10 content strategy lessons I have learned
In my work with associations, corporations, intranets, and nonprofit organizations, I have come to realize several things that seemed worth sharing. Content strategy challenges and opportunities are similar for organizations in many industries, locations, and sizes — and as a content strategist, your work is similar too. I hope these lessons help other content strategists help other organizations. Content audits uncover surprises – plan extra time for them.Sometimes those surprises are technical, such as the one I recently...
read moreHow to choose digital tools and channels for your association
In your association, you need a good way to make smart decisions about which tools and channels to adopt. It’s all too easy to succumb to “shiny object syndrome,” since it’s free and easy to set up a new channel or tool. However, launching any new tool or channel is like having a baby — while the setup takes planning and thoughtfulness, the real effort is the long-term, everyday care and feeding. So make your decisions wisely, based on good business metrics and goals, as well as the opportunity offered by the...
read moreContent strategy: A two-way mirror between you and your audience
In my work with various clients, I find that many people see content strategists as only outsiders involved when a website is being redesigned. This is a huge missed opportunity, and I wanted to share some thoughts about that. Content strategy guides an organization to create its content most effectively. One of the key jobs of the in-house content strategist is to promote (or “curate”) the organization’s products, programs, and other offerings in a way that they will resonate most with the audience. Let’s assume that...
read more5 tips for LinkedIn success
A few weeks ago, my friend and colleague Leslie O’Flahavan of eWrite Online, a wonderful teacher of online and business writing, asked me to write a guest post for her blog about how I use LinkedIn. I’ve been on LinkedIn since 2004 and spend time on it almost daily. I shared what I do, and I invite you to read the post and see if these tips help you make more connections and get more attention on LinkedIn. I’d love to hear your tips...
read moreSelling content strategy to management
or, how content strategy challenges are keeping your CEO up at night Presentation delivered at the Chicago Content Strategy Meetup on March 26, 2013. It covers: A list of business problems caused by a lack of content strategy How to communicate the value of content strategy The culture changes that content strategy may require/cause Potential approaches for getting executive buy-in I’d love to hear your stories too! Selling Content Strategy to Management from Content...
read moreWhat, exactly, is YOUR content strategy?
I’ve been increasingly struck by how focused content strategy practitioners are on our profession’s tools and tactics — content audit, editorial calendar, responsive design, etc. I’m wondering whether your content strategy efforts involve the creation of an overarching statement of the actual content strategy. The generic version of that might be something like, “We will publish content effectively to help our organization meet its business goals.” For the website I oversaw at my previous organization, we...
read moreUpcoming speaking engagements
I will be speaking at four events in the coming months. The “Weighting Game”: How to Make Smart Decisions about Which Tech Tools & Social Media Channels to Adopt at theREALTOR Association Executives Institute in San Diego, CA, March 19, 2013 “How to Sell Content Strategy to Management …or, are content strategy challenges keeping your CEO up at night?” at the Chicago Content Strategy Meetup on March 26, 2013 “Step-by-Step Guide to Creating and Executing a Great Content Strategy” mini-bootcamp at...
read moreHow to grow your audience
Please hop on over to SpinSucks.com and read my latest post: To Grow Your Audience, Become a DJ for your Content. In there, I talk about how to choose topics that will engage your audience and keep them coming back for more. I also gave a webinar on the same topic for SpinSucks Pro — hope you’ll tune in to that too! Looking forward to your comments and...
read moreContent strategy for Twitter
An effective Twitter content strategy produces a stream of updates that inspire a follower to follow back. It contains the following characteristics: shares information about the person/business that potential followers find useful shares information that inspires confidence in that person/business lets followers know that the person/business is interested in others shares links shows that the person/business is participating in conversations — asking questions, responding, engaging others is updated on a relatively frequent basis When...
read moreHow to recover from being a content hoarder
This is a follow-up post to “Are you a content hoarder?” where we explored why people hold onto content long after its usefulness is over. The antidote to hoarding has three components. Here are some details about each of those and the specific steps for how to do them: 1. Remove content that is no longer useful or used. See the initial post for criteria determining what to declutter. Step 1. Admit you’ve been a hoarder. Find all the content on your site that’s more than one year old. Review it for currency and delete...
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