How to Improve Your Content Creation Process

Content creation is the hardest part of content marketing.

 

Why? Because content creation isn’t just about writing articles. It’s about strategizing, writing, editing, and optimizing content so that it best supports your goals.

 

With this in mind, I’ve put together 6 actionable strategies you can use to improve your content creation process this year.

1. Find New Sources for Content Ideas

 

The first step of any content creation process is coming up with article ideas and headlines.

 

While it can sometimes be difficult to keep coming up with content ideas that your audience will find both interesting and useful, there are a lot of potential sources for content ideas:

• Ask your audience for ideas
• Read what people are saying on social media
• Read what’s trending on industry forums
• Review content topics at relevant conferences
• Ask a colleague
• Review your tools

 

Related: 20 Ways to Source Content Ideas

 

As you start to come up with a variety of post topics and working titles, plug them into an Excel file or Google Sheet to keep a running tab of ideas.

2. Create a Content Calendar

 

Now that you have some content topics in mind, it’s time to start slotting that content into a calendar.

 

If you aren’t using a content calendar, then building one is a great way to improve your content creation process.

 

A complete content calendar should include not only when an article is published, but also the type of content, channels it will be shared on, and who the article will be attributed to. If you’re working with a team of freelance writers to produce content, your calendar should also outline who will write each post.

 

Related: The Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Content Calendar

 

If you’re having trouble monitoring your content and seeing which pieces at which stage of development, then you can try creating a dedicated Trello board. To do this all you need to do is create columns for each relevant stage and then slot each piece of content as you start working on them. You can drag-and-drop the articles as they move through the creation process giving you a snapshot of where in production each piece is.

Or, you can use Constant Content’s dashboard and content calendar to get all this info seamlessly (just sayin’.)

 

3. Work with Quality Writers

 

One of the best ways you can improve your content creation process is by working with quality, professional writers.

 

There are plenty of compelling reasons to hire a professional writer to produce content.

 

For one, you end up producing better, more interesting content. Second, it frees up time for you to focus on running the business. Third, it allows you to scale your content creation as needed.

 

Before you can hire a writer to produce your content, you need to choose between hiring an in-house writer or leverage external writers. If you’re at this stage, check out our post Hiring In-House Writers vs. Outsourcing to an Agency vs. Hiring Freelance Writers: What’s Right For You

 

4. Incorporate Different Content Types

 

A complete content strategy needs to include multiple types of content. Blog posts are a great start. But consider how you can incorporate ebooks, white papers, infographics, videos, podcasts or other types of content into your strategy.

 

Not sure what types of content you should be creating? One strategy you can use to generate ideas is by considering the different types of content that prospects are interested in throughout the buyer journey.

 

For instance, at the top of the funnel, people are just realizing they have a problem and are looking for information. High-level blog posts, social posts, and educational content can go a long way here. Helping people find useful information is an excellent way to build trust and increase your chances of turning them into a customer down the road.

 

On the flip side, prospects near the bottom of the funnel are aware of their problem and some of the potential solutions out there. In this case, your content should highlight the unique aspects of your product or compare it similar solutions. Here is where people are more likely to best performing search that starts with “best” or “top”, like “the best email marketing software” or “top website chat tools”.

 

5. Keep a Consistent Style and Tone

 

Consistency is an often-underappreciated aspect of content marketing.

 

Content marketing is a long-term strategy, which means that successful content needs to be communicating a consistent brand message and conveying a consistent brand style.

 

Is your tone fun and energetic? Informative and educational? Casual and friendly? Formal and professional? While none of these are necessarily better than the others, it’s important to be consistent in both written and visual style.

 

Related: How to Keep a Consistent Brand Identity in Content Marketing Campaigns

 

6. Optimize for SEO

 

The magic of content marketing is its ability to drive organic leads and sales. Forget paying-per-click or other forms of paid advertising, content marketing delivers organic revenue.

 

But for your content to drive organic sales and leads, it needs to attract organic traffic. And that’s where SEO comes in.

 

We’re firm believers that a successful SEO strategy is anchored in great content. But to give your content the best chance at ranking highly, it needs to be optimized for SEO.

 

This is a big topic and there are a ton of helpful resources starting from the basics of SEO, on to on-page optimization, then more nuanced aspects like optimizing for featured snippets and optimizing for voice search.

Improve Your Content Creation

 

World-class content requires a world-class creation process. So how will you be improving your content creation process this year?

 

Looking to hire quality writers? Constant Content works with thousands of the best freelance writers online. Create your account today to browse articles, search our top writers, and order custom content.