\n\n\nServing the right content at just the right time gives people the motivation they need to move through the sales cycle on their terms.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\n\nNo more pushing. Just a gentle nudge in the right direction through critical digital marketing efforts. But it\u2019s not enough to throw a few blog posts up and hope for the best (in fact, blogging is just the tip of the iceberg).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\n\nDeveloping great content that educates, informs, entertains, and showcases your expertise is crucial, especially when there\u2019s so much competition online.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\n\nContent development (like content strategy<\/a>) gives you control of the sales conversation through planning, creating, and promoting content at integral customer touchpoints.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nContent development encompasses four key stages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nIt involves everything from researching what content your audience would love to read and bringing it to life to then, afterward, making sure the right people see it at the right time.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nMarketers often get caught up in content production without first laying the foundations. This process won\u2019t give your content the traction it deserves and will result in it falling flat with your audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nContent development eliminates this risk with a two-pronged approach featuring both strategy and creation. Without the strategy, content creation can be empty and hollow, and you\u2019ll quickly get frustrated with your lack of results. (But without creation, a strategy is just a fancy plan.)<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nA full-stack content development approach (like the one we deliver for clients here at Omniscient Digital) can help you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nAre you sold on content development? Let\u2019s walk through the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nPlanning your content is the first and most important step in the content development process. Skip this, and you\u2019ll struggle to create content that resonates with your readers and customers.<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nThe content planning<\/a> process will help you better understand who your audience is and what they might need or want from you at any given time.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nConsider what you want your content to achieve.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nWhat value will it add to your brand? For example, will it educate readers on your product or help them solve a problem?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nYou should have two goals in mind when creating a piece of content:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nUnderstanding what you want to achieve with each piece of content and your overall strategy will help you stay on track when you zoom out and address your entire content strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nIdentify your overall content goal first, as this may inform the smaller, bite-sized goals you establish for each blog post (or other pieces of content).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nThe sales funnel<\/a> will vary for every brand, but at the minimum, you should know the route customers take before they buy from you.<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nDig into your data to track a typical buyer journey, identifying important touchpoints and pivotal decision-making moments.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nFor example, your sales funnel might look something like this:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nThe key is to figure out what your customers need at each stage of the sales cycle. Start addressing these needs by developing content for every step of the content marketing funnel<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nYour familiarity with your audience can mean the difference between creating content that misses the mark and creating content that readers can\u2019t get enough<\/em> of.<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nIn addition to digging into customer data<\/a>, learn more about your buyers through:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Real-life questions on Quora about email marketing<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nPlanning your content also involves finding space for your voice amongst your competitors. This involves digging into what content is already being published, determining the common themes, and identifying any gaps that you can swoop in and fill (or ways in which you can beat your competitors).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nThe research you\u2019ve conducted thus far will determine how you populate your content calendar<\/a>. For example, the questions you see on forums can form a series of blog posts, while a gated ebook might tackle a big challenge that came up in your survey.<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nStart plotting each piece of content on an editorial calendar \u2014 but don\u2019t go all out. It\u2019s best to plan per quarter rather than over a full year since industries can change quickly and new trends emerge all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nWhen creating your content calendar, consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nOnce you\u2019ve mapped out your sales funnel<\/a> and learned more about your audience, it\u2019s time to start writing. Use your content calendar to guide your content writing efforts and plan your resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nEach piece of content will need a brief to ensure the result is exactly as you envisioned, particularly when integrating AI-driven content.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nA brief will also help anyone involved in the writing process\u2014be it your internal marketing team or a freelancer\u2014understand what you want from the piece.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nInclude information like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nYou might find your internal team isn\u2019t big enough to deliver all your content needs, or perhaps you don\u2019t have a team at all. (That\u2019s where an online marketing agency like Omniscient Digital can come in handy!)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nIn any case, you\u2019ll need to outsource your content creation to high-quality writers. These folks should be experts on your subject matter or at least people who you\u2019ve seen write well on similar topics.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nFinding, vetting, and hiring the right freelancers<\/a> can be challenging\u2014we know. (We wrote a blog post about our experiences and best recommendations to secure great writers.) Here are a few tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nOnce you\u2019ve identified potential writers, review their portfolios and websites to see if they\u2019d be a good fit, and then schedule a call to check their availability.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nYour content should be the best of the best<\/em> if you want it to stand out and meet the goals you established in part one. Google any topic, and you\u2019ll find thousands of pieces of content, all of which vary dramatically in quality.<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nSo how do you make sure yours is one of the best?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nPublishing content is the next logical step after writing it. Look at your content calendar for the dates you plan to publish and decide who will upload the piece into your content management system.<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\n Alternatively, if you\u2019re creating a piece of content that isn\u2019t a blog or a round-up post<\/a>, think about whether you want to get it professionally designed and where you want to publish it. For example, if it\u2019s a downloadable ebook, white paper, or template, consider turning it into a PDF and attaching them to your welcome email sequence. Plus, if you decide to enhance the content with new information in the future, you can easily add a page to the PDF<\/a> to include additional resources or updates for your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nThere\u2019s no one-size-fits-all approach to the publishing part of content development. The one thing we can tell you? Go where your audience is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nThe final part of the content development puzzle is creating a promotional plan. While your content calendar will tell you what content needs to be created by when, you should also carve out time to promote your content after it\u2019s live.<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nThe methods you choose will depend on where your audience hangs out, the type of content you\u2019re creating, and what its ultimate goal is.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n\nHere are some promotional activities you can add to your list:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nOf course, we could all do with a helping hand sometimes. These useful content development tools make at least one part of the process much easier than doing it all by yourself:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\nContent development is the key to a successful content marketing strategy. Start by learning about your audience and competitors, digging into topic ideas that will resonate, and exploring what you want to achieve with your content.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\nWhat is content development?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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The Content Development Process <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Planning Content <\/h3>\n\n\n
Define Your Content Goals <\/h4>\n\n\n
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Map Out Your Sales Funnel<\/h4>\n\n\n
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Conduct Audience Research<\/h4>\n\n\n
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Run Competitor Research<\/h4>\n\n\n
Create a Content Calendar <\/h4>\n\n\n
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2. Writing Content <\/h3>\n\n\n
Create Content Briefs<\/h4>\n\n\n
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Hire High-Quality Writers<\/h4>\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\nMake Your Content the Best it Can Be <\/h4>\n\n\n
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3. Publishing Content <\/h3>\n\n\n
4. Promoting Content <\/h3>\n\n\n
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Content Development Tools <\/h2>\n\n\n
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Get Started With Content Development<\/h2>\n\n\n
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