Writing for an Audience
In my past role as a communications assistant at the Columbia University Weatherhead East Asian Institute, some of my main tasks were:
managing the weekly newsletter
designing posters for events
updating the website
While the type of writing I do is different from the kind I would encounter in a content design position, I can see some similarities, especially when it comes to the mindset of writing for an audience.
Weekly newsletter
When designing and editing content for the newsletter, I try to keep it as simple as possible. A lot of words go into descriptions for academic events, and it is my job to compress everything into an enticing little box. I make sure people become interested enough to click on the institute’s news and events. Click below for an example of a past newsletter.
I hyperlinked to all of the necessary pages, making sure I am clear in my descriptions of what the links lead to:
At the bottom of the email, I added a short note for our subscribers:
Though not everyone may read it, those who do may appreciate the human touch and keep coming back for more.
I also added a button that leads to a survey. This can give us necessary feedback for improvement to increase engagement in the future.
Designing posters
Not only do the posters need to be aesthetically pleasing, they also need to adequately advertise the contents of the event without bombarding readers with text.
Here, I removed as much text from the event description as possible while preserving the main topic. I also added a registration link at the bottom with a shortened URL, making it easier for readers to get to the page.
Sometimes I’m unable to shorten the description without losing the event’s main points. In this case, I opted for simpler pictures and a QR code instead of a registration link to somewhat reduce the clutter.
Before submitting the poster to my supervisor, I caught that there was no explanation for what the QR code leads to. To reduce confusion for the readers, I added a short caption explaining that you can scan to register for the event.
Updating the website
One example of what I do on the website would be editing the banner carousel on the homepage:
Up until a few months ago, the banners did not have buttons leading to their respective pages. The images were clickable, but not everyone knew that. After discussion with my supervisor, we decided that buttons would drive more traffic to the pages. With buttons, we can show our visitors where the link will lead to before they click. I kept the text for the buttons as clear and concise as possible.