As you scale content, it's easy to let quality slip.
1-10 articles?
You diligently pour over the minutia. You make sure each one meets your standards and has a sprinkling of love on the top.
50-100 articles?
- Weak introductions
- Unbranded angles
- Uninteresting titles
- Spelling mistakes
- Poor SEO
At scale, these things just slip through the net like water in a sieve.
Personally, I love putting real quotes and hard-to-find statistics in every article my team creates for clients.
They always give a feeling of originality, of "I learned something new here".
But to do it for 100 articles...
In this week's premium newsletter, I'm going to look at four ways I've found that keep 'quality' high despite the stupendous scale.
Even if you don't create 100s of articles each month, these tips should help you reduce the pressure on yourself.
The last thing we want is content quality to rely on you waking up on the right side of the bed today.
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3 Ways to Keep Content Quality High (Even at Scale)
In a nutshell, the three methods are:
- Spend more time on content briefs
- Make better knowledge transfer documentation
- Build a thorough hiring funnel
These matter so much. Here's why... 🤿
1. Spend more time making content briefs
Content briefs (steal my template here) are so bloody fundamental to this it hurts.
Want your writer to include expert resources, research and stats?
Put them in the content brief.
Want your writer to use search-optimised H2s and H3s?
Put them in the content brief.
Want your writer to take a strategic angle on a piece?
Put your ideas IN THE BRIEF.
One of the first things I did in my own content operation, was teach someone else how to make great content briefs.
They're so important, I didn't want to rely on myself to make them each month.
I get tired easy.
They're important.
So pay someone else to put the sizzle in up front, and your outcomes will be 10x better.
2. Make better knowledge transfer documentation
Freelance writers aren't in your head.
If you want them to:
- "get" your brand
- "know" your product
- "adhere" to your standards
You kinda...have to tell them what they are.
Before I even think about hiring writers I fill out my knowledge transfer templates
They cover things like writing style, use cases & USPs, and FAQs.
They also cover things like 'how to write an intro properly' and 'how to do internal linking'.
(All these things are included in the Scale Package).
One thing that I do that I don't see anyone else do?
→ Create a minimum standards checklist for quality.
It has a bunch of action items that all content MUST complete before being released.
So many people have a low bar for 'minimum quality'.
My bar is high. So my minimum standards checklist is pretty long.
On the other end of the scale, people spaffing out AI content probably have nothing on this list...
You can justify your standards based on your own product type, pricing, and audience.
But everyone should, at the very least, make it clear what their quality standards are and why that's the case.
3. Build a stupidly good hiring funnel
One good writer, one you trust to do it all REALLY well, literally saves so much time, energy, and resources.
One good writer is potentially 10 high-quality articles a month.
And if you can hand them the briefs, and 30 days later you get a ding on Slack with 10 articles ready to go?
Then they've done all the work for you.
The big question here is, how do you find 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 writers you can trust this much?
My answer: Build and continuously fill your hiring funnel.
- Put out more job ads
- Interview more candidates
- Conduct more writing tests
- Fully onboard & invest in new writers
And when they're up and running...do everything you can to retain the good'ns.
In my last Premium newsletter, I shared my Scale Equation.
Part of it focuses on this funnel:
I noted that, if your acceptance rates are low then to find 10 great writers, you might need 10,000 applicants (You can significantly reduce this number if you pay well).
If 99.9% of these applicants basically suck, your hiring process better be thorough.
But when done right, it's SO worth it.
Your ultimate goal should be to build your fleet.
Your fleet are your superheroes.
Your fully functioning cogs.
The crack team.
10 writers who make insanely good content, every single time, with no fuss.
Now THAT is how you scale content without dropping quality.
Use discount code "TODAY" to get 15% off my guide to scaling content here (it comes with 15+ templates, checklists, and SOPs, a POV guide for hiring writers, and many tips and tactics for scaling content).
Peace,
Ben
