Content may be king, but content marketing writers need a seamless workflow to earn that crown. This is no place for the solo wolf – it’s teamwork, big time. That’s why I’m sharing the work process I use to create – and finesse – as a content marketing writer (or you could call me a marketing content writer).
A content marketing writer’s options
A business client could suggest a thought for an article, or I’ll pitch some ideas. The brief I receive might be as simple as two lines in an email, or more detailed. I’ve learnt to work with a range of approaches. Evergreen topics – ones that won’t date easily – are ideal.
The client might need cornerstone content. This is a main piece of content on their website that attracts the most traffic and prompts readers to ‘stick around’ as they read the rest. Let’s examine what this type of content is and its pivotal role.
Cornerstone (or reference) content isn’t a normal blog post. It’s used to link people to a company’s website. It still needs a viable main search-engine-optimised (SEO) keyword that ranks directly to the company’s website. (More details on how SEO works for companies below.)
The goal of this kind of content is to build internal links and attract external ones. (I use the plugin Yoast for my SEO, here’s one of their resources on that.) Cornerstone/reference content needs upgrading, updating (ie adding links, adding paragraphs) but I’ll never rewrite large parts of it or my client will lose what they’ve ranked for. I’ll only add info.
At this stage, I’m already familiar with the brand bible of the business. That will detail their brand voice/sentiment, and usually their editorial style as well as which version of English spelling I’ll use. American-English, Australian-English, British-English are the main ones I use.
Links to the business strategy
So, back to the request to create a piece of content. Maybe the business has given me an idea of where this piece of content fits into their overall content marketing strategy and the link to their overarching business plan. For example, I love hearing that a set number of content pieces will be collated into an ebook, as a free download for would-be customers. This shows me the company is actively thinking about repurposing content. It’s smart. See the possibilities in this infographic, thanks to US content marketing writer Linda Formichelli at the Hero’s Journey Content Studio.
It would be handy at this point to get a list from the client of the types of websites to which I should link in my draft, and the ones they don’t want me to touch with a ten-foot pole. For example, an insurance broker client for whom I write articles doesn’t want me to include any links to insurance companies. Of course, they want the broker to be the intermediary. However, they’re keen for me to cite high-authority Australian insurance industry sources.
Checklist for your marketing content brief
So, the brief – be it verbal or written – will detail:
- The story scope
- Word length
- Target audience and at what part of the buyer’s journey they’re at (awareness/discovery, informational, consideration/comparison or conversion/purchase, and after-sales service)
- The key messages or the big idea(s) I must include
- Are there approaches/terms I should not use? (For example, one client was adamant the headline and intro have no negative sentiments.)
- Brand voice/sentiment/editorial guidelines
- Call to action (ideally only one or more will confuse the reader)
- The SEO keywords I need to include (unless the client asks me to suggest them)
- What success looks like for my client
- The internal links I should add
- Maximum number of external links (they might supply them, but generally I find them)
- How/where the article will be repurposed, and
- The deadline.
Explore SEO early
If the client doesn’t have an in-house/contract SEO expert, I’ll come up with a list of SEO keyword suggestions before I start writing. I’m not an SEO expert, but any good copywriter, content writer, or content marketing writer needs an understanding of SEO. (And of course, practice humility and respect when around those who make SEO their speciality. After all, they’re data analysts and business intelligence gurus in one!) Now, I need to mention my top SEO guru, who’s a content marketing writer extraordinaire and she’s a global operator – Stefana Sopko.
Over time, I’ll build a list of high-search rate keywords. This Free Keyword Tool can help. Another approach is to type suggested keywords into a Google search bar and see what other terms cascade down from that to indicate related searches. Long-tail keywords should feature in your article. Longtails are extended search terms having two, three, or four words. It means they’re more focused, so there’s less competition with other brands. Longer and more specific terms mean your business has a better chance of ranking for the term. Find out more from Keyword Tool.
Semantically speaking
Keep in mind semantic keywords. They are words related to your SEO keyword that give more context to your piece. Think of a cluster of related words. LSIGraph is a good resource for LSI Keywords, as well as Rob Powell’s Biz Blog, and there’s a whole learning centre on the authoritative site, Moz.
Hungry for more? Use Wordgraph to uncover competitors’ keywords and sees what makes them rank. You’ll be able to find a sweet spot through content gap analysis. You can also pop the client’s URL in here to see how it’s performing for the most important keywords.
From the SEO keyword will flow ideas for the metatags, long and short-tailed keywords, LSI keywords, meta description, and, if it’s for LinkedIn/Facebook, for example, look into high ranking hashtags. etc. Keep in mind, for LinkedIn posts, your hashtags are included in the 1,300-character limit.
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed as a would-be content marketing writer, remember ‘marketing’ is a key part of what you’ll be doing.
Bower-birding resources
This is when I start researching and writing the content. Yes, like a bowerbird, collecting info and resources. Just a word about research, this TED talk explains the moral bias behind Googling; these tools are great for identifying fake news and this site will help you check if a website is fake/scammy/risky.
A content marketing writer’s approaches include:
- Googling and visiting high-authority sites, Twitter, Slack groups (I’ll Google the best ones for the topics I’m writing about)
- Seeing what’s trending – Buzzsumo and Moz are suitable for these
- Where relevant, I’ll think about a hot topic to which I can link the content (think COVID-19 and business transformation, for example)
- Checking out recently issued books on the topic
- Interviewing sources where needed – occasionally it’s a key person from the business, or it might be industry leaders who are happy to lend their voice to the content marketing piece
- Peeking into peer-reviewed journals (helps if you can access your former university’s databases for free, but ResearchGate and Google Scholar are great, too)
- Try not to just use the abstract or conclusion of research papers to cherry-pick your info as there may be gems elsewhere in that document. Preference papers that are metastudies – reviews of many research papers — so you’re able to put your finger on trends and more robust science/research
- If my client can’t access these papers due to a paywall, I’ll save a copy on my own computer, so they’re there if they need them, and
- I always read widely, subscribing to four major news sites in my country (Australia), plus The New York Times. My inbox is brimming each morning with a range of free ezines. I’ll opt-in and out of those ezines depending on the areas I’m covering. However, I’ll always welcome KPMG, ANZ’s Blue Notes, Harvard Business Review, Paul Millerd’s Boundless, The Conversation, Whiteboard Advisors, The Hechinger Report, and McKinsey.
This deep dive into theories, practices, insights, etc, is about going deeper than what the average person thinks is right and brings fresh insights to a topic.
What’s the big idea(s)?
Next, as content marketing writer I zero in on the key messages or the big idea(s) of the piece of content marketing writing.
How can we take the reader on an enthralling journey right down to the call-to-action?
How can I encourage them to save the article because it’s that good, the information is insightful and valuable?
How do I get those first words onto the page?
I always do a short-sharp first session of about 10 to 15 minutes, where I just ‘go for it’ without judgment or the inclination to edit as I write. I set the Google Chrome timer, so when the ‘beep’ marks the end, I head away from my desk for a break.
Starting to write a piece in this way triggers my brain into action. I’m warmed up and ready to go when I return to my computer. This strategy helps nip any tendency for procrastination because … I’ve already started writing it.
Bringing the ‘big idea’ to life
Then, there are three ways I ‘cobble’ my words together when I begin writing:
- Some pieces of content ‘write themselves’ – that’s my brain churning over the content in my downtime.
- Other times, I’ll have the brief, interview transcripts, and research notes on one screen to scroll through as I cherry-pick great quotes and concepts to write on the second screen. These help me crystallise the main points, but I may shuffle those paragraphs around.
- I follow the client’s or my own outline to guide me. This helps me keep to a word limit, otherwise most pieces I write seem to sit naturally at 800 to 1,500 words.
I’ll spend more time on my intro – or lede – the beginning of my article. It’s the hook to keep people reading. Michael Pollock has some great prompts to nail the intro.
While I seem to have a lot of creativity in coming up with ‘bridging’ words to link different ideas in my writing, not everyone thinks like me, nor can follow my logic. That’s why there’s a lot more to my writing, finessing, and editing process (and you’re only half-way through this article).
Making the text easier to read
I’ll follow these rules as I write:
- Simpler words, shorter paragraphs, and phrases. One thought a sentence; two to three sentences in a paragraph is my rough guide. This makes the article more scannable whether it’s read on a computer screen, device or in print
- Always have a line of white space above each sub-heading (check the formatting in previous blogs – mainly header 1 or 2 for different parts but also some use of header 3)
- Getting the client’s brand voice/tone right (check their brand bible)
- Best practice principles for writing online content (HubSpot, Contently, Google Primer might be your go-to guides here)
- Books such as Richard Bayan’s Words That Sell as well as Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style are personal favourites
- Write articles in the second person, ie use the word, ‘you’, a lot
- Use the SEO keyword correctly, which needs to be in the headline, intro (first 100 words) and in the conclusion (last 100 words)
- Never put the SEO keyword in bold or italics
- Find synonyms and close variations of the SEO keyword – repeat those synonyms rather than the actual SEO word – helps give Google’s AI contextual signals
- Also, look for complete phrases and keywords that flow from the suggested keywords
- Have a look at FAQs, articles with question titles to guide you on high performing content, which answers questions people are searching for on Google, and
- This is the fun part of mapping the keyword to the content in a myriad of ways.
Tap into the brains trust
Using tools such as a Thesaurus, the Hemingway App (paid), Grammarly, and MS Word’s Spellcheck helps ensure I write clearly and engagingly for readers whose first language isn’t English. My work as a global copywriter means I’m often writing for people who read English as a second or additional language.
I’ll make sure my text has no ‘shouty’ words in all caps (same goes for emails). Often it will be conversational rather than overly staid. Grammarly’s paid version rates my content for the sentiment. That’s really handy feedback if I’m not feeling I’m nailing the sentiment of my client, this is how I check.
Time to revisit SEO
My first hyperlink should feature within the first 100 words. It should link to an internal page that’s new, relevant, important, and ideally has cornerstone content – Google will front rank it.
As a rough guide, I’ll aim for at least two other links to high-authority sites and never a bitly shortened link as they often break. Over time it matters to link to unique domains we haven’t linked to previously, and even better if they’re new links.
Spaced work means continuous improvement
I won’t try to write the whole article in one slab of time. Taking a break or coming back to it the next day when I’m refreshed will help me improve it. I have to read the article aloud, and that will highlight where it sounds wordy, unnatural. Even better, I’ll read it aloud to a family member and get their feedback to see if they understand it. Proofread and proofread again.
Picture this to support your work as a content marketing writer
As for images, often, my clients won’t have time or access to a professional photographer to take generic or themed images to go with their articles. That’s why, as I go about my daily life, I’ll keep an eye out for interesting things/scenarios/situations to photograph. Last week it was an aged wooden fence – the texture grabbed my eye.
I rarely take people shots for my clients’ work. Any I do photograph for a client needs extra attention. Have the subjects agreed for that image to be used elsewhere? Is it culturally appropriate? Does it represent the client well? While there are plenty of stock images sites, including free ones, there’s the risk they’ll appear elsewhere online, which detracts from the impact the client wants to make. A tip I’ll share with my client if they’re not aware of it – the SEO keyword should go in the image alt, too.
Finishing touches – SEO again
Now it’s time to get back into SEO land to ensure the article performs superbly online. Let’s tackle the headline. Make it easier for yourself if you don’t already have a swipe file of ideas. WordStream offers this list of eight blog-topic generators. Put each headline you’re thinking is a good fit for the story through CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer.
You’re aiming for about five options for headlines that rate either in 70%+. They must include the SEO keyword. You’ll find numbers in a headline rank high (esp five, 15, then seven). Aim for no more than seven words (under 60 characters is what Google’s preview will show, and it increases the click rate by 90%); make a unique promise, evoke emotion with your words, make a promise the content will deliver on, spark curiosity.
Next, you’ll need to write your meta description, metatags, long-tail (3+ words), and short-tail (3 or fewer words) keywords (LSIGraph again, but this article covers six tools, and of course the online guru Neil Patel is worth a read, too). Remember, the SEO keyword must appear in the meta description. These sit after the headline but before the body text of the story.
And still more to do with SEO
As a writer, I’ll also suggest a block or pull-out quote. This is a quote that appears in the story, which you’ll repeat somewhere on the page, but in a larger point size. It should be incisive and tempt the reader to dive into the article. The pull-out quote suggestion would sit just under the meta tags, etc, before the body text.
I’ll write the sub-headings (also called sub-heads or ‘headings’) for the story. This helps break up the text. SEO experts will call them H1, H2 onwards. Yoast has a good intro article on this (and Yoast is handy, too, if you’re posting your content through WordPress). At least one sub-heading should include your SEO keyword. If the article is to be submitted to an online website external to the organisation, chances are it will need a 3-5 sentence summary.
Just before it goes to the client
I double-check I’ve met the client’s brief.
Then, this might sound like overkill, but professional content writers don’t expect to be able to proofread their own work perfectly, so they outsource that last proofread. I use Rich Bowden Writing and can highly recommend him.
Hit ‘send’ to the client
Now, it lands in the client’s inbox.
Ideally, I’d receive their feedback – request for changes – within two to three weeks. Otherwise, I’ll take more time to get back into the same headspace for that particular topic/piece. It might be a phone call or comments/tweaks via a Microsoft Word tracked document or Google document. I address any issues promptly – usually within 24 hours.
They the client presses ‘send’ or ‘post’ and out it goes to the world. That’s not the end of my interest, though.
Return on their investment in a content marketing writer
So, how did that piece of content perform for the client?
They’ll check their metrics over time, get insights into conversions, and keep me in the loop. They might also suggest ways we can streamline the process for next time – I’m always open to those suggestions.
The content marketing writing process can be long and complex because it draws on a huge range of skills, experience, and tasks. There are few short cuts in the process of creating ‘king’ content.
Great content marketing writers make it look easy. And that’s because they’re continuously refining their craft.