1. Create Web content (and Help pages) your clients will love
2. Win sales with white papers and application notes
3. Help your bottom line with our technical writing services
4. Tip: Turn bullets into graphics
5. Recipe: Sangria

We're Hsuan-min Chou and Blythe Howard-Chou, founders of Jumping Bean Communications. Do you know someone who can use our marketing writing or technical writing services? Forward this newsletter to a friend or colleague, or point them to www.jumpbean.com.

1. Create Web content (and Help pages) your clients will love

Back in 1997, while freelancing at a major financial institution, a fellow technical writer and I were deploying documentation on a Web-based intranet (instead of printed copies or online help) to save the institution money.

Developing user documentation for the Web was a fairly new idea at the time, so we did a little research. My co-worker came across "How Users Read on the Web," a newly published article by renowned usability expert, Jakob Nielsen.

Mr. Nielsen recommended employing scannable text to make reading easier on the Web (reading large amounts of content on screen tires out eyes). He suggested using:

• Highlighted keywords
  Hypertext links serve as one form of highlighting; typeface variations and color are others.
• Meaningful sub-headings
  Heading should encourage your reader to continue reading. "Clever" headings tend to turn readers away.
• Bulleted lists
  Bulleted lists break up your ideas making them easier to scan and read on a monitor.
• One idea per paragraph
  Users will skip over any additional ideas if they are not caught by the first few words in the paragraph.
• The inverted pyramid style
  Start with the conclusion so you instantly capture your reader's attention.
• Half the word count
  Reduce your word count because (as we noted earlier) reading on a monitor tires out eyes.

My co-worker and I employed his recommendations to our tech documentation and it was welcomed with open arms by our beta testers.

At Jumping Bean, we have been using Mr. Nielsen's recommendations for more than 10 years. And with a little tweaking here and there, we have been developing Web copy our clients love.

Related links
How Users Read on the Web
Our Web portfolio

If you missed that issue on hooking your readers immediately , just visit the Archives page. You can find that, plus all past issues of "bean news!"

2. Win sales with white papers and application notes

What are your "must-haves"? Not brochures or Flash movies. Sure, those are fun and eye catching... but they're generally not very substantive.

What really gets people listening (and talking) is what you can do for them. And white papers and application notes are the vehicles to bring such substance to the table.

Excellent job on a very involved white paper... This project required you to learn a little something about ALL of the products and pieces for one of our most important product lines. You did a great job of tying all the pieces together. It's always a great sign when our president has a comment, "This is exactly what I wanted!" B.C. Copywriter SPSS

With nine years experience developing intellectual capital for businesses, Jumping Bean can help you solidify your sales. We have written white papers and application notes for:

• Catbird Network
• Learning Insights
• Novarra
• Open Port Technology
• Stellent
• SPSS
• Universal Access

For more information on how we can build your intellectual assets, visit www.jumpbean.com/assets.

Do you want to advertise your business/service on Bean News? Take a look at our client list, and you can see the industries we cater to. Send an email, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Jumping Bean can help your company's bottom-line by developing your online help and support documentation. Hsuan has written documentation for some of Chicagoland's largest companies, including, Ameritech (now AT&T), First Chicago (now Chase), and many others. See some samples in his portfolio.

Learn more about our technical writing services. And when your product/service is finished, we can dish out some snazzy marketing to complete the sale!

4. Tip: Turn your bullets into graphics

Are you bored with bulleted lists. They are everywhere! Advertisements, reports, articles, Web sites, this newsletter. And it's always the same thing: black dot, text. Black dot, text. Black dot, text. Sheesh!

Well, Microsoft® Word can help you add a little jazziness to your bulleted lists. And it's so simple!

1. In your Word document, click the Format menu.
2. Select Bullets and Numbering. The Bullets and Numbering dialog box appears.
3. Select the second option (black dot) and click Customize. The Customize Bullet Lists dialog box appears.
4. In the Customize Bullet Lists dialog box, click Picture. The Picture Bullet dialog box appears. You can select from one of the hundreds of existing bullets; or you can make your own from a photo, drawing, etc. (Remember, however, that a bullet is only 15x15 pixels, so you can't use the Mona Lisa as a bullet)
5. Click OK. Now, whenever you click the Bullet button on the toolbar, your new bullet appears.
   
   Thank you, D. Hill, for this tip!

Make your day run more smoothly and efficiently with our timesaving tips. Got a tip? Send it to tips@jumpbean.com. You might see it in the next issue of "bean news!"

5. Recipe: Sangria

Bring out your inner Hemingway, and dance the long-awaited warm nights away with cool Sangria.

Ingredients

• Oranges
• Limes
• Lemons
• Berries, such as strawberries, black berries, etc.
• 2 liter Soda (or 1 ltr soda, 1 ltr Sprite, 7-up)
• 2 bottle red (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlo, or a mix)

FULL RECIPE

Expand your culinary world by trying one of our recipes. If you have a favorite recipe you'd like to share, send it to recipes@jumpbean.com, and you just might find it in the next edition of "bean news!"

Hsuan did a great job writing competitive response pieces for our internal sales team.

He understood our goals... and made them easy-to-read so HP’s team could quickly address potential situations with customers.

Andy Binder
Director, HP

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Subscribe to our newsletter, "bean news," to get the latest tips and ideas on marketing that every business should know. Read previous issues of "bean news."

Thanks...for your work in the short time you were here. We'll certainly keep you in mind... for additional freelance help.

T. Gorman, Manager
Corporate Branding and Creative Services
Discover Financial Services

Amy has definitely expressed her positive feedback with your work and is impressed with your strategic copywriting abilities!

Recruiter
Visa Account
Direct Mail Agency

Did I overhear right that you were leaving after today? Bummer... You were a great help.

B.S, Copywriter
Walgreens

Thanks! I really appreciate all your hard work [on the EMEA course catalog]!

D. Carter, Manager
Motorola University
Motorola

Nice work. I really like the tone [of your catalog copywriting].

E.W, VP New Business
Specialty Store Services

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