Whether you are working with small business clients or enterprises, getting companies to regularly curate, create, edit, audit, prune while also optimizing their content for users can be difficult to sustain without the right governance in place. The path to useful, usable and findable content is often narrow. Getting there can be a serious challenge. Sometimes you feel like people in the process are against you. There are a lot of adversaries and hurdles to overcome. Even worse is the job of cat herding IT, stakeholders, marketing, sales and writers to work together to create the kind of strategic content that will speak to their target consumer and build their content brand. The end result is all too often boring sales fluff that no one ever reads. In the end, you find yourself doing a Chinese fire drill to create a bunch of last minute ad hoc content that is seldom on brand and more often than not fails to tell the client’s story. It doesn't have to be this way if you choose to take a stand during the early planning phases of a project and stress the importance of a content strategy. Turn adversaries into allies with a strategic approach to your content. It won't be easy. It can get political.

20. By Richard Ingram

36. Coca-Cola Content 2020

47. Read This (if you haven’t already)
Content Strategy For The Web
Elements of Content Strategy
Content Strategy at Work

49. Read This (if you haven’t already)
Content Strategy For The Web
Elements of Content Strategy
Content Strategy at Work

50. Read This (if you haven’t already)
Content Strategy For The Web
Elements of Content Strategy
Content Strategy at Work

51. Read This (if you haven’t already)
Content Strategy For The Web
Elements of Content Strategy
Content Strategy at Work

52. A Blog Is NOT a Content Strategy.
Content Strategy is a decade +
old emerging practice.
Differentiate Content Strategy
from Content Marketing.
Research and Apply The
Principles of Content Strategy (if
you do not already) for Win.

55. Use Client Profiles
Organize all client insights,
messaging, documentation
in one place for the team
working on it. Get client /
stakeholders to sign off on
all campaign goals and
communication documents
early on in the process.
Content Analysis Tool
Web Content Audit Tool
Google Xpath
Content Matrix
LucidCharts
Adwords Tool, Google Trends
Social Crawlytics, Quantcast,
Compete, Open Site Explorer,
LinkDex, SEMRush, Topsy,
Facebook Ads, Link Detective

57. Buyer Personas
Usability Templates
Content Templates
Usertesting.com
Blasamiq Mockups
SEOMoz
Ahrefs
MajesticSEO
Search Metrics
WordPress SEO
CS Generator Tool
Mindjet & Confluence
WP Editorial Calendar
Easy Content Templates,
Kapost, Trello, DivvyHQ,
Raventools, Contently,
Compendium

59. Google Analytics
CrazyEgg
KissMetrics
ClickTale
ClickHeat
Concept Feedback
SilverBack
Fivesecondtest
Open Hallway
Optimizely
Unbounce

60. Take Advantage of Social Search Like Topsy, Social Mention, Kurrently
& Others to Uncover Audience Interests and Potential Content Ideas
Based on Those Interests
Resources:
Social Media Can Generate Strong Story Ideas
5 Free Social Search Tools

61. Use Alchemy API to quickly extract semantic meta-data from
existing web pages. Use the results to speed up the creation
of metadata frameworks during content planning phases.
Using AlchemyAPI for Semantic Analysis and Text Mining - axz.mx/alchemyapis

62. Use Google Drive’s XPATH capabilities to audit web
pages for your content inventories.
How To Build Agile SEO Tools Using Google Spreadsheets - axz.mx/agile-content-audits

65. 1. Content Strategy For The Web by Kristina Halvorson – Link
2. Elements of Content Strategy by Erin Kissane – Link
3. Content Strategy at Work by Margot Bloomstein – Link
4. Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy by Ann Rockley – Link
5. Metadata Workshop by Rachel Lovinger – Link
6. Complete Beginner’s Guide to Content Strategy by Andrew Maier – Link
7. Build Agile SEO Tools Using Google Spreadsheets by Tom Critchlow – Link
8. Using AlchemyAPI for Semantic Analysis and Text Mining by Mike Reich – Link
9. Content Templates to the Rescue by Erin Kissane – Link
10. Building Your Content Strategy with a Message Architecture by Margot Bloomstein – Link
11. Difference Between Content Strategy & Content Marketing? by Colleen Jones – Link
12. Psychographics Deconstructed: What We Look Like to… by Marty Weintraub – Link
13. Social Media Can Generate Strong Story Ideas by Kylie Jane Wakefield – Link
14. The New SEO Process (Quit Being Kanye) by Mike King – Link
15. 11 Savvy Ways to Use Buyer Personas… by Rebecca Corliss – Link
16. Fusing Content Strategy with Design by David Gillis – Link
17. An Introduction to User Journeys by Jason Hobbs – Link
18. Doing a Content Inventory by Jeffrey Veen – Link
19. 5 Free Social Search Tools by Steve Floyd – Link

66. 21. Client Profile Template By AXZM – Link
22. Content Strategy Generator Tool V2 by SEO Gadget – Link
23. The Content Matrix Template by Kevin Nichols – Link
24. Website Content Template By Brody Dorland – Link
25. The Epic List of Content Strategy Resources by Jonathon Colman – Link
26. Slide # 9 Graphic by Brain Traffic – Link
27. Slide #11 From Caroline Kealey’s “Message Architecture Worksheet” - Link
28. Slide # 13 Image From The White Paper – Why Securing Communications and
Content is a Critical Best Practice by Proofpoint – Link
*All Photos of Bruce Lee Are Property of The Respective Copyright Holder

67. For the last decade I have been
creating digital marketing solutions
for businesses large and small. In that
time I’ve learned a few things about
the governance and creation of web
content and how that content ties into
other marketing channels. Content is Steve Floyd
often swept aside as the last part of a Founder / Principle at AXZM
project, when I believe it should be twitter: @nawlready
one of the very first things addressed, phone: (214) 272-9109
even before design.
www.axzm.com