✍🏽 The Ultimate Guide for Content Creation in 2020

5 min readAug 6, 2020

In this journey, I’ll share with you all my secrets about the content creation process that I learned through the years of building communities around it.

Summary:

1. Define the content goals
2. Define your content marketing strategy/plan
3. Content Creation process
4. Measure content success
5. BONUS

1) DEFINE THE CONTENT GOALS

This is a rule of thumb, never create content without an end goal to it, it has to have a purpose and it has to be planned out ahead.

# Why content creation is important? (facts)

Content marketing generates more leads (traffic) at less cost.
Content === business growth
Increase in the ROI (return on investment)
Drive awareness
Build trust

# Analysis & discovery (Questions to ask before making content)

A) What is it for you & your tribe:

- Why are you creating content?
- Who is your target audience?
- What’s your added-value (benefit)?
- What will be your main KPIs?
- What problem does it solve?
- What impact does it give?
- What will be your outcome?
- How does it affect others?
- How can you differentiate? And what makes you stand out from your competitors?
- How can it build awareness?
- How can you effectively communicate your brand values?

B) What is it for the content itself:

- Who will produce your content?
- What will you use to distribute your content?
- How far out do you want to plan ahead?
- How often do you want to publish?
- How will you decide what to write about?
- How often will you revisit and tweak your strategy accordingly?

C) What is it for your audience/customers/potential clients:

- Why do your customers use your products/services?
- What does your audience like/want/love/get inspired by?
- What annoys/angers them?
- What are your customer’s needs?
- How can you nurture your readers’ needs and show them that you care?
- How can you effectively create a connection with potential customers?
- How can you maintain and strengthen relationships with your existing customers?

2) DEFINE YOUR CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY/PLAN

Now that you know why creating content is so important, the second thing to do is to plan it out with a good marketing strategy! and here are the steps to follow along

# Content marketing strategy

Define your SMART goals:
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, time-bounded
Market research (competitors analysis)
Buyer/Reader persona (target audience)
SWOT analysis:
Strength, weakness, opportunity & timing
Content inspiration (stealing like an artist)
Action plan

# Content planning

Posting & scheduling time
Editorial Calendar
Hashtags analysis
Define your standards (language, style, visual, guide)
Posting format:
Poster, story, image, video, article, mini-blog, email, Carousel, pdf/doc/sheet/slide/resource/file, link, simple written caption, podcast etc…

3) CREATION PROCESS

It’s time for the fun part! the creation phase.

# Terminology

A) Content principles:

## Type of information

Who you are / what you do [[Business]]
Added value [[Value]]
Engaging/community based [[Community]]
Behind the scenes (Be Human/You) [[Bts]]

## Distribution of information

Pillar/mainstream [Macro]
Chunks & pieces from the “pillar content” (repurposed) [Micro]
Chunks & pieces from the “pillar content” (repurposed) [Micro]

B) types of content:

Evergreen content [[Business]] [[Value]] [Macro] [Micro]
Promotional content [[Business]] [Macro]
Educational content [[Value]] [Macro] [Micro]
Inspirational content [[Value]] [Micro]
Communitive content [[Community]]
Custom / unique content [[BTS]]

C) Storytelling secrets & caption formula (Bonus):

“Stories are all about conflict”
— “The grandmaster”
“Subjective expectations meets objective reality”
— Robert McKee “Story”
“Normal — Explosion — New Normal”
— Kindra Hall
“Story delaying”
— Francis Glebas“Directing the story”
“Exaggerate & be melodramatic”
— Chris Do

Caption formula:

Catching title (bold)
Intro:
Give your readers a reason to keep reading, start the conflict
The hook:
Tell your story, make it entertaining and not expectable, give a problem to your readers they didn’t know they had
The outro:
Solve the problem (end of conflict) for your reader and give them high expectations about what’s next
Recap (optional)
Call to action/added-value:
a question or a teaser to follow up (what’s coming)
Promise for consistency & continuity

“Under Promise, Over Deliver”

# Ideating (ideation)

Brainstorming content ideas from keywords generation and SEO research
Finding unique content ideas

# Writing

Putting ideas, concepts & marketing plans into execution (deliverables)
Exposing your brand message and values to your tribe through your content
Finding a consistent writing flow

# Testing / Editing

A/B testing new content
Adapting new concepts & ideas
Changing what doesn’t work
Make it suitable for your audience

# Auditing (revising)

In case there is already existing content, An audit is necessary to take inventory of the work that’s already made, then organizing it to fit under a new content plan.

# Promoting

SEO & blogging
Social media
Paid & organic promotions & campaigns
Email marketing
Sponsorships, partnerships & affiliates
3rd party channels

4) MEASURE CONTENT SUCCESS

Measuring the success or failure of your content is a key factor if you want to improve your strategy & planning and also if you want to get paid for it you’ll have to master this step! here are the common measurement ways: