Jean Gazis Copywriting & Content Strategy

There's a lot of buzz around content matters these days, but not always a lot of hard facts. The folks at Content Science are aiming to change this with a study on Content and Credibility. Meanwhile, here's their recap of what we already know:

"Consumer Reports sponsored a study of web credibility in the U.S. nearly 10 years ago. The result was a set of tips that we consider to be 'Credibility 101.'

“In today’s information age of Marketing and Web 2.0, a company’s website is the key to their entire business."
—Marcus Sheridan, author of The Sales Lion and blog marketing speaker

How's yours?

If your client or boss doesn't understand why you need a content strategy, s/he sure won't get the what, why, and how. There's a nice summary of pitching content strategy over at Intentional Design's Content Strategy blog, with a downloadable PDF. I especially like the last page of the presentation:

"How much content is out there with your company/organization’s name on it?
• Do you know what it says?
• Is it accurate and up to date?
• Is it helping or hurting your brand?

... Do the next best thing by checking out the results of other people's tests at Which Test Won?, marketing guru Anne Holland's entertaining and informational A/B testing site. It's short and to the point and sometimes surprising. Find out what kinds of small differences can make or break response rates and click-throughs.

I've been trying to mow down the profusion of weeds that is my inbox, and - as previously noted - it's surprising how non-user-friendly some sites make it to unsubscribe. Shop It To Me, on the other hand, absolutely nails it.

My 8yo was reading the Bearitos tortilla chips package, which says "Wholesome corn organically grown, stoneground, cooked, and packed the same day!" and he asked me "Mom, how do they grow the corn in one day?" It ought to read "Wholesome, organically-grown corn, stoneground, cooked, and packed the same day!"

I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree ;-)

A graphic designer I worked with years ago used to quote a printer he had worked with, who said “You can have it fast; you can have it good; you can have it cheap—pick two.” This wonderful bit of conventional wisdom would have you believe that there are always trade-offs between quality, timeliness, and expense. And it’s usually true, there almost always are.

I'm amused that Intermarkets is sending me direct mail - actual paper postcards - promoting their online advertising opportunities. Each card features a different summer drink recipe.

I was just doing some testing after a server upgrade and noticed that people are actually using the Recipes feature I built into the Urban Organic site. Woo-hoo! I just clipped a couple of new recipes for Sauteed Red Kale and Indian Broccoli into my Evernote. I can always use another idea for broccoli, we eat at least a head a week and I don't always want to roast it.

I'd link the recipes but it requires a site login, which isn't of much interest to anyone outside the Urban Organic delivery area.

I've turned on comments for this site. For now, they will be moderated, at least until I see what happens.