Reactive Writing Techniques for Rewarding and Retaining Users
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Transcript of Reactive Writing Techniques for Rewarding and Retaining Users
Reactive Writing Techniques for Rewarding and Retaining Users
Geri Rebstock • Staff Technical Writer • salesforce.com
Hello Chicago!
About me…• Based in San Francisco –
salesforce.com• 15 years in technical writing• Contractor / full-timer/ lone writer /
team member • Aon Insurance, Pacific Bell, Schwab,
Advent Software, salesforce.com• Information design, writing, editing• Two STC awards
Here’s what we’ll cover today
• What is reactive content, anyway?• Why does it matter? What’s the problem?• How can leverage the reactive model to
enhance our own doc and user assistance?
• Examples• Exercises
So… what is reactive content?
• Defined: Documentation produced in direct response to a single, specific, user-expressed problem (the content creator’s or someone else’s).• Who writes it?• Bloggers• Members of user groups• Our companies’ product support reps• Not professional writers
So… what is reactive content?
• What’s so great about it? Why does it persist?• Provides specific and targeted information• Meets an immediate / urgent need• Is often sympathetic and friendly
• How do our users find it?• User communities • Immediate Frantic Googling (IFG)™
(We’ve all done it.)
What does it look like?
What does it look like?
So what’s the problem? Why should we care?
• Lots of reasons. While it often meets an immediate need, reactive content can be:• Hard to find• Hard to understand• Incomplete• Out of date
• Unflattering• Lacking context• Expensive to our companies• The first―and the last―documentation
our users see• It satisfies a momentary need, but doesn’t
always provide additional value
So what’s the problem? Why should we care?
In sum…
What can we do?
First, think of it this way….
If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.
If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.
-Chinese proverb
We want to do both.
• First, meet that immediate need to gain trust• Get the user out of HELP mode… • … And into LEARN mode• Keep our users in our product and our doc• Create experts• Create evangelists
But how?
• Five tools and techniques:• Create personas• Identify your user’s pain points• Deliver help and user assistance• Send users to the right kind of doc• Use style to maximize the user’s experience
1. Create user personas
• Defined: An archetypal user that represents a larger group of users. • Personas can include:• A name and image• Job and career path• Demographics (age, education …)• Psychographics (values, interests, cultures …)
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Right Style
1. Create user personas
• Personas can include:• Task flows and times spent• Products and tools• Performance measurements• Pain points• Doc and UA preferences
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
1. Create user personasPersonas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
1. Create user personasPersonas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
2. Identify potential pain points
• Your Persona + Your Product. What seems to be the trouble? Something…• Brand new product or feature?• Time-consuming?• *Old, obscure, or buried?• *Beyond the user’s typical workflow?• *Beyond the user’s standard skills?• *High stress or high exposure?
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
3. Deliver help and UA
• Your Persona + Your Product. Where does it hurt?• A UI page?• A multipage task or workflow?• An interaction between tools?• A product gap or missing feature?
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
4. Send them to the right doc
Where is our user now, and where do we want them to get to?
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
Support Phone #
FAQ
Reference
Task
Task of Tasks
Map
Concept
Overview
“Help!” Mode
“Learn…” Mode
What medium works best?
4. Send them to the right doc
What’s the sweet spot?
“See also” topics
Support Phone #
FAQ
Concept
Overview
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
Why?• Recognizable• In context
Reference
Task
Task of Tasks
Map
Example: Data.com Clean AdminPersonas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
Example: Data.com Clean Admin
• Here’s the challenge we faced.• Product new in Salesforce, but…• Enhancement / redesign of vendor product• Users may or may not have experience with
vendor product• Most administrators are sales managers,
not full-time administrators• High stress / high exposure
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
Example: Data.com Clean Admin
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
Example: Data.com Clean Admin
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
5. Use friendly, accessible style
• Encapsulate• Deliver the smallest useful unit of information• Make each topic answer a single question • Tip: Use the journalists’ questions: who, what,
where, when, why, how, which
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
5. Use friendly, accessible style
• Use minimalism• Eliminate extraneous content―at all levels• Craft titles that guide your users• Doc one way and only one way to do something
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
5. Use friendly, accessible style
• But don’t skimp!• Include all required information• Define key terms and make definitions easy to find• Tip: Write wordy and edit down
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
5. Use friendly, accessible style
• Use “factoring”• Say it one way and only one way, every time• Use parallel structure at all levels• *Reinforce your information types with title syntax• *Repeat sentence syntax to highlight new info• Make list intros as detailed as possible• Eliminate “synonyms”
• More factoring = time savings, less confusion!
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
Overview X Overview Accounts OverviewData.com Overview
Concept Understanding X Understanding Clean Status Understanding Data.com Licenses and Limits
Map/Task of Tasks Setting up X Setting up Data.comSetting up Forecasts
Task …ing X Adding Accounts from Data.comCreating Role HierarchiesFinding a User’s Forecast
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
Example: Factoring
Use title syntax to reinforce info types
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
Example: Factoring
Repeat sentence syntax to highlight new info
5. Use friendly, accessible style
• Orient your reader to keep them focused.• Use time words: now, later, before, first, start, finish• Use place words and phrases: “Here’s what
you’ll see.”• Use active and passive voices to emphasize user /
product interactions
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
5. Use friendly, accessible style
• If you wouldn’t say it out loud, don’t write it• Additionally• Optionally • Subsequently
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
5. Use friendly, accessible style
• Use a positive, friendly tone (aka “Aloha Style”)• Casual language, but no jargon• Short sentences: “Here’s how.”• Positive reinforcement: “It’s easy!”• Contractions: “Now you’re done!”
Personas • Pain Points • Delivery • Right Doc • Style
And now we’re done…
… with the presentation.Let’s move on to the exercises….
ExercisesWith a partner or in a small group…1. Think of a software product or tool you use, and
discuss yourself as a persona. Personas need:
• Name• Photo• Job and Career• Demographic information
(age, education, etc.)
• Psychographic information• Task flows and times spent• Performance
measurements• Pain points
What relevant factor might a writer be surprised to learn about you?
Exercises
2. Discuss a recent IFG™ situation (for a product that has documentation). • What was the problem you were trying to solve? • Where did you start looking for answers or help? • Where did you ultimately find it? • Did it meet your needs? • What message did it communicate about the
product?• How could a professional writer have done
better?
Questions?
Awesome!Thanks so much!
Additional questions / comments? Contact me any time: [email protected]
Twitter: @salesforcedocs