6 Strategies to Scale Content Production Without Sacrificing Quality

As an organization grows its marketing presence, the time to scale content production will come. There is more to scaling than generating a large content pool, and it’s important to have a plan. Follow these six strategies to improve the odds of succeeding when you scale your content production will be successful.

1. Standardize Processes to Eliminate Inefficiencies

You need to have a template for your content production if you want to scale effectively. In the early days, content may be produced loosely as proof of concept, but scaling punishes this sort of informal approach with inefficiencies, delays, and quality concerns.

You need to map your content creation process. For example, what software are you using for everything from writing to producing supporting artwork? Ask every possible question about how your content ends up in production, and then answer it. Develop the answers into well-documented steps and standards.

Workflows

The goal is to have a full workflow that anyone can follow. Train everyone on the standardized processes. Not only will this ensure that your team members will be on the same page, but it’ll provide answers as you onboard new members and integrate freelancers.

Every project should have a clear workflow. For content production, it should flow something like this:

• Proposal
• Draft
• Edit
• Supporting artwork
• Final approval
• Quality review

Efficiencies and Improvements

Try to spot areas where bottlenecks may inhibit your workflow so that you can improve efficiency. Build feedback loops so that you can also quickly improve both the content and the production process. Consider incorporating project management software to track progression through the stages of the workflow. If you’re expanding into different domains, such as building out a YouTube channel or launching an email newsletter, develop custom workflows for specific project classes.

2. Build and Commit to a Content Creation Calendar

Maintaining a consistent calendar is one of the most effective strategies to keep your audience engaged as you grow. Content that thrives typically has predictability that rewards loyal followers for their engagement.

Your calendar structure will depend on your organization’s overall pulse throughout a given year. Look at the typical content plan for a car accident injury law firm. The firm will have a steady supply of evergreen topics, occasional news items, and a set of seasonal pieces for periods like the holidays and the summer travel season.

Conversely, a tech startup focused on raising brand awareness will likely have a content calendar that’s news heavy and driven by internal developments. That company may need to be creative during lulls, perhaps posting content like:

• Insider looks at projects
• Team member profiles
• Think pieces

Committing to a content production calendar, however, will keep the audience engaged as the company grows.

3. Leverage Freelancers to Expand Your Team’s Capacity

Most organizations won’t have gigantic in-house content production teams. Even at large, content-focused operations, the trend is toward integrating freelancers rather than building armies of writers and artists. About 29% of businesses plan to expand their teams of freelancers.

Recruiting freelancers and putting them to work isn’t a simple job, especially if you don’t want to sacrifice quality as you scale content production. To integrate freelancers, many organizations rely on a managed services provider. In content production, these providers recruit freelancers, organize projects, assign work, and enforce guidelines and brand standards.

Textbroker’s Managed Services Help Companies Integrate Freelancers Into Workflows

Textbroker is an industry leader in managing teams of freelance writers on behalf of clients. Managed teams have editors and project managers who shepherd every piece of content from draft to completion. This includes pairing writers who have domain-specific knowledge with appropriate projects.

4. Repurpose Existing Content Into New Formats

Another invaluable strategy for scaling content output is repurposing. Many organizations already have large amounts of content ready for a new life in other formats.

Suppose your company has a large white paper that has already proven very popular. You can repurpose it in several ways.

• Break out smaller information bits as highlighted social media posts.
• Develop key points into scripts for video content.
• Rewrite dense content as an explainer on a blog.
• Update old content with new information in a new white paper.
• Turn interesting data into infographics.
• Highlight high-engagement subtopics in email marketing.

As boring as repurposing might sound to you, audiences tend to enjoy it. Every day, thousands of people are learning a fact for the first time. Also, audience members are rarely as steeped in a topic as you are. Many enjoy being reminded of fun ideas that have drifted out of their immediate memory. Some just want to hear the hits, as anyone who knows the story of the origin of Top 40 radio will tell you.

5. Invest in a Tech Stack That Supports Scale

Modern content marketing is as tech dependent as ever. Your tech stack is the collection of programs that deliver your content and integrate customer interactions. Choosing and optimizing the right tools is essential to scale without sacrificing quality.

Publishing Platforms

Concentrating your content on a handful of publishing platforms simplifies and standardizes a key part of the production process. Many businesses use WordPress or Drupal to host their blog content. Some use extensions for those platforms to build “Our Services” and “About” pages, too. Think of outlets like social media and video sites as additional publishing platforms.

Analytics

Multiple analytics platforms are available, and they are critical to improving and reinforcing your processes with good data. Google Analytics is a drop-in solution that allows you to see:

• User counts
• Page views
• Traffic sources
• Clicks
• Engagement and bounce rates
• Time on pages

Plenty of other big names — including Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn — have analytics platforms. Data analysis is especially useful for A/B testing, a process that compares how different variants of content perform. For example, you might test which title for a YouTube video drives the most interest and engagement.

Analytics are also great for seeing what drives audience growth. You might see that a particular X (formerly Twitter) post blew up, indicating that you may need to go back to that well as you scale content production.

Direct Marketing and Customer Relations Management

One of your most marketing powerful tools is direct marketing. Specifically, building an email list is a powerful way to connect with people who have proven interest in your brand, ideas, services, people, projects, and products. How do you build that direct marketing machine, though?

Customer relations management (CRM) software tracks user engagement, particularly contacts, sign-ups, and sales. Tying a solid CRM package to an email marketing or push notification campaign engages people with proven interest. You can send offers, newsletters, personalized messages, guides, and webinars. Tracking direct marketing performance also feeds analytics.

Automation

A major benefit of scaling is that you should eventually be able to have content on standby. Automation allows you to schedule everything from product announcements to casual holiday posts. Nearly all platforms for blogging, social media, email marketing, and video allow automation, so get a leg up on your content calendar by scheduling posts.

6. Continuously Optimize Content and Processes

With everything in place, your goal is to continuously optimize your process. Track analytics, particularly key performance indicators, to verify that scaling is delivering the desired results. Perform process reviews to identify where improvements are possible.

Beware the pitfalls, too. As you scale, brand drift can set in and leave your audience confused. Monitor content quality, and avoid rushes that break your workflow. Ensure that you have team capacity, including available freelancers for big jobs, steady projects, and overflow. If delays develop, determine why the pipeline isn’t flowing.

If You’re Ready to Scale Content Production, Find Out How Textbroker’s Managed Services Can Accelerate Your Efforts.