Before you begin
1. Check the style guide
Make sure you're familiar with the principles for writing for Smart, and have read our voice and tone guidelines.
2. Think about who, what and why
Who are you writing this for? What is it that you're writing about? Why are you writing it?
3. Is there a strong case for writing this?
Is there a strong user, business, compliance or legal case for it? If not, is now the best time to publish this content?
4. Gather all the information you need to write your content
Make sure any facts, numbers or stats are completely up to date.
5. Find out what needs to happen once you've written your content
For example, is it going to a Content Designer or a stakeholder for review? Is there a sign-off process you need to put it through? Can it be published straight away?
While you're writing
1. Only write what the user needs to know
Don't be tempted to add extra information to pad your content out or soften a message as this will confuse the reader.
2. Make sure you include the most important information first
Put your main points at the beginning of your content. Put the key information in each paragraph or sentence at the beginning of that paragraph or sentence.
3. Refer to our principles and tone of voice as you write
Make sure you're keeping them in mind as you're writing.
4. Keep checking your work against the grammar and formatting guide and list of standard terms
Make sure you're using words and phrases that are consistent with the rest of Smart's content.
5. If it helps, read what you're writing in your head as you write it
This will help your grammar and punctuation flow well, and should help you avoid complex language.
Once you've finished
1. Read your writing back and edit it
If you have time, leave your content for a while or overnight and come back to it with "fresh eyes". When you read it back, you might find errors you missed or language that could be tightened up. Be sure to cut out any unnecessary adjectives and adverbs and complex language. You can use Hemingway Editor – an online editor that highlights language which is difficult to read – to help with this.
2. Compare your content with the style guide
Check there are no big inconsistencies and double check for the big no-no's, like anything from our list of words to avoid, or other bits like passive voice and nominalization.
4. Pass your content to whoever is dealing with the next step
Whether that's further editing, sign off or publishing. If you know no one else will be reviewing your content once it's published, double check it's accurate and correct.
5. Consider giving it to someone else to look at
A fresh pair of eyes and a final common sense check can be invaluable.
6. Assign someone to "own" it
Once the content is published, someone needs to be responsible for the ongoing governance of the content you wrote. This might not always be you.
Keeping your content up to date
1. Does it need review points?
The person who "owns" the content needs to check if and when it will be reviewed.
2. Set up reminders
The owner should set up reminders to check on and update the content when the time comes for the review.
3. Confirm the process
Decide whether the updated content needs to go back through sign off.
Help with writing well for the web
People read differently online than they do in print. Most of us will read as little as 20% of the words on a web page, so it's important to be clear and concise. Format your content well and to get straight to the point.
If you're not used to writing for the web, take a look at the following resources, or get in touch with one of the Smart content designers.