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Chapter 11

Content Staffing

None of us is as smart as all of us.

KEN BLANCHARD

In almost every interview with entrepreneurs who employed a Content Inc. strategy, there was no team. It was just the lone entrepreneur trying to get a business started. This was certainly the case with me and Content Marketing Institute. The same with Brian Clark and Copyblogger Media. The same with the Chicken Whisperer and with Michelle Phan, the makeup millionaire.

But for the platform to work beyond a hobby-based business and blossom into a growth company, scalability is key. That means you need a team to get you to the next level.

CONTENT ROLES

“What staffing roles do we need to be successful with a Content Inc. approach?” I hear this question all the time in companies of all sizes. It’s a critical question, and one that is not easy to plan for … but plan we must.

While there is no perfect structure for a Content Inc. organization, and each one is different depending on the audience and the content niche, we need to think about filling certain roles now so that success is attainable.

Note: Don’t think of the list below as new job titles, per se, but rather as the core competencies that need to be accounted for across the enterprise. As you’ll see, many of these “roles” can be filled by multiple titles.

Chief Content Officer (aka Founder)

This is most likely you. This person is responsible for setting the overall editorial and content mission statement. As every staff member works to create and curate content, it is the CCO’s responsibility to make sure that the stories remain consistent and make sense to the audience(s).

In addition, the CCO must understand how the stories translate into results that address the organization’s business issues (driving new subscribers, keeping current subscribers, leading the way to revenue, etc.).

Sample titles: chief content officer, founder, owner, CEO, publisher

Managing Editor

Half storyteller and half project manager, the managing editor executes the content plan on behalf of the CCO. Whereas the CCO focuses on strategy (and some content), the managing editor’s job is all execution, working with the roles below to make the stories come alive (including content scheduling).

Sample titles: managing editor, chief editor, project manager

Chief Listening Officer

The role of the CLO is to function as “air-traffic control” for social media and other content channels. This person is there to listen to the groups, maintain the conversation, and route (and/or notify) feedback to the team members who can engage in appropriate conversations (to you, to editorial, or perhaps to the sales team). This feedback mechanism is critical if the content is going to make a difference for your customers. The CLO also needs to keep tabs on how the content is performing on owned media sites (like a blog) and get that intelligence back to the CCO and managing editor.

Sample titles: social media manager, community manager

Director of Audience

This person is charged with monitoring the members of your audience, making sure all content creators are intimately familiar with their characteristics, their passion triggers, and the actions you want them to take. The director of audience is also responsible for building subscription assets (direct mail lists, e-mail lists, social media subscriptions) that can grow and be segmented as your content mission matures and expands.

Sample titles: audience development manager, circulation manager, subscription manager Channel Master

Wherever your content is headed (social media, e-mail, mobile, print, in person, etc.), the channel master is responsible for getting the most out of each channel. What works best on SlideShare? When should you send your e-mails, and how frequently? What’s the appropriate ratio of owned versus curated content your business should distribute on Twitter? Who is keeping track of mobile strategy and execution? Your team will look to the channel master for these and other answers.

Sample titles: managing editor, marketing director, social media manager, e-media manager Chief Technologist

As marketing and information technology continue to merge, there will be a need for at least one individual (maybe more) whose sole purpose is to leverage the proper use of these technologies into the content marketing process. The person in this role will be responsible for your publishing systems (the plumbing) such as your website infrastructure and e-mail systems and how they integrate together.

Sample titles: e-media manager, IT manager, web services manager

Creative Director

The design and look of your content is more critical than ever, especially as visual social channels become an increasingly important method to attract and retain subscribers. The creative director is responsible for the overall look and feel of all your content, including the website, blog, images, photography, and every other piece of collateral you create.

Sample titles: creative director, graphic design manager

Influencer Relations

The role formerly known as media relations will evolve into that of a manager of influencers. This person’s responsibilities include developing your “hit list” of influencers, maintaining direct relationships with them, and integrating them into your marketing process in the most impactful ways.

Sample titles: public relations manager, media manager, marketing director, communications manager Freelancer and Agency Relations

As content demands continue to evolve (and increase), your organization’s reliance on freelance talent and other external content vendors will grow as well. Organizations need to cultivate their own “expert” content teams and networks, and it is this person’s job to negotiate rates and responsibilities so that all members of your team are united in their work on behalf of your Content Inc. program.

Sample titles: managing editor, project manager

Content Curation Director

As you begin to develop content assets, you’ll have some amazing opportunities to repackage and repurpose your content (more on that in Chapter 13). The role of the content curation director is to continually look at all the content assets being developed by the organization and strategize ways to create new pieces of content from them.

Sample titles: social media director, content curation specialist, content director Content Curation Case Study: Dwell

In 2014, I keynoted the Niche CEO Summit alongside some amazing publishers, including Michela O’Connor Abrams, president of Dwell Media. If you are not familiar with Dwell, it evolved from a small, niche print magazine focused on design to a fast-growing multimedia design brand.

Under Michela’s leadership, the company became one of the top websites in the world, with nearly 300,000 paid magazine subscribers and with social media audience numbers that would make you blush (including over 500,000 followers on Twitter). Sure, the company has struggled, like all of us have, making changes in how it creates and distributes content. But it was one change that, Michela noted, made all the difference.

She Hired a Chief Content Curator

Content curation, for the most part, involves taking other people’s content (let’s call this OPC) and adding to it, enhancing it, and/or giving it a new context or perspective so that it evolves into a new piece of content. CMI played a role in this concept by defining content curation as: Content curation is a means by which we either supplement or promote our brand’s point of view to our specific audiences within the context of how the “world” is talking about that particular topic.

While content curation with a focus on OPC is important, the content curation technique that took Dwell to the next level is focused on internal assets—that is, curating content that Dwell had already created.

Dwell tasked this content curation person with gaining a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of all the current content assets owned by the organization (i.e., no outside content gets factored in). Starting with a full-blown content audit, the curator who holds this position ultimately takes responsibility for: • Understanding the content assets available to work with, including textual content, imagery, and audio content • Effectively tagging, categorizing, and coordinating these materials into a data asset management system • Working with the content marketing team on a clear channel plan

• Developing and executing a content curation strategy by using existing resources Once the content is organized and there is a process in place for continual asset placement and management (including making sure those assets are easily findable), the curator can begin to fill needed gaps in the overall editorial calendar without having to spend money creating new content.

How does this work? Just a quick look at Dwell’s Twitter feed shows example after example of stories and images culled from archived stories.

When content is tagged correctly and the curator can start to spot themes, new content packages emerge (such as the design images featuring “party pads,” all coming from different issues over the past years).

Michela believes that the secret (or now, not so secret) recipe to Dwell’s recent success has been this newfound role.

OUTSOURCING YOUR CONTENT TO FREELANCERS

You may find that you need help developing ongoing content—or that you need additional content producers to keep up with the speed and quality of production.

How do you go about finding good external content contributors (sometimes called “stringers”)? Should you look for a good writer and teach him or her your business? Or should you hire someone who knows your industry and teach him or her to write? The following are a few tips to consider:

Remember that expertise is helpful, but it’s not a deal killer. Given the choice between a good writer who has a personality that closely matches your organization (but who is short on industry expertise) and an industry veteran who knows how to write but with whom you can’t stand to be in the same room, go with the personality. Chemistry and personality are things that are entirely hard to change; research is a skill that can be taught—passion isn’t.

Hire right—copywriters, journalists, technical writers. Because you’ve spent so much time on your strategy and your process, you should be very aware of what kind of writer you’re looking for. Understand that copywriters work very differently and have very different sensibilities than journalists do. If you’re looking for someone to write blog posts for you, a copywriter might not be your best bet. On the other hand, if you’re looking for someone to beef up your persuasive call to action for all the great white papers you’re putting together, then a great copywriter may be exactly what you need.

Develop the right business relationship. Understand the elements of your business relationship, and make them clear. For example, will there be one content item per week—and will your writer be paid a monthly fee? If so, how will you handle months that have 4½ weeks? Will there be an extra post that week? Given the size of your organization, you need to make clear the invoicing and payment terms—or understand what the writer needs. Also be clear on expectations. There should be no surprises such as blog posts suddenly becoming 1,000 words when they’re supposed to be 750 … or content themes going wildly off topic.

Here are some of the things you’ll need to communicate to your freelance writers: What content they will produce and where it falls on the content calendar. (Be very specific when drafts are due.) The goals for their specific contributions (both your goals and the outcome for the audience).

What expertise or other third-party information they will need access to. (Will they be interviewing internal people, bringing in external information, or reworking your existing material?) Your budget (per piece, hourly, retainer, or barter).

The number of revisions for each piece.

There are also a number of excellent services out there that can help you find the right content provider. Some to consider include: Scripted

Zerys

Upwork

NewsCred

Contently

Writer Access

BUDGETING FACTORS

In the near publishing past, freelancers used to get paid $1 per word. This still remains true for high-quality and unique content, like that for research reports and white papers. For article content, some services will price your content as low as 5 cents per word.

Word of warning: You usually get what you pay for. At CMI, we’ve found the most success in the retainer model—that is, working with a freelancer on a number of content assets over a period of time and then paying a monthly fee for the work. This arrangement is usually appreciated by both sides. The business can budget more easily with a set number, and the freelancer doesn’t have to count words. After all, a piece of content should only be as long as it needs to be, so why set a limit? (A range should be just fine.)

TEST FIRST

With a large supply of writers in the workforce, there is no need to start with a long-term relationship. Test a writer out with a few stories, and see how that works. Ask yourself: Is the person’s writing style to your expectations? Does he or she deliver on time? Is the person actively sharing the content via his or her own social network? (This is very important.) Once the writer has met your expectations in these areas, then set out on a long-term deal. I’ve seen too many marketers and publishers get their “rock star” freelancers, only to kill the deal a few months later with neither party happy. Test the person out first so you don’t waste your time.

TRY FLEECING THE MASTHEAD

Remember the masthead? It was that place where you found all the writers, editors, and circulation managers that worked at a print magazine. Today mastheads are harder to locate, but they still exist. And once found, they can be extremely useful to your model—you just need to know how to use them.

Opening up the leading trade magazine or visiting a website in your niche and finding the masthead is a gold mine for competent writers. These writers (many part-time) not only understand your customer base but can formulate relevant and original content in a skilled way.

Besides writers, the masthead also lists editors who can help turn your raw content into an engaging story.

The masthead also provides information on your audience. It shows circulation and the publishing roles responsible for circulation development, audience building, and subscriber generation. (Note: Another great place to get information about customer demographics is the publication’s media kit.) This can help in targeting subscribers, building relationships, and ultimately getting people to buy from you.

Design needs? Check the masthead for that as well.

And the timing couldn’t be better. At many media companies and trade publishers, the business models aren’t working so well. Raises are harder to come by these days. That leaves the door wide open for you and your business.

BEFORE YOU HIRE

The majority of our CMI staff is built from contractors. These are people that want flexible hours, are looking for options for their life, and do not necessarily want to work 40 hours a week. What we’ve found is that there is amazing talent out there with individuals that are looking for this kind of flexibility.

When I started in the media business 15 years ago, we contracted with creative designers and freelance journalists from all over the world. We had to do this to find the best resources to complete a particular project.

A lot of owners want their employees doing all the content tasks without worrying about them working for other companies. They feel it is critical to building their company culture. This may work for some, but the cream of the crop in the media industry want more opportunity. A 1099 relationship works well in most cases. For our business, and in a few very important situations, we would not be able to hire the right talent without this type of flexibility.

CONTENT INC. INSIGHTS

As a start-up, the majority of content roles must be completed by one or two people. As you grow, determine the more basic jobs at first and begin to outsource those, freeing you to focus on higher-value activities.

Curating the content you’ve already created could be the key to keeping your budget under control.

The most amazing writers and designers in your industry can be found by reviewing the mastheads of your industry trade publications.

Before you hire, consider working with a freelance content contributor in a contractor relationship. It will save you much pain if it doesn’t work out.