Content That Works

At Hammock, our slogan is "Your story starts here," and it's a phrase that we live out every day. Whether we're catching up before a Monday morning staff meeting, checking in with a client or writing a feature for one of our publications, we love to tell (and hear) a good story.

One of our favorite forms of storytelling -- at least in writing -- is the narrative, a chronological story that shows cause and affect, and develops through actions and characters. Like any story, all narratives have a beginning, middle and end. Though their structure may seem complex, they aren't that different from any riveting tale you might hear at the office or around town.

Here are a few storytelling secrets to help you master the art of narrative writing:

Written and Doodled by Rex

Earlier this summer, at the annual conference of our client, Association Media & Publishing, I enjoyed a presentation on "visual thinking" by Dan Roam, author of the best-selling book, Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. As you can see in the photo on the right, I got into the spirit of the presentation and took notes about his presentation on the back of a napkin -- more on that in a minute.

At Hammock, we're constantly challenging ourselves -- and the photographers, illustrators and videographers with whom we work -- to tell stories visually, not just to think of their work as something to support the words in our stories. It's true what they say about pictures and a thousand words -- but for some reason, people don't feel comfortable with trying to solve problems and develop strategies with pictures.

We are a team full of great business thinkers, creative designers and witty wordsmiths. But there are times when the words just won't come.

When selecting typefaces for Web or magazine projects, our designers consider everything from the amount of text to the message, emphasis and style of a publication. Many of these typefaces are chosen early in the process and draw from a family of fonts, which are used throughout our publications repeatedly to create continuity.

Association members are increasingly turning to association websites for news, networking and resources, which is why tracking these visits is fundamental to managing a successful site. Here are three reasons why it's so important for associations to have Google Analytics running on their sites:

5 Questions to Ask Each Month

Have you looked at your website this month? We look at hammock.com every single day. We strive for at least one piece of new content each day of the week. While not every site requires that the content be quite so dynamic, there are things that you should check at least once a month for function, content and freshness.