Content Marketing Scaling: Strategies for Success

Content marketing scaling can be a challenging endeavour, especially when maintaining quality alongside an increase in volume. Many businesses struggle with finding the balance between producing high-quality content and increasing their output. This guide will walk you through how to scale content marketing effectively, drawing on key principles and strategies that successful brands have used to achieve growth without sacrificing quality.

Step #1: Break Down the Content Creation Process into Small Tasks

The first step to scaling content marketing is understanding that content creation is not a single, straightforward process. It consists of various smaller tasks, each of which requires a specific focus and expertise. For many, writing content might seem like a one-step task, but in reality, it involves several stages such as research, drafting, editing, and refining.

Breaking down each stage into smaller, manageable tasks achieves a more efficient workflow. For example, the research process can be handled by one team member, while another focuses on drafting the content. This division of labour helps ensure that each part of the process receives adequate attention, leading to a smoother content creation cycle. Additionally, this approach enables more efficient scaling by distributing the workload among team members rather than relying on one person.

Step #2: Content Marketing Scaling: Build a Structured Content Calendar

Creating a detailed and structured content calendar is crucial for any content marketing strategy, especially when scaling. A content calendar helps keep track of deadlines, content themes, and publishing schedules. Without it, managing multiple content pieces at various stages of production becomes a logistical nightmare.

A content calendar should not just list upcoming articles but also account for each step in the content creation process. This includes identifying research deadlines, drafting, editing, and even post-production tasks such as SEO optimisation and social media promotion. Use tools like Notion, Monday.com, or Google Sheets to build an organised calendar, track each task, and ensure you don’t miss any steps along the way.

Having an organised system is vital for scaling, as it prevents confusion and helps maintain consistency across all content pieces. A well-structured content calendar also allows teams to work more efficiently and plan for future content needs.

Step #3: Plan Content Ahead for 6-9 Months

One of the most effective ways to scale content marketing is to plan ahead. By organising content for the next six to nine months, businesses can avoid the stress and pressure that often accompanies last-minute content creation. Planning ahead allows the team to focus on producing high-quality content and gives ample time for research and refinement.

When planning, it is essential to consider seasonal trends, upcoming events, and market changes. This ensures that content remains relevant and timely. Additionally, having a long-term content plan enables the team to batch tasks like keyword research and brainstorming, making the entire process more efficient. This method not only improves the quality of content but also allows for better resource allocation.

While long-term planning is essential, it’s also important to remain flexible. Trends and consumer interests can change rapidly, and it’s crucial to be able to adapt the content plan when necessary.

Step #4: Content Marketing Scaling: Develop Comprehensive Briefs for Each Post

After establishing the long-term plan, you need to ensure that you carefully plan each individual piece of content. Detailed content briefs are a must for any successful content marketing campaign. A brief acts as a guide for the writer, outlining the primary and secondary keywords, the target audience, and the main objectives of the article.

Creating comprehensive briefs helps to set expectations and ensures that the writer understands the purpose of the content. This clarity leads to more focused and effective content. When creating a brief, it’s important to provide guidance on tone, structure, and any key points that need to be addressed. Some brands even use tools like ChatGPT or Frase to analyse current ranking content and suggest potential angles for their pieces.

Briefs also serve as a reference point during the editing process, ensuring that the content aligns with the brand’s goals and messaging.

Step #5: Outline Articles Before Writing

Outlining articles before beginning the writing process is a crucial step in content creation. Outlining gives the content a roadmap, covering all relevant points and ensuring the article flows logically. This is particularly important when scaling, as it helps maintain consistency across a large number of articles.

A good outline breaks down the content into sections, identifying key points and supporting arguments. It helps writers stay on track and ensures they cover all important points. Editors can use outlines to provide early feedback, aligning both the writer and editor before starting the writing process.

By taking the time to outline, the writing process becomes more efficient, and the final product is often more polished and cohesive.

Step #6: Provide the Team with Helpful Resources

Scaling content marketing is not just about increasing the number of articles produced; it’s also about maintaining consistency and quality. To do this, businesses need to provide their content teams with the right resources. This includes style guides, content checklists, and evaluation tools that help ensure content meets the desired standards.

Style guides are essential for maintaining a consistent tone and voice across all content. They should cover everything from grammar and formatting to SEO best practices and tone of voice. Content checklists help writers ensure they’ve covered all the necessary points before submitting their drafts, reducing the need for extensive revisions.

Some brands even use evaluation tools to score content on various criteria, such as structure, tone, and SEO optimisation. These tools make it easier to provide constructive feedback and ensure continuous improvement.

Step #7: Invest in Quality Editors

Good editors are essential for scaling content marketing. Even the most experienced writers benefit from an extra pair of eyes to catch errors and refine the content. Editors ensure that each piece is polished, on-brand, and free of mistakes. They also help maintain consistency across multiple writers, ensuring that the content remains cohesive.

When hiring editors, it’s important to find individuals who not only have strong editing skills but also understand the brand’s voice and industry. This allows them to provide valuable feedback and ensure that the content aligns with the company’s goals.

While hiring editors may seem like an additional expense, it’s an investment that pays off in the long run. Good editors help maintain quality, reduce the number of revisions needed, and improve the overall efficiency of the content creation process.

Step #8: Hire Domain Experts or Train Writers with SMEs

As your content output increases, it’s important to maintain subject matter expertise. Hiring domain experts can be an effective way to do this. Domain experts bring first-hand knowledge of the topic and can provide insights that generalist writers may miss. However, finding experts who are also skilled writers can be a challenge.

One alternative is to hire talented writers and pair them with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for guidance. SMEs can provide the necessary technical knowledge, while the writer focuses on crafting engaging and accessible content. This collaboration ensures that the content is both accurate and well-written.

This strategy can also be applied internally. If your company has employees who are experts in certain areas, consider involving them in the content creation process. They can provide insights and ensure the accuracy of the content, even if they’re not directly responsible for writing it.

Step #9: Trial New Writers with Paid Tests

When scaling content marketing, it’s likely that you’ll need to bring new writers on board. To ensure they are a good fit, consider starting with a limited paid trial. This allows both the company and the writer to assess whether they are compatible without committing to a long-term arrangement right away.

In a paid trial, you ask the writer to produce one or two articles and then evaluate them for quality, adherence to guidelines, and responsiveness to feedback. During this trial period, it’s important to provide detailed feedback to help the writer improve. If the writer shows potential, they can be brought on for more work.

The trial period lets businesses spot skilled writers and avoid hiring those who don’t fit well with the team.

Step #10: Content Marketing Scaling: Repurpose Content Across Multiple Platforms

One of the most effective ways to scale content without increasing workload is through repurposing. Repurposing involves taking existing content and adapting it for different formats or platforms. For example, you can turn a blog post into a video, infographic, podcast, or social media post.

Repurposing content allows businesses to maximise the value of their content and reach a wider audience. It also helps to keep the content fresh and relevant across different channels. However, it’s important to ensure that the repurposed content is tailored to the new format. For example, a blog post may need to be shortened or adapted to suit a video format.

By repurposing content, businesses can increase their output without significantly increasing the workload, making it an essential strategy for scaling content marketing.

Step #11: Continuously Improve and Optimise Content Processes

Scaling content marketing is an ongoing process that requires continuous improvement and optimisation. This means regularly reviewing the performance of your content, gathering feedback from team members and readers, and making adjustments as needed.

Metrics such as traffic, engagement, and SEO rankings can provide valuable insights into how well your content is performing. Use these metrics to identify areas for improvement and to refine your content strategy. For example, if certain types of content perform better than others, you may want to focus more on those topics.

Additionally, it’s important to update your content guidelines and processes regularly. This ensures that your team stays aligned with the latest best practices and that any new challenges are addressed in a timely manner.

Conclusion: Scaling Content Marketing with Efficiency and Quality

Scaling content marketing doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality. By breaking down the process into manageable steps, creating a structured content calendar, and investing in resources such as editors and domain experts, businesses can increase their output while maintaining high standards.

Repurposing content and continuously optimising your processes will also help ensure long-term success. Scaling content marketing is not about rushing to produce more; it’s about creating a sustainable and efficient system that allows for growth while maintaining the integrity of the brand.

Follow the steps outlined in this guide to scale your content marketing strategy effectively, ensuring you achieve both quality and quantity.