for them: Business Operating Guidelines.

BOGs for short.

I promised a how-to on creating your own BOGs. A set of guidelines on…how to make guidelines.

Now, these guidelines I’m recommending are what spur the beginnings of trust among your customers. They must reflect what you actually do–not what you imagine you do.

Don’t just dash off one-liners for each guideline and call them done. Roll these around in your workplace. Ask employees what they would say. Get feedback from customers.

Make sense? Okay, let’s go for it.

CAVEAT: This is a prototype document. It will change as time and business moves along. Bookmark it and check back.

 

Guidelines for Writing Guidelines: How to Create BOGs

  1. List out the industries, locations and sizes of your clients. Include prospects too (add buyer personas if you have them). All BOGs must address these people.
  2. Detail your “typical project.” Go step-by-step, from first contact to final billing. Be as specific as you can without naming (client) names.
  3. Write out exactly what you do in the event of a problem. Do this for the 3 problems that first come to mind.
  4. Identify which communication channels you prioritize (email? Phone? IM?). Then identify which ones your customers prioritize. Do they match? If not, why not?
  5. Write out your initial BOG ideas. THEN discuss them with employees. Ask questions, and let the conversation bring up more questions.
  6. Write down the things your customers ask for. Address all of the problems.
  7. Frame your BOGs in terms of a conversation with your audience about these topics. Don’t preach or rattle on. What frustrates them? Is there something you do that’s different from other companies? (Do the customers like that?)
  8. Include examples. Examples of your documentation, your procedures…the conversations you have. Things like:
    • Project Quote Documents
    • Names & Contact information for specific tasks (customer service, issues, department heads)
    • Your Interactions with Partners, or Vendors
  9. Examine competitors’ websites. Is there helpful content you could offer that they don’t? Write a BOG pointing this out.
  10. Post the BOGs prominently on your website. Include them in company documents. Make them easy to find.

P.S. – Always use Clear Content for BOGs. Simple, human language.

 

Now, what do we have after all of that? A bunch of specific, relevant content!

(This one activity could generate dozens of ideas for even more content, too.)

 

The BOG Advantage to Business: Differentiation

My bet is that BOGs will help you build authority in your industry.

You define how others see you with this content. Everyone else has to follow that.

“But we can’t define how our whole industry works! That’s rude!”

You don’t have to define BOGs for your industry. Just define your own guidelines. It can be a big differentiator for small businesses looking to garner a wider audience.

 

Specific Guidelines VS. “Best Practices”: Why BOGs Win Out

Posting guidelines on how you work helps you (the business owner/VP/manager) get information out of your head and in front of your audience. People who’d love to know how you work, before they do any business with you.

Instead of wondering what you mean by “best practices,” they have an idea of how you work right up front. Readers get the sense of, “Hey, these are human beings. We can build a good relationship.”

Let me give you a visual on BOG value.
Some of my clients are industrial manufacturers. They know their equipment and their parts inside & out.

But they almost never write out their procedures. It’s all ingrained; they don’t think to tell customers how their business works. They just expect us to trust them (in fairness, most of us do).

As a result, their sites are barren. BOGs give them a chance to beef up their site’s content. Explain what their customers get.

And the customers have that much more reason to trust them.

 

Want to write out your own BOGs? Tell me about it!

In a future post I’ll share a BOG set for my own business (content creation/editing). Watch for it!

In the meantime, what would you put into BOGs for a B2B Software Development Firm? Or an IT Security Vendor? (Or even a Web Writer?)

 

 Posted by at 11:20 am

What’s a “BOG” and How Does it Relate to Content Creation?

 Confusing Content, Content Creation, Content Marketing, Web Writing, Website Content  No Responses »
Aug 182011
 

I finally decided on what I want to call my “best practice alternative” concept.

I’ll call them Business Operating Guidelines. Or…

BOGs.

This is important because, for one, it’s an easy-to-recognize acronym. Two, it tweaks the brain a little bit.

Admit it, when you read “BOG” you thought of some large murky messy patch of land with lots of vegetation and mud that wants to eat you.

(Come to think of it, that’s a lot like the content on most websites.)

So, to poke a little fun at all the Confusing Content out there, I’m naming my Business Operating Guidelines concept BOGs.

BOGs are an alternative to this scenario:
1. Company puts the phrase “best practices” in their website content.
2. Company doesn’t bother adding details of how they actually work with customers.
3. Company wonders why people ask them how they operate. Over and over.

By creating your own BOGs, your own operating guidelines, you can differentiate yourself in your industry. And carve out the beginnings of trust with your audience.

Next week I’ll post a how-to on creating your own BOGs. And how to avoid getting BOGged down in the details.

(Sorry, had to.)

What do you think? Decent enough term to add to the business lexicon?

 

 Posted by at 12:17 pm  Tagged with: , , , , ,

Is Your Content Too “Integrated” For Readers to Grasp?

 BFC Blog, Confusing Content, Content Creation, Content Marketing, Website Content, White Papers  No Responses »
Aug 112011
 

The Hidden Dangers of Using Jargon, Example 3

Most of my clients are in tech. So you can bet I’ve seen this next term aaaall the time.

Integrated. You’ve seen this too, I’ll bet. It started out in IT copy, with the common perception of “one or more software applications working together.”

Integrated software (MS Office). Integrated database (built into a CMS). Simple, right? It actually makes sense there. You know what to expect.

But now, it shows up everywhere. “Integrated” archive systems. “Integrated” project delivery. I don’t even know what that second one is supposed to mean!

All this variance means one thing. The term “integrated” is now overused. And that’s harmful to your website.

What’s the Harm? How About Mind-Boggling Your Reader?

The hidden danger in using “integrated” is that you force your reader’s thought process to jam on the brakes.

When you overuse a jargon term, it loses the word’s original effectiveness. Especially when taken outside its original industry context. Meaning changes, depending on the new context.

And even that context may not always be clear. So your reader has to stop and think.

Which means you’re dangerously close to losing them.

Integrated Sales Metrics Forecaster? I Just Wanted a Forum Builder. Run Away!

“…integrated software that leans and automates operational, administrative and logistic processes, saving thousands of dollars.”

I didn’t make that up. It came from an actual website. Someone wrote it into their content.

Readers see this sort of thing and think either:

“I don’t know what they mean here.”
OR
“Wait, what? That doesn’t make sense [from my point of view]!”

Either way, what happens?
Their train of thought is derailed.

This is a hidden danger to YOU, not to them. They can just hit Back & look elsewhere.

You have just suffered a lost reader. Who came out negative in this equation?

I Know It Hurts, but Write it Out Anyway

Instead of writing:
“XYZ is an integrated solution for data corruption scenarios, blah-blah-blah…”

Try the long approach in your content. For instance,
“X is a collection of software applications for tackling the data corruption problem.
Application #1 handles file backups…
Application #2 performs a system scan…”
Etc.

You’ll need to write a few more lines. Maybe. But your content will be that much clearer.

The reader’s brain won’t crash into the front of their skull. It’ll just keep chugging down the page.

What’s another example of mind-boggling jargon you’d love to eradicate?

 Posted by at 11:29 am  Tagged with: , , , , ,
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