I recently finished reading Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works, by Janice Redish. I was impressed with the book, and feel it has much to offer anyone who develops Web content. Here’s the rundown of what you’ll find:
The Quick & Dirty
Overall, I found Letting Go of the Words to be highly useful and educational. The topic of usability is hot these days, and this book ties in well with it. The author helps readers understand what they can do as Web content writers to make websites easier to use. In short, this book does a great job of helping readers understand how writing for the Web is different, and why we should care.
What I Liked
This book does a clear and thorough job of explaining the reasoning behind Web content writing strategies. The author introduces us to HOW people use the Web, and what they expect to find there. She points out: “Most uses of the web are for gathering information or doing tasks, not for the pleasure of reading” (page 3) (emphasis added). So, we must create content accordingly by making it easy for people to get their questions answered, and get the information they need.
In order to know what types of tasks and information readers will want when they visit your site, you must know something about them, and typical scenarios that bring them to your site. Redish conceptualizes Web content as conversations people want to start with you. For example, “My husband’s birthday is next week. What kind of gift would a Trekkie like him enjoy?” You should be ready to continue those conversations in the most helpful way possible.
Redish uses several chapters to help readers understand the components of effective home pages, as well as what she calls “pathway pages” and, finally, information pages.
Other useful information includes when to use PDFs; how to “layer” your information for easy reader understanding; using lists, tables, headings, and links; and making good use of editors and reviewers.
Clear, colorful illustrations and examples throughout the book help to illustrate these points beautifully.
What I Disliked
There wasn’t much to dislike about this book, but a couple chapters seemed out of place to me: “Designing Your Web Pages for Easy Use” is about Web page design. While some content developers may also be designers, many aren’t, and the book would have been stronger without this section. I’m not saying it was poorly written or contained useless information. Just that it might have been more appropriate for another book. “Using Illustrations Effectively” is another example of a section that contains helpful information, but that doesn’t quite fit with the overall topic. Because some elements of design and illustration are relevant to content developers, these two chapters could have best been combined into a brief one on “graphic considerations for Web writers.”
The only other problem I found is that there is little mention of SEO in this book. It was published in 2007, and I’m not sure about the history of SEO, but it’s one topic that I feel would have made the book more complete. After developing a high level of respect for Redish as a result of reading Letting Go of the Words, I would be very interested to know her thoughts on effectively incorporating keywords into Web content.
Who Should Read This Book & Why
Naturally, content developers should read this book, as it provides very complete information. Anyone reading this book would be well equipped to start writing Web content, or improve their existing skills. Letting Go of the Words could be useful for others as well, including designers, programmers, content owners, and anyone else who works with Web content writers. Having this background information would eliminate some of the conflicts that arise when these parties work together. For example, a content owner might want lengthy descriptions or her product; yet good Web content writing means using brief “chunks” of information. The content owner would understand why after reading the book.
Final Comments
As a Web user, I’m always dismayed to find poorly executed Web content, which it is still all too easy to do. Clearly, many Web writers have not yet caught on to the fact that writing for the Web is different from writing they’ve done in the past. As its title implies Letting Go of the Words truly provides a terrific foundation for Writing Web Content that Works!
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? What are some of your strategies for writing web content that works? Let us know in the comments.
About the Author: Karen Marcus, M.A. is a Northern Colorado copywriter who has been helping clients in a wide range of industries to put their best word forward for 13 years.
Need assistance writing web content that works? Karen can help! Click here for contact info.
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