There’s no question that to learn about the field of content strategy, you should get online and read the fast-paced conversation going on on the Web. And when you do, you’ll find a lot of mention of the first book on content strategy, the seminal work in the field that defines what it is, what it’s for and the working elements in it: Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson. Besides, her writing style will make you giggle, if not outright burst out laughing in your quiet reading corner. Go read the book!
Then follow the suggestions in her reading list at the end (republished below with her kind permission).
Consider these to be the standard works and thoughts you need to know to understand the foundation of the field. There’s more coming. And rapidly. Keep reading. And keep up with the blogs. I know I’m asking a lot.
UPDATE: A reading list of the best content strategy books (2018/9)
Kristina Halvorson’s Content Strategy Reading List
- Building Findable Websites: Web Standards, SEO and Beyond by Aarron Walter
- Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning by Dan Brown
- Content Management Bible by Bob Boiko
- Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
- The Elements of User Experience by Jesse James Garrett
- Information Architecture for the World Wide Web by Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld
- Killer Web Content: Make the Sale, Deliver the Service, Build the Brand by Gerry McGovern
- Letting Go of the Words by Ginny Redish
- Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy by Ann Rockley
- The Necessary Art of Persuasion by Jay A Conger, Harvard Business Review
- The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less by Barry Schwartz
- Web Analytics Demystified by Eric Peterson
- The Web Content Strategist’s Bible by Richard Sheffield
List reproduced courtesy of: Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson. Copyright © 2010, Kristina Halvorson; published by New Riders of Berkeley California.