Katherine Karaus

I’m sending out my resume a lot these days, looking for my next favorite client or full-time gig (oxymoron? maybe). Applying for work is famously user unfriendly. You’ve been there. You upload your resume, then SURPRISE! You’ve got to fill in all that information again. As if it weren’t contained in your resume. It’s like a test to see who can jump through the most meaningless hoops successfully. Is that really a great measure of a candidate? Luckily, I’ve got a reprieve. Since I’m applying only to fantastic, design-driven companies, most of them score very high on job application ease. …

KEEP READINGHow Dashlane nailed their applicant experience

Y’all.  I’ve got something stuck in my craw. Unreadable content. It’s everywhere and it’s out of control, especially in the B2B space. Just Google “consulting” and you’ll see what I mean. Sorry FTI Consulting Capital Markets Communications, but you invested in paid search and now you’re my example. FTI Consulting Capital Markets Communications professionals serve as trusted advisors to board of directors and management teams at companies of all sizes and at every stage of growth. Our teams consist of senior-level investor relations counselors armed with sector, financial research and digital expertise in every major financial market in the world. …

KEEP READINGReadability must be your #1 content priority

OK. I’ve been a totally terrible blogger lately (mea culpa! Where’s my hairshirt?!) But there’s a reason, I swear. I’ve made a pretty exciting career move. Once I arrived in San Diego, Intuit came calling. They needed a contract Content Designer, and the opportunity was simply too good to pass up. I know, it’s strange! I hate authority and wearing pants — we all thought freelancing was it for me! The benefits to submitting to the 9-5 include: Slight reprieve to the hustle? Ok, that’s cushy. Writing content for incredibly well-known products? Yes, please. A chance to work with top talent …

KEEP READINGA content design career leap

We all get a little excited when it’s blog-writing time. (Well, I know I do.) You’re committed to providing fantastic value to your readers with every post, so it can be tempting to get carried away. Maybe you’ve found yourself saying, I know the title of this post is X, but everyone will be so happy if I give them X + Y + Z + The Kitchen Sink! A client recently brought me a blog post draft that suffered from this very problem. This single, 2-page post contained the entire rationale for purchasing their product. It had about 6 headers, and …

KEEP READINGBreak It Down: Keeping your Blog Scope in Check

Last week I moved to beautiful, sunny San Diego with my partner for his awesome new job. Our two pampered cats demanded that we load all our earthly goods into a POD, and fly those highfalutin felines across the country in style. So that’s what we did. We flew Southwest because it gave us the best deal on checked baggage and pet fees. (Hold tight, I promise this story has to do with UX.) I had never flown Southwest before, so was delighted to find that a snack basket was headed my way, even in economy. Score. But then, in the …

KEEP READINGWhen Copy Gets Too Cute — The User Experience of Snacks

I know a thing or two about small, woman-owned businesses (hey, that’s me!). When you’re the only employee, you’ve got a hundred thousand things on your plate. There are literally infinite ways you could spend your time and, short of hiring a business coach, nobody will tell you what’s right. With no boss and no personal assistant (boo) it’s easy to get overwhelmed by options. Do I work at the coffee shop, the coworking space, lounging in my hammock, or do I just sit paralyzed in my jammies? I know how tempting it is to ignore the parts of your business that …

KEEP READINGGuest Post with LadyBoss Social Club — Defining Your Personal Brand Voice

Recently I volunteered to rebuild a website for a local organization, the DC Childcare Collective. They are a grassroots organization that provides free childcare to social justice organizations in the DC metro area. It’s awesome work that enables caregivers to participate in activism, so I was thrilled to partner with them. The problem? Their website needed help! The collective structure has a number of benefits, but the lack of hierarchy and oversight was clearly reflected in their website. It was a WordPress blog full of sprawling, outdated information, without clear CTAs. Collective members even admitted that before they joined, they …

KEEP READINGContent Strategy Case Study — DCCC

Are you in the B2B marketing space? You’re collecting case studies, right? Don’t tell me I just heard crickets. Case studies are like the ultimate social proof, they’re seriously great to have splashed across your website, blog, email campaigns and social media. There’s a lot to love about case studies done well. It’s all the most powerful marketing techniques combined into a gorgeous, irrefutable package with a bow on top. Here’s the formula (more or less). Powerful Storytelling + Testimonials + Cold, Hard Results = Awesome Case Study (I’m no math major, but this spells success.) If you’ve been avoiding …

KEEP READINGA Case Study Formula You Can’t Mess Up