CopyPress Webinar Series

Managing Large scale internal editorial processesWednesday, August 22, 2012 1:00-2:00pm EST

Featuring Guest Speakers: Frank Reed, Melissa Fach, & Jen Haley

Overview• Introducing guest speakers• Frank Reed Presentation• Melissa Fach Presentation• Jennifer Haley Presentation• Open Q&A session with attendees & guest speakers

Frank Reed@frankreed

Managing Editor of the Marketing Pilgrim Internet and social media marketing blogBusiness development for social media monitoring tool, TrackurConsultant (aren’t we all?!)Married with 3 kidsHobby – Watching my kids do whatever they do.

www.frankareed.com

The Pilgrim’s Content

• Marketing Pilgrim is ……..• Our focus • Our content needs• Editorial calendar …… ummmmm

The Highs

• Big news• Big mouths• Big buzz

The Lows

• No news• Humility• No buzz

Trouble Occurs When

• Sponsors drag their feet• Light channel news• Contributors flake out• Tech flakes out

Opportunity Awaits

• Think you should be heard as a ‘thought leader’?• Make a good pitch• Let passion, not SEO, reign

The Future• More contributors• Interviews wanted• More of ‘future think’ • IMAGES

Melissa Fach@seoaware

Editor of Search Engine Journal & Owner of SEOAware, LLC. Her education includes a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in the mental health field. Melissa uses psychology to enhance her content marketing.Content Marketing strategies are a large part of her businesses as well as SEO, Internet marketing, and well-planned web design services. Melissa has been an active blogger for the last 7 years, and she has significant experience with WordPress.

Running a Blog That Mostly Depends on Others

• SEJ is different than many blogs.• Maintaining 3 minimum “quality” posts a day is not simple.• Producing quality content with correct information and information

that others can use is our focus. • Obtaining these posts requires me staying current on the industry &

paying attention to writers off-site.

News – A Must Have for Any Industry

• SEJ employs a news writer, David Angotti.• He posts at least once a day.• He pays very close attention to industry news.• David’s news posts do well because he often creates his own spin

on the news.• Having a news writer that I don’t have to manage makes my life

easier.• With David’s news posts we can publish 4 times a day.

Managing Writers

• Managing writers that are giving you their time and knowledge requires respect, patience and understanding.

• All of our writers work and maintain families.• Their time is precious and appreciated. • Letting each writer know they are appreciated is the very least we

can do.

Managing Writers 2• To run a blog as large as SEJ you have to be friendly with a

large number of writers. • I need a minimum of 13 articles per week. I handle the other

two weekly.• Most writers can only write for us once a month so currently I

have to maintain a relationship with about 65 writers.• I also have to make sure that article topics are not too similar

on the same day as well, so that means having posts in the queue.

Finding New Writers

• When I came on at SEJ my goal was to make sure the content was useful to our readers.

• I wanted to up the quality a bit. • This meant saying no to a lot of writers in the beginning and

searching for better quality.• Actively finding and recruiting writers is a part of the job; it

isn’t an easy one.• Ensuring they have the experience and correct information to

share is crucial.

Ideas for Content

• The best thing you can do is be diverse in your niche. o Don’t be boring.o Offer things that people would never think of.o Some posts have to be focused on long-term, good traffic.

• Our ideas for content are based on several things:o The basic subjects our audience is looking for – SEO, PPC, Mobile, Email Marketing,

Business Advice, etc.o Updates in our industry.o Google Analytics, of course.o What has worked and failed in the past. o Comments and requests from readers.o Link/Traffic bait. It is a must, but isn’t overly focused on.

Ideas for Content 2

o When you’re running low on content, use what is available to you for free and add a paragraph explaining how it is beneficial.

o Some items you can find/do fast:• Videos – helpful, how-tos• Slideshares• Infographics• White papers• “Best of” posts• Recaps• Humor

Editing and Formatting in WP Articles –

Not My Favorite Part• I would say some of the most tedious & irritating parts of the job are

o Reading all articles & editingo Checking all links o Formatting in WP and uploading images!

• These things take up a lot of my time. • We do have a back-up copyeditor in place for typos which helps. • Things like checking all the links and uploading & formatting images

is my least favorite part. They also take up a good amount of my time.

• I am always very concerned that things look and read nicely.

Scheduling Content

• I like to schedule a days worth of posts 3-4 days ahead of time and let the writers know when their post will publish.

• My thinking is that if I get hit by a truck or something SEJ will be ok for a few days

• The posts need to be different day to day. We can’t have too many of the same, too close together.

• There are times when we have nothing in the queue, (like this Summer because everyone was on vacation).

• When we have nothing in the queue, it is up to me to make sure something is being published and the topics are diverse.

Tools I Use For SEJ Daily

• Obviously, Google Analytics • Bit.ly – Shorten and track links. • Buffer – scheduling social media posts.• TweetDeck (for computer) and Hootsuite (for mobile).• All social media is a resource for me and I consider it a tool. • RSS feeds.• Evernote.

Truthfully…

• I try to be as organized as possible and have plans in place.• BUT, there are many days and sometimes weeks where things

are done last minute and creativity must be used to get posts published.

• To run a site like SEJ you have to plan on having some late nights, things going wrong, handling problems with writers, and being spontaneous and patient.

• Remember, nothing is ever perfect and all failures are a learning tool.

Jennifer Haley@jinnyjinn

Senior Content Editor for SEO at eBay, Inc.Jennifer has over 10 years experience both in print and online publications. She has managed blogs in spaces ranging from diet and nutrition, to home décor and created content featured on Yahoo! Front Page & MSN homepage.

Tips for Successfully Writing and Editing Content

• Tips on Writing Contento How to Make Headlines Pop (And Get Your Foot in the Door)o General Do’s and Don’ts of Web Writing

• Tips on Editing and Managing Content at Scale

Writing: How to Make Headlines Pop

• Offer the reader value immediately• Employ “How to…”

o Example: “How to Remove Wallpaper”• Create easily digestible bites of information (numbered

lists)o Example: “10 Products to Help Your Baby Sleep Better”

• Use superlatives o Example: “The Best Subwoofers Under $200”

• Make your headline timely (when it’s not evergreen)o Example: “The Hottest Celebrity Hairstyles of 2012”

How to Make Headlines Pop, cont.

• Integrate highly trafficked kws and kw phrases in your title o Use Google’s KW Tools

• Add more than one value proposition in a headlineo Example: “5 Stylish (and Affordable) Little Black Dresses on our

Radar”• Be specific (when it serves you)

o Example: “5 Stylish Little Black Dresses Under $25”

• Make use of the art of the teaseo Example: “The One Dress You Probably Don’t Have (But Should)”

Do’s and Don’t of Writing Web Articles

• DOo Follow the instructions of the editor/commissioner of contento Tighten copy where you cano Break up content into digestible chunkso Incorporate compelling image(s)o Edit your work before turning it ino Cite your sources

Do’s and Don’t of Writing Web Articles, cont.

• DON’To Fill your piece with fluffo Use metaphors—get to the pointo Be boringo Sound “salesy”o Submit your piece to an editor without reading it overo Miss deadlines

Editing: Managing Large-Scale Content

• Tricks for managing hundreds of thousands of pieces of content annuallyo Tapping into large communities of writers and editorso Working with crowdsourcing platformso Using spreadsheets and filterso Setting alarms on your calendaro Knowing that you can’t do it all

Questions?