Publishing your company’s content online and publishing successful online content are two very different entities – anyone can set up a WordPress blog for their business (which is awesome, don’t get me wrong), but it takes a great deal of thought and an even greater amount of work to see positive revenue returns from that content.

The Content Manager’s Guide to a Killer Online Content Marketing Plan has been rolling out here on the good ol’ Function copywriting & content marketing blog for the past 5 weeks. Guess what? This is all part of my online content planning!

Here’s a sneak-peak of some of the highlight’s of Function’s online content planning since day 1.

• Beautiful website – Check.
• Talented professional nerd copywriter to write helpful blog posts – Check.
• Roll out blog posts in a logical format in order to create momentum and demonstrate expertise – Check.
• Write guests posts for other popular blogs to increase exposure – Check & Check (and more on the way).
• Compile blog posts into ebooks – Check. (<-this links to Function’s blog subscription page; subscribe to get the free Timeless Content Guide ebook)
• Create content in another medium, such as graphic design or video – Working on it & Check.
• Function needs to be seen and heard – Check out WordPress’ fantastic WordCamp Edmonton 2012 in November to see and hear yours truly present a talk on how the copywriting rocketship pumps blogging fuel into your business. (That’s Friday, November 16th at 2:30 pm. I’ll be the guy yelling talking about blogging.)

There’s more, too, and it’s all part of Function’s ongoing, flexible online content planning strategy to increase exposure, meet new clients and create new business.

And you know what? It’s working. My client list is growing along with my leads – all because of creating a plan and sticking to it (for the most part).

If you’ve been reading The Content Manager’s Guide then you know how much value I put on publishing consistent content in a logical and easy-to-follow order. This is the final post, part 6, in The Content Manager’s Guide, and I wanted to quickly highlight the major sticking points.

So here it is, the culmination of months of work, all boiled down into one easy-to-read list. Here’s how to successfully plan your online content:

From Part 1:
What’s the Point of an Online Content Marketing Plan?

1. Ask yourself: what are you selling?
2. How does your business help people?
3. Would you sell more products if more people knew about your company?
4. Forget about dumptrucks of money backing up to your house the first time you hit publish.
5. Think of how your company can succeed today, this week, this month and this year.
6. Think of new ways you could be reaching people.

From Part 2:
3 Steps to Take Before Launching an Online Content Marketing Plan

7. Invest in an online content marketing that brings in more revenue (eventually) than it spends.
8. Be patient.
9. Explore your content.
10. Improve your understanding of the value of your content.
11. “Take a good, long look at what exactly it is that your business does at all levels.”
12. “Ask yourself tough questions, and then ask them of everyone else that works above and beneath you.”
13. Explore your niche market – just exactly who should buy what you’re selling?
14. Don’t try to please everyone.
15. Please everyone who matters.
16. Set your goals.

From Part 3:
Content Marketing: How to Plan Methods that Work

17. Take charge.
18. Captain the ship.
19. Brainstorm potential content marketing methods.
20. Pair your methods with specific characteristics in potential customers.
21. “Tie these methods into the message of your content marketing plan.”
22. “Each method is a dart. Write down why your message would be effectively communicated with these tactics and throw.”
23. If you miss, throw again with a different dart.
24. Schedule everything.

From Part 4:
How To Find a Kick-Ass Team for Your Online Content Marketing Plan

25. Plan to take advantage of talent.
26. Define roles.
27. Assign necessary skills to required methods (example: blog posts-> copywriters; websites-> graphic designers)
28. Interview.
29. Sample work…samples.
30. Meet on skype.
31. Go for coffee.
32. Have fun.
33. “If you’re answering a lot of questions yourself and feel like you’re being interviewed, then you’re talking to the right players.”
34. Get updates on a consistent basis.
35. Contribute where necessary without micro-managing, or else no one wil like you.

From Part 5:
4 Questions Every Successful Content Marketing Campaign Asks (and Answers)

36. Publish!
37. Share your content.
38. Share others’ content.
39. Create shareable content.
40. Connect with industry experts and not-so-experts.
41. Tell people how to buy your products/services.
42. Encourage action always, everywhere, no matter what.
43. Make life easier for your audience.
44. Deliver to your niche and leave room for the bandwagon.
45. Your content plan doesn’t have to be set in stone. Originally, this series was supposed to be 3 parts – it still says so in Part 1 – but with the amount of helpful content I found I was able to deliver – nay, HAD to deliver – I just couldn’t help but jamming more actionable content into the guide.

Thanks for reading the guide. Some awesome free stuff (hint: infographics!) is coming down the pipe from Function Writing HQ, so make sure you subscribe to the blog to get exclusive access to everything while you can.

photo credit: kylesteed via photopin cc