Described as a fast-talking, fiery redhead, Heather Lloyd-Martin is a 20-year marketing veteran, a recognized author and considered the pioneer of SEO copywriting. Recognized worldwide as a first-generation search marketing expert, she has been training corporate in-house SEO copywriters and creating revenue-driving Web site content campaigns via her consultancy, SuccessWorks.
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The marketing manager of a large e-commerce site recently filled me in on a challenge she was having. She knew her content needed an SEO copywriting intervention—but she didn't have the budget for a keyphrase editing or rewrite campaign.
So I asked her, "Have you ever thought of bringing your SEO copywriting in-house?"
And I could almost hear the light bulb flickering on above her head.
The reality is, SEO copywriting is one task that can often be brought in-house. With the right people and a little training, your existing team members can produce your content—and your company will save money on your search marketing campaign.
If this is the direction you want your company to go, here are some things to consider:
Decide who does the writing. This may seem like a no-brainer, as it's easy to think, "Well, we have five people in our marketing department, plus all of our sales staff. They can all write copy." However, some folks are more qualified to write than others—and choosing the best writers will help make your campaign much more successful.
Try to pinpoint possible in-house SEO copywriters by:
You may decide that you have to hire someone on a full or part-time basis to handle some of the writing. That's OK. Better to hire someone with experience to fill in the gaps, then transform people into writers who, well, really shouldn't be the ones writing content for your brand.
Make sure your writers have time to write. SEO copywriting is not an "other duties as assigned" gig. I've seen the best campaigns go bad because the SEO copywriters had other tasks to complete—and those duties took precedence over creating content. If you want your SEO copywriters to churn out premium content, that means they need the time to write. And that means good, uninterrupted time-free from meetings, phone calls and e-mail. If you honestly can't give your writers space to write, you may see better (and faster) results from outsourcing.
Get the right training for your team. This step is crucial. Yes, it is possible to train your writers in SEO copywriting best practices. Yes, you can train folks to write benefit-rich copy that converts like crazy. But the operable word is training. I've seen too many companies send their writers to a conference with the task of "learning everything they can about SEO copywriting." Guess what? I'm usually speaking at those conferences, and the information panelists can provide in 60 minutes or less is basic at best—and it's certainly not customized for a company's unique situation.
The right training depends on how much copywriting knowledge your writing team already has. If they are experienced online writers and strategists who just need to understand the SEO copywriting nuances, reading some books and taking a course like my SEO Copywriting Certification training should get them up to speed. If your company currently doesn't have an in-house SEO copywriting strategy and your writers aren't experienced online writers, a customized training that discusses copywriting theory as well as SEO copywriting is probably your best bet.
Whatever your company chooses, remember that it's not fair to push someone into SEO copywriting who has no experience and no training. Not only will it be frustrating for your writer, it's bad for your business—who wants Web pages written by someone who doesn't know what he's doing?
Determine your content marketing opportunities. It's one thing to task people with handling your online content. It's another to tell them exactly what they should be writing. I've trained a lot of in-house copywriters, and the key to success (other than training) is having a clear action plan. What initially seems easy, "We'll just send out some tweets, create a Facebook page and start editing pages," is actually much more complex. Questions to ask are:
If your company doesn't have a content marketing strategy in place, I would highly recommend hiring a content strategist who can help you determine your content marketing opportunities and figure out next steps. This person doesn't have to be a permanent member of your team; bringing on an outsourced vendor is fine. But as I mentioned in a previous post on my business blog, these folks will "see" opportunities that a technical SEO person won't (which makes sense—technical SEO folks focus on code, not marketing.) Yes, this will cost some money, but much, much less than outsourcing your content. Plus, you'll have a step-by-step plan for how to proceed.
Create an editorial calendar. The best-laid plans mean nothing without implementation. It's one thing to know what to do. It's another to actually do it. Determine who is writing what and the deadlines, then work with IT to figure out when new/edited content will be uploaded. A monthly editorial calendar is a great way to stay on track—plus, having everything written down makes everyone accountable.
Keep the momentum going. I know how hard it is to keep the content marketing momentum going when business is booming and everyone is swamped. Even if you have more business than you can handle right now, I encourage you to stay the course and keep cranking out quality content—even a few pages a month is good. And if your business is going through a natural slow time, using that time to build content is a powerful way to prepare for the upswing. Think about it: There is a high probability you're getting the business you are because of your content marketing strategy. If you start to pull back and push content to the back burner, you'll lose momentum—and possibly allow a competitor to "catch up" with you. Just remember the formula Momentum = Money, and you'll be fine.
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