1. CONTENT PLANNING
FOR YOUR WORDPRESS SITE/BLOG
Cynthia Trevino
WordPress San Diego Community Meetup
August 23, 2011

2. AGENDA
• Why Website Content Counts
• Content Definitions
• 10 Steps to Content Planning
• Questions

3. WHY GREAT CONTENT COUNTS
• Posting unique content is one
of most cost-effective ways to
“get found” online
• Sharing your knowledge starts
customer relationships
• Supplying help/answers “with
no strings attached” makes
your site memorable to your
ideal customers
image: iStock

4. The quality + freshness of your website
content matters because you want to make money.

5. Endless customer choices
when searching for help:
Google, YouTube, Facebook, Bing, big
media sites, Forbes.com, Alltop, blogs,
forums...

6. AOL, NIELSEN STUDY, 2010: CONTENT IS THE FUEL OF THE SOCIAL WEB
http://advertising.aol.com/sites/default/files/webfm/research/research-reports/social-web/AOL_Social_Web.pdf

7. AOL, NIELSEN STUDY, 2010: CONTENT IS THE FUEL OF THE SOCIAL WEB
http://advertising.aol.com/sites/default/files/webfm/research/research-reports/social-web/AOL_Social_Web.pdf

8. WEBSITE CONTENT DEFINITIONS
Great content
• Captures visitors’ attention • Isrelevant to the “job they
need done”
• Provides accurate answers
• Informs + is accurate
• Adds value to visitor’s
search for help • Can be fun
• Engages

9. WEBSITE CONTENT DEFINITIONS
• Content marketing: using different types of valuable,
frequently-updated information to find customers
• Getting your site found by your ideal customers
• Building awareness for your products, services, brand
• Earning credibility + trust by sharing your expertise
• Winning customers by starting relationships
• Inspiring online sharing of your content

10. WEBSITE CONTENT DEFINITIONS
• Content types
• Blog posts, website articles, newsletters
• Frequently Asked Questions/Q&A
• White papers, eBooks
• Newsworthy press releases, customer experience stories
• Customer success stories, case studies
• How-to guides, cheat sheets, tips, tutorials

11. WEBSITE CONTENT DEFINITIONS
• Content formats: ways visitors can “consume” content on your
site or blog
• Text, pictures, graphs, charts
• Online video, YouTube videos, audio podcasts
• Archived “on demand” webinars
• PowerPoint

12. WEBSITE CONTENT DEFINITIONS
• Outbound marketing: Traditional, old school tactics for
stimulating awareness and finding customers. Interruption
marketing.
• Cold calling, telemarketing
• Print advertising
• Trade shows
• Junk mail, direct mail
• Buying or renting email lists

13. WEBSITE CONTENT DEFINITIONS
• Inbound marketing: Using valuable, original content to attract
your ideal customers to your website and/or blog
• Making your site/blog your online “hub”
• Developing fresh, high-quality content to win customers
• Linkingto your content-rich “hub” website or blog from
social media sites
image iStock

14. 10 STEPS TO CONTENT
PLANNING
FOR YOUR BLOG OR
WEBSITE

15. STEP 1: WHO IS YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER?
• Creating great content starts
with a rock-solid profile of
your ideal customer
• Develop a much deeper
understanding than... male,
40-60 years old
• Who do they follow?
• Children, favorite sites/
publications, education,
vacation spots...
image iStock

16. STEP 2: REFRESH YOUR KEYWORDS
• Research up-to-date industry terms your ideal customers
use
• Ask customers, prospects terms they use to search online
• Track top competitors’ keywords
• Stay on top of current big problems your customers face

17. STEP 3: DEVELOP YOUR “CALLS TO ACTION”
• Exactlywhat do you want visitors to do on your site/blog in
order for you to win the business?
• Sign-up for e-newsletter
• Fill out a lead form
• Call you
• Take a survey
• Download a piece of content in exchange for joining your
distribution list

18. STEP 4: REINFORCE YOUR CREDIBILITY
• Post customer success
stories using your products,
services
• One-up your competition’s
level of knowledge sharing
• Link to 3rd party sites
where your content is
published
image: Flickr, Sterling Grace Jewelry

19. STEP 5: FIND CUSTOMER-FRIENDLY TOPICS
• Call, talk
to at least 2 customers
every day
• Scan customer emails
• Identify
themes being discussed
at customers’ favorite social
media sites
• Think
about recent customer
conversations
image iStock

20. STEP 6: REPURPOSE EXISTING CONTENT
• Inventory
all information,
documents
• Refine content with new
introduction
• Break up longer documents
into blog posts, cheat sheets
• Repurpose how-to info,
guides, customer tip sheets
image iStock

21. STEP 7: OUTLINE YOUR CONTENT PLAN
• Use any outline method that works for you
• Develop a spreadsheet or word processing document
• Track keywords, topics, types of content
• Determine frequency of posting

22. WEBSITE EDITORIAL CONTENT CALENDAR
Source: Content Marketing Institute
http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2010/08/content-marketing-editorial-calendar/

23. SAMPLE BLOG CONTENT CALENDAR
Source: Resonnect

24. SAMPLE CONTENT CALENDAR (WORD)
Source: Resonnect

25. STEP 8: ADD SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING
• Don’tforget email is the
primary sharing channel for
most people
• Use the sharing buttons for
your customers’ preferred
social networks
• Peoplewant to share
information that will help
others

27. STEP 9: EXECUTE YOUR CONTENT PLAN
• Recruit guest bloggers,
authors
• Plan your content out at
least 8 weeks
• Write in “chunks”
• Request testimonials, case
studies
• Decide how to do video

28. STEP 10: NEVER STOP TESTING, IMPROVING
YOUR CONTENT
• Obtaincustomer feedback
on your content
• Track metrics--which
content resonates with your
ideal customers?
• Update your content
• Keepcreating content that
works
image iStock

29. ABOUT ME
• Cynthia Trevino, Small Business Marketing Mentor
• Reducingthe learning curve for businesses open to using
social media to find customers.
• Blogging since 2006 at: www.smallcompanybigimage.com
• cytrevino@resonnect.com