Build Your Content Factory From The Ground Up
Posted by Lori Pendleton on Tue, Jun 05, 2012
Great content is the key to building a loyal, engaged readership. But great content doesn't grow on trees; it takes work to produce the kind of content that keeps readers coming back for more. In fact, it takes a whole factory to do it.
A content factory is a series of systems and processes that help you produce content quickly and efficiently. If it sounds like an assembly line model where everyone plays a different role, you're on the right track. But if your factory is going to churn out great content, you need to build it from the ground up with a blueprint that includes the following pieces:
A Well-Coordinated System
Look at a car, a fruit basket, or any other manufactured product. There was a process behind it that drove its development, creation, and distribution. Your content needs a similar process behind it if it's going to resonate with your readers.
This is why a content management platform that contains the tools and technology to bring it all together is essential to building your factory. Start with a set of goals that keep you focused on one clear path. Use your platform to manage workflows and schedules at every stage, from ideas and research to writing and publishing. Finally, measure your content to determine how well it's working and how it can perform even better over time.
Sources of Inspiration
The great thing about ideas is that they can come from anywhere; the bad thing is that they can disappear as quickly as they come along. Hang on to more of your great ideas by generating and capturing them.
Great ideas can come from anywhere: the grocery store, the movies, or TV shows. Train yourself to look for new ideas anywhere and anytime, and eventually you'll generate them without even thinking about it. But, these ideas will be lost unless you find a way to retain them. Whether you write them in a notebook or record them on a tape, hang on to all your ideas and you'll always remember the good ones.
Better yet? Utilize tools that get the job done quickly and easily. For example, the Zerys Content Marketplace offers a Title Suggestion and Topic Research Tool that gives you access to the latest topics and buzz, to help you generate content ideas relevant to your audience.
A Comprehensive Library
Good content either entertains people or teaches them; the best content does both. But content should always come from trusted sources and cite reliable references. This requires you to have a vast library of resources at your fingertips.
If you want your content to include facts and figures, use sites that contain research and statistics. If you prefer visual content like charts and videos, turn to sites like YouTube to find the most eye-catching content around. Whatever format you choose, make sure you know where to find the right type of content to keep your readers entertained, informed, and up-to-date.
Great Connections
On the other hand, sometimes great content comes from who you know, not what you know. If your content factory is going to gain traction, it helps to have a great network of colleagues and experts to add some heft to it.
Most bloggers know the value of expert commentary and even the occasional guest blog, but your networks can also be a great source of traffic. Most experts have already developed their brands and built a great readership in the process. If these experts think enough of your content to cite it, share it, and link to it, their followers will feel the same, turning you into a great connection along the way.
Talented People
No matter how talented you are, you can't run a content factory by yourself. You need other talented people to keep it running like a well-oiled machine. In fact, your factory will only be as effective and efficient as the people working in it.
Great content comes from the work of writers, marketers, SEO experts, social media gurus, and a host of other people. Bring these people together with powerful software and tools that make collaboration simple. Zerys was designed to bring content buyers, professional writers, editors and other experts together for the purpose of managing content projects from beginning to end.
Factories provide a more streamlined way to create and deliver products as fast as the marketplace wants them. Nothing is in greater demand than fast, quality content, so put together your content factory and start churning out compelling content in record time.