Margo Stern, Content Strategy Lead, Shopping at Google, gets into how to design product content, OR “going from concept to launch with a little less pain.”
- You and your team members are special snowflakes. You all have special talents and skills to bring to the table.
- From idea to launch, things can get lost in translation
Strategies for Seeing Content Through
Evangelize
- At Google, they have 3 minute cross-functional meetings to present what they’re working on.
- Laser. Focused. Editing.
- Rescue codes in payments app
- Everything we know vs. what the user needs to know
- We often know more (and want to say more) than what the user needs/wants
- The solution:
- Keep it quick
- Prioritize the rescue code
- Go from problem to solution in less than a tweet
- Everything we know vs. what the user needs to know
- Rescue codes in payments app
Strategize
- Set a strategy and stick to it.
- If you send around some content without context, it’s anyone’s game.
- Ground your content in some strategy, any strategy, so the argument is made before it’s even raised.
Listen
- Don’t stop paying attention after you hear the words “the team has some feedback”
- You don’t have to respond right away
- Don’t say “yes” or “no” – don’t be reactive in moment
- “Let me take a look and I’ll get back to you”
- Take time to step back, consider research, think of alternatives, or show how/why initial rec works
Dig Deep
- Directive feedback can be a drag, but your copy doesn’t have to take a hit.
- Question to ask:
- Can you tell me more about the problem you’re trying to solve?
Get Perspectives
- You’re the expert in what you do. Colleagues are the experts in what they do. Respect that. They can bring different, and valuable, POV to the table.
- Other people can make your work better.
- Product = sum of all parts
Revise Thoughtfully
- Be wary of death by a thousand cuts. Try and gather all feedback (as best you can) before you pick up the pen a second time.
- Explain the why behind decisions. Continue to evangelize for the content experience you’ve envisioned.
- See also: dig deep. Get to root cause of feedback.
Manipulate Stakeholders
- Rank stakeholders (in secret)
- Some stakeholders are more important than others.
- This is the audience for your strategy, more than anyone.
- Some stakeholders are more important than others.
Anticipate Churn
- Churn ahead? Track decisions.
- “Picture this. You’re a couple of revisions in and suddenly people are forgetting their own decisions.
- Start tracking decisions: who/what/why/notes
Let It Go
- You’ve ushered your work to a very good place and sometimes you have to set it free.
- You’ve set the strategy, laid the groundwork, collaborated, and sold it through.
- Even if you don’t see if through the last 15% of the way, know it came from a very good home.
- Fly free, little words. Fly free.