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"Content
is King."
It is vitally important to get your information across quickly, succinctly, and cogently. If your
text doesn't catch and hold viewers' interest - you'll lose them.
Professional editing
from T-21 can help. Here's one example:
WEB
SITE CONTENT.
Problem.
To promote his products, the owner of a small retail store chain was developing a Web Site.
He hired a local Web development firm, but was disappointed with the results, saying,
"It looks okay, but the writing is not really good.
We gave them
notes on what we thought it should say, but it came out sort of
disjointed, wordy, and kind of bland. I don't like it."
Action.
His T-21 Team Manager (TM) reviewed the Web Site and agreed that improvements could be made.
A T-21 Team downloaded the company's Web Site text, organized it in a new format, and revised the wording.
When the company
approved the final content, updated text files were forwarded to the local Web
service and the Web Site was soon re-published with the new
content. The company also printed the new Web address on all product containers, letterhead, receipts, and invoices.
Result.
They soon began receiving numerous compliments on the revised Web Site.
Web Statistics revealed that the number of visitors
viewing pages, subsequent to the Home Page, increased five-fold
- showing that the new content was holding viewers' interest and
encouraging them to read more. The owner summed up his
feelings: "This is
what I had in mind originally. Perfect."
Note:
After we revised this store's Web Site, the local Web
Developer, serving them, began sub-contracting T-21 to write Web content for
their other customers.
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"Two heads are better than
one."
Anyone, editing their own work, is locked-in to the same perspectives, assumptions, and ways of expressing themselves as in their original writing.
After all, they know what they meant to say, so the results of self-editing are
usually less-than-optimum; an expert second head is needed
to produce the most effective end-product. Here's an example of how T-21
can help:
BOOKS.
Problem.
The author of a series of inexpensive "Do-It-Yourself" paperback
books, designed for homeowners, contacted T-21. He had received complaints from readers
about ambiguities in previous books. Since he self-published and sold his own books, he
lacked the editorial resources of a large publishing firm, so he
asked if T-21 could help.
Action.
The T-21 Team Manager (TM) organized an Editing
Team for the job. Half of the
Team reviewed the author's draft and revised it for clarity and brevity, sometimes recommending addition of diagrams or photos.
Next, the other half of the Team reviewed and edited the revised draft.
When the full
Team agreed on a interim draft, it was shared with the author.
After incorporating his suggestions,
T-21 forwarded the final product in the format he had specified.
Result.
After publication, the author said, "I've received a
lot of kudos on this one and almost no negative comments at
all."
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"No job is finished until the paperwork is done."
We all know it has to be done correctly and professionally, but writing is not everyone's forte or first-priority.
It's often more effective to concentrate on your primary work,
jot down notes, then turn them over to a professional
editor - to create a succinct, cogent presentation. Here's an
example of how T-21 can help:
ENGINEERING
COMPANY.
Problem.
A soil-engineering firm routinely produces documents for architects and construction companies.
The owner contacted
T-21 for help in editing and finalizing the content of the reports.
He explained that his engineers spend most of their time on fieldwork, so writing
was often shortchanged.
This made reports to customers somewhat disorganized and less effective.
The owner worried that this tarnished the company's professional image.
He said, "These are engineers; they're good engineers, not writers.
But, unfortunately, our real end-products are written reports."
He asked about testing T-21's Editing service on this problem to see if it would help.
Test.
His T-21 Team Manager (TM) arranged a sixty-day test of the service, assembling an
Editing Team for the work. The firm sent a sample of what they considered an
"exemplary report."
Then, they sent their word processing files of engineers' rough
drafts for each new project.
T-21 editors
restructured the engineers' drafts in the style of the exemplary
report, edited them for readability and brevity, and faxed them back. The engineers needed only to read the drafts, enter any necessary handwritten marginal notes and fax them back to
T-21. Their Team incorporated the changes into the final version and e-mailed
word processing files back to the firm, ready for printing.
Result.
Report turn-around time, from start of engineer drafts to final
documents, was
reduced from an average of nearly 4 days to only 2 days.
Estimated engineer time, spent on reporting, was reduced by 38%.
Two weeks before the sixty-day test was scheduled to end,
the owner contacted his TM and said, "Let's make it
permanent. The new reports are logical, easier to understand, and they look
professional - every one of them. My engineers like it because it saves them time.
I like it because they can spend more time in the field and that's where we make our money."
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