The Content Strategy Toolkit: Methods, Guidelines, and Templates for Getting Content Right, 2nd Edition

The Content Strategy Toolkit: Methods, Guidelines, and Templates for Getting Content Right, 2nd Edition

by Meghan Casey
Released May 2023
Publisher(s): New Riders
ISBN: 9780138059262

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Book description

In this essential guide, Meghan Casey outlines a step-by-step approach for successful content strategy, from planning and creating your content to delivering and managing it. Armed with this book, you can confidently tackle difficult activities like explaining clearly to your boss or client what’s wrong with their content, getting the budget to do content work, and aligning stakeholders on a common vision. Having The Content Strategy Toolkit at your side is like hiring your own personal consulting fi rm. You get a complete array of instructions, tools, and templates for most challenges you’ll face.

In this practical and relevant guide, you’ll learn how to:

  • Identify problems with your content and persuade your bosses

  • it’s worth the time and resources to do it right

  • Assemble a stellar team for your content project

  • Prepare your organization for content transformation

  • Make sense of your business environment and understand your audience

  • Align stakeholders on business goals and user needs

  • Set a compass for your content and decide how to measure success

  • Create, maintain, and govern on-strategy content

You’ll learn how to treat content like the strategic asset that it is.

“Quality content increases value. Poor-quality content destroys value. It’s as simple as that. Meghan’s book has specifi c, practical, and immediately actionable ideas that will help you increase the quality of your content.” -GERRY MCGOVERN CEO, Customer Carewords

“This second edition goes deep into three integral topics for content leaders- assembling cross-disciplinary teams, evaluating processes, and building a content playbook. If you’re looking to build a new practice or retool an existing one, this book will help you succeed.” -NATALIE MARIE DUNBAR Author, From Solo to Scaled: Building a Sustainable Content Strategy Practice

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. In Praise of The Content Strategy Toolkit
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Dedication Page
  6. Table of Contents
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. About the Author
  9. Introduction
    1. Why a Second Edition?
    2. Who This Book Is For
    3. How to Use This Book and Get the Tools
    4. One Last Thing
  10. Part I: Get Budget and Buy-in
    1. Chapter 1. Identify Problems and Opportunities
      1. Figure Out What’s Wrong with Your Content
      2. Don’t Forget People and Process
      3. Turn Problems into Opportunities
      4. Ready? Let’s Go
    2. Chapter 2. Convince Leaders and Get the Resources
      1. Think Like a Business Person
      2. Quantify the (Missed) Opportunities
      3. Make Your Argument
      4. Ready for Action?
  11. Part II: Set Up for Success
    1. Chapter 3. Get Stakeholders on Board
      1. Stakeholder Roles and Types
      2. Your Stakeholders
      3. Keeping Stakeholders in the Loop
      4. All Aboard
    2. Chapter 4. Assemble Your Cross-Discipline Team
      1. Pick Your Team
      2. Kick Off Your Project
      3. Kick Off for Clarity
      4. Ready to Work
    3. Chapter 5. Prepare for Change
      1. What Makes Change So Hard?
      2. An Approach to Preparing for Change
      3. You Can’t Manage Change
  12. Part III: Dig In and Get the Dirt
    1. Chapter 6. Understand Your Business Environment
      1. Define the Inquest
      2. Get the Goods
      3. Open for Business
    2. Chapter 7. Learn About Your Audience and Users
      1. What You Want to Know and Understand
      2. Your Approach to User Research
      3. Nice to Know You, Users
    3. Chapter 8. Get Familiar with Your Content
      1. The Content Ecosystem
      2. Content Snapshots
      3. Content Conscientiousness
    4. Chapter 9. Evaluate Your Processes
      1. Right People, Right Skills, Right Work
      2. Role Clarity and Decision-Making Authority
      3. Standards, Guidance, and Enablement
      4. Built-in Collaboration and Iteration
      5. Process Evaluation Status Complete
  13. Part IV: Articulate Your Strategy
    1. Chapter 10. Align on a Strategic Foundation
      1. Running a Strategic Alignment Workshop
      2. Preparing a Strategic Alignment Summary
      3. Getting to the Strategy
      4. Discovery: That’s a Wrap
    2. Chapter 11. Set Your Content Compass
      1. Content Compass Scope
      2. Content Compass Components
      3. Create Your Messaging Framework
      4. Define How You’ll Measure Success
      5. How Do You Use Your Measurement Framework?
      6. True North
  14. Part V: Design Your Content
    1. Chapter 12. Prioritize Based on Your Strategy
      1. Methods for Prioritizing Content
      2. Documenting Content Priorities
      3. Light the Way
    2. Chapter 13. Organize for Intuitive Wayfinding
      1. Sitemaps
      2. Building Your Sitemap
      3. Iterating Your Sitemap
      4. Taxonomy
      5. Organized and Ready
    3. Chapter 14. Define the Content Experience
      1. Formulating the Content Experience
      2. Documenting the Content Experience
      3. Testing the Content Experience
      4. Defined, Designed, and Refined
    4. Chapter 15. Specify Content Structure and Requirements
      1. Specifying Content Structure
      2. Getting Specific About Content
      3. The Best-Laid Plans
  15. Part VI: Implement and Evolve
    1. Chapter 16. Define How You’ll Govern Your Content
      1. The Content Life Cycle
      2. Who Makes What Decisions
      3. Decision-Making Process
      4. Approach to Content Ownership
      5. Smart Decision-Making, Facilitated
    2. Chapter 17. Build Out Your Content Playbook
      1. Content Playbook Overview
      2. Content Playbook Examples
      3. Farewell, Content Friend
  16. Appendix: List of Tools
    1. Chapter 1
    2. Chapter 2
    3. Chapter 3
    4. Chapter 4
    5. Chapter 5
    6. Chapter 6
    7. Chapter 7
    8. Chapter 8
    9. Chapter 9
    10. Chapter 10
    11. Chapter 11
    12. Chapter 12
    13. Chapter 13
    14. Chapter 14
    15. Chapter 15
    16. Chapter 16
    17. Chapter 17
  17. Index
  18. Pearson’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Product information

  • Title: The Content Strategy Toolkit: Methods, Guidelines, and Templates for Getting Content Right, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): Meghan Casey
  • Release date: May 2023
  • Publisher(s): New Riders
  • ISBN: 9780138059262