What's the best way to create content guidelines?

Your content will have 1 of 3 goals: - Top-of-funnel (TOFU): Gain exposure - Middle-of-funnel (MOFU): Educate - Bottom-of-funnel (BOFU): Convert Once you've chosen your goal, choose your format: - TOFU content has mass appeal (so choose a broad topic like personal development) - MOFU content should educate your audience (so use how-tos, analysis, checklists, or thought pieces) - BOFU content should encourage people to work with you (so use case studies, testimonials, and promotions to increase leads and sales) If you're just starting out, focus on more TOFU content to increase your audience, then MOFO to establish your expertise, and finally BOFU to grow your business.

The most important thing is to understand where the content fits into our business funnel. At each stage of this funnel, the user needs different content that aligns with the objective of that specific stage.

Creating content guidelines doesn't always have to be complicated. The more simple they are, the more effective they will be! Here's a simple way to do it: 1. Know Your Audience: Figure out who you're talking to so you can tailor your message. 2. Set the Tone: Decide if you're going for professional, casual, or something in between, and stick with it. 3. Outline Topics: Make a list of topics that are a good fit for your brand and audience. 4. Review Process: Set up a system for checking quality and consistency before anything goes live.

Develop an empathy map with the help of business owners and managers Arrange your site pages and content puzzle, based on the pain and concerns obtained and the expectations of the audience. Pay attention to micro-moments, user's Entity, and goals. - I want to go - I want to buy - I want to know - I want to do Based on this, separate your equivalent pages and develop guidelines and content audits for them according to your empathy map.

Before I create/share content with an audience I am targeting, I like to define content goals by using the answers to the following questions: 1) Do I know my audience well enough to be helpful to them? 2) Am I actively listening to their needs (and how they will evolve)? 3) How is the content I am sharing helpful? 4) Does the timing of this message align with my reader's needs/habits? 5) Where is the most convenient place for my reader to find what I am sharing? 6) Who might be the most relevant person/thing to share my content with my audience? Normally, the answers to the questions above are a suitable place to start when building content guidelines or as a quick content check before hitting send.

Here's an unconventional (but effective) way to establish your voice: ✅ Choose 3–5 content pillars. These are topics you'll cover the most. For example, I write about: - copywriting - digital marketing - business strategy ✅ Write 3 pieces for each pillar, using different tones of voice. Your tone of voice can be: - Light hearted - Encouraging - Passionate - Persuasive - Optimistic - Assertive - Sarcastic - Sincere - Casual - Playful - Blunt ... or a bunch of other stuff. See which feels the most natural to you—and which gets the most engagement. Over time, you'll refine your voice and tone based on practice and feedback from your readers. Now get to work. :)

Consider who will be using these guidelines. Are they for in-house writers, external contributors, or a combination of both? Understanding your audience helps tailor the guidelines to their specific needs.

Sharing examples of how your brand voice should sound - and how it shouldn't - will help your content team stay consistent. It's just as important to share bad examples of brand voice. You can also provide lists of "yes" and "no" key words and phrases.

Your guidelines should reflect the personality you want your brand to convey. This not only builds trust but also helps search engines recognize your brand's unique identity. For example, using storytelling to drive engagement. In the e-commerce sector, I found that incorporating storytelling elements into content guidelines was effective. For a client in the fashion industry, we encouraged a narrative style that shared behind-the-scenes stories of their brand's journey. This not only engaged users but also allowed search engines to recognize the brand's unique narrative, contributing to higher visibility.

A few words of advice: > Before you jump in to establish the brand voice spend some time with your brand identity's other attributes like the brand personality, behaviour, look and feel, aspects of its visual identity, mission and values. > Imbibe your learnings seamlessly in the guidelines so the visual and content aspects together tell a complete picture instead of being placed together awkwardly.

The significance of style in content creation is often underestimated in brand communication. In today's era, where ChatGPT plays a prominent role, it's evident that content writers sometimes produce copy and content without considering that AI lacks the ability to adhere to your brand guidelines. This oversight can lead to inconsistencies and dilution of brand identity in the digital landscape. Therefore, maintaining a consistent and impactful style is paramount in effectively conveying your brand's message and maintaining its integrity, even in the age of AI-driven content generation.

Save yourself the hassle: choose an existing style guide and stick to it. - Should you include semi-colons at the end of bullets? Check the style guide. - Should you capitalize all words in your subheadlines? Check the style guide. - Should you... CHECK THE STYLE GUIDE! Using a style guide reduces your decisions throughout the day, and helps you focus on more meaningful stuff, like content strategy, creating new content, or walking your dog.

Here's an idea about content best practices: Topic Clusters and Pillar Content Strategy🌱: Consider implementing a topic cluster and pillar content strategy for your content marketing efforts. In this approach, you create a comprehensive, in-depth "pillar" piece of content that serves as the cornerstone for a specific topic. Then, you create supporting pieces of content (cluster content) that link back to the pillar content. This strategy helps you establish authority on a subject, improve SEO, and keep your audience engaged by offering a variety of related content. It's an effective way to organize and structure your content for both search engines and readers.

✅ Determine your goals Ask yourself: - WHO am I writing for? - HOW will this help them? - WHAT is my goal for this piece? ✅ Write your first draft - Start with your reader in mind. - Write your headline and subheadlines first. - Flesh out each idea under the subheadlines. ✅ Edit and finalize - Remove unnecessary words. - Include personal stories and examples. - Ask at least one person to read and offer feedback. ✅ Publish (and gather more feedback) Whenever possible, ask for feedback. - Engage in comments. - Ask followup questions. - Use top comments as inspiration for new content.

Always put yourself in the reader's shoes – would it be interesting for you to read about? If the honest answer is yes, it means you are on the right path. Make sure to include some interesting statistics (if it exists) and analytics. And DO NOT use ChatGPT for that; you know why:) The content is about quality – not the length. So before publishing it or pitching, think if you have enough expertise in a field and share relevant info with the target audience. Ah, one more thing, after reading your article/blog post, etc., what will the reader gain? That is THE most important thing.

Content guidelines can reduce content editing work by 50%. A content guideline with the type of headings you prefer, the number of images, instructions for long-form and short-form content, writing style, interlinking, and reference guidelines - all these reduce the editing effort substantially. Content isn't a one-person game, there is a strategist, a writer, a designer, an expert, and an SEO specialist- involved who are behind the content that potential buyers read on their screens. A user-friendly guideline created after discussing with stakeholders aids the overall process.

Organizing content guidelines streamlines content creation process by providing clear direction and structure. It ensures that content remains consistent, on-message, and aligned with goals. This organization boosts efficiency by eliminating guesswork and reduces the risk of producing off-brand or ineffective content. It also enables to target different audiences effectively, making content more relevant and engaging. In essence, organized content guidelines serve as a blueprint, making the content creation process smoother and more productive.

As I always say, content isn't a one-person game. Multiple stakeholders are involved who need to be on the same page. -If you are someone establishing a new content guideline, focus on the impact. Check data and measure if the guidelines created are better, at par, or not working when compared to the period before you established it. - Take feedback from the team. Making a plan and working hands-on brings out different perspectives, ideas, and views. It is important to be open to change if it's backed by evidence/logic. - Nothing is set in stone, and your content guidelines shouldn't be too. Periodical updates only make sure your brand's content game is up-to-date.

Company goals can shift throughout the year. As a result, content guidelines should be reviewed and revised regularly. Evaluate if your content was effective in reaching your target audiences and achieving content goals. Consider the following: - Did your brand voice and tone keep audiences engaged? - Were the style and format of your content appropriate? - Are your best practices still in accordance with recent updates to the platforms you use? If your content missed the mark, work cross-functionally with other team members and/or client-facing departments to determine where the disconnect is. Also, research the latest trends. This will allow you to improve your content guidelines, reach your audiences, and achieve your content goals.

⭐ In my point of view one the most important thing that we have to pay attention, is asking some essential questions before creating contents: 1. Who is my persona? 2. What he/she needs to know? 3. What's his/her problem? 4. Why I creating this content?

Harnessing AI assistants for crafting content guidelines is akin to having a brilliant collaborator at your side. It's not just about using technology; it's about enhancing our content strategy. AI lends its prowess to streamline the guideline creation process, offering data-driven insights and best practices. It's about staying ahead of the curve, ensuring our guidelines are dynamic and aligned with industry trends. With AI, we don't just create guidelines; we craft a roadmap that evolves with the ever-changing landscape, ensuring our content always shines at its best. 🤖📜🚀

The most important element of establishing content guidelines is enablement and reinforcement. Even if you make the most beautiful, compelling brand book in the world, if people never look at it, all of your work is lost. Ensure you're intentional with how you roll out your new guidelines and have stakeholder buy-in. Find brand champions in cross-functional organizations who can help reinforce your content guidelines. But most importantly, make sure that the guidelines are easily accessible when people need them (ideally no further than a click away from where they are writing).

Your first pieces of content don't need to be great. Try different topics, angles, tones of voice... be BOLD. Experiment. This does two things for you: - Your writing will improve. - You will get feedback about what to write next. These two things feed into each other, creating a virtuous cycle. So don't worry about your first pieces. Keep writing. Deliberate practice + quantity = quality. It's that simple.

The trick with content marketing is that your core message should be useful outside of any further contact with the reader. Good content gives value even if was the first and last time your reader stumbled upon your blog/channel/article. This alone could be the focus point of your strategy, but even if it isn't, this is a good rule to go by or to measure your content against.