No Boring Content Allowed!

NO BORING CONTENT ALLOWED!

WRITING COMPELLING TEXT FOR COVER LETTERS, RESUMES PORTFOLIOS +

steph hay {refreshdc} july 22, 2010

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YOU’RE KICK-ASSCONVEY TO READERS THAT

http://www.flickr.com/photos/headlouse/1484615917/sizes/m/in/photostream/

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Client: ACME is the world’s largest manufacturer of ineffectual weapons for coyotes. I made wireframes, created a new design, and integrated Drupal for content management.

View the website >>

Skills: Drupal, XHTML/CSS, javascript, Flash, Ruby on Rails, .NET, SharePoint, Google Analytics, Captcha

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XHTML

BROWSER-COMPATIBLE

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURECSS

FRONT-END DEVELOPMENTUSER EXPERIENCE DESIGN

GRAPHIC DESIGN

JQUERY

AJAX

WORDPRESS

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMSJS

SOME PHPEDUCATION

BANNER ADS

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TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,

...OVER 5 YEARS EXPERIENCEAS ADVERTISED ON...

I HAVE DESIGNED 90 WEBSITES......TALENTED AND CREATIVE

MORE DETAILS IN MY RESUME

I AM SUBMITTING MY...

THANK YOU....HOPE TO HEAR BACK SOON

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TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,

...OVER 5 YEARS EXPERIENCEAS ADVERTISED ON...

I HAVE DESIGNED 90 WEBSITES......TALENTED AND CREATIVE

MORE DETAILS IN MY RESUME

I AM SUBMITTING MY...

THANK YOU....HOPE TO HEAR BACK SOON

?

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FocusCredibilityConsistency

3 ELEMENTS OF COMPELLING CONTENT

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This

Hard

MAKE NO MISTAKE...

is8

FOCUSIN WHICH AREAS CAN

BE DEMONSTRATED ?

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AudienceMediumNetwork

3 CHARACTERISTICS OF FOCUS

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AUDIENCE

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MEDIUM

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NETWORK

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CREDIBILITYIN WHICH WAYS CAN

BE CONVEYED?

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EngagementResultsHumilityIntent

4 CHARACTERISTICS OF CREDIBILITY

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ENGAGEMENTDEMONSTRATE

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““DEMONSTRATE ENGAGEMENT

Objective: To earn a project management position with a revered firm in the DC area.

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DEMONSTRATE ENGAGEMENT

Don’t be a cog.Explain how you enthusiastically made great things happen.

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“In 2008, I completed the design and development of a 2nd generation, enterprise-level RIA using object-oriented JavaScript. I built the app on event-based AJAX techniques and made heavy use of the Dojo framework (v.1.1.0).

“DEMONSTRATE ENGAGEMENT

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RESULTS-ORIENTEDKEEP STATEMENTS

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KEEPING STATEMENTS RESULTS-ORIENTED

““

Participated in design discussions with clients

Generated logo concepts

Learned WordPress to provide maintenance support

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KEEPING STATEMENTS RESULTS-ORIENTED

Don’t just list what you did.Explain how you did it differently or extraordinarily.

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Weeks ahead of schedule, I coded and delivered Section 508-Compliant HTML and CSS for the development team’s seamless integration.

KEEPING STATEMENTS RESULTS-ORIENTED

““

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OliveCrush knew just how to translate our text into a beautiful, artistic product, especially appealing to the age group we sought to target.

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WITHOUT CONCEITBE CONFIDENT

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I can help you with your sr. web interface graphic designer (bethesda) Resume attached.

Check out my captcha enabled, ajax/java interface and massive on-line database skills at ...Thanks

BEING CONFIDENT WITHOUT CONCEIT

““

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Don’t rely fully on aesthetics.Complement portfolios by describing how you think.

BEING CONFIDENT WITHOUT CONCEIT

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BEING CONFIDENT WITHOUT CONCEIT

““

I believe in clear and honest communication. You can count on me to listen to your business objectives, be available when you need to contact me, and to be transparent about my process.

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RESULTS-ORIENTEDKEEPING STATEMENTS

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I wanted to mimic the displays of his many exhibitions - no distractions and minimal info. All forms of navigation remain hidden until requested, allowing the imagery to commandeer the screen.

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WITH INTENTIONWRITE CONTENT

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The webiste has greatly improved their web marketing and consiquently improved sales of their debut album...

WRITING CONTENT WITH INTENTION

““

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WRITING CONTENT WITH INTENTION

Don’t be careless.Take the time to ensure your writing sings beautifully.

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I have helped strengthen the PBS Parents brand through my design leadership. It is now a major funding and partnership opportunity for PBS and has won the 2006 and 2009 Parents Choice Gold Awards.

WRITING CONTENT WITH INTENTION

““

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CONSISTENCYIN WHICH AREAS CAN

BEST BE ACHIEVED ?

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StructureVoiceStyle

3 CHARACTERISTICS OF CONSISTENCY

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STRUCTURE

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+ Promote experience over education

+ Include only what’s most relevant

+ Scatter keywords throughout

STRUCTURE41

VOICE

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+ Write in a genuine tone

+ Avoid bloated technical statements

+ Rewrite anything that sounds ridiculous when read out loud

VOICE43

STYLE

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+ To end (or not to end) bulleted lists with periods

+ Stick with one tense (past)

+ Website, website, or web site

STYLE45

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FocusCredibilityConsistency

3 ELEMENTS OF COMPELLING CONTENT

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NOW GO ROCK IT.

Thanks a bunch for listening!

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stephaniehay.com/bloghttp://speakerrate.com/talks/4131-no-boring-content-allowed

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