According to Hubspot, companies that published 16+ blogs per month received almost 3.5x more traffic and about 4.5x more leads than companies that published 0-4 monthly posts. If this is the case, then why don’t more companies write articles and share their knowledge on their blog?
The answer is simple. It’s harder than you think.
- You as the writer may not be qualified in the subject matter to write accurately.
- The subject matter expert (SME) has other priorities and although writing articles sounds cool, the writing rarely happens.
- Not everyone is a good writer. You need a good editor.
So, your goal of publishing one or two articles per week ends up being one article per month <sigh>. How can you as the head of your content marketing efforts overcome this?
1. Record and Publish Simple Videos
We’re not talking about the high-production, high-cost camera/production videos. We’re talking about iPhone quality. People have become accustomed to non-polished videos and there is simple editing software that makes it easy to produce.
Videos are great for your visitors to gain a connection with you and your business. They add a more personal touch, and let’s face it, watching a video is sometimes more engaging to do than reading a blog. Plus, you can always turn it into an mp3 podcast and have it transcribed (for a small fee) and published in text format.
Since we live in a world where the attention spans of people are getting shorter and shorter, videos are a great alternative. We recommend 45 seconds to 1.5 minutes to start. Stick to a narrow topic and go for it.
Who talks… Easy. The subject matter experts do. Ask them to talk about things they know. Create an outline and ask them 3-5 questions in their video interview.
2. Take a Journalistic Writing Approach
Your experts in the field don’t have time to write, nor are they always great writers, but if you (or your marketing communications lead) sits down with them and interview them, you can take good notes and write for them.
Before you sit down with your subject, come up with a list of questions on the topic and schedule a short, 15-minute interview. Be sure to record the session (or capture them on video – see #1 above) so that you can rewind and catch the details you may have missed during the interview.
Also, ask them to share a few examples or point you to specific resources, websites, etc. that you can use in the article. Once you’ve written the article, give it back to the SME and let them edit it. You’ll be amazed that once they see their words on paper, they might even contribute more.
This approach is successful for two reasons. First, speaking about the blog topic comes naturally to your SME as it is based off what your employee does on a regular basis. Second, often the SME who is an expert in their field has all the information to write a blog, but is too busy to sit down and write it themselves.
3. Outsource the Writing
You might even be too busy to write content or interview internal staff to get the content you need. However, there are thousands of writers out there who all they do is write for companies. I know what you are thinking. “They won’t know my industry.” In some cases, you are right, but you would be surprised by how many writing services there are who have writers with extensive experience in a particular topic category.
Problem solved! Not exactly. As part of this process, it takes time to find the right outsourced writer who will adapt to your tone and needs. It will take a few rounds or articles to get into a solid rhythm.
The good news… You are editing and tweaking, not writing from scratch. These writers can crank out article after article for a fraction of the cost than a freelance writer can. Even if you have to “toss” a few stories, you’ll likely be able to combine this technique with the other approaches and hit your writing goals for the month.