4 steps to outsource your blog

After Monday’s post outlining some of the benefits of outsourcing your content marketing, I received several surprised reactions and comments, mainly they didn’t even know they could outsource their blog.  Here’s where we are:

• You know you should have an active company blog
• You know why you should have an active company blog
• You know now that you can outsource your blog

Now here’s how to outsource your blog.  The first thing to remember is that outsourcing your content creation is just like outsourcing anything else. At the end of the day, it’s going to have your name on it, so there is no “set it and forget it”, and it requires a plan. Here are the 4 steps towards outsourcing your blog.

1. Create and agree on a plan and create a content publishing calendar, keeping in mind any seasonal events. Here’s a thorough write up of how & why to maintain a content marketing calendar.
• Topics – create “buckets” of types of content, for example events, team, product, support, etc.
• Frequency – every day, 2-3/week, once a week, once a month? Choose, and stick to it.
• Length – For SEO purposes, at least 300-500 words per post. Measure and see if your audience prefers short (300-350 words) vs. long form posts, and adjust accordingly.
• Images – photos, infographics, marketing images? Who will create them?
2. Determine an editing / publishing process, meaning who will review each post prior to publication, and the iteration process for each post. Remember: nothing is perfect the first time around. Everything needs edits. Google Docs makes a great collaboration tool, and it’s safe: nobody can accidentally hit “Publish”!
3. Tell your story, while we listen, ask questions, record, and take notes, for 1 hour once a week. Yes, you could go on for days because this story is your dream and vision, but this is your time, and the purpose of outsourcing is to save your time. 
4. Begin publishing, according to your agreed-upon content calendar.

There it is, your simple 4-step process to outsourcing the creation of your most powerful and reusable marketing content. After a few weeks (every case is different), you should be able to trim down to 30-45 minutes per week. Make this time part of your weekly rhythm. You should work towards having at least your first 30 days of content ready to publish, because life happens.