Business owners expect a return on their investment from their content marketing team. We need to create a system that does just that – makes a positive impact on the business. It’s not an inexpensive hobby. This is especially true if you want to capture your audience with great stories that make a difference in their lives. We found the one that worked for us and one that will work for you. Here is our 4-step checklist to help you choose the topics your team will write about. No matter how great your idea may be, not all topics are worth the investment. This is something we learned the hard-way. This approach can be used for both a team of writers and a one-person show. However, you need to be able to understand what you are doing. Are you competent enough to write?
It’s that simple. You can work closely with your writers to get a clear understanding of their writing abilities and experience. It’s okay to reject a proposal if you aren’t sure that your writers can deliver the same quality as the topic. You can do it again. Do not be mediocre. We don’t mind writers who write on many topics and do enough research. We’ve written about a wide range of topics over the past few years. However, it is essential to have experience in order to fully understand the expectations and needs of readers. This is about impact and being there for readers. Are Your Readers in Need of This?
It is impossible to overstate the importance and impact of getting to know your readers. You must know how your content will benefit your readers in their daily lives. It’s important to know the difference between entertaining and helping your readers in their day. Sometimes all your readers want is entertainment. If your KPIs require you to increase brand awareness and brand love, then you should only focus on entertainment. You could have spent that time writing another thing. You might not have the time or resources to write another article on the topic. Are your readers really in need of another article on topic X. Is there a real demand for the topic?
Numbers don’t lie. If there is no demand for your content, and you are not trying to generate it, then maybe it’s best to not go there. This is all about keyword research and using your favorite content insight tool. If you don’t have the budget to create demand for your content, you can just go with what your potential readers are looking for. You should choose the right keywords and set ambitious monthly search volume targets. Our weekly blog posts target keywords with at least 1.5k monthly searches volume. Some blog posts rank well and this has produced steady growth over the past 18 months. We are now at nearly 30k organic visits/month. Do My Readers Want to Learn Anything New?
This aspect of blogging is often overlooked, it goes without saying. Sometimes we think we have great insight that we need share with our audience as soon possible. We end up reinventing the wheel more often than we think. We have a simple trick that will help us determine if our stories add value. We can answer this question because we are writing from experience.