contentious.com

When writing for an organization’s web site, blog, e-mail newsletter, or other venue intended for an external audience, one of the biggest challenges is finding ways to keep the project interesting – to your online audience, as well as to yourself and your coworkers.

At organizations, too often online content ends up mundane or bland. It reads like it might have been written by people who were bored out of their minds, who didn’t care about the subject, or who couldn’t be bothered to think about it. They just wanted to get the writing over with so they could “put something up there” and be done with it.

Creating your organization’s online content shouldn’t be torture. If you approach this task with the right mindset, it can be more like harvesting pearls…

THINK LIKE AN OUTSIDER

Even though your online audience is interested in your organization (or they wouldn’t be reading your content), their main focus is, of course, themselves. If your content doesn’t primarily reflect their perspective, priorities, and concerns, they’ll tune out.

Therefore, ideally you should offer your online audience only what they would consider important, interesting, or useful. If you find yourself stretching too hard to make a piece of content fit one of those definitions, it probably isn’t really appropriate for an external audience – no matter how important your boss thinks it is!

Content creators and managers must always think creatively. You can’t afford to get too mired in bureaucratic inertia and internal politics when you have your editor hat on. Your online audience will lose patience with you if you let that stuff get in their way.

DON’T GET TOO JADED

To create compelling online content, you must honestly believe that your organization, its work, and its staff or members are inherently worthwhile and interesting. If you aren’t convinced of that, then your content will not be credible. When a writer is jaded, it always shows.

This is not about learning to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. It’s a matter of digging oysters from the ocean bed, prying them open, cutting through the meat, and finding the pearls. Because if the pearls aren’t there, why are you?

ENTICE COWORKERS TO COME OUT OF THEIR SHELLS

An organization’s staff or members usually are a chief resource for online content ideas, and maybe even of the content itself. However, you can’t expect these people to happily deliver top-quality content all the time.

Usually, you have to spend some time drawing these people out, getting them interested in talking to you first. If you can show them how they are interesting and relevant – not in a puffed-up bureaucratic sense, but in the context of the real world – most of them will probably become very cooperative, even eager to give you the quality content you need.

Often people within an organization are too close to their own information. They’ve been working in one area too long and they can’t get excited about it. Or they’re so immersed in a niche that the surprising aspects of their work seem too obvious to discuss. Or they’re worried about speaking too soon and looking foolish. Or they’re at an impasse, too frustrated to discuss their work.

HOW TO COVER THE BEAT

Here are some ways to discover and decide what your organization really should be discussing online:

• Decide who your best sources really are. If you want to find out what’s going on in a department, don’t just talk to the department head – especially if you work for a large organization. Talk to some of the people who are doing the nuts-and-bolts work, and to the support or clerical staff. Find people who have some credibility in that department, who really know what’s going on, and who want to talk to you. They will become your bridge.

• Don’t overlook the “obvious.” As much as possible, try to understand what the various departments and projects are really about – and more importantly, how they relate to each other and to your online audience. Those connections might not be obvious to outsiders. Actively seek out interesting, original material. Don’t simply regurgitate memos. Stay in touch with your best sources, ask them how things are going.

• Tell stories. Wherever possible, get your coworkers to tell stories that will engage the online audience. Ask your sources to speak about why they got into their field in the first place, or how a particular project arose. Ask for opinions and insights as well as facts. Don’t tell only happy stories – no one will believe you. It is possible to tell honest, engaging stories about the problems your organization faces without trashing your employer.

• Keep track of internal discussions. If your company has an intranet or in-house e-mail discussion group, follow the discussions as much as you can. Look for signs that people are excited, or concerned, or surprised. Or at the very least, concentrate on listening to your coworkers as much as possible. Don’t tune out.

• Keep an eye on external discussions. Check out the news, the web, blogs, and online discussion forums to learn what outsiders are saying about your organization. If people have questions, try to respond on your online venue, or by participating directly in the external discussion. Don’t ignore your critics. Hear what they have to say, and enhance your organization’s credibility by engaging them constructively. After all, they may have a point – and at the very least you enhance your organization’s credibility by giving critics and skeptics full respect.

• Don’t just write about your organization. Is there anything more boring than being stuck listening to a person who only wants to talk about himself? Your organization doesn’t exist in a vacuum. There’s a whole world out there. When interesting or important things are happening that relate to your organization or its purpose, comment on them. Express a relevant perspective, or raise important questions. Do what you can to encourage thoughtful consideration of important matters.

• Experiment internally. If you’re considering publishing some online content that might ruffle a lot of feathers within your organization, do an in-house trial run first. Put it on the intranet, and let your organization comment on it freely. You’ll end up with a richer piece. However, don’t feel like you have to please everyone in your organization. That’s not possible, and your online audience will definitely be disappointed if your content sounds like it was written by committee.

• Dissent is not a dirty word. Organizations are made up of people, and people don’t always agree. Often organizations feel they must “speak with one voice” in order to be heard and believed. In fact, internal disagreement is healthy and productive. Don’t be afraid to discuss differences of opinion within your organization. It’s not a sign of weakness.

• Be open to suggestions from anyone. Don’t consider anyone in your organization too lowly or tangential to have something worth saying online. Similarly, don’t consider anyone too lofty to approach. You can ask penetrating questions from your CEO and your janitor – and get surprising or interesting answers from both.