Writing Informative & Useful HelpGrams: A Reader-Centered Approach



Quick Reference: Creating Informative & Useful HelpGrams

  • Keep your readers in mind when deciding what content to include or to exclude from your HelpGrams.
  • Use the questions on this page as general guidelines for writing informative and useful HelpGrams.

Since our goal is to provide our readers with useful information that will enhance their lives, our HelpGrams must be informative, motivational, and action-oriented. We aim to provide our users with fresh insights, as opposed to information they already know.

Remember that you're writing for readers who are concerned about your topic or who have been affected by your topic in some way. So when deciding which information to add to or delete from your HelpGram, always keep your readers in mind. Doing so will ensure that your HelpGrams will be well received.

To write HelpGrams that will inform readers and will motivate them to take action, let the following questions guide your writing and research:

  1. What aspects of my topic are common knowledge to my intended readers?

  2. What aspects of my topic are my readers unaware of?

  3. What should my readers know about my topic?

  4. What information will help my readers resolve a problem or improve their lives?

  5. What information will motivate or persuade my readers to take action?

  6. What information was I previously unaware of before researching this topic?

  7. Does my research include any surprising or unusual facts that will grab my reader's attention or motivate them to take action?

  8. Does my research include any compelling quotations or statistics that will complement my purpose and my message?

  9. Do my expert statement and data points include concrete information, as opposed to vague abstractions and generalizations?

  10. Would someone find my expert statement and data points sufficiently informative if they chose not to click the recommended links and readings?

  11. Do my recommended links and books provide in-depth and varied information on the topic?

  12. If I received this HelpGram, would I find it useful?

Now, don't get the wrong idea. We don't expect you to know or to discover extensive details about your readers' knowledge of a topic. However, your research should give you a general idea of what your readers may know about a topic and what information they will find most useful. So, use the above questions as general guides for creating informative and useful HelpGrams. And above all, let your common sense govern what information to include or exclude from your HelpGrams.

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