How can you determine the right number of team members for your content marketing team?

When it comes to building your content marketing team, size matters, but strategy matters more. It's not about the number of people on your team, it’s about their impact. Don't just throw bodies at the problem, be strategic about who you hire based on your budget and needs. If you’re just kicking off, go for a generalist. This should be someone who can spin a dozen plates at once – think videos, graphics, and writing (all at a "good enough" level). You can hire freelancers to dive into specialty content. Quality over quantity, every time. Budget wisely, hire smarter, and scale based on success, not just ambition.

First, map out your content strategy and goals – what's the workload? Then, assess the skill sets needed. Quality over quantity, my friend. A lean, mean team of versatile players can outshine a bloated crew any day. Factor in scalability too, 'cause growth's the game. Finally, vibe check – chemistry is non-negotiable. Too big? Too small? Nah, just right.

Make sure to check in on your goals and resources regularly, especially as your business grows. If things are changing, you might need to tweak the size of your content team to fit new goals, audience needs, or the resources you have available. It's like adjusting the sails on a boat—you want to make sure you're headed in the right direction, even as the winds (or business conditions) change.

Think of your content team like a squad with different superpowers. Writers create the content, editors perfect it, SEO specialists make it visible online, designers add visual appeal, and social media managers share it. Data analysts track what works, project managers keep things organized, and strategists plan the big picture. Community managers engage with the audience, SMEs provide expertise, legal experts ensure compliance, and customer support reps address concerns.

This is what even seasoned marketers miss. Roles are activities, not people. You might be a team of one, wearing multiple marketing hats. Or you might be a global, siloed, integrated marketing and communications team of hundreds. It doesn’t matter. The activities related to content should be a strategic function in your business. In short, you need to ensure the audience’s and the business’s needs are met. Everything else is irrelevant.

Determining the size and structure of your team is like crafting the right recipe for success. Consider how many players you need on your team based on the goals and workload.

The tasks should determine the team size and structure. That, combined with the skill sets of those members on the team will quickly tell you if you need more staff or different staff. We do a ton of podcasting for our company as well as helping other companies create podcasts by doing the "heavy lifting" for each episode. Our team of audio technicians, show notes writers, web developers and social media writers can be added to your team without adding all of that staffing. Sometimes, outsourcing is the best option and you just need a good partner to slot into your workflow.

Fine-tuning and adjusting your team is a bit like upgrading a well-oiled machine. Regularly assess how your team is performing and be ready to make changes based on what's working and what isn't.

If you are a founder try to hire people that will allow you to 'buy back your time' - instead of growing your business. In many cases founders are stuck with creating content that they no longer need to - or once they hire a new team member they explore a complete new channel. Instead of doing that I recommend to focus on a few channels, map the content you personally don't need to create and install a repurposing process. Once you will have that in place you will be able to make a decision if you need a new content team member.

A content team's ideal size includes a little redundancy, because turnover is high. If you lose someone, it can really set you back for quite a long time, both in terms of quantity and quality. I see a lot of company blogs out there with six-month gaps in publishing. Extra headcount helps avoid things like this.

the key is to maintain a proactive and dynamic approach, regularly reassessing your team's performance and adjusting strategies to align with your overarching business goals.