What do you think it takes to create sharable and digestible knowledge? Guru’s newest feature, Assist, has had us thinking a lot about the best ways to document information. Thanks to its wide array of writing and editing features, Assist takes the guesswork out of making stellar content, making it easier than ever to create great content in Guru — but it’s always helpful to know what the best practices are in case you want to do some personal editing.
You might want to bookmark this blog post. We’re going to cover some of our favorite content creation tips, and you’ll want to have them ready the next time you want to create pro-level knowledge.
Keep things concise
When you’re sharing knowledge, it’s best to keep it short and sweet. Cards that cover too much content can be a little overwhelming for readers. You’ve got plenty of knowledge to share at work, but trying to fit too much info into one document can dilute your overall message.
Consider adding bullet points or lists to make your information easier to digest. Adding a summary paragraph or two can help people immediately understand the purpose of your article, and they still have the option to take a deeper dive and read everything in full.
Does that sound like a lot of work? Don’t worry, Assist has your back. One of the key features of Assist is how it can summarize what you already have. You can still include all of the information you want, and we’ll help you present it in the most efficient way possible.
Add context
Do you need to add a lot of links, images, or other assets? If you want to be as helpful as possible, consider giving people a little extra information and direction.
Descriptions give helpful context for how and when an end-user might leverage that resource. If you have a lot of links, make sure you have a description for each link. Let people know what each link asset is for and how they should be using it.
Embed important assets
Let’s keep focusing on those extra assets you’re adding. If you’re sharing a Google doc or PDF within a Card, you may want to consider embedding your asset.
We’re big fans of this approach since it gives users a visual preview of the asset you’re linking to. This can help people quickly decide if they need to open/download your file or if they’ve found something they can skip.
Only publish when you’re ready
Your usual SME is away on vacation, and you have some questions that need answering immediately. Thank goodness you searched your knowledge base and found a Guru Card with the title “The Project Info You Need 2.0.” You open it and breathe a sigh of relief…
…Until you see that [WILL ADD MORE INFO SOON] is the only content in the Card.
People don’t like filler episodes of their favorite shows, and we don’t like filler documents in what should be a source of truth. Publishing placeholder content just makes things confusing for knowledge searchers, and increases the likelihood that your placeholder Card will continue to be a placeholder.
Sometimes you need time to work things out before you’re ready to share. That’s why we included a Draft mode in Guru. Putting your content back into draft mode while you edit it to add more information can be a great way to ensure that people are only seeing the most accurate knowledge.
Link knowledge together
If you’re making one Card, chances are that you have other Cards that people will find helpful. Duplicating that content doesn’t make much sense for you or other people searching for knowledge. That’s why we make it easy to link Guru Cards together.
If there’s something you think makes sense to reference or just have for additional reading material, include a link to it! Make a list of helpful links to include at the end of your document, or just sprinkle them throughout your content.
Curious to see if other people are linking out to a Card you’ve created? We make it easy to track that. Simply click on “Card details”, and you’ll be able to see which (if any) Cards link to the one you’re viewing.
Create and share knowledge like a pro
Writing is such an important part of sharing knowledge, that’s why we’ve added so many features to help keep you focused on writing and sharing good knowledge. If you follow the tips in this piece, you’ll be writing and sharing knowledge like a pro in no time!
Did you like hearing about some of those Guru-only features? You can write and share knowledge anywhere, but you’ll only get features like Answers and Assist with us. If you want to see some of these features along with other Guru-exclusive features, check out our product tours.
What do you think it takes to create sharable and digestible knowledge? Guru’s newest feature, Assist, has had us thinking a lot about the best ways to document information. Thanks to its wide array of writing and editing features, Assist takes the guesswork out of making stellar content, making it easier than ever to create great content in Guru — but it’s always helpful to know what the best practices are in case you want to do some personal editing.
You might want to bookmark this blog post. We’re going to cover some of our favorite content creation tips, and you’ll want to have them ready the next time you want to create pro-level knowledge.
Keep things concise
When you’re sharing knowledge, it’s best to keep it short and sweet. Cards that cover too much content can be a little overwhelming for readers. You’ve got plenty of knowledge to share at work, but trying to fit too much info into one document can dilute your overall message.
Consider adding bullet points or lists to make your information easier to digest. Adding a summary paragraph or two can help people immediately understand the purpose of your article, and they still have the option to take a deeper dive and read everything in full.
Does that sound like a lot of work? Don’t worry, Assist has your back. One of the key features of Assist is how it can summarize what you already have. You can still include all of the information you want, and we’ll help you present it in the most efficient way possible.
Add context
Do you need to add a lot of links, images, or other assets? If you want to be as helpful as possible, consider giving people a little extra information and direction.
Descriptions give helpful context for how and when an end-user might leverage that resource. If you have a lot of links, make sure you have a description for each link. Let people know what each link asset is for and how they should be using it.
Embed important assets
Let’s keep focusing on those extra assets you’re adding. If you’re sharing a Google doc or PDF within a Card, you may want to consider embedding your asset.
We’re big fans of this approach since it gives users a visual preview of the asset you’re linking to. This can help people quickly decide if they need to open/download your file or if they’ve found something they can skip.
Only publish when you’re ready
Your usual SME is away on vacation, and you have some questions that need answering immediately. Thank goodness you searched your knowledge base and found a Guru Card with the title “The Project Info You Need 2.0.” You open it and breathe a sigh of relief…
…Until you see that [WILL ADD MORE INFO SOON] is the only content in the Card.
People don’t like filler episodes of their favorite shows, and we don’t like filler documents in what should be a source of truth. Publishing placeholder content just makes things confusing for knowledge searchers, and increases the likelihood that your placeholder Card will continue to be a placeholder.
Sometimes you need time to work things out before you’re ready to share. That’s why we included a Draft mode in Guru. Putting your content back into draft mode while you edit it to add more information can be a great way to ensure that people are only seeing the most accurate knowledge.
Link knowledge together
If you’re making one Card, chances are that you have other Cards that people will find helpful. Duplicating that content doesn’t make much sense for you or other people searching for knowledge. That’s why we make it easy to link Guru Cards together.
If there’s something you think makes sense to reference or just have for additional reading material, include a link to it! Make a list of helpful links to include at the end of your document, or just sprinkle them throughout your content.
Curious to see if other people are linking out to a Card you’ve created? We make it easy to track that. Simply click on “Card details”, and you’ll be able to see which (if any) Cards link to the one you’re viewing.
Create and share knowledge like a pro
Writing is such an important part of sharing knowledge, that’s why we’ve added so many features to help keep you focused on writing and sharing good knowledge. If you follow the tips in this piece, you’ll be writing and sharing knowledge like a pro in no time!
Did you like hearing about some of those Guru-only features? You can write and share knowledge anywhere, but you’ll only get features like Answers and Assist with us. If you want to see some of these features along with other Guru-exclusive features, check out our product tours.
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