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A Book Apart #3
The Elements of Content Strategy
Content strategy is the web’s hottest new thing. But where did it come from? And why does it matter? And what does the content renaissance mean for you? This brief guide explores content strategy’s roots, and quickly and expertly demonstrates not only how it’s done, but how you can do it well. A compelling read for both experienced content strategists and those making the transition from other fields.
88 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
65 people are currently reading
1,750 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
August 30, 2011
I've read all the other books in the series with relish, but I found this one to be a bit dry and lacking in substance.
It's probably because I don't work in this area but I think that touches on what's wrong with the book; this book doesn't know whether it's a guide to content strategy or it's an overview to those who may want to employ or work with a content strategist.
On the plus side the author outlines some great ideas for managing web content and it can be read in a couple of hours.
It's probably because I don't work in this area but I think that touches on what's wrong with the book; this book doesn't know whether it's a guide to content strategy or it's an overview to those who may want to employ or work with a content strategist.
On the plus side the author outlines some great ideas for managing web content and it can be read in a couple of hours.
March 27, 2023
بدیهی اندر بدیهی
وقتی نود صفحه رو میشه در یک روز خوند معلومه که بیشتر نکات کتاب خیلی پیش پا افتاده است.
وقتی نود صفحه رو میشه در یک روز خوند معلومه که بیشتر نکات کتاب خیلی پیش پا افتاده است.
January 16, 2015
"This book is dense. It took me two hours to read. It’s packed with “HOW.� Enough “HOW� that it really will get a special spot next to my computer, much like how Strunk and White used to sit just within my reach.
You don’t START with this book. You start with Halvorson. Then you read Kissane. And then, if you can handle the excitement, you turn to the most important part of the book: the appendix, where Erin talks about all of the other great resources, and then you get your boss to order all of the books that sound interesting, and then you get excited to read them, and then you realize the hidden benefits of this book.
That it’s a guide for both “how to do the job� and “how to further your knowledge.� And, in turn, the field.
No kissing ass here, and no hyperbole: this book is one of the good ones. Short. Sweet. Fantastic. Some books make you smarter. This one makes you better. Go read it."
Excerpt from
You don’t START with this book. You start with Halvorson. Then you read Kissane. And then, if you can handle the excitement, you turn to the most important part of the book: the appendix, where Erin talks about all of the other great resources, and then you get your boss to order all of the books that sound interesting, and then you get excited to read them, and then you realize the hidden benefits of this book.
That it’s a guide for both “how to do the job� and “how to further your knowledge.� And, in turn, the field.
No kissing ass here, and no hyperbole: this book is one of the good ones. Short. Sweet. Fantastic. Some books make you smarter. This one makes you better. Go read it."
Excerpt from
May 4, 2013
This book is not for people working in this field for more than a year or so. For them, there's really nothing new to learn. This book is mostly for those thinking that they need to publish content. If you want to learn what it is required to publish meaningful content on the web, in terms of people involved, resources, etc, then this is an OK read.
Also, there's almost nothing included on HOW to create a good content strategy, no real life examples, etc. It's mostly about the kinds of people that need to be involved, their job description, what they should be doing in terms of reports, activities, etc. There's very little included about how to do a good job in creating a strategy and really good content.
The style in which the book is written is terribly boring. Luckily it is not a long book. The Kindle version has some technical issues. For example, there are some tables in the book and they don't fit on the display of the Kindle.
Also, there's almost nothing included on HOW to create a good content strategy, no real life examples, etc. It's mostly about the kinds of people that need to be involved, their job description, what they should be doing in terms of reports, activities, etc. There's very little included about how to do a good job in creating a strategy and really good content.
The style in which the book is written is terribly boring. Luckily it is not a long book. The Kindle version has some technical issues. For example, there are some tables in the book and they don't fit on the display of the Kindle.
November 5, 2016
“The fact that anyone reads anything at all online is a demonstration of an extraordinary hunger for content.�
Great, readable primer of the essentials of content strategy. I particularly jived with this book because Kissane also comes from an editorial background (with a shared weakness for the Chicago Manual of Style).
Great, readable primer of the essentials of content strategy. I particularly jived with this book because Kissane also comes from an editorial background (with a shared weakness for the Chicago Manual of Style).
January 21, 2013
This book is painfully dry. Yet it's moderately well written for the abstract subject matter it covers. Its main benefit was thus showing me that I definitely do not want to work in content strategy full time.
There's something highly ironic about trying to write a book about clear, useful communication when your own communication is not particularly clear nor particularly useful.
Much of the writing's just not well thought out: "humans, being mammals, need [a list of things including] wheelchair ramps and other accessibility aids." Right...it's because we're mammals that we need those things. Clearly a chinchilla needs a wheelchair ramp, but a chameleon...surely not. On the next page after that quotation, I find "marketing is the practice of bringing products to market." Okay, also true, but somehow I don't think I needed this book to tell me that.
Some things this books says are:
There's something highly ironic about trying to write a book about clear, useful communication when your own communication is not particularly clear nor particularly useful.
Much of the writing's just not well thought out: "humans, being mammals, need [a list of things including] wheelchair ramps and other accessibility aids." Right...it's because we're mammals that we need those things. Clearly a chinchilla needs a wheelchair ramp, but a chameleon...surely not. On the next page after that quotation, I find "marketing is the practice of bringing products to market." Okay, also true, but somehow I don't think I needed this book to tell me that.
Some things this books says are:
September 9, 2021
This short book is a good overview of content strategy. It presents the concepts and includes many references for deeper reading. This book was worth reading for the fundamentals such as making content useful, concise, and supported.
I liked the quote from in :
I liked Kissane's advice to "Act as user advocates...reduce distractions in sidebars, fight ads that obstruct content, and give readers the equivalent of good light and a quiet room." She also makes a good point that content strategists must turn soft, aspirational goals into specific, measurable success criteria.
Good Content
"Good Content is Useful"
"Define a clear, specific purpose for each piece of content; evaluate content against this purpose."
"Good Content is Concise"
� "Omit needless content."
� Why is too much content bad? It makes everything more difficult to find, and results in lower quality content.
� Common needless content: mission statements, press releases, long feature lists, rambling video and audio.
"Good Content is Supported"
� "Publish no content without a support plan."
� "Information published online is a live green plant." Content must be posted, updated, and removed as appropriate.
Storytelling
� The inverted pyramid: order information from most to least important to the reader.
� 5 Ws and an H: what, who, when, where, why, how.
� Show, don't tell: demonstrate, don't describe.
Persuade and sell with rhetoric
� Rational argument (logos)
� Emotional appeal (pathos)
� Appeal to reputation or character (ethos)
I liked the quote from in :
"...online, you don't have a captive audience. You have a multi-tasking, distracted, ready-to-leave-your-site-at-any-time audience who has very specific goals in mind. If your content doesn't meet those goals, and quickly, they will leave."
I liked Kissane's advice to "Act as user advocates...reduce distractions in sidebars, fight ads that obstruct content, and give readers the equivalent of good light and a quiet room." She also makes a good point that content strategists must turn soft, aspirational goals into specific, measurable success criteria.
Good Content
"Good Content is Useful"
"Define a clear, specific purpose for each piece of content; evaluate content against this purpose."
"Good Content is Concise"
� "Omit needless content."
� Why is too much content bad? It makes everything more difficult to find, and results in lower quality content.
� Common needless content: mission statements, press releases, long feature lists, rambling video and audio.
"Good Content is Supported"
� "Publish no content without a support plan."
� "Information published online is a live green plant." Content must be posted, updated, and removed as appropriate.
Storytelling
� The inverted pyramid: order information from most to least important to the reader.
� 5 Ws and an H: what, who, when, where, why, how.
� Show, don't tell: demonstrate, don't describe.
Persuade and sell with rhetoric
� Rational argument (logos)
� Emotional appeal (pathos)
� Appeal to reputation or character (ethos)
June 18, 2014
First chapter is excellent. The question of what is "quality content" is nailed down quite well in a very satisfying way.
Second chapter is ok, but doesn't really bring the material together that well. You get a bunch of ideas that don't coalesce as well as they should.
Third chapter is the weakest - it feels the most uncertain about it's content, probably because this part of the process (the actual process and methodologies) doesn't have hard and fast answers. Some areas like ongoing content assessment is all but completely skimmed over.
I think this is definitely a good book to get started with Content Strategy ... or even as a technical writer the first chapter is probably worth the price of admission.
Second chapter is ok, but doesn't really bring the material together that well. You get a bunch of ideas that don't coalesce as well as they should.
Third chapter is the weakest - it feels the most uncertain about it's content, probably because this part of the process (the actual process and methodologies) doesn't have hard and fast answers. Some areas like ongoing content assessment is all but completely skimmed over.
I think this is definitely a good book to get started with Content Strategy ... or even as a technical writer the first chapter is probably worth the price of admission.
August 17, 2020
I read the entire book online here for free: .
This concise little guide has just three chapters that deal with the principles of good content strategy, the foundation of the content strategy field (by comparing with four other more established vocations), and some tools and processes of the field. I've always been curious about the field, so the book served as a decent intro. The most fascinating fact I garnered was that content strategy is a lot like "curating" (i.e., museum curators, etc.) Interesting food for thought.
This concise little guide has just three chapters that deal with the principles of good content strategy, the foundation of the content strategy field (by comparing with four other more established vocations), and some tools and processes of the field. I've always been curious about the field, so the book served as a decent intro. The most fascinating fact I garnered was that content strategy is a lot like "curating" (i.e., museum curators, etc.) Interesting food for thought.
June 2, 2015
While crafting my latest job title, I was looking for some ways to articulate what it is we *do* and to uncover more ways to broaden my career. Kissane's book is an excellent quick read that covers the subject fully and highlights the unique value of the of the content strategist.
September 19, 2018
As an Information Architect, I've dabbled in the more IA-like parts of Content Strategy for a number of years... but without necessarily knowing that's what I was doing. CS has been a thing that the Documentation/Writing/Marketing teams did, not something that directly affected me. On the other hand, when I've worked with Content Strategists, we've produced better projects than I could dream of doing on my own.
Erin Kissane's book, as a primer on content strategy, will provide you with a short history of the field, the kinds of skillsets that are adjacent to Content Strategy, the kinds of work that Content Strategists do, and the kinds of pitfalls to look out for as a Content Strategist.
If you know nothing about Content Strategy, pay close attention to the Design Principles provided at the beginning of the book. Strategists I've worked with who align to those principles have been highly successful; strategists who work off of "please the client" principles instead have caused nothing but disruption for otherwise on-track work.
For me, one of the biggest takeaways is that I need to learn more about editorial work if I want to pitch in as a content strategist as needed. Your takeaways will likely be different, because you likely don't have my work history ;)
Erin Kissane's book, as a primer on content strategy, will provide you with a short history of the field, the kinds of skillsets that are adjacent to Content Strategy, the kinds of work that Content Strategists do, and the kinds of pitfalls to look out for as a Content Strategist.
If you know nothing about Content Strategy, pay close attention to the Design Principles provided at the beginning of the book. Strategists I've worked with who align to those principles have been highly successful; strategists who work off of "please the client" principles instead have caused nothing but disruption for otherwise on-track work.
For me, one of the biggest takeaways is that I need to learn more about editorial work if I want to pitch in as a content strategist as needed. Your takeaways will likely be different, because you likely don't have my work history ;)
July 25, 2022
This book is #3 in a complete series from the publisher A Book Apart. Their goal is "[...] to shed light on an essential topic in a format that’s practical and fun."
The Elements of Content Strategy serves precisely that purpose: it is a good overview of content strategy. It illustrates its concepts and contains references for further reading. This book is a good read for anyone wanting to learn the fundamentals of publishing quality content.
This book should be among the first resources for prospective content strategists, and perhaps it serves as a reminder for experienced strategists.
What I missed in the book was the stringency. It felt more like a lineup of methods and topics - I didn't see a useful combination of those.
The Elements of Content Strategy serves precisely that purpose: it is a good overview of content strategy. It illustrates its concepts and contains references for further reading. This book is a good read for anyone wanting to learn the fundamentals of publishing quality content.
This book should be among the first resources for prospective content strategists, and perhaps it serves as a reminder for experienced strategists.
What I missed in the book was the stringency. It felt more like a lineup of methods and topics - I didn't see a useful combination of those.
January 23, 2018
I was able to read this book in the sum total of three hours or so, and it only took that long because I was furiously taking notes and creating project templates for my web design work. For me, the book felt essential. I'm a designer first and a content strategist second (or maybe third or fourth), and I found Kissane's writing clear, compelling, and useful. But for those who have been in the field for some time, this may not be of much use to them.
September 6, 2020
Та ситуація коли книжка об'ємом ~90 сторінок, яка розповідає про важливість влучного, лаконічного контенту переповнена водою. Книжку можна сміливо скоротити на мінімум 50% і вона нічого по суті не втратить.
August 11, 2017
I'm a big fan of Erin Kissane ever since her landmark Zombie Content article on A List Apart. This book is approachable, but short examination about how to get started doing content strategy.
April 17, 2018
Useful for managing content projects.
July 9, 2018
Мысли конечно же умные есть в этой книге. Но она такая нудная и скучная, что вообще не возможно читать.
October 24, 2018
Seeing the importance of this field but I'm not in it.
November 13, 2018
Perfect for someone starting out in content strategy
May 6, 2019
Great basic introduction to a now fairly robust field.
March 6, 2020
This is a fantastic overview and introduction to content management. I want to give a copy to all my clients doing a web redesign.
Read
May 3, 2020Wasn't useful to me
March 13, 2022
Less than 100 pages, it's a good intro for content strategy.
October 10, 2022
For future readers that have 0 knowledge about content strategy�. just skip to the last chapter. It’s the meat of the book
November 30, 2023
This series rules.
May 8, 2012
Now More than Ever, College Is the Best Time in Life
Have you seen the job statistics lately? More to the point, have you seen the employment rates for recent college graduates? What about liberal arts majors in particular? A study of 2009 college graduates finds 25.2% of liberal arts majors unemployed after graduation. Those humanities majors employed often found their jobs low paying and college degrees unnecessary.
For years, the general assumption was: get a degree; get a job. Well the current economic context suggests a shift for college students. Either stay in school and earn more degrees, or major in a “marketable� field like accounting, business management, or engineering.
Could there be a third way? In The Elements of Content Strategy, Erin Kissane outlines content strategy as an emerging profession.
All Hail King Internet
In case you haven’t noticed, the Internet runs the world these days. While some residual value remains in businesses running brick-and-mortar stores, the Internet is now the marketplace, a virtual mall so to speak.
With the rise of Internet communications comes the necessity of content strategy. Kissane writes,
“Content strategy is rising because organizations all over the world have begun to realize that they desperately need it to handle their rapidly expanding online communications� (2).
Not only do individual businesses need content to communicate with potential customers, Internet surfers desire content. Blogs and social media have replaced the days of the newspaper as the arbiter of information. Content, then, becomes the connection between a business and its potential customers.
“Content is perfectly appropriate for users when it makes them feel like geniuses on critically important missions, offering them precisely what they need, exactly when they need it, and in just the right form� (5).
If content bridges the gap between businesses and customers, the job of a content strategist is to connect these two parties by facilitating a web space meeting the needs of both parties.
The Content Strategist: An Amalgamate Profession
Interestingly, Kissane breaks down the job of the content strategist into 4 separate professions:
“Though it lacks a goat head, content strategy also has a legacy. Several, in fact. And each has plenty to teach us. A complete genetic breakdown would require a separate book, so for now, let’s consider the four most influential fields: editorial work, curatorial work, marketing and persuasion, and information science� (16).
Editorial and marketing work appear self-evident. In order to create compelling content one needs to both remain consistent in formatting and grammar, and also write persuasively. In fact, information science, too, makes sense given its role in effectively storing and retrieving information.
But the curator field piques my interest. Curators conjure a vision of uptight tour guides in museums and overly informed janitors dusting ancient relics. But a curator, in truth, balances the job of an administrator and an artist. A curator not only knows what sine qua non forms of art an audience wants to see, s/he will also apprehend the need for benches and restrooms through the museum.
Similarly,
“On the web, we deal with each other in heavily mediated ways, but we’re still primates. We need accommodations for the thousand disabilities that we experience; ways of marking and saving information for later so we can take breaks; ways of skipping through content when we’re in a hurry; friendly orientation and navigation aids; access to real human assistance, via live help, telephone, email, or any other reasonable channel; and the ability to consume content on the devices and in the locations of our choice� (27).
Are You Looking for a Job?
A veritable mix of editor, curator, marketer, and scientist, the content strategist runs the engine of the business website. More importantly for those unemployed college graduates, a content strategist requires the skills of liberal arts majors.
An emerging field in a marketplace still suffering growing pangs, the world needs more content strategists. Look for entry-level jobs in web editorial, online marketing, or information management. You might soon find a lucrative career in content strategy. If you want to learn more, read The Elements of Content Strategy.
Originally published at
Have you seen the job statistics lately? More to the point, have you seen the employment rates for recent college graduates? What about liberal arts majors in particular? A study of 2009 college graduates finds 25.2% of liberal arts majors unemployed after graduation. Those humanities majors employed often found their jobs low paying and college degrees unnecessary.
For years, the general assumption was: get a degree; get a job. Well the current economic context suggests a shift for college students. Either stay in school and earn more degrees, or major in a “marketable� field like accounting, business management, or engineering.
Could there be a third way? In The Elements of Content Strategy, Erin Kissane outlines content strategy as an emerging profession.
All Hail King Internet
In case you haven’t noticed, the Internet runs the world these days. While some residual value remains in businesses running brick-and-mortar stores, the Internet is now the marketplace, a virtual mall so to speak.
With the rise of Internet communications comes the necessity of content strategy. Kissane writes,
“Content strategy is rising because organizations all over the world have begun to realize that they desperately need it to handle their rapidly expanding online communications� (2).
Not only do individual businesses need content to communicate with potential customers, Internet surfers desire content. Blogs and social media have replaced the days of the newspaper as the arbiter of information. Content, then, becomes the connection between a business and its potential customers.
“Content is perfectly appropriate for users when it makes them feel like geniuses on critically important missions, offering them precisely what they need, exactly when they need it, and in just the right form� (5).
If content bridges the gap between businesses and customers, the job of a content strategist is to connect these two parties by facilitating a web space meeting the needs of both parties.
The Content Strategist: An Amalgamate Profession
Interestingly, Kissane breaks down the job of the content strategist into 4 separate professions:
“Though it lacks a goat head, content strategy also has a legacy. Several, in fact. And each has plenty to teach us. A complete genetic breakdown would require a separate book, so for now, let’s consider the four most influential fields: editorial work, curatorial work, marketing and persuasion, and information science� (16).
Editorial and marketing work appear self-evident. In order to create compelling content one needs to both remain consistent in formatting and grammar, and also write persuasively. In fact, information science, too, makes sense given its role in effectively storing and retrieving information.
But the curator field piques my interest. Curators conjure a vision of uptight tour guides in museums and overly informed janitors dusting ancient relics. But a curator, in truth, balances the job of an administrator and an artist. A curator not only knows what sine qua non forms of art an audience wants to see, s/he will also apprehend the need for benches and restrooms through the museum.
Similarly,
“On the web, we deal with each other in heavily mediated ways, but we’re still primates. We need accommodations for the thousand disabilities that we experience; ways of marking and saving information for later so we can take breaks; ways of skipping through content when we’re in a hurry; friendly orientation and navigation aids; access to real human assistance, via live help, telephone, email, or any other reasonable channel; and the ability to consume content on the devices and in the locations of our choice� (27).
Are You Looking for a Job?
A veritable mix of editor, curator, marketer, and scientist, the content strategist runs the engine of the business website. More importantly for those unemployed college graduates, a content strategist requires the skills of liberal arts majors.
An emerging field in a marketplace still suffering growing pangs, the world needs more content strategists. Look for entry-level jobs in web editorial, online marketing, or information management. You might soon find a lucrative career in content strategy. If you want to learn more, read The Elements of Content Strategy.
Originally published at
March 15, 2017
Although I am not a content strategist / creator / curator (but rather an electrical engineer & software developer), this book broadened my perspective and helped me understand this important discipline better. It was also super fun to unexpectedly see one of my former co-workers listed in the acknowledgements; shout-out to Clinton!
January 5, 2016
This is ultimately a little tough. It's better than most books I've read on the subject, but it also suffers the same fate.
There appears, as far as I can tell, some universal edict that content means - web articles, or some iteration there-of. I feel this is a great misstep in the way many fall into the trap of equating user experience to user interface.
Content ultimately represents every word people will engage with. This does include web copy, blogs, videos, white papers and especially "help".
Often the most personal content, is that related to help, and it can range from documentation to professional service engagements to emails the support team sends. Yet, this is always glaringly absent from books about content strategy.
Sadly, this is absent, at least in any real way from this book as well. What happens is a two chapters on theory, and then a third chapter on how to inventory content (again conspicuously leaving out help).
Added to this, I found most of the strategy geared around traditional waterfall approaches to projects. As the software industry moves from this, and content teams follows, a good deal of consideration will need to be given.
Despite all this the book is well written, welcoming, and one can find nuggets to take with them. If you are involved on the marketing and web side of things, and have no interest in expanding into other content realms,this is certainly for you. However, if you are charged with the larger area of what was once called technical writing (I hate this term and prefer help content), you will still have a fair amount of work to do in order to take what conceptualized here.
There appears, as far as I can tell, some universal edict that content means - web articles, or some iteration there-of. I feel this is a great misstep in the way many fall into the trap of equating user experience to user interface.
Content ultimately represents every word people will engage with. This does include web copy, blogs, videos, white papers and especially "help".
Often the most personal content, is that related to help, and it can range from documentation to professional service engagements to emails the support team sends. Yet, this is always glaringly absent from books about content strategy.
Sadly, this is absent, at least in any real way from this book as well. What happens is a two chapters on theory, and then a third chapter on how to inventory content (again conspicuously leaving out help).
Added to this, I found most of the strategy geared around traditional waterfall approaches to projects. As the software industry moves from this, and content teams follows, a good deal of consideration will need to be given.
Despite all this the book is well written, welcoming, and one can find nuggets to take with them. If you are involved on the marketing and web side of things, and have no interest in expanding into other content realms,this is certainly for you. However, if you are charged with the larger area of what was once called technical writing (I hate this term and prefer help content), you will still have a fair amount of work to do in order to take what conceptualized here.
March 6, 2025
The Elements of Content Strategy is a handbook that translates Erin’s passion for understanding and respecting the web, the space to which she readily contributes her knowledge. Across 106 pages, she goes into the why and how behind content strategy � and if you have read any of her work you know that for Erin, the why is the core of “how to do it well�. This book is not a comprehensive tribute to the importance of content strategy � this has been done already by many excellent authors from many different perspectives. Erin's book is a content strategy companion that succinctly captures the core principles, competencies, and practices for easy reference while leading a project. The book is divided into three sections: Basic Principles, The Craft of Content Strategy, and Tools and Techniques. Let’s dive into each of them.
October 15, 2011
Ironically, I found this primer on content strategy, The Elements of Content Strategy by Erin Kissane, lacking in both content and strategy. Moreover, what made it hard to get through even such a short book was the dry prose. Even for someone who is very interested in content � online and otherwise � this was just too boring, I am sorry to say. It is a short book, but it took me months to get through - I kept having other, more interesting fare on my Kindle!
Basically, most, if not all, of the definitions and processes described in the book are well known to me, but do not convince me that we need a separate field called “content strategy� and a separate job title called “content strategist�.
I have written a slightly longer version of this review on if anyone is interested in reading it and commenting.
Basically, most, if not all, of the definitions and processes described in the book are well known to me, but do not convince me that we need a separate field called “content strategy� and a separate job title called “content strategist�.
I have written a slightly longer version of this review on if anyone is interested in reading it and commenting.
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