6 Strategies for Writing Compelling Headings

6 Strategies for Writing Compelling Headings

Debra Kahn (@dkconsultco)

I hate to admit that I still have stumbling blocks after decades of writing experience, but, ummm, I do. It’s writing headings. There! I wrote it down—in a public blog post.

If you have the same struggle, I can share some advice and tips with you. No need to go heading-less!

Headings are important because they serve as guideposts to our written content. When effective, they help our readers locate and conceptualize the information they seek from our organizations. (Remember when I wrote about scannability?) Effective headings are especially important in online content, where they continue to feed web search engines, even Google’s.  

Note that Google Search’s March 2024 core update attempts to assess a piece of content’s quality so that our search results contain fewer meaningless clickbait. This puts more pressure on content creators to develop original, helpful online content – including meaningful first- and second-level headings.

Those are strong motivators, right? So why is writing a good heading sooo hard?

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Step One in Component Content: Common Modules

Step One in Component Content: Common Modules

Debra Kahn (@dkconsultco)

No one likes to reinvent the wheel. And in the era of AI, none of us like to create content when we can leverage something that’s already out there. (Copyrights respected, of course.)

Actually, irrespective of AI, an aversion to unnecessary writing effort has always been a thing, especially among those of us who develop product-related content. Why rewrite a product-line description or a disclaimer when you can leverage what others (or you) have already written?

When I had my Eureka moment about this, near the turn of the millennium, I tried to create a content reuse process within an existing product documentation system. Seemed like common sense at the time. So, I set out to convince my colleagues to join me on that plain.

Today, of course, we have many options to componentize content, from WordPress to sophisticated CCMS tools. But where do you start if you’re not ready to make a giant leap to an expensive tool?

I believe the basics of my original process still apply. So, I will share it with you here.

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Neurodivergence and Content Design: The Migraine Edition

Neurodivergence and Content Design: The Migraine Edition

Debra Kahn (@dkconsultco)

Designing online content sensitive to user differences has been our responsibility for at least 20 years – in the U.S., since the advent of Section 508 requirements. During that time, our awareness of inclusivity has evolved to include (pun intended) neurodiversity, a term coined in the 1990s by Judy Singer.

Nick Walker, Ph.D., defines “neurodivergent” folks as having “a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of ‘normal.’” (See her helpful blog post “Neurodiversity: Some Basic Terms & Definitions.”)

The mind functions differently. That definition encompasses folks with dyslexia, autism, dyscalculia, ADHD, anxiety, and a neurological injury. It also includes me, a person with migraine disorder. Or it should.

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Instructions Need a Dénouement, Too

Instructions Need a Dénouement, Too

Debra Kahn (@dkconsultco)

If your job is to create instructions for a product user, plot it out, and don’t skip the dénouement!

Unfamiliar with the term “dénouement?” In literature, the term refers to the ultimate outcome or explanation of a plotline. Literally, in Middle French (its origin), it means to “untie” or “unravel.”

What does all this have to do with writing instructions? If your instructions are taking a user on a journey through a set of tasks (think Campbell’s hero’s journey here), then I urge you to “unravel” the expected outcome of their journey for them – and help them to know they are on the right path along the way. Here’s how.

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Your Website Content: Audit Tips

Your Website Content: Audit Tips

Debra Kahn (@dkconsultco)

If your web content is your public face, especially if it’s your sales engine, you should be auditing it at least once a year. 

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