One of the things I have loved most about freelancing is working with clients to create blog content that builds strong website traffic from Google, Pinterest, and social media.
I have really enjoyed the different industries, from travel to sport. Learning the different reader bases and how language affects their choice to take calls to action in my content. And I have enjoyed the keyword research and post-publish analysis projects too. I think I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to content creation!
In learning this about myself, as a content marketer I thought it would be useful to share with you a typical project, so that you can see the process from idea to fruition.
How I create high quality blog content for clients
I think this is useful information, especially if you are considering employing a freelance content marketer for your business.
The two types of blog content projects I typically receive
Depending on the business and where each client is at with their website’s blog content, I typically get two types of blog writing requests. The first might be an email asking for a new blog post for their website – it might be as simple as that, or it might be a request that comes with some topic definition.
The second request is usually from someone whom I have taken through the process of blog content creation and analytics… usually someone who has started to see results in traffic numbers and wants to expedite potential traffic increases through blogging. This request is usually more detailed and sometimes comes with an idea of Search Engine Result Pages (or SERP) titles, or keywords they wish to rank for.
In both instances I need to start with the planning stage to take the initial idea to full outline, which will give me something from which to write.
How I plan the structure of my blog content
There are seven key steps in my planning that help me create blog content for my clients. These are;
1. Pain point discovery
Each unique client in your business is individually different, they have different needs and desires. As a group they buy from you because you serve one common issue, they all have. Typically, as a business you will already have discovered this and thus have the perfect offer in product or service. Your blog post is like a product, it must serve your clients with the information on a given topic in which they are interested in and in a valuable way. The first part of my plan is to establish how this content will best help them.
When I first start working with a new business I ask plenty of questions to get this part of my understanding of your business down on paper and the longer we work together and I understand your market better I am able to create content ideas based on that understanding. This is crucial if you want to create content that is going to resonate with your audience every time.
2. SERP and Keyword plan
I have talked before about how important keywords are in content creation. If you want your clients to find your content, content that you have created to show expertise, or to help sell a product or service you offer, then you need to make sure you are using the short-tail and long-tail keywords they would use in order to find companies like yours in search engine results. So, just as I would with any website page copy, I research and plan your keywords for your blog content.
I have been using SEMrush for a while now and keep my own keyword projects on my dashboard so I can see how I rank with each effort. If a client is serious about their website traffic, then I always recommend that they create at least a free account on SEMrush or one of the other tools out there (you could also use Ubersuggest, or Moz and I have used both with clients).
SEMrush as a tool also allows me to look at SERP, in other words shows me competitors content that already ranks highly using those keywords. Looking at this information confirms to me exactly which type of blog content is ranking for my chosen keywords, giving me more of an idea on what search engine users are looking.
Another great tool to use for ideas on SERP is Answer the Public, or Kparser. Both give you questions that search engine users have been looking for related to your keywords. So, if you already have Seed keywords set up, then this could be an alternative option from which to draw short-tail and long-tail keywords.
Going through this part of my planning helps me to round out your topic idea in a way that enables me to create content that will get seen online.
3. Tone idea
Some clients are very clear on the tone of individual pieces, for example recently I have been writing travel content for a client and of course just coming out of lockdown our tone has to be not only positive and upbeat, but also encourages the promotion of the feeling of safety when visiting certain venues, or renting properties.
Likewise, here on my own blog the content’s general tone is to be informative, but using layman’s terminology, because I understand that most of my small business clients are either learning how to market for themselves, or they want hands-on help from someone who has a better understanding in certain areas. The way I write, and the tone of my pieces must reflect a need to be informative, but not in a patronising way.
Setting the tone of a piece, may be part of a conversation between myself and my client, because I need to be sure I understand their market, their brand, their client, and the content’s intent.
4. Blog content structure
Typically good blog posts have a structure to them, just as an essay might… an introduction, the body of argument and a conclusion. I say typically, because there are different types of blog post you can write, and so structure can vary slightly. For example, a ‘list’ blog post would not need the same structure as a ‘how to’… however there are a few things that remain true on all types of post.
Firstly, you need a good Header 1 title, something that creates a need to click through to read the post and contains your main keyword.
Then you need good use of Headers 2 and 3 to create flow for the remainder of your content. Again, use of keywords here are great for search engine optimisation (SEO) and for user readability. We must remember that most of your readers will skim read and so as they scroll, they will be looking for header triggers to navigate their focus for the bits they most want to read.
The final piece of my content structure puzzle is to establish which bits are Google snippet worthy and outline these accordingly.
The great thing about working all of this out ahead of time, is that once I have finished my plan my writing time is really about filling in the gaps under headers and presenting my case for the topic.
5. SEO on page structure
At this point we already have keywords in our structured outline, but SEO does not stop there. I have learned that there are key places in which keywords should be presented and how many is too many before your piece is regarded as keywords stuffing – a ranking penalisation for Google.
Where clients need images in their text and it is my job to create these, I always make sure to title these files correctly, so that when they are uploaded they help ranking of keywords in the image search on search engines. This is another great way to get people to visit your web content.
The final SEO tool I must create is the metadata; a meta title and a meta description. This helps search engines to establish what your content is about, so they can index it effectively, also acting like a mini advert on the search engine to potential user traffic.
Then of course there is competition analysis, where do they rank for similar content, or the same keywords? How are they structuring their content to rank? How can we outperform them?
6. Topic emphasis for traffic indications
What I am thinking here is whether your blog content is opinion based, or evergreen. Opinion based content usually has a fleeting lifespan, for example if I were to discuss US elections and my opinion on topics, then now is the perfect time to start posting that type of content for the 2020 elections, as the campaign rallies get started. Two years from now these individual pieces will probably get little traffic because opinions will be out of date, but right now these pieces could be very useful in getting high levels of traffic to your site from new and existing readers (especially if marketed well).
Evergreen, on the other hand, might be slower to get off the mark but is a piece of content that is as useful two years from now as it is today. Marketing for this type of content can be ongoing and it is a great way to cement your expertise in your niche.
Understanding what the aim of topic emphasis ahead of time allows me to word your content accordingly.
7. Call to Action (CTA) definition
With every piece of content that you put on your website you need a clear idea of what the desired call to action (CTA) from your visitor should be. Let us say for example that your client is visiting your physical shop. On entering the shop, you have the baskets by the entrance. This is a call to action; you want to impress on the customer that you are open for business and they can buy things, taking a basket allows them to do that. Likewise, if you own an indoor swimming pool, you probably have those showers for swimmers to pass through before they enter the pool. This is to remind them to wash their feet, which is a health and safety issue. This is another clear call to action. Your website content must do the same thing.
Having a clear remit on CTAs before I sit down to write the full piece allows me to naturally weave in the desired intention.
How long does it take to create a blog post?
Depending on the full project, because as you have read, it is more than just writing a blog post these days, it can take between 3-4 hours per standard post (anywhere from 800-2,500 words). While word count varies widely, the background work and the planning remain the same.
Rather interestingly on Twitter, I recently saw that research showed an increase of 1 hour 23 minutes per post creation from 2014 to 2019 and I have to agree, I am spending far more time these days on content creation for a single blog post than ever before.
Information from @BrandonGaille in response to @OrbitMedia research
Why is this? Back in 2014, whilst SEO mattered it was not nearly as complex as it is today, because there were simply not as many websites vying for your client’s attention.
Yearly table of worldwide website count
In fact, website numbers have almost doubled over that time!
On top of this Google’s premise for ranking websites in SERP has evolved and so the way we put our content together has had to evolve too.
How I track blog content success
Working on better blog content is one thing, but it matters for nothing if your content is not providing results in traffic. There are several ways I work with clients to monitor these analytics. Firstly, with access to your Google Analytics I can give you stats on your best performing content and website pages each week and secondly, I can draw data from where you rank against your competitors on Google. Both data streams give us data that can determine what your success results are for blog content alongside any paid ads (if you have them) and other key pages on your site.
How long before you see results with good blog content?
Usually results on Google take 3-6 months to establish in traffic conversions, but individual pieces of blog content can get noticed and go viral almost instantly if you have the right marketing channels in place to promote them. In some cases, I work directly with clients to create copy for social media channels, email marketing mailouts and press releases.
Your Content Marketing Manager’s Top Tip – Should I hire a cheap freelancer for my content creation to save my business money?
Honestly, my opinion is this… you get what you pay for, and having rewritten more blog content from lower paid and lower skilled content creators than I care to, I honestly believe that you would save more money if you selected your freelancer based on the following… their writing skills and most importantly what they can do for your online traffic. You see, I think there is a merging of roles these days, in that content marketers need to understand more about SEO and analytics than they ever have before… evidence of this understanding is a highlight on a freelancers CV.
Creating strong blog content is not just about talking a good talk, it is about walking it too.
Any good blogger should have a portfolio of examples, including their own blog to share with you when you are looking to hire a blog writer.
If you need a copywriter to create compelling copy, someone who understands the customer journey, fill in the project brief form below!
