It’s almost 2021 (or maybe it already is 2021) and you need a content calendar fast. After all, a content calendar can get you more buy-in and support, save you time and money—and of course, it can help you develop better content for your brand.
When I create content calendars for clients, I use this eight-step process:
We recently surveyed 70 on-staff content managers to find out their biggest challenges. These were professionals at the management level or higher, at companies ranging from 2 to 270,000 employees. We did not provide a list of challenges to choose from; we left it completely open-ended to ensure we didn’t lead or constrain the respondents in any way.
After gathering the responses, we scheduled phone calls with a handful of our respondents to dig deeper into the results.
And wow…we just had no idea about the obstacles some of you have to overcome every day on the job.
Our survey of 69 content and marketing execs shows that you are a busy bunch of bootstrappers.
Too busy, in fact, to develop a content calendar for 2021.
“Why use a content calendar? My boss just wants content,” you say. “They don’t care about some fancy-schmancy calendar.”
Your boss may not want a content calendar per se, but we guarantee they want the results that come from having one. Here are five ways this strategic planning document will make both you and the powers that be at your company happier in 2021.
If you’re looking to hire a content writer, you’re probably wondering how much it will cost and whether it will be worth it to hire a freelancer rather than doing the work yourself.
Content writers may say they can’t tell you what they charge without knowing the details of your project, because they need to know about the timeline, word count, amount of research required, and so on. This is true: they can’t give you an exact amount with no details.
But in general, to know whether you can afford to hire a freelance content writer—and what kind of content help you can afford—you need to understand at least the price ranges you can expect from various types of writers. For example, if you ask how much a writer charges for a case study, they should be able to say, “I charge between X and Y, depending on A, B, and C.”
Don’t get mad at us—that statement comes from a survey of B2B buyers, where 82% said they wish B2B content had the creativity associated with B2C. And during challenging times, this craving for a can’t-put-it-down read ramps up even higher.
Hero’s Journey Content’s founder, Linda Formichelli, started out writing for the women’s magazines (think: Redbook, Woman’s Day, Family Circle), where the content is fresh, readable, and fun—even on topics as dry as budgeting and nutrition.
That’s why we created this infographic on how to steal ideas from the women’s mags that will turn your content from ZZZ to OMG!
But wait, there’s more! In the FULL REPORT, we dissected one of Linda’s articles for Women’s Health magazine to show how you can incorporate these same principles into your B2B content. Each of the numbers on the article corresponds to an explanation of that element on the following pages.
Your readers are relying on you to save them from B2B boredom—and to inspire them to action. This report reveals how to do it.
Ready to bring some B2C excitement to your B2B content?
We hate boring as much as your audience does. We create engaging, relevant content—and develop content marketing strategy—for clients like Best Buy Health, Prevention magazine, Domtar Paper, CVS, and Intel.
Is your idea of repurposing content is to turn a blog post into a social post and call it a day? If so, you’re missing out on opportunities to get more value out of your content while reaching new audiences.
Here’s how to take just one piece of long-form content—like a webinar, article, case study, or whitepaper—and turn it into more than 25 new content assets.
Late work? Hours of rewrites? Writers who just don’t deliver? We understand your challenges. Here’s how to hire content pros who will blast you toward your content goals—instead of holding you back.
Our 6 expert-approved tips are below, and we’ve also compiled them into an infographic you can download and share. There’s no form to complete—just click the format you prefer.
You know that trashing your content plan is a bad idea—but your boss or your clients may not. If you’re looking for ways to justify your content budget and programs during the coronavirus crisis, here are eight ideas you can share.
These are direct downloads; there’s no form to fill out.
I usually sign off my marketing emails with “Cheers,” but that suddenly seems mildly inappropriate given the coronavirus situation.
So how do you sign off your marketing emails in a way that fits your brand—but still shows that you’re aware of what’s going on out there for your customers?
Here’s a chart with 30+ options listed from best to worst, with options for both cheeky and formal brand images.(And yes, some of them are very cheeky…but we know there are brands out there that could/would use them for real!)
I’ve now received emails from every brand I’ve interacted with over the past 20 years, telling me how very much they care about me in these “unprecedented” times.
If they’re smart, your prospects are going to start filtering on that word soon. So here are some creative alternatives in a downloadable scatter chart…we selected words that will fit every brand, from irreverent to buttoned-up. (Click to zoom in on image.)
You know that repurposing your content lets you squeeze more value out of your existing content assets—and that even in the best of times, recycling content is a budget-friendly way to reach more prospects.
But what few marketing pros know is that there are more ways to repurpose content beyond chunking down a long piece of content into a handful of shorter ones. Here are three tips that let you pretend you’re a penny-pinching grandma and your content is a chicken that’s already been used for sandwiches, soup, and pot pie.
You’re a plumbing, pest control or other field service company. Or maybe you’re a business that provides software and supplies to companies like these.
You’ve heard that providing helpful content is one of the best ways to attract prospects, nurture customers, and build loyalty. And it’s true:
72% of B2B content marketers attributed their improved performance over the year before to their content strategy.
But where do you start? What do you write about? And how do you develop topic ideas and content that prospective clients actually, you know, want to read.
Here, we put together the basics of field service content. These guidelines are founded on our team’s background in consumer and trade journalism, as well as our experience in writing for businesses just like yours.
When we think of written content, we think about what is there: the copy itself.
But what’s not there in your content—in other words, the white space that breaks it up—also has a huge impact on meaning, readability, SEO, and results.
Here are a journalist’s best practices for creating just the right breaks in your blog posts, articles, case studies, and white papers.
Got a case study on your to-do list? To create a case study that converts, it’s crucial that you ask your customer the right questions—otherwise you’ll end up with 1,000 words of sales talk and unconvincing fluff. (“Company X is great! Rah rah rah!”)
We recently created a compelling casestudy that earned our client a lot of kudos, and we pulled together a list of the interview questions we routinely ask to create tension-filled, reader-grabbing casestudies like that one. (Want a free INFOGRAPHIC of this list? Download it here…no form to fill out, just click and grab!)