This two-part post originally ran as one on the Tippingpoint Labs blog. Reprinted with the author’s permission.
Rule #1 for a successful content strategy — you have to update your content on a regular basis, preferably every day. Most organizations think that adding frequently updated content to their website is next to impossible with their existing staff. It might be hard, but it’s not impossible. The keys to success are creating a regular editorial calendar, devising simple feature formats, and recruiting outside help. We took this approach when we launched Food Thinkers by Breville.
The Editorial Calendar
Our goal is simple: each day of the week we release one new piece of content geared towards one of Breville’s targeted audiences. We limit our content creation to five weekdays, so we’ve targeted five corresponding online identities. Here’s how it breaks down.
* Mondays — The Healthy Gourmet
* Tuesdays — Newlyweds and the Female Gourmet
* Wednesdays — The Male Gourmet
* Thursdays — The Mom Gourmet
* Fridays — The Metro Male Gourmet
With the audiences clearly defined for each day of the week, we create features for each day of the month. These feature help establish our audience’s expectations for the content on Food Thinkers. So for example, on the second Friday of the month, the Metro Male can expect a feature on mixology, while on the last Tuesday of every month, the Female Gourmet can expect a feature about appetizers and wine pairing.
By the second week of each month, our feature editors pitch stories and recipes for the next month. We have to pitch this early because selected recipes have to be sent to our food photographer for the great images he creates. The goal is to always have the final draft of each piece of content in place on WordPress one week before it is released.
Creating Feature Formats
When we first created the features, our next step was to make formats for each of them. Essentially, a format is a formulaic approach to creating the actual content within any feature. The format becomes the general guideline and structure for creating the post, and it ensures that the contributor will have an immediate direction when he or she sits down to write.
So a format might include an introductory paragraph that sets the scene, a sidebar about finding the freshest ingredients, a recipe, and a photograph of the final, plated dish. The more specific the formats are, the more useful they will be to the contributors when they sit down to write.
Here’s an example of a format for “Entertaining Apps,” a feature on Food Thinkers that pairs an appetizer with an appropriate wine.
Jim Cosco is Chief Content Officer and Founder of TippingPoint Labs , a digital content creation shop founded in 2002.
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