Product announcements. Company news. Thought leadership essays. White papers. Newsletters. There’s no doubt that written content is something that every founder and early-stage marketer finds themselves producing on repeat.
Are you the type of person who plays fast and loose with the publish button only to find three typos - in the headline - right after your post goes live? Or maybe you obsessively re-read every line five times before sending the draft around to get input from a dozen people. Whatever your style, chances are you’ve wondered how you can be sure a post is ready for prime time.
Is it done? Is it good? Will this make my company look foolish? Will this make ME look foolish? Did I miss something? Will they get it? Does it make sense? No need to keep asking questions before pushing something live. Just use this simple 5-point checklist to vet any piece of written content. Once you can check all five boxes, it’s ready to go.
Pro tip: Select a small group of 2-3 people with the organization to run through the check list. It’s always good to have more than one set of eyes on a document and with the clear set of guidelines below, everyone will be on the same page as to how to evaluate a piece.
[ ] IS THERE A CLEAR PURPOSE?
Ask yourself: Why publish this particular piece of content right now? The answer should be that it a) provides real value to your audience; b) is relevant to this particular time (in your customers’ lives, the industry, or the broader culture); AND c) is consistent with one of your established content or business objectives. If all three things are true, congratulations! Your content has a clear enough purpose to move forward.
[ ] IS THIS HIGH-QUALITY?
A high-quality piece of content is fact-checked, sourced, and copyedited. That means every stat has a reputable and cited source, every name mentioned is spelled correctly, and every pronoun agrees. Once your grammar and accuracy is sorted, be sure the prose itself is clear, focused, and free of jargon. That means breaking up run-on sentences, eliminating repetition, and trimming out anything that distracts from the point.
[ ] ARE THE DETAILS RIGHT?
Once you’ve confirmed you have a high-quality piece of content with a clear purpose, it’s time to make sure the details are right. The first thing to consider is format - does the layout of the piece make it easy to read? Using subheads, pull-quotes, and bullets to break up big blocks of text helps with readability. Next, click through every link to be sure it works, confirm that any images or audio-visual components are high-res and working, and take a look at small pieces of copy like captions, URLs, and author bios to be sure they’re accurate and well-formatted.
[ ] CAN THIS PERFORM?
Once you’ve done a detailed sweep of your piece, it’s time to look at whether it can perform well. No, we’re not talking about SEO. Is the headline compelling, specific, and relevant? Is the piece published in the right channel - is it an email that should really be a blog post? Is it searchable, measurable, and promotable? Finally, is there a clear call to action in the piece (or a really good reason for its absence)?
[ ] IS THIS AUTHENTIC?
So you have a high-quality, polished and vetted piece of content with a clear purpose and the ability to perform? Congratulations, there’s only one final test: authenticity. Is this piece consistent with your brand’s voice and mission? Is it authored by your company or by a particular exec? Does it make sense for your brand to produce this piece - is it helping to deliver on expectations you’ve set with your customers?
As always, I'm available to chat about your growth, content, or anything else marketing related. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to me at jamie@fuelcapital.com.