Thinking comes first

Everybody knows: It is generally a good idea to think about whatever you want to do before actually doing it.

Want to quit your job? Wait a minute! Think about it, there’s a huge recession out there!  

I’m thinking of buying a new car. What make? How much can I afford? Will a second-hand car do? What colour??  

Need a new website? Let’s hire a designer and a programmer.

Hold on... is this still so? Yes. Very much so, at least in some corners of the planet. 

Now, a content strategist might come along and tell the customer-to-be that it is crucial to get the content right, and that it is important to work on the content before actually deciding the colour of the logo or starting to implement the site. 

The “content-comes-first” sort of approach makes sense to most humans, so chances are the customer-to-be will be interested in what the content strategist has to say next. They'll more than likely be pleased to hear that planning content correctly can avoid project delays, and they'll pay a lot of attention when they´re told that it can also significantly reduce costs. So far so good.

Until... well, until they hear that good content involves thinking. Thinking a lot, together with other people. Thinking, deciding, agreeing, prioritizing, compromising. It means time and commitment.

And that's exactly when it all becomes scary. Or embarrassing. Or a bit of both.

Thinking can be so scary that it feels it isn't needed

"You see, we know very well what we want to say, and we know what our customers want, it's just that we don't  have time to write it, and we don't know how to write it so that it's catchy."

That's actually perfect. The more you've thought, the better. Is there a slight possibility you overlooked issues that are specifically important for web content?

Thinking can be so scary that it becomes an impossible ideal

"Mmmh, your approach is very interesting. In an ideal situation, we'd love to do it your way, but we've no budget to do a thorough analysis. We need the money for the design and the implementation."

Right. Money is obviously a factor to take into account. The thing is, not spending money on the thinking and exploring phase will more than likely mean wasting money in the writing, designing and implementing phases. Actually, thinking well in the early stages can shed some light as to how to redistribute your budget so that everything can be done efficiently.

Thinking can also be a bit embarassing...

"Maybe we should think a bit about it all internally, and once we've certain things clear in our minds, we can tell you... what about that? You know, not to make you waste your time." 

Nice try! But generally the best way to delay the beginning of the project yet another year. Having someone to guide you in the thinking process, asking the right questions from an outsider's point of view is extremely useful when it comes to efficient content.

...or even *very* embarassing

"Oh, you don't know this lot! You'll have us in a meeting and no one will open their mouths! It's very hard to get two words out of the people in this house. And especially X, Y, Z. They'd die if they had to go through such a process. You don't want to put yourself in that situation!"

Oh yes I do. I'd actually love to.

Thinking has to come first
However scary and embarrassing it may seem, and however time-consuming and resource-demanding it may be, thinking has to come first. Tackling key issues in depth at the beginning of the project is crucial to define an efficient strategy that allows you to create an efficient website.

Thinking is necessary and useful. Fortunately, most of the times (most of "my" times so far) thinking is also interesting, good fun and highly motivating.