External Resources
(under construction)
I have been in a state of constant learning since I started my content journey. Some knowledge came from experience, but a lot has come from some really smart and wonderful people. If you’ve found this page in search of some guidance, I hope my digging is able to help yours!
FYI!
This page is very much under construction. And I know what you’re thinking – ‘Then why can I see it?’
While it doesn’t look super pretty everywhere, I’m adding my context and links as I go. Hopefully this note will never be read because no one found it, but if you did find it – I hope it’s helpful even in its messy state! That’s why.
A quick note
I’ve had a hard time finding resources around support-specific content that isn’t a blog from a company selling a ticketing system or CMS or what have you.
If I’ve missed something crucial, please let me know! I truly keep hoping someone will come across my work and inform me that my search terms have just been wrong all along and open the door to a wonderful world of help center, email, and notification templates and best practices.
Until that day, my goal is to try and fill that gap from my own perspective. Feel free to check out my blog and make some suggestions! I’d love to help.
Content Strategy
Along the way, I realized I was doing more content strategy than UX Writing. While I use the UX Writing principles every day, some of these Content Strategy resources have saved me once or twice.
The Content Strategy Toolkit
My first official resource on this journey, this book provides a step-by-step guidebook to creating or improving a content strategy, and you can follow it from the start or skip around based on specific needs. If you like guides and spreadsheet templates, this book will change your life. The author is a pretty fabulous human too.
Brain Traffic
Aside from amazing resources on the site, find the founders of Confab and Button. Everyone loves a conference, and these are special.
Nielson Norman Group
If I’m not sure on a style guideline or structure choice, I always quickly plug some keywords for the issue + nng into Google to see if they’ve done any research on the matter. Often they have! They focus on general deign, but their reports are amazing resources to help make strategy decisions.
Customer Support
I found my support people a little later in my research, but I’m so grateful I found them. There aren’t necessarily communities or resources devoted explicitly to support content, but content is still very much part of the conversation in these spaces.
Support Driven
The community dedicated to Customer Support as a career – and truly, it’s a special community. They host annual conferences, regular webinars, and it all happens through one of the most kind Slack communities I’ve ever experienced.
Support Human Resources
Looking for some new resources? A podcast? Maybe a newsletter or community? Steph has created a one-stop shop of resources. No description can do it justice, you’ll have to see for yourself.
Growth Support
Created by a support leader who understands the value and possibilities of a support career. You can find resources in a knowledge base format or tune into some incredible conversations on a variety of support-focused topics.
Content Design/ UX Writing
After leaving my role in support, I planned to get a UX Writing certification and find a ‘normal’ job in that field. While that didn’t happen, I did finish a certification and use that knowledge constantly.
UX Content Collective
Created for content people by content people, this course was well worth the investment for me. They also publish tons of helpful resources!
Content Design London
Ever looked at a UK government website and been impressed? This team was behind it and may have created the Content Design concept. (From my perspective, ‘Content Design’ from CDL is more like content strategy than UX Writing)
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
There are lots of resources out there offering standards and guidelines (NNG, etc), but this has been my favorite (intro’d from UXCC, btw!)
Early in my first Help Center project, I realized that I was working with a lot of mess. I learned about IA. Then there was the concept of Omnichannel and instructional design. These are just more reminders that content work does not thrive in restrictive silos!
Information Architecture
A friend recommended I check out Abby Covert and the world of IA quickly began to unfold. If you’re in the world of content, I highly recommend you look into some of this.
Omnichannel
Omnichannel takes a more holistic approach to content, wherever the user wants to engage. Also the cofounder has some sick dance moves and you should support that.
Etc
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More Communities
Good people make working in content and support really cool. The work can be a bit isolating if you work on your own – I highly recommend following people on LinkedIn, joining the 800 Slack groups, and leaning on folks when you need it.
Support Driven
The community dedicated to Customer Support as a career – and truly, it’s a special community. They host annual conferences, regular webinars, and it all happens through one of the most kind Slack communities I’ve ever experienced.
Write the Docs
It’s sort of known as the Technical Writing community, but this group is amazing and open to anyone who cares about communication, documentation, and their users. They also offer a variety of conferences too!
Zendesk User Groups
How can I recommend something from Zendesk?! Regardless of feelings about the company/ product, the fact remains that a lot of us are stuck using it. I often am! They’ve recently introduced these user groups, which have been a great resource already!
Content + UX
This is a HUGE Slack group with channels in every area and need of the field. Find all kinds of goodies if you decide to join!
Active Voice
I went through a workshop with Active Voice in 2023, and saying that it made a huge impact is an understatement. Sara and Jen are amazing humans, and they’ve created and sustained one of my favorite communities out there.
Lead with Tempo
Are you in a leadership position? This community and related conference might be your new favorite thing!
Some favorite tools
I’ve listed a variety of tools that I use on a regular, if not daily, basis. Maybe they’ll be useful to you, maybe not, but I like them and they deserve some love!
There has to be a way to make this look nice without being aggressive or pulling more images…
put into columns of categories, then make some cute lists like below? Although not sure how I can actually break up some of these… will get back to it later!
Consulting tools that have made my life doing freelance work so much easier
Writing tools
Website tools
Specific resources from other smart people
