![\"Menu](\"https://megbass.com/media/posts/13/SBDH-old-navigation.png\")
\n \n Client: Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC)\n\n
Role: Content Designer
\n
\n Moneysmart is one of Australia's most trusted government resources – a free, independent source of financial guidance used by millions of people. ASIC was refreshing the site's brand and strategy and restructuring content around key life stages: saving, buying a home, retiring, and supporting people under financial stress.\n
\n\n\n ASIC’s objectives for the new Moneysmart website were to:\n
\n\n\n The brief: clarify complex financial concepts, meet ASIC's new voice and tone guidelines, and hit WCAG 2.0 AAA accessibility standards – a notably high bar few government sites attempt.\n
\n\n\n As one of four content designers, I partnered with an ASIC economist and owned the development of the budgeting and saving section of the new website.\n
\n\n\n User research had already surfaced the core problem: existing content was too complex and too long, and it wasn't meeting user needs. ASIC identified four distinct audience segments, ranging from confident, financially literate users to people who felt overwhelmed and were navigating a difficult moment.
Working with ASIC – a national financial regulator – meant navigating serious compliance, risk mitigation and legal guardrails. Our challenge was to clarify complex financial information and concepts, and write clear, goal-oriented, accessible and inclusive content in plain English.
Our project team of nine – four content designers, four subject-matter experts, and a project manager – needed to rewrite and create around 200 web pages without the content fragmenting into different four different voices.\n
\n Evidence-based approach. Using the existing ASIC user research, site analytics and strategies, I worked with the project team to meticulously plan each topic. I identified user stories based on the key audience segments, content objectives, business and user information priorities, keywords and success measures. I documented this planning in our online content creation software. Every content decision was based on evidence rather than opinion.
Pair-writing with subject-matter experts. I worked closely with an ASIC economist throughout the project, pairing content design with financial expertise at the page level. This meant every piece of content was shaped and fact-checked at the drafting stage by someone who deeply understood the subject matter.
Shared content types and templates. With four content designers writing in parallel, consistency was a real risk. I worked from a shared style guide and content types built around message intent – engage, inform, motivate, warn – so tone and structure stayed consistent across the site.
Regular content critiques. The team held recurring sessions to align on terminology and approach, work through problems together, and refine content as a group. It was next-level collaboration and the perfect climate for sharing expertise and building internal content capability.
Moderated user testing. We tested content with real users representing each of the four audience segments to assess comprehension, tone, structure, and whether people could actually complete the task the content was written for. The testing was an opportunity to gather valuable insight, qualitative data and evidence to improve the content.
Rigorous quality assurance. Every page was forensically checked for readability and WCAG 2.0 AAA compliance before it went to ASIC for sign-off.\n
\n Pairing directly with a subject-matter expert – rather than writing first and fact-checking later – produced faster, more accurate content than a traditional review cycle. It also meant I was building financial literacy alongside content skill, which shaped how I approached every regulated-content project afterward.
Working as one of four content designers on a single site also taught me how much consistency depends on shared systems, not shared instinct. Content types and regular critiques did more to keep 200 pages coherent than individual skill ever could have alone.
This project came early in my career, and it set the standard I've carried into every content project since: evidence over opinion, and accessibility as a baseline requirement, not an afterthought.\n
\n Client: Financial Counseling Australia (FCA)\n\n
Role: Content Strategist and Designer
\n
\n The Small Business Debt Helpline offers free and confidential financial counseling to small business owners under financial stress. It was set up in March 2020 following catastrophic bushfires on Australia's east coast. However, the scope of the Helpline quickly expanded with the advent of COVID-19.\n
\n\n\n The Helpline was experiencing low engagement. It urgently needed to increase case numbers to demonstrate demand for the service and secure government funding.\n
\n\n\n I joined the project in January 2021 to restructure and repurpose the Helpline's website.\n
\n\n\n The Helpline's website content was out-dated, unstructured and missing key information. The support on offer was unclear, placing the burden on small business owners to work out what to do next.
\n
\n To increase case numbers, I needed to reposition the website as a credible, trustworthy and useful service for all small businesses in financial distress – not just those affected by bushfires. This required balancing empathetic and reassuring messaging with well-timed calls-to-action to drive calls to the Helpline.\n
\n\n\n FCA required a realistic, sustainable solution to be delivered in just 3 months.\n
\n\n\n To work within the project's constraints, I implemented a minimal viable product approach to prioritize content that addressed the key needs of small business owners.\n
\n\n\n Identify user needs. To better understand the needs of small business owners, I ran a workshop with Helpline staff to define personas and their 'top tasks'.\n
\n\n\n Understand the problem. I audited the website content to identify key, recurring content problems. \n
\n\n\n Create a clear strategy. I developed an actionable content strategy that mapped the current state content to the Helpline's goals.
\n
\n Design the content. I followed a thorough content design process to:\n
\n\n\n I leaned on the experience of the Helpline staff to ensure the website reflected the support that small business owners would receive over the phone. To build trust, I used clear, consistent and repeated messaging across the site. \n
\n\n\n Simplified website navigation makes it easier for users to find information.\n
\n\n\n ![\"Menu](\"https://megbass.com/media/posts/13/SBDH-new-navigation.png\")
\n \n Shifting the messaging from 'what you need to do' to 'we can help you' builds trust and supports the Helpline's goal.\n
\n\n![\"Preview](\"https://megbass.com/media/posts/13/Before_LoanRepayments.png\")
\n ![\"Preview](\"https://megbass.com/media/posts/13/After_LoanRepayments.png\")
\n \n To reduce uncertainty about when to call and what to expect, I added reassurance under clear subheadings:\n
\n\n\n The project was delivered within the 3-month timeframe. \n
\n\n\n The Helpline has seen significant and consistent growth since the new content launched in 2021. By the end of 2021, case volumes were up 207% on the previous year. Over 5 years, annual case numbers have increased by 1,141%.\n
\n\n\n In 2022, FCA secured $4 million in federal government funding. Funding has been extended until 2027.\n
\n\n\n The Helpline is recognized as a vital national service that has helped thousands of small business owners under increasing financial pressure.\n
\n\n![\"Bar](\"https://megbass.com/media/posts/13/Calls-to-the-small-business-debt-helpline.png\")
\n \n Constraints don’t have to diminish the end result – they can force better decisions. This project reinforced the value of:\n
\n\n\n Financial Counseling Australia. (2026, February 11). Financial Counseling Australia welcomes extended funding for the Small Business Debt Helpline. \n
\n\n\n Financial Counseling Australia. (2022, October 20). Financial Counseling Australia welcomes funding for small business financial counselling.\n
", "author": { "name": "Meg Bassanetti" }, "tags": [ "My work", "Case studies" ], "date_published": "2026-07-06T16:28:14-04:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-23T14:22:29-04:00" }, { "id": "https://megbass.com/case-study-driving-customer-acquisition-through-content-optimization/", "url": "https://megbass.com/case-study-driving-customer-acquisition-through-content-optimization/", "title": "Case study: Driving customer acquisition through content optimization", "content_html": "\n\n\n Origin Energy is Australia's largest energy provider. As the Senior Content Designer, I led the content for a new customer acquisition campaign offering sign-up credits to attract new customers.\n
\n\n\n I managed the content experience throughout the on-site sales journey and worked across departments and with our third-party sales partner, CommBank.\n
\n\n\n The energy sector is a complex, highly regulated and competitive environment – a steep learning curve for those new to the company.\n
\n\n\n Just 3 months into my role at Origin, I needed to work quickly to coordinate departments to get a compliant and compelling campaign live. A lack of documentation meant that I could not lean on past campaigns and that content drafting and review was time-intensive.\n
\n\n\n In the lead-up to the campaign, the offer construct changed in response to market insights. This delayed the start of the campaign and cut its duration in half. We needed to achieve the same sales target in 3 weeks, instead of the planned 6-week schedule.\n
\n\n\n One week into the 3-week campaign, data indicated we were trending to miss the sales target. Critically, the customer mix leaned too heavily towards existing customers, diluting the campaign’s ROI.\n
\n\n\n We had 2 weeks left to meet the sales target.\n
\n\n\n My response focused on data-driven optimization and teamwork. I coordinated stakeholders across Product, Sales, Digital, Legal and Compliance, as well as CommBank.
I used web analytics and Hotjar to understand how users interacted with the campaign. Combined with our customer-mix insight, this helped identify the funnel leak: new customer messaging on our campaign page needed to be clearer.\n
\n I updated the headings and microcopy to clearly distinguish offers for new and existing customers. To maximize our 2-week window, I expedited the lengthy review process by keeping changes minimal and data-informed, and leveraging the strong relationships I had built.\n
\n\n\n To avoid reinventing the wheel, I created a guide for third-party campaigns. I documented the content, decisions and process in Confluence. It turned our learnings into pre-approved, reusable content patterns for future campaigns.\n
\n\n\n This campaign reinforced that content design is as much about people as it is about words.
While data-driven optimization was critical to our success, the relationships I had built enabled us to iterate quickly. When facing tight deadlines, working closely across teams proved to be the most effective way to navigate challenges and get things done.\n
\n \n
", "author": { "name": "Meg Bassanetti" }, "tags": [ "My work", "Case studies" ], "date_published": "2026-07-06T16:21:36-04:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-23T14:26:41-04:00" }, { "id": "https://megbass.com/creating-a-content-strategy-for-a-37-website-ecosystem/", "url": "https://megbass.com/creating-a-content-strategy-for-a-37-website-ecosystem/", "title": "Case study: Creating a content strategy for a 37-website ecosystem", "content_html": "\n\n\n Client: BirdLife Australia\n\n
Role: Content Designer and Strategist
\n
\n For 125 years, BirdLife Australia has championed conservation through science and community action.\n
\n\n\n However, a fragmented digital ecosystem made it difficult for users to donate and volunteer with BirdLife. Ad-hoc practices had led to outdated, duplicated and inconsistent content, which damaged user experience and brand trust. \n
\n\n\n I led the audit of 10,000+ web pages and developed a content strategy and design system to help BirdLife create consistent, findable content across all 37 sites. \n
\n\n\n The scale of the problem was the first major challenge: 37 websites with 10,000+ pages. We needed a scalable approach to review content across the ecosystem.
Aligning this work also required bringing together a distributed network of stakeholders – including staff and volunteers. Volunteers authored much of the content, so the design system had to be robust yet simple enough for teams with varying skill levels to manage content.
Shifting from an organization to user-centered mindset was a prerequisite for the project's success. This required creating a unified presence with connected user journeys to support findability and engagement.\n
I found the initial navigating confusing. Mainly the connection between different areas within the whole system … It would be good if there was just one umbrella portal for all the BirdLife sites.\n
\n I analyzed existing user research to identify the 'top tasks' for each persona. I used this as a foundation for our content strategy, and identified how we could use content to tie what users wanted to do (for example, find volunteering opportunities) with BirdLife's strategic objectives.
To conduct quantitative website audits, I used a software tool, Content Kit, that I had co-developed in 2021. This replaced weeks of manual work with clear, actionable data, which also served as a basis for our qualitative review. With an understanding of each site's purpose, persona and business needs, I developed a future-state content ecosystem and documented current-state content problems.
I held ongoing workshops with stakeholders to share expertise, manage change, and design a fit-for-purpose solution that was championed internally. This was particularly important as BirdLife's project team was experiencing a change in leadership.
I created a comprehensive design system, including a new content model and language style guide, to make content creation consistent, accessible and scalable.
I partnered with digital design agency, Webplace, to bring the site to life.\n
\n By connecting user journeys and reducing friction, the new website achieved measurable growth across key organizational metrics:\n
\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https://megbass.com/media/posts/11/BirdLifeAustralia_volunteer.png\")
\n \n \n
", "author": { "name": "Meg Bassanetti" }, "tags": [ "My work", "Case studies" ], "date_published": "2026-07-06T16:07:54-04:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-23T14:29:35-04:00" }, { "id": "https://megbass.com/hierarchy-content-needs/", "url": "https://megbass.com/hierarchy-content-needs/", "title": "Content hierarchy of needs: A solid foundation for your AI strategy", "summary": "Before you can reach the most advanced levels of content strategy – deep personalization, complex…", "content_html": "\n\n Before you can reach the most advanced levels of content strategy – deep personalization, complex data integration, sophisticated AI automation – you need a solid foundation. Too often, that foundation gets dismissed as unnecessary or overly time-consuming, in favor of jumping straight to the initiatives leadership actually gets excited about.
The content hierarchy of needs is a framework for closing that gap. Inspired by Maslow's hierarchy of needs, it helps communicate why content work has to happen in a specific order – not just what needs doing, but which parts have to come first for the rest to hold up.\n
\n Hilary Marsh and Sarah O'Keefe each published a version of this hierarchy over a decade ago. That their thinking still holds up is itself the point: technology changes, but the core requirements for quality content don't. The version below synthesizes both frameworks into language that matches how I think.\n
\n\n\n From foundation to apex:\n
\n\n\n Treat the hierarchy the way a doctor treats vital signs: as an indication of the health of your content. Much like a content audit, it provides a way to objectively spot weaknesses before they become bigger problems.
The logic mirrors Maslow's own: you can't pursue self-actualization while basic needs go unmet, and you can't pursue personalization or AI integration while your content isn't available or accurate. Get the foundation right first, and your highest-impact initiatives have something stable to stand on. Skip it, and those same initiatives fail – not because the ideas were wrong, but because the content underneath couldn't support them.
\n
\n The hierarchy's real value is as a communication tool. Because it's built on a model most people already recognize, it reframes your work from a list of tasks into a visible, logical progression – which makes it much easier to explain why the unglamorous foundational work has to come before the initiative leadership actually wants.
When leadership feels pressure to jump straight to advanced personalization, this framework shows them that skipping the basics doesn't get them there faster – it delays them. A shaky foundation of inaccurate, inaccessible, or hard-to-find content will quietly undermine any high-level initiative built on top of it.\n
\n Implementing AI is the ultimate stress test for content operations. Most teams rush straight to automation, which mostly means using AI to produce bad content faster, at scale. Avoiding that requires thinking on two separate layers:
\n
\n Quality (the what). The content hierarchy of needs answers: is this content actually ready to perform? If your content fails here, AI won't fix it. It will amplify the failure.
\n
\n Operations (the how). The Content Maturity Model answers a different question: is the organization mature enough to scale this? This is about people, process, and technology, not the content itself.\n
\n\n\n You can't climb the maturity curve on a content base that's still failing the hierarchy. The hierarchy ensures the assets are worth feeding into the system, and the maturity model ensures the system is stable enough to govern, automate, and scale what you feed it.\n
\n\n\n Before your next automation or personalization initiative, run your content against the five levels. Most teams find the gap isn't ambition but preparedness. Fix the foundation first, and the advanced work you actually want to do gets easier, not slower.\n
\n\n![\"Pyramid](\"https://megbass.com/media/posts/2/Content-hierachy-needs.jpg\")
\n \n Marsh, H. (2013). The hierarchy of content needs: A new model for creating and assessing content. Content Company.
\n
\n O'Keefe, S. (2014). Hierarchy of content needs. Scriptorium.\n
\n\n\n \n
", "author": { "name": "Meg Bassanetti" }, "tags": [ "Articles" ], "date_published": "2026-07-04T13:50:04-04:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-23T14:04:13-04:00" }, { "id": "https://megbass.com/from-chaos-to-clarity-why-every-content-professional-needs-a-maturity-model/", "url": "https://megbass.com/from-chaos-to-clarity-why-every-content-professional-needs-a-maturity-model/", "title": "From ad-hoc to optimized: Why you need a content maturity model", "summary": "The first time I came across a content maturity model, it was a lightbulb moment.", "content_html": "\n\n The first time I came across a content maturity model, it was a lightbulb moment. A simple and elegant framework that captures the feeling of chaos and helps to translate it into an actionable strategy. I printed 2 copies – one for my wall and one to take with me from meeting to meeting. That was 10 years ago.
To this day, a content maturity model still helps me to prioritise efforts, communicate with stakeholders and not lose sight of the bigger picture.\n
\n A maturity model is a conceptual framework used to assess, measure and improve an organization's capabilities in a specific discipline.
Think of it like a map for your content operations. It helps to:\n
\n There are 5 stages:\n
\n\n\n 1. Initial – everyday is chaotic and quality depends on the individual writer.
2. Repeatable – basic processes exist but are siloed with inconsistent results.
3. Defined – standardized workflows, documented practices, and a shared language.
4. Managed – data-informed, strategic alignment, measurable impact.
5. Optimized – automation, continuous improvement, adaptive to change.\n
\n A quick search will return different versions. The one I printed out all those years ago is the content maturity model adopted by Content Strategy Inc. It highlights key characteristics for each stage, as well as a brief checklist to help you progress. It’s not just about identifying where you are, but how you get to where you want to be.\n
\n\n![\"A](\"https://megbass.com/media/posts/1/content-maturity-model-CSInc.png\")
\n \n Back in the 1980s, the US government needed a way to objectively evaluate the ability of government contractors to deliver a software project. Computers had become more widespread and accessible, but the field of software development was still in its infancy. Carnegie Mellon University developed the Capability Maturity Model as a means to benchmark organizational processes.
Since then, similar 5-step frameworks have been repurposed for many business areas, including project management, IT and HR. While we’ve moved away from the strict, certification requirements of the original model, the core philosophy remains. Given the many parallels between content and code, it makes sense to borrow this tried-and-tested framework from our developer friends.\n
\n It goes without saying that a maturity model downloaded off the internet may not be quite right for your organisation. And it definitely won’t have all the information you need to overhaul your content operations.
As far as the map analogy goes, a maturity model is more like a treasure map than a modern GPS. It won’t give you an estimated time of arrival or tell you when to turn left. Like anything content-related, a lot of hard work will need to happen behind the scenes to make your journey a success. You’ll need to pack and prepare before you set off, and interpret your map within the context of your surroundings.\n
\n One of the hardest parts of being a content leader is explaining why we need to invest time in style guides, content audits and workflows.
Just like a map, a content maturity model is a powerful communication tool. Whether you’re trying to motivate a team or align with stakeholders, it provides a shared understanding of where you are and where you want to go.
When you can point to a model and show why a specific investment in processes or practices is the logical next step, you stop being 'just the content' and start being a strategic partner.\n
\n A content maturity model forces a paradigm shift. It moves the conversation away from the endless cycle of content creation and toward the scalable framework of content operations.
When you focus only on creation, you are fighting symptoms. When you focus on operations, you are building a system that allows your team and your content to work sustainably and strategically. A maturity model gives you the vocabulary to explain this shift to stakeholders who might be more accustomed to measuring success by the volume of content rather than its purpose.\n
\n It’s more helpful to think of content maturity as a gradual process, rather than a big-bang, multi-year transformation project. The model' linear nature helps to remove the paralysis of choice and stops you from getting ahead of yourself. You don’t have to solve every content problem at once.
By breaking down the path to maturity into manageable steps, a content maturity model prioritizes what needs to be done based on where you are. You just have to identify the actions that move your team from one stage of maturity to the next.
Checking in on your progress helps to keep you on the right track and allows you to celebrate wins along the way.\n
\n A content maturity model is a framework for continuous improvement. The goal isn't to reach the final stage and then retire. The goal is to build a foundation that is resilient enough to handle whatever the next decade throws at your content.
People come and go, processes change and new technologies are adopted. As a result, content operations need to be reviewed and updated. A content maturity model can change with your organisation. It’s a tool you can come back to again and again.
In reality, 'Optimized' is very difficult for an organisation to reach, let alone maintain. But by providing a common language, the model helps your team to stay aligned, strategic and ready for whatever comes next.\n
\n Content Strategy Inc. (2014). The Content Maturity Model. Adapted from JoAnne Hackos’ Information Process Maturity Model (2004). Available at contentstrategyinc.com
Humphrey, W. S. (1989). Managing the Software Process. Addison-Wesley.\n