Choosing an Electrical Switch
Redefining content strategy for digital publications
- Content Strategy
Project Overview
Modernising Content Strategy & Developing a New Workflow
How do we bring data to life? What content will define McMaster-Carr’s future as a digital publisher? I worked on a small team to figure that out. In this project, I developed new types of informational content, piloted patterns and techniques for creating engaging content designed for use in our digital publications, and redefined the writing style for the publishing department.
Client
McMaster-Carr Supply Company
My Roles
Content Strategist
Achievements
Created New Company-Wide Content Strategy
The Problem
Existing Content Not Meeting Customer Needs
McMaster-Carr is well known for general information content that provides an overview of a product category, explains technical attributes, and helps customers make informed selections. These about boxes were designed for the limitations of a black-and-white print catalog. Strategies for creating them had not been updated in decades, and this dense, text-heavy content did not adapt well to the website.
Content Dominated by Jargon
In the industrial supply world, some jargon is unavoidable—the language of highly technical products has its own vocabulary. But many McMaster customers are not familiar with this terminology, and this content fails to explain what it means and why it matters.
Formal Tone Fails to Engage Customers
Stilted language compounds the problems created by extensive use of technical jargon. This content contains valuable information, but its uninteresting tone doesn’t invite engagement.
Dense Copy Hinders Understanding
This about box was designed to fit on a print catalog page, and it shows. Intimidating information densely packed into large blocks of text deters readers. And copy alone cannot clearly convey some of these technical concepts.
The Process
Defining a New Workflow for Content Creation
We created the new electrical switch content to demonstrate patterns and techniques that can be replicated throughout our offering. During the project, we outlined both our new content-creation process and our content-strategy principles.
Content-Creation Process
The guidelines we developed to create this new content.
Set the Stage
Define the problem, assemble a cross-functional team, establish a timeline, and minimize distractions.
Develop a Deeper Understanding
Dive into customer feedback, draw insight from team members’ areas of expertise, and seek inspiration from outside sources.
Sketch Potential Solutions
Work individually to outline a variety of approaches to the problem you’re trying to solve.
Select the Best Idea
Come together to discuss approaches, identify the most promising path, and develop a detailed plan.
Create & Iterate
Build a mock-up and incorporate feedback from reviewers to produce content that customers can evaluate.
Test & Refine
Ask customers open-ended questions to validate the approach and identify potential improvements.
Publish & Reevaluate
Expose content to customers across our publications and respond to their feedback over time.
Content-Strategy Principles
These universal principles ground and guide the new creation process.
Clarity Above All
If the content isn’t clear, the content isn’t useful.
Design for the Root Cause
Tailor content in direct response to customer need.
Keep it Simple
Translate, interpret, and break down complicated concepts into approachable content that doesn’t intimidate customers.
Use Resources Wisely
Create value for customers using only what is necessary.
Transcend Mediums
Use techniques that require a minimal amount of adaptation across publications.
Help the Non-Expert without Impeding the Expert
Be helpful and approachable without talking down or building barriers.
Provide Expertise
Offer customers advice, suggestions, and paths to other areas of our offering.
Create Chunks, Not Blobs
Produce modular components that can be repurposed and made available at the point of need.
Proof of Concept
Approachable General Information Content
Choosing an electrical switch can be intimidating to customers who are unfamiliar with wiring diagrams and industry jargon. This product selection guide translates unintuitive terms into plain English and breaks down the selection process into easy-to-digest steps that help customers find the right product.
I wrote the copy for the selection guide and assisted the graphic designer who developed the iconography and imagery.
Content Strategies in Use
- Conversational tone walks novice customers through the selection process without talking down to expert customers.
- Asking questions leads customers to the right products based on what they know about their application.
- Icons paired with small bits of copy succinctly describe complex concepts.
- Copy leads with simplified concepts before translating common language into industrial terminology.
- Modular components can be repurposed across digital publications, and individual bits of content can be presented in isolation to define concepts and product attributes at the point of need.
New Style Guidelines
New Copy Principles
I created these new copy principles and examples for the publishing style guide based on my work creating the electrical switch content. Within the context of technical writing practices for a conservative industrial supply distributor, these new guidelines marked a radical change in tone.
Good Copy is Empathetic
Our products are complex and confusing. Our copy needs to tell customers we understand that—and show that we’re here to help them.
Write This:
Picking out an electrical switch can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start.
Not This:
An electrical switch is used to turn power to a device on and off. This occurs when the switch closes or opens a set of contacts within an electrical circuit.
Good Copy is Conversational
Our copy should converse with customers, not just state the facts. Define technical jargon in plain English and use examples to explain complex concepts.
Write This:
Switches that turn power on or off are known as single-throw (ST) switches. Switches that supply power when triggered are called normally open (NO) switches. Switches that cut power when triggered are called normally closed (NC) switches.
Not This:
A single-throw (ST) switch is designed to be either open (off) or closed (on) before switching. A switch designed to be open is called normally open (NO), while a switch designed to be closed is normally closed (NC).
Good Copy is Fun (But Still Professional)
Engage customers with copy that’s fun to read. Write in an inviting, relaxed tone.
Write This:
In a pinch, you can use a power-transfer switch as an on/off switch by not wiring one of the output terminals.
Not This:
A double-throw (DT) switch can be wired to be normally open or normally closed, offering greater flexibility.
Reflection
What I Learned
This was one of my first high-profile, high-pressure projects at McMaster-Carr. The content I developed with my team created a foundation for the future of digital strategy and a repeatable process for producing this type of information.
Achievements
- Defined new content strategy and content-creation process that was implemented across the company
- Developed new archetypes of content and conducted training sessions to teach content creators this process
- Modernised copy tone and updated the company style guide
Insights
- We should have sought feedback sooner, both from internal reviewers and from customers. Based on this experience, we revised our process steps to emphasise the importance of early feedback that continues throughout the content-development process. I applied this lesson to the magnet strength selection guide project, which included more extensive and well-resourced UX research as a foundational step.
- I should voice concerns when they arise. After I wrote the first draft of the content, the team lead wanted longer and more in-depth copy. I thought this was moving in the wrong direction, but I did not share that opinion. Feedback from reviewers and customers validated my initial concerns, but if I had voiced them earlier, we could have avoided late-stage edits.