How to Create a Blogging Content Strategy That Drives Leads

Writing a blog is more than coming up with a topic and putting words on paper. Long before pencil hits paper (or hands hit the keyboard), some critical thinking is needed. A lot of strategy goes into creating compelling content that drives traffic and also ranks on Google's first page. To take advantage of a content creation strategy that drives new leads, here is an overview of the process we follow.   

Does Your Idea Support Your Brand Mission?  

Your topic needs to be something people want to read and something that drives your strategy forward. As a rule of thumb, you might start by asking if the piece of content entertains, inspires or educates? If it does, you can ask does it support my brand's mission? If you can answer yes to both, then you are likely considering a worthwhile topic already.  

Do You Have Existing Content That Covers a Topic or One That is Similar?  

If you are a blogger who has been at it for a while or a Marketing Manager who is just getting familiar with your website's content, it is worthwhile to look through your existing content.   

Ask yourself, does content that addresses a similar topic exist?  

If so, it might be more cost-effective and timelier to edit the existing content with more up-to-date information. On the other hand, if no content exists, then a new post can be created.  

Does The Topic Require You to Take a Stand?  

Are there different viewpoints on the topic? If so, you might want to open up the discussion to the greater community. Asking people to weigh in on the topic can double as an opportunity.  

How Are People in the Industry Talking About The Topic?  

Consider who would be reading about this topic. What words do they use to search for an answer? If you aren't sure, it might be worthwhile to type the idea into Google and see which key phrases are suggested. This will give you a good indication as to what people are searching for.  

After collecting a few of the keyphrases, Google suggests, a free SEO tool like Ubersuggest can be used to calculate the difficulty for your phrase to rank on Google. This may be calculated on a scale of 1 to 100 and will correlate to your website's domain authority. A good piece of content that answers the topic will likely show up on Google's first page if the key phrase is less than your domain authority score. If you don’t already know your domain authority score, there are several additional tools you might use to find out. One of these is the Moz bar extension.    

How Will You Promote the Topic?  

To help boost traffic to your new content, many have taken to their Instagram or LinkedIn page. However, you might not have a large network, so now what? Consider other options, perhaps creating a visual that will support your content and could be repurposed for Pinterest or other visual platforms. Alternatively, you may decide to reach out to an industry professional to provide a supporting quote if applicable.   

This process may sound complex. While it does take time, the results of a good content strategy are long-lasting and can continue to provide leads long into the future. Dedication and continuous content production will be required in the meantime. In many cases, organizations will work with an SEO specialist to help determine their key word or blogging strategy. With a guiding process in place, subject matter experts on your team or freelance copywriters can be hired to support your blog generation strategy. Organizations that do not have the capacity to support this strategy may instead choose to outsource their ongoing blogging strategy completely. 

Wondering what process will work best for your team? Reach out with any questions you might have; we might just have the answer for you!