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Improving AX (Content Author Experience)

Melissa Eggleston Consultant & UX-Shop

melissa@melissaegg.com

Quiz: Which content author said it?

•  photographer •  videographer •  graphic designer •  writer

“Ooohh, I really hope they like it."

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“The client is trying to make their story suck.”

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“I hope she likes them — because they’re great.”

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“They hire me but then don’t respect my profession opinion.”

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Confidence Continuum

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Writers Videographers Photographers Graphic Designers

High

Low

Who am I?

•  UX Researcher

•  Content Strategist

•  I’ve been paid to be all of these content authors at one time or another in my life.

•  I now manage these types of content authors for clients.

Photo courtesy of Advanced Aerial Photography because I would never get in a helicopter, ever.

Where did I get my information?

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Interviews (10) 1.

2. Surveys with open-ended questions (54)

3. Secondary research (online, print publications)

4. Personal experience (I’ve worn lots of hats.)

Who have these content authors worked for?

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Author Experience (AX)

What is author experience (AX)?

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All interactions a content author* has with you and your organization while working on a project.

Technology People

*writer, photographer, videographer, designer, etc.

The Problem with Poor AX

The Problem

Picture 1!

Photo courtesy of Geoff Stearns

Photo courtesy of Tracy O

The Problem

Picture 2!

Companies that have caught n

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Our Goal

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Self-Empathy Required

Resistance?

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Resistance?

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Did not lern it on the soccer field

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Exercise

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Write down in one sentence a situation you have at work involving another person that really bugs you.

If your work life is super smooth right now, congratulations! Think about a situation with your spouse, other family member or friend.

Exercise

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•  What am I thinking? (hand on head) (examples: “This person is a jerk! This sucks. How am I going to meet deadline now? Lame, lame, lame, lame, lame. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind, etc.”)

•  What am I feeling? (hand on heart)

(examples: anxious, frustrated, upset, worried, irritated, enraged, alone, tense, discouraged, dominated, lost, uneasy, etc.)

•  What am I needing? (hand on belly) (examples: consideration, communication, awareness, participation, cooperation, inclusion, independence, space, clarity, understanding)

Author Empathy Needed

After we have self-empathy, we can move to...

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•  What are you, content author, feeling?

•  What are you, content author, needing?

Who said this?

“Empathy grows as we learn.”

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– Alice Miller, psychologist

•  Picture of a graphic designer!

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Give them the final text because small changes affect the design.

1.

2.

3.

Ensure you are speaking the same language by giving examples, (“elegant” varies person-to-person).

4. Great design isn’t quick, e.g. logos cannot be made in 2 hours.

Graphic Designer Do’s

Provide descriptive feedback with the WHY if you don’t like something so they can solve the issue.

5. Organize feedback - 14 emails in one day is not OK.

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Give clear instructions and expectations. 1.

2. Talk to them in person or on the phone (at least once).

3. Compensate them well or at least fairly for their time.

4. Realize that sitting on a project will delay it.

Writer Do’s

Videographer Do’s

@melissa_egg #LavaCon Photo courtesy of John Benson

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Discuss (and be sure to have) a goal for the video. 1.

2. Understand that even tiny video changes take time due to exporting, compressing, and uploading video.

3. Give them a clear deadline.

4. Be organized, great videos are the result of careful planning not shooting on the fly.

Videographer Do’s

Writer Do’s &Dont’s

Photo courtesy of Lynn Friedman

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Understand the image and look you want. 1.

2. Be clear on how and where you are going to use the images taken.

3. Be specific about needs and ask questions.

4. Expect that editing photos will take time. No, you won’t get them tomorrow.

Photographer Do’s

Photographers & Videographers Need You to Know

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Time of day affects the quality of the shoot.

Everybody

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The They all talk about .

Photo courtesy of Tambako the Jaguar

Everybody

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The They all talk about .

Photo courtesy of Tambako the Jaguar

✕

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Be collaborative to get a better final product. 1.

2. Look at past work to see if you and the content author are a good match.

3. Do not add to their “To Do” list without expecting to pay more.

4. Respond promptly with feedback to stick to the agreed upon schedule.

All Content Author Do’s

Ensure they don’t have to track down payments. 5.

Have one contact/point person for the project. 6.

Everybody

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ungry H A ngry

L onely

T ired

The value of pausing before responding to content authors cannot be overestimated.

Pledge time

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Time to take the Content Manager’s Pledge

Pledge time

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Q & A

Go thank a content author (publicly!)