Seth Godin has written a great post on learning to ride a unicycle:
Why is this relevant to you, Content 911's readers? Think about it...
If you write web content, you need to gain your readers' trust. You want to help them get them over their fear that they'll waste precious time by reading your carefully crafted words, clicking through to another page or buying from you.
You need to convince them that they'll get something in return...either learning new information, finding answers to a business need or pain point, discovering a product or service that will save them time, saving money or possibly all of the above. If you make the falling part easy for them, they'll be more likely to ride with you.
Likewise, if you've ever worked on a content management system (CMS) implementation, you'll undoubtedly see the analogies here right away...
Most CMS vendors will tell you that their product will allow "anyone" or "non-technical users" to start building pages instantly. But as you've now learned through the school of hard knocks, it takes time for content managers, authors and editors to learn a new CMS tool (or any software tool, for that matter). It takes patience, practice and a little bit of effort to remember how to make the wheels turn the right way...seamlessly and with little effort.
And most good CMS tools out there have multiple paths you can take to accomplish a single task. Only with practice and diligence will you learn to recognize which is the right approach for your given CMS tasks or goals each day. If you're lucky enough to find a CMS consultant or vendor who can help you "learn" how to use your CMS, your uphill climb will be easier and you'll be riding on your own in no time.
What are your thoughts? How else do you see this analogy relating to web content management, strategy and development--or interactive marketing in general?
We look forward to hearing from you.
Lisa Kirschner
Managing Editor, Content 911 Blog
Founder and Managing Director, Flair Interactive Services Inc.