Bob Johnson's Blog on Internet Marketing

From time to time, Jakob Nielsen does an Alertbox report that focuses specifically on web writing.

He did that again in early June with "Writing Style for Print vs. Web," where he repeats the still often ignored advice that people who come to websites are focused on taking specfic actions, with a low tolerance for anything that keeps that from happening.

On college and university websites, the "blockers" often include the following:

• Dense text without subheads and bullet points that are impossible to scan quickly.
• Higher education jargon that "normal human beings" outside the world of higher education are not likely to understand. That's especially prevelant on financial aid and academic department pages.
• Online inquiry forms that become small demographic surveys designed for the benefit of the university rather than the person who just wants to make contact for more information.

In this Alertbox, Nielsen adds another good example of text that works in print but won't work on the web. The print example is "Coping with the Tall Traveler's Curse." To see his recommended change for the web, visit the Alertbox column at http://www.useit.com/alertbox/print-vs-online-content.html

To elevate the presentation of your web content, bring my "Writing Right for the Web" seminar to your campus. Contact me now at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting to schedule a session for September or October.

Posted by Bob at 07:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Spent a marvelous morning yesterday with the Chicago metro REACh group, people from various colleges and universities who focus on "adult" marketing and recruitment. We met at a suburban campus of Illinois Institute of Technology.

REACh's Scott Pfeiffer and Tim Panfil asked for an ambitious program: cover 8 online communication topics in 2 back-to-back sessions of about 75 minutes each. The major challenge: compress some topics that I cover in 2 to 3 hour sessions into just a few key points to take back home. Since it is easier to let presentations grow than to shrink them, that was an interesting and useful exercise.

To start the day, I asked the people present to vote on which of the 8 topics we were covering were most important to them, the proverbial "if you could only pick one of these, which would it be?" question. These are topics (in the order covered) and the votes for each:

• Web Design... 3
• Search Optimization... 6
• Writing Right for the Web... 14
• Paid Search... 0
• Web Analytics... 2
• Video... 4
• Mobile Marketing... 2
• Blogs, Email, Chat Rooms... 7

I was a bit surprised and very pleased by the size of the Web Writing vote compared to the others. And just as pleased to see that the "old favorites" of Blogs, Email, Chat Rooms retain strong interest at a time when it is easy to be dazzled by new capabilities at the expense of "traditional" online communication that is still in favor with the people who use college and univesity websites.

3 New On-Campus Web Writing Seminars

"Writing Right for the Web" continues to be a popular presentation. Between now and early August I'll be doing on-campus sessions at Fielding Graduate University, Stonehill College, and Dominican University. And look for another web conference with Academic Impressions in October and a CASE V Annual Conference session in December in Chicago.

Whether you start on-campus or online, improving the quality of your web writing is often the most important thing you can do for stronger engagement with your visitors. Ask me about a session on your campus at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com

Subscribe to Website Magazine

On a related note, if you have never checked Website Magazine, do that soon. Each issue includes worthy articles on more than one of the topics listed above. The current issue is at www.websitemagazine.com where you can subscribe to either a print or an electronic version. Or both. 

That's it for now.

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Back from Florida last night and reading a summary of a recent Carewords research project put together by the client. Just about perfect with one exception... an advisory to people working on their websites that they had about 30 seconds to make an impression and engage with a visitor to the page.

It would be nice if that were true. But alas, you don't have nearly that long to capture initial attention and get someone to stay on a website page. In my "Writing Right for the Web" workshops, I often say 2 to 5 seconds is the limit. That's from my direct marketing background and it is closer to reality than 30 seconds.

10 Seconds at the Most!

Also waiting for me when I returned was the May issue of Website Magazine. Taking a quick first look, I noticed an article on "The First 10 Seconds." And that's probably a good compromise. Personally, I'd still err on the side of thinking you really have to make an almost instant connection in the time it takes someone to first run their eyes over your page. That scan is very quick indeed.

Subscribe to Website Magazine 

A subscription to the print copy of the magazine is free at http://www.websitemagazine.com/ and you can also read the "10 second" article online when you visit even if you don't subscribe.

Highly recommended.

Posted by Bob at 09:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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In the middle of a communications capability review for a client this morning, I made a visit to Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox website in search of specific usability information. Haven't actually found it yet, but the browsing did make me realize yet again how important it is in online communications that websites tend to the basics before the bells and whistles.

We always say we know this. We don't always act like it when we plan to recraft our websites.

A 2005 column reporting the 10 most serious website design mistakes ends with a reminder that's as true now and it was three years ago:

Back to Basics in Web Design http://www.useit.com/alertbox/designmistakes.html

"There's much talk about new fancy "Web 2.0" features on the Internet industry's mailing lists and websites, as well as at conferences. But users don't care about technology and don't especially want new features. They just want quality improvements in the basics:

• text they can read;
• content that answers their questions;
• navigation and search that help them find what they want;
• short and simple forms (streamlined registration, checkout, and other workflow); and
• no bugs, typos, or corrupted data; no linkrot; no outdated content.

Anytime you feel tempted to add a new feature or advanced technology to your site, first consider whether you would get a higher ROI by spending the resources on polishing the quality of what you already have. Most companies, e-commerce sites, government agencies, and non-profit organizations would contribute more to their website's business goals with better headlines than with any new technology (aside from a better search engine, of course)."

Posted by Bob at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Down in Fort Worth, Susan Ragland recently started a new position as Web Content Editor at Tarrant County College. When she contacted me recently for a mini-bio to use with some on-campus writing sessions she'll be doing, I asked her to send along a job description to include with those posted earlier. And so thanks to her for doing just that.

In addition to the job description, Susan reports that the specific responsibilities for the postion are still evolving. She works with another web person whose primary responsibility is on the technical side, although Susan has some technical experience as well. That seems a strong combination.

Here are some details for this Web Content Editor spot.

• Collaborates with the director of public relations and marketing to ensure that website content related to the institution, its brand and marketing messages are maintained, updated, and evaluated for effectiveness and efficiency.
• Specific ativities include these:
• Assisting the web master in project management for redeveloping the website and for acquiring a CMS.
• Giving final approval in the work flow for new web pages.
• Assisting web editors and authors among the faculty and staff in writing and editing content to achieve maximum usability and to maintain brand consistency.
• Basic job requirements:
• A bachelor's degree, preferably in journalism, public relations, mass communications or marketing and 3 to 5 years writing and/or editing experience and knowledge of basic content management software.

Susan's title and college are now part of the master list of similar positions at http://bobjohnsonconsulting.com/blog1/2006/08/post.html That list started in August 2006 and has been growing nicely since then.

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Over the years I've learned not to predict the individual items in my monthly "Your Higher Education Marketing Newsletter" that will draw special attention. And this month, the highest interest item (more than 3x more clicks than the 2nd highest) in the April newsletter was no exception.

The April newsletter featured an Alertbox column by web usability champion Jakob Nielsen: "Right Justification Menus Impede Scannability." He used three university examples to make his point:

• Indiana University
• University of Michigan
• Vanderbilt University

The Alertbox column is at http://www.useit.com/alertbox/navigation-menu-alignment.html

What's unusual is the rapid response Nielsen received from the University of Michigan. Nielsen sent the Alertbox on April 28 and by the time I sent my newsletter on April 30, the Michigan people had already corrected their website and removed the right justification.

Nielsen notes that in the total array of things to fix on websites, the menu justification issue isn't the most important one. And while that's true, every little fix helps make things better for those who visit college and university websites. And so special congratulations to the University of Michigan people who moved so quickly to make this change.

The Michigan folk also took the opportunity to fix two other problem areas: the use of hard-to-read ALL CAP LETTERS in the menu and the low contrast colors used in the original. It is indeed much easier to read in the new format.

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Here's another move in the right direction for better web content and communications.

John Hopkins, associate vice president for college relations at Wooster College, sent this along with the note that the college is expanding the team responsible for the web... from one person to three. The new director will hire the next two team members.

Read through what's here. Use it to help develop positions like this at your own college. And of course, if you're interested in applying for the position, that information is at the end of this description.

Director of Web Communication

• The College of Wooster (http://www.wooster.edu/) seeks a director of Web communication to provide strategic vision and leadership for its Web-based communication and marketing efforts.
• The director will have overall responsibility for the development and management of the college’s Web site. He or she will design and develop new sub-sites, create multimedia Web content, direct and manage the work of a Web editor and Web programmer, and lead project teams on Web-based marketing and communication initiatives that contribute to the achievement of the college’s strategic goals, with primary emphasis on those related to student recruitment and alumni engagement. The position reports to the associate vice president for college relations and marketing.
• The director will serve as liaison between the offices of College Relations and Information Technology, and as primary point of contact for all academic and administrative departments on Web-related issues including site design and development, message strategy, and content creation. He or she will work closely with colleagues in IT to stay current on best practices in Web development, design, and marketing strategies, and continually work to make the site more effective by integrating appropriate new tools, technologies, and practices. The college has just begun a major site redesign, in partnership with an outside firm, and the director will play a central role in that initiative.
• The successful candidate must have five years experience designing, developing, and managing complex Web sites; specific higher education Web development experience and experience with the implementation or on-going use of a content management system is highly desirable. He or she must be highly proficient with major Web markup and coding languages, including HTML, XHTML, CSS, PHP, and Javascript; with multimedia content creation tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, iMovie and FinalCut; and with writing for the Web. The director must have strong project management skills and the ability to direct and manage diverse creative and technical teams. He or she must communicate clearly and collaborate effectively with a broad range of campus constituencies. A bachelor’s degree in journalism, marketing, communication, information technology, or a related field is required.

Please send letter of application, resume, URLs of representative samples of your work, and list of current references to: The College of Wooster, The Department of Human Resources, 536 East Wayne Avenue, Wooster, Ohio 44691

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Sometime you indeed find worthy news close to home. Sunday's copy of the Battle Creek Inquirer included an advertisement for a Web Content Editor at Spring Arbor University in Spring Arbor, MI. As always, the continued growth of positions like this keeps the hope of a cleaner, crisper presentation of web content alive and well.

From the newspapter ad, a trip to the website at http://www.arbor.edu/standarddetail.aspx?id=30963 located these details about desired experience and how the editor will spend his or her time:

• Qualifications: A bachelor's degree and 3 years experience in public relations or marketing, including at least two years of significant responsibility for an institutional Web presence. Two or more years experience in communications or marketing related position. Demonstrated proofreading/editing skills. Experience with digital content management systems, knowledge of Dreamweaver or comparable GUI web development application. Experience in developing information architecture plans and organizing content. Individual will exhibit a life and service that is in full accord with the Spring Arbor University concept and community.
• Responsibilities: Writes a variety of communications pieces, including Web site copy, best practices and writing standards, and Web style documents with emphasis on clarity and conciseness. Edits and approves content submitted by University departments. Writes assigned and self-initiated content for the Web. Organizes Web content. Maintains University marketing standards as well as editorial writing standards and quality for Web site text. Designs and develops Web pages for schools, departments and offices. Develops system and best practices for maintaining Web Content. Exhibits strong attention for detail with ability to handle multiple priorities in fast-paced environment.

For my list of nearly 50 schools with positions similar to this, visit http://bobjohnsonconsulting.com/blog1/2006/08/post.html

Don't Miss the March Online Web Writing Conference

To introduce more people on your campus to the beneifts of "Writing Right for the Web," register for my web conference sponsored by Academic Impressions on March 25. More than 50 colleges and universities have already signed up.

Details are at https://www.academicimpressions.com/web_conferences/0308-web-writing.php

Posted by Bob at 09:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Headed out to San Diego tomorrow and a Sunday afternoon tutorial at the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education on "Writing Right for the Web," still the most popular topic I'm asked to speak about. And just back from giving an on-campus web writing workshop at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University last Wednesday.

And that makes me think about the answer to a common question: where can I go to learn more about this?

Today, you'll find a plethora of articles and books on the subject with a basic web search. But you can't go wrong starting with Jakob Nielsen and his usability-inspired opinions and resources about web writing at http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/

Jakob Nielsen... on target since 1997

Start back with articles from 1997 and 1998 and you'll find that not many of the basics from a decade or so ago have changed. And yet, only recently does it seem that people who create websites are starting to pay more attention to the quality of writing that's actually needed to engage people at a website and make them feel comfortable about returning to it again.

The AMA tutorial is special for the 3.5 hour length that matches the time usually available at an on-campus presentation. Simply put, that gives time to review and talk more about the subject, including the popular section on writing for search engines added earlier this year.

Web Writing at CASE V in December

After the long version, it is also a special challenge to narrow the material for a 60 or 75 minute version. The next time for that is at the CASE V district conference in Chicago, December 10. You'll find the description of my session and 7 others that focus on creating more effective websites at http://www.casefive.org/conference/2007/web.cfm 

Writing Right for the Web... focus on that and make your website a better place for everyone who uses it.

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The day after news of the web editor opening at St. Edward's University came the good news that the University of Toronto has created a new web editor position (titled: Manager, Interactive Communications) and is accepting applicants until near the end of October.

Brendan Dellandrea, manager of website implementation and training, notes that the position "has been styled on many of your suggestions (Academic Impressions: Writing Right for the Web) in the area of experience, and tailored to fit the unique needs of U of T." Always good to hear the details when something moves from a presentation to the real world.

Until October 26, the detailed job description is at https://utoronto.taleo.net/careersection/10000/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=36981

The new person will join a university that's developing advanced Web 2.0 communication capabilities. Brendan writes that:

• "The exciting thing about this brand new position is that we are currently developing an online community for alumni and friends. The new community framework provides us with enormous leverage in creating targeted, relevant, personalized content for our alumni, and will replace our existing alumni & friends web site. The community allows us to display personalized content to individual users upon log-in, based on their academic and extra-curricular experience at U of T, or self-identified interests. The Manager, Interactive Communications, will play an integral part in carrying out this personalized content strategy."

All of this and you get to work in downtown Toronto as well!

In between travels to South Dakota next week, I'll try to get specifics of both the U of T and St. Edward's positions added here for people planning to create similar spots. The more of these, the better.

 

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Yesterday I finished updating my "Writing Right for the Web" webinar conference hosted by Academic Impressions and soon after Betsy McNair sent along a new list of the 54 people registered for the October 1 event.

A quick review turned up three new postions to add to the master list of titles that show the continuing growth in importance of writing and content positions at colleges and universities. The new spots are:

• College of the Holy Cross, Writer/Reporter, College Web Communications
• Metropolitan College of Denver, Director of Web Communications
• Tomball College, Web Content Coordinator

The full list of 45 schools and titles is at http://bobjohnsonconsulting.com/blog1/2006/08/post.html 

If you haven't added a position like this in your communications area, this list might help you make the case for moving in that direction.

And there's still time to register for the October 1 web conference. You can do that at https://www.academicimpressions.com/web_conferences/1007-web-writing.php

Posted by Bob at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

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The list of college and university positions dedicated to improving the presentation of website content continues to expand... with today's addition, there are now 42 spots listed in my August 8, 2006 "Writing Right for the Web" posting.

Ed Sevilla, executive director of marketing at Stonehill College, sent along news of the latest addition while I was traveling in Ireland these last two weeks. Back in June, Shannon McDonough joined Stonehill with the tile of Web Editor. The added good news is that she'll work in Ed's marketing department, a nice recognition of the website's value to the marketing effort.

The press release that Ed sent includes this note on the responsibilities of the postion:

• "As Web Editor, McDonough creates, writes, and edits the content for Stonehill’s Web site, www.stonehill.edu. Working in collaboration with the Web Steering Committee and all departments on campus, she reviews and refines processes for creating, approving, and publishing content to the Stonehill Web site..."

I know from earlier comments from people trying to fill positions like this that qualified candidates aren't easy to find. Here's a little information about Shannon's background:

• "A 1996 graduate of Stonehill College with a B.A. in English Literature, McKonough was recently the internal communications manager at Conde Nast Publicantion... Prior to that, she was editor-in-chief of ddbconnect.com, the intranet for DDB Worldwide Communications Group..."

Creating new positions like this should be a priority for every school that doesn't yet have one. Without them, the path to improved websites isn't going to be built nearly as quicly as it should be. Congratulations to Stonehill for helping to move things along in the right direction.

Posted by Bob at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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The list of "Web editors, publishers, and more" at my August 8 blog entry grows today from 38 to 41 with the addition of three new entries:

• Director of Electronic Communications at Bethel University
• Web Editor at Oral Roberts University
• Web Content Manager at Malone College

The new additions were gleaned from the list of people attending the Communication Officers Conference of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan that's taking place right now. Later this morning, I'll be presenting a session on "Writing Right for the Web" and another this afternoon on "Communicating in Today's World: The Challenge of Integrating Print, Web, and Email."

Postions like these are still not common, but let's continue to hope for movement, however slowly, in this direction. Website content and how it is presented to web visitors is the single most important element in the marketing success of your website. If you can make one investment this year in website improvement, add a skilled web writer to your staff.

Increased web writing skills are important for everyone who prepares web content. My next Web Conference on Writing Right for the Web, hosted by Academic Impressions, is Monday, October 1. An outline and registration details are at https://www.academicimpressions.com/web_conferences/1007-web-writing.php

To arrange an extended half-day web writing workshop on your campus, contact me at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com

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The list of web editor and web writer positions under my August 8 blog entry grows to 38 as the "Web Editor" position at Dalhousie University is added.

Today, at the annual meeting of the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education, I did a presentation on how new online communication technologies are moving colleges and universities into an environment where they have less and less ability to control what is being said about them, for Wikipedia to YouTube to MySpace and beyond.

The heart of the presentation was the many advanced website features at Canadian universities. And part of the discussion was about the need to continue to shift resources from design to content preparation. And so this entry from Dalhousie reflects one small part of a continued expansion in that direction.

Visit the August 8 entry for the full list from Ball State University to Yale University.

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Here's another sign of continued progress toward a greater emphasis on improving web communications content and presentation... a search underway for a position that most people tell me is difficult to staff but offers great professional opportunities.

I'm posting this not only for anyone that might be interested in applying but also as a new reference for anyone thinking of creating a position like this one.

NC State University, located in Raleigh, N.C., currently seeks a Director of Web Communications. This position within the Office of Public Affairs is responsible for managing the high-level public content, organization, and structure of the university website.

This position will manage and ensure timely, relevant, and current content for the university’s public Web presence (currently being re-built) to advance the university’s marketing communications strategies. Key efforts should be made to integrate new technologies and multimedia throughout the site. The position will manage a central web development team working with writers and designers within Public Affairs. In addition, the position will serve as a key liaison with other university communications staff, webmasters and web development personnel in the development of academic and administrative department-specific university web sites as well as managing the network Content Management System in collaboration with university IT staff.

Salary range: $50,000-$85,000

Requirements:

• Bachelors Degree in communications, public relations, marketing, journalism, information technology or related field

• A minimum of five years of professional Web experience and/or training, preferably in a higher education setting

• Extensive general communication experience in marketing, public relations, institutional communications, or journalism

• Technical expertise in website development

• Experience managing projects and budgets and leading teams

• Macromedia Dreamweaver or similar content development and management applications, as well image editing/creation applications (e.g., Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia FreeHand, and/or Adobe Illustrator); HTML and JavaScript coding; Cascading Style Sheets (CSS); and related basic Web technologies

• Experience with Content Management Systems, Web Editors, HTML and information architecture 

To apply: Please apply online (http://jobs.ncsu.edu) by referencing position number C-89-0603. A complete application package will include a letter of application; resume; printed images and website URLs of illustrative work; and names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers of three professional references.

Posted by Bob at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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A new position has just been added to the August 8 list of web editors and web writers. That raises to 37 the number of schools included.

Thanks to Jill Caseria at Fairfield University for sending along her title of Web Managing Editor.

From questions asked at recent presentations and from a late day phone call yesterday, I've been reminded recently of how difficult it can be to find someone with web writing expertise. From my own perspective, the best background includes experience in direct marketing copywriting. Journalism is also good preparation. And at the CASE IV district conference last week, someone added writing for broadcast new reporting to the list.

As a friend said recently, "Writing a traditional press release and posting it to a website does not a web writer make."

These "experience profiles" help make the point that the web is not a place for people to write classic great literature. Reading on the web isn't easy to do. And that awareness continues to spread so that more and more web content is gradually becoming "web friendly."

Congratulations to Fairfield for helping to move things in the right direction, one school at a time.

If you have a position that belongs on the list send it to me at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com

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Flying back from Orlando this morning reading USA Today... and the story about how colleges are reconsidering the use of merit aid as a recruitment practice. You can read the article at http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-03-14-merit-aid_N.htm

This made me think about how almost no schools provide decent web content about merit aid practices. In a world of "reality" marketing, this is one subject that is seldom treated with any realism.

USA Scoops Hamilton College Website

The USA Today article mentions that Hamilton College is taking the plunge and elminating merit aid for the new class of 2008. That's pretty major news indeed, not only for higher education in general but for future middle class students considering Hamilton who do not quality for need-based aid according to the stringent federal guidelines. And we know, of course, that many families don't consider loans as a desirable form of financial aid.

A visit to http://www.hamilton.edu/ and a review of the news stories didn't reveal anything about changes forthcoming in the merit aid practice. A search for "merit aid" found the list of current merit scholarships but nothing about any planned changes. The 2008 freshmen are of course juniors right now and many of them are well into the college selection process. Let's check back in a few days and see if the USA Today article prompts new content about this on the Hamilton website.

Muhlenberg College Still Does it Best

Meanwhile, my favorite content on how financial aid awards really work at many colleges is still found at Muhlenberg College. "The Real Deal on Financial Aid" tells future students and their parents that the mix of grants and loans a student receives is driven in no small part by how much the college you've applied to wants you to enroll. That, Muhlenberg, admits is best called "preferential packaging" and is in widespread use. See the content at http://www.muhlenberg.edu/admissions/aid.html

Let's hope that more colleges take the Muhlenberg path and present more realistic content about financial aid, student debt, and much more. If reality marketing (no, that's not an oxymoron) is really growing, that will start to  happen soon.

Posted by Bob at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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The Academic Impressions meeting here in Boston ends today... and then on to the Writing Right for the Web web conference on Monday. Over 120 colleges are signed up for that event, another encouraging sign of the continued strong interest in how to bring the best web content possible to our visitors.

From the list of people at this conference, I've added one new position to the master list at the August 8 posting of titles of web editor and web writer and similar spots. That brings the total to 36 so far.

The new position added is:

• University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Web Writer

I'll be checking the list of primary contact people for the web conference soon to see if it contains anymore spots to add. If so, I'll post those next Monday or Wednesday.

Posted by Bob at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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When you work constantly for less reliance on PDFs on the web, having an ally is a good thing indeed. That's why a recent headline on a New Thinking column by Gerry McGovern caught my immediate attention... "PDFs are evil, lazy, slothful, and sinful."

Read what Gerry really thinks at http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2007/nt-2007-02-05-pdf.htm

Now, don't get me wrong. There is a place on a website for PDFs. I find they work well, for instance, at the Pew Internet website to present research results. The text is clear against a white background, there aren't any pictures, and I can scroll through at my leisure to read a report without having to change the magnification on the page back and forth.

My major problem is with annual reports, alumni magazines and (less often used) recruitment viewbooks that are designed as print publications and then put up on websites. Most often this happens because its an easy thing to do and keeps somebody, someplace in the institution happy.

Don't fool yourself that very many normal human beings who come to your website are actually reading these things. To see a whole page (and the pictures on them) you have to shrink the page so small that you can't possibly read the text. To read the text, you have to enlarge the page so that only a small part of it is visible at any one time and thus you lose the design impact that someone spent a great deal of time developing. Not to mention the impact of the (should be) outstanding photos included in the print piece.

Carleton University, my long running favorite example in web writing presentations, knows how to do it right. Check the Winter 2007 alumni magazine at http://magazine.carleton.ca/

And check these examples as well:

• Indiana University at http://alumni.indiana.edu/magazine/index.shtml
• Ohio University at http://www.ohio.edu/ohiotoday/
• University of Massachusetts Amherst http://umassmag.com/

Help make the web world a better place. Plan to convert your alumni magazines and annual reports to formats like these that people who are interested can more easily read.

Do you have a great example of an online publication like these? Send me the link at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com

Posted by Bob at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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The first new listing in a few weeks arrived yesterday from Mike Jung at Saint Mary's College of California. Mike has just been hired there as Web Editor, College Communications.

Congratulations to Mike. You can ask him about his new position at mej3@stmarys-ca.edu or just send your own congratulations.

To see the full list, look under the Web Writing topic for the August 8 entry.

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Is this my moderately advanced age showing?

This week I've been finishing the "Online Marketing Bootcamp" presentation for the University Continuing Education Association meeting next month in San Francisco. When I do presentations for special audiences, I always try to find examples from websites relevant to the audience. And that means I've been looking at a larger than normal number of continuing education and distance learning websites. That's about done now. Just over 100 slides for 3.5 hours on Web Writing, Web Advertising, Search Engine Possibilities, and Continuing Website Engagement.

More than a few websites have discovered podcasts. I presume that these are meant to engage prospective students when they visit.

• What I'm wondering (haven't yet seen any research on this particular point) is how many people sit and stare for several minutes at a small round circle moving slowly along a line on an otherwise blank web screen while listening to a voice talk to them. And how many people are focused enough to remember what that person was talking about when its over?

I don't fall in either of the above categories, that's for sure. Particularly if I can barely hear the person talking to me. Minimal changes? At least put a picture of the person talking up on the web page. And do more testing of the volume level.

• AdAge uses photos nicely for podcasts of an interview... each time a different person is talking, the photo changes. For me, at least, that plus the different voice every so often keeps me listening longer.

Blogs presented in web-friendly fashion, on the other hand, are pretty easy to read and the act of reading maintains engagement and reinforces memory of what's being read. When there's a photo of the person blogging, that's even better. This just might be why so many more web users read blogs than listen to podcasts.

Wharton School MBA Blogs... 55 "student diaries" online

By the way, so far the absolute champion for number of blogs at a single location must be the Wharton School where 55 MBA students write with varying frequency. And its pretty easy to scan the list and pick a couple to start with based on what they are studying and city or country of origin.

Go along to http://diaries.wharton.upenn.edu/ and see for yourself. Must be a pretty popular way for the MBA folk to take a break from their academic endeavors.

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I've just finished updating my next "Writing for the Web" presentation, a 3 hour run in February for Academic Impressions. The session description is at https://www.academicimpressions.com/conferences/0207-brand-messaging.php 

One section in the presentation highlights the virtues of employing people with direct marketing copywriting backgrounds to write for your website or to show others using your CMS how to best add new web content. And that took me back to a long series of tips from direct marketer Nick Usborne at his Excess Voice website.

If you're already a convert to direct marketing style or if you're open to conversion, then visit Nick's tips at http://www.excessvoice.com/web-copywriting-tips.htm The 39 vary in length and substance but all are easy to read and you can quickly scan the full list of titles for what most interests you.

From reviewing as many college and university websites as I do, three really stand out:

Title pages  http://www.excessvoice.com/web-copywriting-tip29.htm (Follow these tips and you are very likely to increase your search engine visibility.)

Landing pages  http://www.excessvoice.com/web-copywriting-tip7.htm (A reminder to focus clearly on the single action you want people coming to this page from your ad to take when they arrive. If you're disappointed with website conversions from advertising or "search" efforts, this is a "must read and remember" item.)

Long copy  http://www.excessvoice.com/web-copywriting-tip44.htm (Every direct marketer knows that long copy isn't bad copy... only boring copy is bad copy. If you struggle about the best way to present information, be sure to read this one.)

You'll no doubt find other personal favorites here. Read well and write well. Your website visitors will thank you for it by spending more time on your website.

Exploring CMS software for your campus? Teach people to write well.

I had an email from someone recently reporting that the new web person at his college was happy. A new CMS had just been installed and the web leader expected that all would be well now in the world of new web content. But will it? How is that content going to be written and presented on the website? A CMS can be a great tool in the hands of someone how knows how write for the web. Or it can be a disaster in the hand of those who don't.

Can people on your campus use help in writing better web content?

Contact me at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting to bring a Writing Right for Web seminar to your campus. In a half-day session, we'll raise the skill level of everyone who attends and get them off to a fine start on making your web world a much friendlier place to visit.

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A good Saturday morning to everyone. Leaving soon for the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. Reviewing the list of people signed for my Web Writing tutorial on Sunday, I've found another position for the growing list at the August 8 post at Laval University (Web Communications Manager).

And earlier in the week, Dan Lewis at SUNY Plattsburgh sent along an email note about his postion. Dan has been Web Editor at Plattsburgh since 2001 and that just might be close to a record for longevity.

So now when you visit the master list, you'll find 33 schools and titles waiting for you. Use them for leverage at your own place to get more resources moving in this important direction.

Posted by Bob at 09:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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I didn't expect the item on web writing and web editors in today's Your Higher Education Marketing Newsletter to creat almost twice the clicks as the next most popular item, but that's what happened. And that's a great and good thing, demonstrating that more and more people realize the value that better preparation and presentation of content can add to the marketing impact of their websites.

And people have sent along the names of their schools to add to the list at the original August 8 posting. I'll include the new ones here, and also add them to the "master" list.

Here are four new schools sent along today:

Concord Academy, Web Editor

Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Web Editor

University of Denver, Web Editor (two positions)

University of Waterloo, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Web and E-Communications Coordinator

The position at Concord (in Concord, MA) has been approved and a search is in progress. Tara Bradley, director of communications, welcomes inquiries about the position. Contact her at tara_bradley@concordacademy.org for more information. Tara writes that "our greatest hurdle has ben finding someone with web writing skills."

Posted by Bob at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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I've just added another position to the growing list of people with "Web editor" and related titles to the original August 8 posting.

This one, at Drury University, came along on the registration list for the Aslanian Group seminar in Chicago in November. Carol and friends are doing a new focus with these Chicago and Orlando meetings, an emphasis on "New Techniques for Reaching Adult and Graduate Students" through Internet Marketing. We're very happy to see that the first Chicago event has sold out at about 100 people. The end of the month meeting in Orlando still has space available as registration builds.

One of my two presentations is "Writing Right for the Web," including some new examples selected for Carol's audience. If you recruit in these areas and haven't already seen the seminar content, you'll find it at http://www.aslaniangroup.com/

Excited today to be leaving soon for the University of Waterloo and an on campus presentation of Writing for the Web on Thursday. Should be a fine drive through Ontario this afternoon. Nearly 70 people are expected. It really is good to see the continued strong interest in improving content presentation to web visitors. Without that, Internet Marketing will not deliver the results we all expect from it.

Posted by Bob at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Just back from the CASE Annual Conference for Publications Professionals, a wonderfully creative event in San Antonio where I did a version of my Writing for the Web session. Congratulations to co-chairs Nancy Bartosek (TCU) and Ron Lambert (Montana State University-Billings) for building a fine program.

A query to the audience resulted in two more positions to add to my earlier list of colleges and universities with web editor position. I've added both to the orginal posting that now includes 26 schools that have made a commitment to an this essential function.

• Connecticut College, Web Content Editor
• University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business, Web Editor

If your school has or is searching to fill a position like this, let me know at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com. The more comprehensive this list becomes, the more valuable it is to those of you struggling to convince someone of the value of this investment.

Posted by Bob at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Late this afternoon I started revising August's web seminar on Writing for the Web for a CASE session for publications professionals in October. And as often happens, minor tweaking turned into a substantial revision based on new examples found while doing competitive web reviews these last few weeks.

Pepperdine University does a great online annual report

Here are thoughts on the current state of web writing based on these recent reviews:

• My crusade to eliminate the use of PDFs for viewbooks, alumni magazines, and annual reports hasn't made a great deal of progress. Whether its during a competitive review or a simple google search, its really easy to find a plethora of horrible examples. I found a new favorite for October... an alumni magazine at an Engineering college that was just about impossible to read.
• For the CASE audience, I wanted examples of annual reports done for the web, from print as PDF to something done in web-friendly style. The PDF example is from Australia, so I'm pretty sure nobody in the audience will mind. The web-friendly example was found at Pepperdine University. Check the 2005 version at http://www.pepperdine.edu/annualreports/2005/ for an annual report designed for the web. Love the row of photographs at the top of the page that let you click on the ones you'd most like to read about. Indeed, check the earlier annual reports online to see the remarkable transition that has taken place.
• The Pepperdine Annual report puts the reader in charge. You can pick from a clear table of contents and easily go to the topics of highest interest. Your choice, as it should be on the web. Yes, some pages can use more subheads and I'm not nuts about the color scheme but the former is easily fixed in the next version and the latter is personal choice as much as anything. So, while PDFs still are far more common than they should be for things like this, its nice to see Pepperdine showing how to break away and make a major move in the right direction.

I've also revised the section on writing for more search engine visibility to put more emphasis on content elements that writers can influence without being technical wizards. The most important thing for search engine marketing is significant content rather than tech tricks. This session will cover that better than earlier ones.

You really should try Wordtracker

Everyone, for instance, can write better title tags for website pages and learn how to explore relevant key words. If you've never taken the free trial at Wordtracker, for instance, get right along to http://www.wordtracker.com/ and see how easy it is. If you decide the value is enough to pay a fee, you're looking at less than $200 a year to use it however often you want. That's a bargain.

If you'd like to spend a couple of fine days and evenings in San Antonio in the fall, come along to the CASE Annual Conference for Communications Professions that starts October 16. Details are at http://www.case.org/conferences/chfpub/frames.cfm

Posted by Bob at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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