How to Avoid the 3 Biggest Content Creation Pitfalls with Paul Zalewski

Do you hate writing client content? Or struggle to find writers who can match tone, style and use industry-specific language for your clients? Do you never have time to create agency content because you're so busy with client work? There's a better way! Creating content doesn't have to be difficult and finding the right writers for your agency doesn't have to suck. If you avoid the biggest content creation pitfalls and figure out how to hire the right writers, you'll be creating rankable content in no time. In today's episode, we'll cover: 3 biggest content creation pitfalls. How to set-up your writers for success. 5 types of content that own SEO. Today, I talked with Paul Zalewski, VP of Marketing at Verblio — a content creation platform specifically for agencies. Paul experience spans from phone marketing to SEO and everything in between. Soon after taking the leap to digital marketing he was ranking #1 on Google for "stop junk mail" and helping businesses get high SERP. Today, he's working with Verblio to bring content to agencies around the world and he's here today to share strategies for ramping up your agency's content creation. 3 Biggest Content Creation Pitfalls Over time, Paul's seen some common pitfalls in content creation when agencies make while working with clients. 1. Not doing your homework. Make sure you pour through their existing content and really define their tone, style, and the types of buzzwords their niche uses. There's a big difference between a tech(y) blog that's informative and filled with block-style paragraphs and a quick-burst super casual tone, like mine. Make sure you hone in on the way your client wants their content structured. 2. Set expectations. This is huge! Content creation is an ongoing process. Your clients are going to have to be involved sometimes, and they need to understand how content ranking works - we know you don't jump to the #1 Google spot overnight, but do they know that? Education is huge. 3. Set up long-term success. Align your agency's goals with the client's goals. What does success look like to both parties? Everyone needs to know what the process looks like from start-to-end. This means you may have to explain some SEO functions to your clients and you have to make sure you're both using the same metrics to define success. How to Set-Up Your Writers for Success Whether your agency handles content in-house or outsources it, finding a way to communicate your goals to the writer can be tough. At Verblio, all of Paul's writers are required to do a ton of research before they tackle client projects. Any time you're hiring in-house or outsourcing your content creation needs, make sure that your working with someone who is willing to put in the time and energy. Writers need to be able to really think about the skeleton of the work they're creating (intent, CTA, tone, style, etc.) and being able to communicate those goals to the writer will set you up for success. Paul has hired over 3,000 writers in his career, and his most important qualifier is: writers need to be able to write for digital. You want to know that your writer has some skill, can make boring content engaging, and has some expertise in your subject matter. Is it easier to teach a writer to be a marketer or a marketer to be a writer? Neither! Hire one that knows both. 5 Types of Content That Own SEO We know you might already know this... but what's ranking best these days. Long form content or even a book. Don't expect everyone to read the entire thing, but pillar content is ranking right now. Video creatives — especially if you're leveraging social media! Don't just post a video, but add an SEO-rich description. Audio content (like our podcast) — again, don't just throw audio out there, but instead, add something like these show notes :) Recycled content! Do you have any old posts sitting around that were killer content pieces for you in the past? Revamp them into some new fresh content - here's a strategy to follow. With that said, you can ignore #1-4 if you've already found the high ranking content that works best for you and/or your clients. Make content that works for you. Don't stress over following all these lists of "Top Tips" or you just might end up with best practices overload!