Content marketing is all the rage these days, as marketers have discovered that customers and prospects often forge deeper relationships with companies that provide them with useful information, rather than sales pitches.

 

The ability to distribute content electronically has eliminated printing and mailing costs, making it possible for anyone to distribute content via websites, blogs, e-newsletters, social media and other electronic channels.

 

While it's now easier than ever to distribute content, technology has not solved the age-old challenge of creating content. The situation reminds me of one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes. 

 

In this episode, Jerry becomes frustrated when the car rental agency loses his reservation. As he explains to the reservation clerk, "You know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to hold the reservation. And that's really the most important part of the reservation-the holding. Anybody can just take them."

  

In a similar sense, anyone can publish content, but not everyone can create content. And that's really the most important part of content marketing-creating content that customers and prospects will actually consume and share. Anybody can send spam or marketing materials.

 

I don't profess to have a magic wand that makes the content creation process simple. It's hard work that requires planning, research, creativity, and commitment. As the graphic below demonstrates, many companies struggle to produce engaging content.  

 

    

Despite these challenges, by following the suggestions below you should find that it's easier to produce high quality, engaging content on a regular basis:

 

1. Make Brainstorming a Routine Practice.

To develop a solid editorial calendar that's chock full of interesting ideas, get in the habit of conducting regularly scheduled brainstorming sessions. Get in a room, turn off your portable electronic devices, and think. If you're doing this in a group setting, appoint someone to record ideas on a whiteboard. There are no bad ideas during a brainstorming session, so don't judge ideas or debate their merits. Once you have a list of ideas, you can then revisit them, flesh them out, and choose the most interesting ones for development.

 

2. Collect and Record Ideas.

As you come across interesting content that's related to your business and your target audience, develop a process to record this information so you can access it later. I use Evernote to keep track of valuable materials that may come in handy, such as a white paper, survey, or case study on a particular topic. 

 

3. Create Detailed Outlines.

Whether you are publishing a 10-page white paper or one-page blog post, you need to have a distinct point of view. Take the time to decide on the key points you want to communicate and create a detailed outline. Make sure everyone agrees on the key points before you create a first draft. This will reduce the amount of time your team spends on reviews and revisions.

 

4. Cultivate Subject Matter Experts.

A talented writer can only do so much if he or she does not have access to people with in-depth knowledge of a particular topic. Make your writer's job easier by arranging for access to in-house and external subject matter experts who are willing to share their knowledge. Look for experts who can communicate complex information clearly and tell a story.

 

5. Develop a Formal Review Process.

Content creation by committee is time consuming and inefficient, so try to minimize the number of people who will review and comment on your drafts. I recommend including one person who is a technical expert on the subject, one person from marketing, and of course one legal/compliance reviewer.

 

Set clear expectations for each reviewer to ensure the reviewer understands his or her role. For example, your technical reviewer does not need to worry about style or punctuation. He simply needs to confirm that the information is technically accurate. Finally, be sure to set and enforce reasonable deadlines for comments. Let reviewers know that if they fail to meet a deadline, you will assume they had no feedback (compliance and legal reviewers excepted).

 

6. Polish and Proofread.

Like a crock of chili, beef stew, or tomato sauce ("gravy" for my Italian friends), your content will benefit from additional time simmering on the stovetop. That is why I always encourage clients to send drafts back to me before they are published. In virtually every case, I find something that can be improved, whether it's the headline, a particular word choice, or a sentence that's too long. And it goes without saying that you need a formal proofreading process in place before you publish anything.

 

7. Rinse and Repeat.

Assuming you have followed my suggestions, you will no doubt be able to create compelling content and establish yourself or your company as a respected thought leader. Invitations to speak at industry conferences will soon flood your email inbox and your boss will take you to lunch. To keep the good times rolling, however, you can't rest on your laurels. When you're in the content marketing business, you're in the publishing business. Continue to set aside time for brainstorming, build your editorial calendar, enforce deadlines, and feed the beast!

 

Are there other methods that have helped you churn out high quality content? Share your ideas or feedback on our blog.