Is Your Content Development Process Effective and Scalable?

Discover the 8-step process to develop high-quality content and learn how to scale your efforts! Content is the foundation of both traditional and digital marketing. Creating content that not only engages but also delivers tangible business results requires effort and resources. This is where content development comes in.

So, what exactly is content development?

Content development encompasses the entire process of creating and distributing content for marketing purposes. It involves:

– Strategy
– Writing
– Optimization
– Publishing
– Promotion

You’ve probably heard of this before as a marketer. But the real question is: How solid is your content development process or strategy? Do any of these sound familiar?

– Wing it?
– Rush through the foundational steps to get to writing and publishing quickly?
– Spend more time creating content than promoting it?
– Rarely revisit published pieces?

If any of these resonate with you, it’s time to improve your process, especially if you want to scale your content production.

Now, let’s explore the best approach to content development. We’ll go through the eight essential steps of a successful process and assess how well you’re currently implementing them. Look for areas where you can enhance your strategy.

Step 1: Gather and confirm information

Start by confirming what you know about your goals, performance, and audience. Research what you don’t know yet. Create an outline that includes:

– Specific marketing goals
– Current marketing performance, strengths, and areas for improvement
– Larger business objectives that your marketing efforts contribute to
– Competitor analysis, including strengths and weaknesses
– Buyer personas for your target audience, including demographics and psychographics

Don’t rely solely on existing knowledge about your audience. Challenge your assumptions and gather recent data to ensure accuracy. Adjust your goals as needed to set yourself up for success in the following steps.

Step 2: Generate topic ideas

Decide on the topics that will be the focus of your content marketing strategy. If you already have a strategy in place, re-evaluate and adjust it if necessary. Here are some excellent sources for generating ideas:

– FAQs: Learn from the questions your target audience asks.
– Competitor analysis: Analyze the topics your strongest competitors are covering.
– Influencer content analysis: Research the topics industry influencers cover and engage with.
– Solution-focused keywords: Look for terms that attract and convert potential customers.

With a general idea of the core topics you want to be known for, it’s time to create your content development strategy.

Step 3: Outline your content development strategy

Incorporate the information you gathered in step one. Clearly define your content marketing strategy’s objectives, target audience, and competition. Additionally, plan:

– Roles and processes for content creation
– Deliverables and content formats
– Messaging and style guidelines
– Publishing frequency
– Distribution channels (e.g., the social media platforms your potential customers use the most)

To make this information easily accessible and usable for everyone involved in content development, create a comprehensive yet concise strategy document. However, ensure that supplementary resources, such as a research document from step one, are readily available for additional context.

Now, follow these steps to improve your content development process and start scaling your efforts effectively!

Step 4. Create Exceptional Content with a Winning Strategy

When you start drafting your content, always keep your strategy in mind. It’s crucial to stick to your plans and avoid straying off course. Make sure to give your content creators, like content writers, a clear understanding of your strategy.

Remember, your strategy is research-based and designed to help you reach your goals smoothly, avoiding unnecessary detours and trial and error. Forgetting about it or assuming you remember it well enough is like trying to drive cross country without a map. You might eventually reach your destination, but it will take longer and cause frustration along the way.

Not only that, but neglecting your strategy puts your audience at risk of frustration too. This can directly impact your conversion rates and hinder your ability to achieve the desired return on investment (ROI) from content marketing.

Step 5. Polish and Optimize for Success

Take a step back from the nitty-gritty details of creating your content and approach it from a critical and strategic perspective. Ask yourself important questions such as:

– Is the content laser-focused on the most relevant aspects of the topic?
– Will it achieve the desired goal and inspire readers to take the next step?
– Does it closely match the intended audience’s knowledge level, needs, and stage of the marketing funnel?
– Do the headline, hook, and introduction grab and maintain attention?
– Are any concepts overexplained or underexplained?
– Have you provided credible evidence or experiences to support your arguments?
– Is the order of your main points logical and easy to follow?
– Are there areas where readability can be improved, such as long paragraphs or sticky sentences?

After addressing these questions and others, consider conducting an optimization check using tools like Surfer. By analyzing closely related topics and comparing your content to existing pieces, you can ensure it meets the mark.

By the way, if you’re looking for an outstanding content optimization tool, we’ve got you covered. Through our partnership with Surfer, you can try out their software for just $1 in your first month. It’s a risk-free opportunity to enhance your SEO and see early improvements in your outcomes.

Step 6. Enhance with Engaging Visuals

Well-written content packed with value is great, but there’s more to consider. Remember:

– People learn in different ways; some prefer reading while others prefer visuals.
– Even avid readers appreciate visuals for explaining complex concepts.
– Time is valuable, so many people skim content to grasp the main points quickly.
– Visuals enhance readability, user experience, brand recall, and awareness.

Even if you don’t have a design team at your disposal, add relevant images, infographics, videos, and other visual assets to your content. These assets don’t have to be extravagant, but they should be meaningful and showcase your brand uniquely, avoiding the same tired stock photos everyone else uses in your industry.

Step 7. Publish, Promote, and Maximize Impact

Once you’re ready, hit that publish button. But remember, the process doesn’t end there. Many content marketers make the mistake of simply publishing a piece, sending a single email newsletter, and scheduling a few social media posts. Distribution requires more effort.

Content development is a significant investment, and your content has the potential to be a valuable asset for your target audience. Make the most of it and ensure wide availability to your audience:

– Build ongoing distribution into your editorial calendar, don’t just focus on new content.
– Regularly re-distribute content that you’ve put your heart and soul into, especially the pieces that resonated well with your audience in the past.

Step 8. Measure, Optimize, Succeed

It’s surprising how many marketers neglect monitoring their content’s performance and tracking changes in their metrics over time. According to a survey, only 37.7% of CMOs used marketing analytics for decision-making in 2020.

Imagine the time, resources, and money you could save by bringing that percentage closer to 100. But what matters most is that you have the opportunity to:

– Save time and resources by making informed content strategy decisions with data.
– Generate revenue from a well-thought-out and effective content strategy.
– Increase your earnings by gaining an edge over competitors who aren’t as data-driven.

Don’t underestimate the power of evaluating performance and optimizing your content strategy for continuous success.

Discover the Power of AI: Scaling Your Content Efforts Made Easy

Creating and marketing quality content is no easy feat. But what if you could do it on a larger scale without burning yourself out? That’s where artificial intelligence comes in to save the day.

Introducing our AI content generator, Jasper. With Jasper, you can streamline your content development process in four simple steps: topic generation, writing, optimization, and promotion. Intrigued? Let us show you how it works.

Generating Blog Topics in a Flash with Jasper

Jasper offers over 50 content templates, including Engaging Questions, Poll Questions & Multiple Choice Answers, and Marketing Angles. You can also use the Blog Post Topic Ideas template to quickly generate topic ideas tailored to your company. It’s as easy as filling out a form and clicking “Generate AI Content.” In just minutes, you’ll have a plethora of ideas at your fingertips.

Writing Made Effortless with Jasper’s Templates

Say goodbye to writer’s block. Jasper’s templates, like the Paragraph Generator, make it a breeze to write focused paragraphs that incorporate SEO keywords. Just provide a brief description of your talking points, target keywords, and preferred tone of voice. Jasper will generate multiple paragraphs for you to choose from, saving you time and energy.

Seamless Optimization with Jasper and Surfer

When it comes to optimizing your content, Jasper is here to help. Not only can you input keywords into some of its templates, but it also integrates seamlessly with Surfer. With Surfer, you can easily track the optimization of your content and identify areas for improvement. Investing in Surfer is a game-changer for your content marketing strategy.

Effortlessly Promote Your Content with Jasper

Jasper doesn’t stop at creation and optimization; it can help you promote your content too. Use the Paragraph Generator to craft compelling emails to your subscribers or summarize longer pieces of content with the Quora Answers template. You’ll not only drive more traffic but also generate valuable leads.

These are just a few of the fantastic features Jasper offers to streamline your content development process. Ready to try it out for yourself? Sign up for a 5-day free trial and enjoy your first 10,000 words on us. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to supercharge your content efforts with AI.