Content Strategy & Management
Developing content strategies, planning topics, managing editorial calendars, and communicating with the client
$98 for existing clients; $109 for new clients
$98
Content strategy is an essential first step in any long-term plan for content creation. Often, content strategy needs are heaviest during onboarding for new clients as well as at the end/beginning of each quarter to plan future content topics. However, content strategy is ongoing in order to ensure that our content creation efforts are aligned with your business goals and maximize the impact of our work.
While many clients are eager for us to begin content writing immediately so that they can start publishing as soon as possible, taking the time for content strategy ensures that your content is more consistent, on-brand and better targeted to your audience and keywords. We don’t want to publish content just to publish content — we want to publish content to achieve specific goals.
Content management time is also included in content strategy retainers to cover time spent communicating with the client and managing the logistics of content planning/creation.
Content strategy and management efforts can include, but are not limited to:
- Messaging questionnaires
- Content audits
- Development of specific strategies
- Topic planning
- Keyword research
- Editorial calendar creation
- Time meeting and communicating with the client
Note: Clients who need help developing an editorial calendar but do not have an ongoing retainer can also purchase content strategy as a one-time project.
1. Messaging Questionnaire
If you don’t have existing style/messaging guidelines for us to follow, our content strategy processes will begin with a messaging questionnaire. Tailored questions give us an idea of your company’s voice and personality, who we’re speaking to (who your customers are), and other details that will help shape your content and make it as effective and authentic as possible.
2. Content Audit
Before we start creating new content, we want to take a look at any existing content on your site. A content audit enables us to see what type of content on your site is performing well and what needs some work (whether from an editorial or an SEO standpoint). We will also perform a gap analysis to determine what topics are currently missing from your site, as well as identify any areas of duplicate content. All of these insights will help us form a plan for historical optimization (if necessary) and inform the new topics we plan for your editorial calendar.
Content Quality
Go through landing pages and blogs to make sure:
- Writing is clear and free of spelling and grammar errors.
- Writing is broken up into short, easily digestible paragraphs (one to three sentences).
- Hyperlinks are included at a rate of roughly 2% (20 links per 1,000 words).
- Heading structure is used appropriately (H2s, H3s, etc.)
- Photos have captions.
- Text-to-HTML ratio is at least 25% (basically, make sure blogs aren’t too short).
Pull the URLs for any pages/pieces that need updated.
Gap Analysis
Categorize content by product/service type and/or industry to see if there are any topics that are missing from the site. It’s usually easiest to do this in a spreadsheet.
Keep any areas that are missing content in mind when recommending new titles.
Duplicate Content
We use Copyscape to check for plagiarism (or duplicate content) of blogs, website copy, and more. Copyscape’s batch search capability can be helpful when checking for duplicate content across an entire site — an essential step in content audits of new sites.
Because this tool has a per-word cost (3 cents for the first 200 words plus 1 cent for each additional 100 words), begin by pasting the URLs for just the service pages or most popular blog posts into the batch search tool. If duplicate content is widespread across these URLs and you decide that you need to test the entire site, you can pull all of the site’s URLs using this tool.
Create a report of any URLs that are coming up with duplicate content. Next steps will vary depending on whether it appears that other sites are copying the client’s content, or the client has been plagiarizing their content.
3. Content Plan
Your account manager will work with you to identify how to best use your content retainer to meet your business goals (this may have already been established during the signing process). For example, we may want to perform historical optimization on your existing content or create new content pieces to publish. If the latter, we will determine what content formats will best help us meet your business goals.
4. Keyword Research
With direction from your account manager, we will compile a list of keywords that will inform your content titles.
5. Editorial Calendar
Using insights from our gap analysis, keyword research, and a competitor analysis, we will brainstorm content topics to make up your editorial calendar. The length of your editorial calendar will depend on the length of your signed contract. For ongoing monthly content retainers, we plan editorial calendars at the beginning of each quarter. You will have the chance to review your editorial calendar and make suggestions/changes before work on any of the content topics begins.
6. Logistics
A final step in content strategy involves logistics. We’ll discuss how you would like your content to be delivered and whether approval will be necessary before publication. After scheduling out the topics in your editorial calendar in our task management system, we’re ready to get started on content creation.
- If this is a one-time, a la carte project, the client will be provided with an estimated quote before the work begins, and the final invoice will be sent once work is complete. The final invoice may reflect any overages or additional revision hours that were requested or approved.
- If the project is quoted at over $2000, 50% will be billed upfront, and 50% upon project completion.
- For new monthly content retainers, your account manager will add time to your retainer to put toward content strategy. This time will be managed in consultation with your Account Manager and/or tracked in your monthly reports.
- For continuing monthly content retainers, a portion of your content writing retainer will go toward content strategy at the beginning/end of each quarter to allow time to plan editorial calendar topics and as necessary. This time will be managed in consultation with your Account Manager and/or tracked in your monthly reports.
- By purchasing this service, you are agreeing to the general Marketeering Group service terms and conditions.
- Do you have existing style/messaging guidelines for us to follow? If not, we will send a messaging questionnaire.