You may create thousands of posts for your website or blog, but then you may wonder why with 100,000 views per month, you business fails to get conversions, expected monetization, or ad revenue. The answer is simple. Your content is not strategic. In other words, it does not target the right reader or buyer with the right keyword in the right form and with the right product or service. You should achieve a perfect match between all these elements. That is why, you should learn how to develop a content strategy for your business growth and more visitors following these steps with a template.

Table of Contents

• What Steps to Take for a Perfect Content Strategy?
  • Step 1: Analyze the Audience
  • Step 2: Define the Purpose for Your Content and Strategic Focus
  • Step 3: Create a Semantic Core for Your Content with Content Pillars and Clusters
  • Step 4: Plan Types of Content Based on the Goal and Interests of Your Audience
  • Step 5: Adjust Your Content Based on the Right Channels
  • Step 6: Schedule Your Content Publication Based on a Content Calendar
  • Step 7: Analyze Performance and Optimize Using the Best Tools
  • Step 8: Conduct Weekly, Monthly, and Quarterly Audits
• Frequently Asked Questions How to Develop a Content Strategy

1. What Steps to Take for a Perfect Content Strategy?

Use these steps as a checklist for developing your strategy and start approaching your business strategically.

Step 1: Analyze the Audience

It is important to research your audience to identify what content can match their interests. Start with drawing your buyer persona.

Understanding characteristics of your audience can guide you in the choice of:

• Platform for publishing content
• Content form, length, and style
• Strategic focus

Step 2: Define the Purpose for Your Content and Strategic Focus

At this stage, it is time to use the marketing funnel that can help you define the purpose of your content:

• Top of funnel (TOFU) – drive awareness
• Middle of funnel (MOFU) – generate leads
• Bottom of funnel (BOFU) – get conversions

Be specific by formulating a content strategy in a SMART format. For example:

• Write 5 posts for the content pillar within 1 month to generate 20% more leads,
• Create 10 pins to publish within a week to get more followers,
• Send 10 emails to existing subscribers to increase conversions with a month.

Step 3: Create a Semantic Core for Your Content with Content Pillars and Clusters

Buy fillable Content Template in PDF here.

If you start your business website or want to improve its performance, work on its proper structure by researching and writing down all keywords for each of these categories:

• Content pillar or cornerstone content – it is one of the pages for your main content, which will serve as a hub for clusters or posts: start with planning at least 3-5 pillars,
• Clusters – these are posts which should link to the main content pillar page: start with planning the first 10 posts for each pillar,
• Categories and tags – these are topics and subtopics that will help to categorize your posts; do not use categories as content pillars.

When you publish each content piece, always link posts to pages (that is, clusters to pillars) and pages to posts. Interlink each pillar and some posts.

Step 4: Plan Types of Content Based on the Goal and Interests of Your Audience

Depending on characteristics of of your target audience, consider creating the following different content types for implementing a successful content strategy:

• Blog post and article
• Case study
• Infographics and social media posts
• Evergreen content vs. trendy posts at a particular moment
• Videos and podcasts
• Emails and newsletters
• Templates
• Slides
• White paper

If you outsource content writing (that is, you use white label content) or have different contributors, create a style guide for writers. Write blog posts based on your outline.

Step 5: Adjust Your Content Based on the Right Channels

Match each content type with the proper channel and goal:

• White paper for LinkedIn to develop thought leadership, get more organic traffic and leads, and show expertise,
• Blog post structured for your website to increase awareness or educate and attract a broad audience,
• Case studies or comparison posts for a website to achieve better engagement,
• Customer testimonials in social media posts to impact the decision to buy,
• Newsletters through emails to increase traffic,
• Videos on Instagram or YouTube for increasing engagement and conversion.

There are 3 categories of channels like:

• Owned
• Earned
• Paid

The first one refers to your website and email. The second includes guest posts. The third is about ads.

Step 6: Schedule Your Content Publication Based on a Content Calendar

Plan evergreen content publication for a month and a quarter based on a content plan template. However, mark dates to publish trendy and timely content that can show your reaction to events or burning topics. You can use this writing schedule idea.

Step 7: Analyze Performance and Optimize Using the Best Tools

Many businesses underestimate the importance of analyzing the performance of their content. Your old posts may no longer get visits, and the reason may be that they are poorly optimized. Review old content regularly by adding fresh ideas and visuals. Always work on building internal links between old and new posts and vice versa.

Check posts that are almost on the first page in search engines. Improve them by adding answer engine optimization (AEO) and using writing tools. Use Google Search Console to find what other keywords or questions users use that are related to your post and add related answers.

Disclaimer: the post contains affiliate links, which means that EEssays may get a commission at no cost to you.

It is important to check user engagement and retention. For this purpose, you can get real-time analytics in your WordPress using a powerful MonsterInsights plugin. Install it in just a few clicks, and you will be able to get data to improve your website performance.

Analyze conversions if you sell digital products or paid subscriptions using OptinMonster plugin.

Step 8: Conduct Weekly, Monthly, and Quarterly Audits

It is important to audit your content to check its SEO performance. Use Sitechecker.pro free SEO audit. It can help you plan your keyword strategy and analyze technical aspects.

Frequently Asked Questions How to Develop a Content Strategy

This information will help you learn how to develop a content strategy that can drive traffic, engage viewers, and increase conversions.

Key Takeaways

if you have a question how to develop a content strategy, remember to align all elements for a perfect match:

CONTENT TYPE – GOAL – PLATFORM – TIME – CHANNEL – AUDIENCE