Content Marketing Strategy: A Template

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A road winding through the 7 steps of the First Page Sage content marketing strategy.

Over the last eleven years, my team and I have continuously refined our content marketing strategy, which has now been utilized by hundreds of clients to great success. In this article, I will share the template my content marketing team uses for every account we work on (including our own). If you’re considering doing content marketing in-house or outsourcing to an agency, I hope you’ll find it useful; having the correct strategy is what ultimately gets you quality content and drives leads. 

The First Page Sage Content Marketing Strategy Template

Increasing traffic and conversions is a complex process, so it helps to break campaigns down into weekly units. Customize the template below based on your in-house capabilities and you will see increased traffic in about six months, on average.

Week Objective Tasks
Week 1 Project Initiation & Planning
  • Assemble your content creation team, including writers, editors, project managers, SEO analysts, web developers or graphic artists, and subject matter experts (SMEs). 
  • Research the client and gather client assets. 
  • Determine which SME or management member will be in charge of giving final approval for content publication.
  • Compile interview questions for SMEs.
  • Create a document that outlines all the stylistic, branding, and source details for the campaign. Refer to this document as needed throughout the campaign.
  • Schedule a meeting for writers to interview SMEs. 
  • Identify an SEO analyst who will draft an “SEO Health Report” that takes stock of the website’s current traffic and SEO visibility. 
Week 2 Keyword
Research
  • Begin weekly team meetings where you can delegate tasks, review feedback, and cover a shared agenda. 
  • Hold your SME interview call. Allow writers to ask any questions.
  • Begin keyword research. Editors and SEO analysts may want to do this individually, or you may hold working meetings to do it together as a team. 
  • Compile that keyword research into an editorial calendar. 
Week 3 Technical SEO
Review

By now, your SEO analyst should have an SEO Health Report ready. 

  • Review your SEO Health Report as a team. Go over details such as competitor analysis, link status, and traffic analysis.
  • Meet with technical team members to request any changes to the site, such as new pages or a site redesign. 
  • Continue keyword research.
Week 4 Finalize the Editorial Calendar
  • Select the keywords/topics for your first six posts.
  • Complete the editorial calendar and review it with all team members. 
  • Get final approval on your first six topics.
Week 5 Start Writing
  • Confirm the long-term writing schedule and process with writers.
  • Assign the writers their first topics.
Week 6 Prepare to
Publish
  • Continue meetings with the approver, and present them at least two topics per week that they may edit or approve.
  • Editor begins editing the first drafts from the writers. 
  • Test posting a blog to ensure there are no bugs. 
Week 7 Ongoing Content Publishing

You should repeat the tasks listed below for the duration of the campaign:

  • Present topic ideas to the content approver, reviewing at least two topics per week.
  • Draft approved articles.
  • Edit existing first drafts.
  • Once approved, publish articles.
  • Continue holding weekly calls.

This strategy is highly successful for firms in any industry. However, it also involves coordinating a lot of team members, which can be a challenge to handle in-house. 

Let the Experts Handle Your Entire Campaign

If you don’t have the time or resources to create and execute a content marketing strategy in-house, then consider outsourcing to an experienced content marketing agency. First Page Sage has designed custom content marketing plans for businesses from San Francisco to New York to meet their traffic and conversion goals. From keyword research to delivery of regularly scheduled posts, we can take care of every element of your content marketing strategy. 

We’re the content marketing, SEO, and thought leadership professionals. If you’d like us to handle your entire campaign, contact us any time.

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