15-Step Content Writing Plan to Build a Large, Loyal Audience

How to optimize your content to rank for the right readers and transform your brand into a trusted authority.

With every passing week, you feel like your digital marketing content could be performing better. 

Your webpages are slipping further and further into Google’s search page number 2, 3, 8, 9… 

Your blog is just an outdated ball and chain to the rest of your site. You and your team drag your feet every time you have to sit down and write “something.” 

Other companies are ranking well. Their success seems to grow exponentially as they do less and less work to gain traction. 

Yes, creating great content writing can seem like a monstrous task. But if you want to stay relevant, you need meaningful words imprinted into the digital marketplace.

As a marketing writer, I help my clients build out their content writing into something that is profitable and evergreen. 

Use this guide as your “content marketing planner.” It will walk you through how to generate content writing ideas, when to share them and how to get noticed by SERPs and your readers. 

This content writing strategy plan aims to set you up for timeless content that can serve your business for decades to come. 

There’s Content, and Then There’s Content Writing

Full disclosure: I’m a copywriter and content marketing writer. My expertise is words, so I’m going to stick to that.

For the purposes of this article, we won’t be talking about videos or podcasts, although script writing is in my wheelhouse. 

So, mainly we’ll be talking about how to optimize and leverage powerful content writing via blogs, articles, guides, case studies and more. 

We also won’t be talking about direct conversion copywriting, because that’s covered in a different guide. 

Read this: 16-Step Copywriting Plan to Supercharge Multichannel Conversions

There Are Content Writers, and Then There Are Copywriters

If you need to brush up on the difference between copywriting and content writing, click here. 

There are plenty of highly-skilled content writers who know how to maximize your blogs and articles. 

However, if you want more bang for your buck, consider hiring a copywriter (AKA marketing writer) for your team. 

Writers with marketing and conversion experience will write content that serves the larger goals in your overall marketing strategy. 

Your writers need to know how to leverage SEO keywords, remain concise and conversate with your audience. Copywriters are perfect for that. 

And these all-stars don’t come cheap!

But remember: High-quality writing is a long-term investment that you can use over and over again. Once you have it, it’s yours forever! 

15-Step Content Writing Guide to Grow a Loyal Audience

Here is a sample content writing strategy plan with estimated timelines for each task. This strategy is just one way to roll out digital marketing content. For a more personalized plan, contact me.  

Once the content is created, you’ll need a few weeks (or more) to be able to analyze how well it’s working. 

Be patient. Knockout content writing is coming - and it will be ready to work for you!

Step #1 Know Your Solution

Before you can begin finding blog topics, you need to review the solutions that you provide for your customers - not necessarily your readers - your customers. 

Any business hoping to get conversions from their blog needs to structure their content around their business strategy. 

Read this: 16-Step Copywriting Plan to Supercharge Conversions

What kind of information do you need for this? Deep dive into how your product or service enhances the lives of your customers. Things to consider:

What problems can you solve? 

What do customers need from you?

What is your unique selling proposition (USP)?

In what ways is your product or service commonly used? What about uncommonly used?

If you adopt a business mindset from the start, you’re going to do great!  

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

Marketing writers need this information upfront before they start writing. As a copywriter, I often schedule a kickoff call to gain insight about marketing goals. 

To be honest, if you don’t know the real goals behind your content and copy, it’s a shot in the dark. 

Estimated turnaround: 1-2 weeks (if creating a larger branding guide) 

Step #2 Establish Your Path

Once you’re really clear on your core principles - like product solution and USP - it’s time to think about what you really want to accomplish with your content writing. 

Common Content Marketing Goals

Brand awareness and/or reinforcement

Lead nurturing

Brand loyalty

Customer loyalty and/or retention

Talent recruitment

Now, you may be thinking, “But I want to increase traffic and CTR! Where does that fit in?”

For sustainable success, your content marketing goals should be based on what is beneficial for your company and your customers. 

After all, one way to increase traffic and CTR is to write a headline like, “See naked women here!”

You’ll get traffic and clicks, but it won’t be meaningful to your business… unless you’re in the adult entertainment industry, I suppose.  

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

A skilled marketing writer can help you choose the best goals for your brand. 

They’ll steer you in the right direction. As in, away from clicks and towards customers. Away from traffic and towards a loyal target audience.  

It’s best to establish a few different goals and rank them according to importance. These goals will serve as the guiding light as you roll out awesome, strategic content writing. 

Estimated turnaround: 1-3 weeks (if creating the marketing strategy plan)

Step #3 Get to Know Your Readers

Just like step #1 in my 16-Step Copywriting Guide to Multichannel Conversions, it’s imperative that you know your audience inside and out. 

Brands who spend time investigating the ins and outs of their readers’ lives - family structure, hobbies, challenges, health, favorite channels - get the most attention on their blogs and articles.    

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

Copywriters ask for this information all the time when they write copy. So, if you hire a copywriter to write your content, they’ll ask for this information by default. 

Great copywriters can’t write a word until they know who they’re talking to! 

Estimated turnaround: 1-3 weeks (if part of a larger branding guide)

Step #4 Create Your FAQ Page

Here’s a quick and easy task to check off the list! Want a helpful page that answers questions and gets picked up by Google? Add a FAQ page! This is where you can literally type out exactly what your audience is asking online. SERPs love FAQs. 

Your site visitors can gain a lot from the FAQ page. Plus, you can always take each FAQ and create an entire blog post about it. 

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

You could create this page without a professional writer. However, you may miss out on some great opportunities. 

Marketing writers have a unique ability to think about what information will be helpful to your readers. 

Not only will the questions fit your audience, but the answers can help funnel them to different parts of the site. 

Show readers a related blog post. Let them get to know the CEO on the about page. Or more importantly, get a conversion.    

Marketing writers also have a way with words, so your FAQ page will be extremely easy to read. 

Estimated turnaround: Less than 1 week

Step #5 Hunt for Content Topic Ideas

There’s really no right way or wrong way to explore topic ideas for your blog. Consider hiring a SEO expert or content marketing consultant. 

I recommend checking out Neil Patel’s free courses and content. He offers tools and strategies to help you identify blog topics that your audience needs - while also making sure they’re easy to rank for. 

Places to Hunt

Social media

Google search bar (start typing a phrase and see what is suggested)

Competitors

Forums and chat rooms

Customer surveys

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

A savvy marketing writer can help with topic creation, especially if they know your marketing goals. I’ll talk more about this in step #7.

They will also have tips and tricks for naming and structuring the articles. For example, numbered lists or FAQ-style subtitles work wonders on click rates and skimmability. 

Estimated turnaround: 1-4 weeks

Step #6 Recycle and Upcycle

Do you have existing content that is already working - or at least - outranks the rest of your content? No need to reinvent the wheel. Spruce up your existing blogs to get started with… something!

Freshening up your content writing can be the difference between 40 people reading it and 400,000! 

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

A marketing writer can completely transform a monotone blog post into an insanely useful “how-to” guide or “best of” list. Something that wows your readers and gives them real value. 

While some blogs may have to be completely rewritten, anything that is currently performing “okay” on your site should be analyzed.  

Estimated turnaround: Less than 1 week per blog

Step #7 Identify Intent

SEO keywords are important, but the intent of those SEO keywords is even more important. 

Within a single target audience, you may have people who need blogs and articles covering different topics and different angles, namely:

Basic education about a topic

Exploring several options

Comparing products head to head

How to make the most out of a product

Thought leadership

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

Copywriters are trained to know what terms work for people who are at different stages in the customer journey. 

For example, if you want to target people who are ready to buy, certain keywords can highlight that intent. "Benefits of treadmills" indicates an intent to learn. “Best treadmills under $1000" indicates intent to buy. 

Estimated turnaround: 1-2 weeks for research and planning

Step #8 Build Ideas, Break Them and Branch Them

Once you intimately understand the needs, questions and intentions of your audience, it’s time to build content writing topics!

Now is a great time to dive deep into SEO keywords that are applicable to these topics. An SEO analyst can help you weigh search volume with your chances of ranking. 

I like to use Ubersuggest. It’s a tool that displays great data about a keyword you are considering. Check it out!

Gather all the information you can as you build concrete article topics. Create large topic umbrellas and subtopics. Within each category, determine if more blogs could be created to cover a very specific idea. String all topics together in a logical web. 

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

You could get lots of content idea creation done yourself, but it may be worth it to have your writer take a look. 

A marketing writer will take into account the customer journey. For example, an education article could then link to an interest article that has a soft CTA for your product or service.

Remember to always center your content strategy around your overarching marketing objectives!

Estimated turnaround: 1-2 weeks for an in-depth content tree 

Step #9 Build a Content Marketing Plan

Even though you may want to jump straight to creating your content, don’t. 

Do the content marketing plan first. I promise, it will save you so much time and energy if you get the plan done and then the writing. 

Your content marketing plan can be as in-depth or as brief as you’d like. Very in-depth content planners cover topics over the course of a year. They may also include these other components:

Content writing goals

Target audience research

Content idea trees

Social media strategy

Email marketing strategy 

Headlines and subheads

Measurements of success

Current analytics

Editorial calendars

Deadlines and schedules

Read this: How Often Should You Post on Your Blog?

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

A content marketing plan is no small task! It compiles all the information we’ve discussed thus far and strategizes it all synergistically.

If you hire a copywriter, they can create the plan. Otherwise, a content marketing manager can do so as well. 

Estimated turnaround: 3-8 weeks (depending on the depth of detail needed) 

Step #10 Write, Write, Write, Edit

Great blog content for digital marketing won’t write itself.

It’s insanely important to meet deadlines and stay consistent with posting - especially if you’re going to keep dates on your blog post. 

Make sure to think about holidays and other big events that you could tie into a new blog post. 

And when something unexpected happens, like a new pandemic, crank out some new posts within a few days. This shows you’re interested and involved in the real world. 

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

To get your content written and published into cyberspace. That’s why! 

Since there are so many ways to manipulate your content for SEO, SERPs, UX and all the other marketing acronyms, I highly suggest having an expert content writer (or copywriter) craft your content.

Plus, imagine all the time and energy you’d save… Delegation makes dreams happen!

Estimated turnaround: Less than 1 week per blog post

Step #11 Optimize Your Links

Here is one missed opportunity that - I believe - could be holding you back from getting the clicks and conversions you’re hoping for. 

Optimizing your links. 

So you have the blog created, but there is still more writing to do. To rank on Google, it’s essential that you spend time optimizing your article’s title, URL and meta description. What is that?

When you do a Google search, you’ll see a long list of entries pop up with a blue title, URL and description. These components also show up when you share a blog link on social media. 

If you don’t do anything to the title, URL and meta description, it’s often automatically generated. 

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

Treat blog link optimization like a “mini ad” for your article. What can you (or your writer) say to entice people to click? 

The title should thoughtfully complement your SEO strategy. And no, it doesn’t have to match the title on your blog. 

The URL should include the main keywords you want to rank for. 

The meta description should have the right character count so nothing gets cut off with “...” Here is your chance to really sell this piece! 

Estimated turnaround: A few minutes per blog post 

Step #12 Post It

Phew. Okay, now you’ve got some content created and published to your site. 

Now it’s time to blast it wherever possible. I suggest starting on your social media profiles by doing a simple, free post. 

Have your writer create a social media post to go along with this new, shiny article. 

If you want to really flex, create several versions of the social post so you can recycle it in a few months, only with a spin. 

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

Even if the article is really awesome, people on social media need a compelling social post to get them to click. 

In order to keep your messaging and brand voice consistent, I would recommend having your writers create this content. 

It will have a better chance of getting attention on your socials and a higher CTR.

Estimated turnaround: Less than 1 day for a social post

Step #13 Spice Up Your Emails

Establishing an email marketing campaign is a great way to automate lead nurturing and lead generation. 

While you may already have a promotional email funnel to sell your products, an educational, non-salesy newsletter is perfect for your readers. 

If you already have an email list where too many people unsubscribe, it would be a breath of fresh air to send them something valuable, entertaining, educational or inspirational. And not even mention that you want to sell something. 

Luckily, since you now have a library of great content, take advantage of it. You can link to the articles, highlight a small section in your email or generate complementary topics.   

Regardless, a robust email program will create a pool of loyal readers who are ready to see your content every single week!

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

Not only will hiring a writer save you tons of time and work, you’ll likely get better email open rates and less unsubscriptions. 

Copywriters are highly skilled in email marketing. From subject line testing to optimizing the UX from email to other channels, it’s a total skill. 

They can even throw in extra branding and soft promotions into your newsletter. While the goal will still be to nurture your audience, there are plenty of ways to warm them up for conversions too. 

Estimated turnaround: 2-4 weeks or ongoing

Step #14 Prove Yourself

Now that great content is rolling in consistently, you can discover new ways to “dial up” the conversion heat a little more. 

After all, wouldn’t it be great if some of your readers poked around your site to learn more about your products and services? 

What information do they need to know in order to tip the scale from reader to buyer?

After reading your content writing, they know you’re an authority in this field. Now, you have to prove that your products and services are working for people. 

Content That Provides Proof

Case studies

Testimonials

Reviews

Infographics

Success stories

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

Everything listed above can fall into content writing. For the most compelling content, a professional writer will know how to spin these pieces into exactly what a potential customer needs to hear. 

While you can’t completely manipulate a testimonial, many can be cleaned up or shortened to hit on the most important information. 

Soon enough, you’ll have a collection of “proof” that your products and services are worth the buy. 

Estimated turnaround: 1-2 weeks per project 

Step #15 Analyze the Stats

Congratulations! You’ve done tons of work to create spectacular brand content writing. 

Now it’s time to analyze how your content performs across all channels. 

But don’t do it too soon! SEO needs at least a few weeks to generate any kind of useful data. 

Some of the other channels, like social media, can be analyzed sooner. But, it’s best to compare longitudinal data in regards to time of posting, frequency and type of engagement with several posts.

Don’t forget about your email content! You can get great insights from individual emails and the newsletter as a whole. 

Why Hire a Marketing Writer for This? 

Similarly to copywriting analysis, it’s very helpful for a writer to see how their content is performing. 

If you want to keep the same writers, they’ll need to know what’s working and what isn’t. If you're hiring new writers, showing analytics can help them outperform existing content. 

Including your writers in this research saves everyone time. You’re paying for content that you know will work, and they’re writing more efficiently.

Estimated turnaround: Less than 1 week

Ready to Create Something Magical?

It’s a ton of work to optimize your content writing to the fullest, but the excellent exposure and brand building is priceless. 

Luckily, once you have a library of stellar content, you can reuse it over and over and over again. Great content never expires. 

Anxious to start leveraging content writing in digital marketing? To get started with this content marketing plan, contact me!