After randomly deciding to depend what number of articles I had written 1.5 years into my time at Buffer, I spotted I used to be about to hit 100 articles written for the Buffer weblog.
It’s an superior milestone, and I needed to share the sensation of accomplishment. So I tweeted and posted on LinkedIn about it and obtained many congratulations and compliments about my writing.
Then I additionally obtained a number of questions on my writing course of and motivation. The latter is fairly straightforward to reply – that is my job. I’m (and I say this with full genuineness) fairly chill, due to my want for constant inner motivation to do something that requires important effort. Fortunately, Buffer’s the type of place the place that effort feels prefer it’s price it and is at all times rewarded.
Nonetheless, there’s the primary half – my course of. I didn’t wish to repeat myself to everybody who requested – so I wrote a entire article with each reply. I’ve documented some background about my time at Buffer, my writing course of (which took longer than anticipated for one thing that’s a part of my every day routine), and a few of my recommendation for present and aspiring content material writers.
Background of my time at Buffer
Quick model: I’ve been at Buffer for 18 months and have grown considerably in my function and as a creator since I joined.
I utilized for the Content material Author function in October 2021 and began in February 2022. In between was stuffed with pleasure, nervousness, and anticipation as a result of
- It’s BUFFER
- The job description was actually excellent for me
- I hoped to maneuver in-house, away from the hustle and bustle of company life, to pursue writing for one firm in a single trade.
Nonetheless, I used to be in disbelief after I obtained the supply. Sure, I obtained via the interview course of, and naturally, I belief Hailley, the Head of Content material, and Joel, the CEO at Buffer in addition to all the parents who had a hand within the resolution. I belief that out of all of the candidates, I actually was a great match. However it’s laborious to shake self-doubt, which I cope with fairly often.
Nonetheless, I’m nonetheless right here, 18 months and greater than 100 articles later, so I should be doing one thing proper. My function’s additionally shifted fairly a bit. Right here’s the unique posting:
In comparison with now, my function has modified fairly a bit. I now:
- Assist outline content material technique,
- Write the weekly e-newsletter,
- Observe content material efficiency via our analytics,
- Run a visitor posting program,
- Collaborate on team-wide advertising and marketing tasks.
A take a look at my writing course of
Publishing over 100 long-form articles in 18 months (roughly 5 a month) is not any small feat, and I obtained a number of questions concerning the writing course of that helped me obtain it. Particularly, Kuba Rogalski and Anfernee Chansamooth requested immediately about my writing course of.
So, right here’s how I take an article from concept to publishing and past.
Analysis and ideation
I fill out the content material calendar with a mixture of concepts pulled from analysis about key phrases we have to goal, present traits within the social media trade, questions from our viewers, and instinctive data of our content material gaps.
Once I began, I might get content material concepts from Hailley primarily based on what made probably the most sense for me to cowl. Over time, as I grew snug with the social media area, I began to know what would greatest transfer the needle for our core metric: web page views.
Now that I perceive each the Buffer model and the social media trade/creator financial system, I function just about independently on concept era. I’ll typically place my concepts within the content material calendar as they arrive and run them by the workforce as wanted.
Outlining and drafting articles and emails
Whereas hiring for the function I’d finally fill, the Content material workforce was basically simply Hailley, supported by an company, so after I joined, we needed to develop a brand new system for collaboration.
We’ve refined it properly sufficient that the precise writing of articles is a science masquerading as artwork that goes like this:
- Outlining: I define articles utilizing the 30 p.c define format. Whereas I rely much less on this than I used to, it’s a useful body that’ll get you from concept to last product as shortly as attainable.
- Title/H1: I’ll typically give you a number of choices for potential titles earlier than or after drafting. Typically I can solely inform the perfect title for an article earlier than I begin writing it; different instances, it’s apparent from the beginning.
- Key phrase (if the article is Search engine marketing-driven): The key phrase will decide the ultimate URL we publish an article beneath, so it’s useful for our social media supervisor Mitra, to have it earlier than the weblog goes reside
- Introduction: I’ll usually begin with one hook paragraph to seize a reader’s consideration, then end up with one thesis paragraph that’ll let you know what to anticipate from the article
- Headings and accompanying content material: I’ll break up the article into H2s, 3s, and 4s for straightforward skimming and the on-page Search engine marketing advantages. I view headings as a “inform them what to anticipate” then ship via the sections all the best way to the conclusion.
I additionally write the weekly Social Media e-newsletter, which is extra “fill-in-the-blanks” than something. Probably the most hands-on work there may be optimizing the e-newsletter by A/B testing headlines, experimenting with new sections, and incorporating viewers suggestions about our design or current content material codecs.
Enhancing suggestions and revisions
Once I first joined, Hailley would assessment my work, and I might assessment to make modifications; she’d look once more after which give me the go-ahead to publish. Over time, I’ve gotten higher at writing usually and for Buffer particularly, so we solely do one spherical of revisions earlier than publishing.
I proofread utilizing Grammarly as I’m writing, so enhancing is often centered on making structural modifications or fixing the general tone and elegance of an article. As soon as carried out, I schedule the article in Ghost, our content material administration system.
Zero-click repurposing
I just lately began sharing older articles to my private social media to contribute to distribution. That is nonetheless a brand new a part of my course of and is a drop within the ocean in the intervening time. However it helps drive site visitors to the weblog and provides me one thing to schedule after I’m out of latest concepts.
I work with a lot of instruments every day, however right here’s the stack I work with every single day:
- Analysis & ideation: Key phrase analysis in Ahrefs; an array of newsletters; content material gaps; analytics, previous efficiency
- Content material administration: Notion
- Outlining & drafting: Google Docs, Clearscope
- Article optimization (graphics, enhancing & proofreading): Grammarly, Unsplash, Canva
- Article publishing: Ghost
- Publication publishing: Buyer.io
- Zero-click repurposing: ChatGPT, scheduling in Buffer
- Admin: Calendly, Slack, Otter.ai, Zoom, Spotify, Issues 3, Arc browser
In fact, this doesn’t absolutely think about that I additionally write the e-newsletter, conduct interviews, hold observe of analytics, and handle our visitor posting program.
Some challenges I face as a content material author
Whereas my writing and advertising and marketing abilities seem to be they’re actually nice, I battle with plenty of issues, principally as a result of I used to be a “gifted child.” I might learn very early, and for so long as I’ve understood find out how to put pen to paper, writing has come naturally to me. Nonetheless, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that writing’s about the one factor I discover straightforward. And I’ve discovered myself in a profession that’s solely 5 p.c expertise.
As I shared within the introduction, I want inner motivation to work at one thing, particularly issues that frustrate me. And I’m not superb at sticking to a activity if I don’t perceive it, so I don’t do properly with these irritating issues. Nonetheless, that wouldn’t have given me the wanted progress, so I needed to study or be left behind.
So, since I obtained my first writing job, I’ve approached every thing with a newbie’s mindset. Analytics, coding fundamentals, and constructing Notion databases have all grow to be a part of my job, however I didn’t know them initially.
It typically took me plenty of trial and error to know how a chunk of content material or a venture or activity I took on would match into the broader scheme of a model (whether or not private or enterprise). I positively didn’t achieve that instinctive understanding at Buffer till about six months in, and I’m nonetheless figuring it out for my private model.
I additionally nonetheless battle with overestimating (after which overextending) myself by pondering I can tackle greater than I can. I battle with procrastination resulting from perfectionism (these are previous nemeses). I battle as a result of my atmosphere isn’t at all times very best, and my sense of creativity is delicate to the slightest change.
So it doesn’t matter what it appears to be like like on the surface, I’m removed from excellent and nonetheless have plenty of rising to do. Fortunately, I’ve the help of the Buffer workforce and the community of pros that cheer me on every single day.
Answering some FAQs about my writing course of
What I’ve realized alongside the best way
Michaela Mendes requested what I’ve realized alongside the best way. It took me a little bit of pondering, however I can pinpoint three foremost classes from after I began at Buffer until now;
- When rising a weblog, you’re on the mercy of the various search engines however solely as much as a sure level – observe the foundations as vital, however don’t let that overcome the writing and its goal.
- There’s no such factor as “too apparent” when breaking down info. Each foremost subject has sub-topics that even have sub-topics. You have not run out of concepts till you get to the final atom of an concept.
- Give your readers what they wish to the perfect of your capability. On-line writing (as in writing from a model, enterprise, or in any other case) is to affect another person. Typically that affect is for info or data sharing (“Belief me, I’m an professional at [topic]”); different instances, it’s transactional (“That is your problem, that is how my product solves it, purchase it from me.”)
I’ve additionally realized that I solely have one expertise (writing), and I’m lucky it’s so versatile.
How information informs Buffer’s content material
Danny Groner requested, “Are you able to share a few the metrics you take note of after you have revealed that determines the cadence and which subjects, too, will observe go well with?”
We primarily observe pageviews and signups. Particularly, we deal with pageviews over 7, 28, and 84 days and wider pageviews damaged up by weblog, timeframe, and so on. That is in order that we will get an image of how items carry out individually and the way our weblog site visitors goes.
Nonetheless, as detailed as our monitoring is, we’ve solely been analyzing at a excessive degree, which we’re working to alter. We used to work with a mix of month-to-month analyses of content material efficiency, a yearly overview, and an instinctive understanding of what content material performs greatest to find out find out how to transfer ahead however found we weren’t pondering high-level sufficient.
Now, Hailley and I are engaged on a venture to investigate the previous eighteen months of content material efficiency throughout our foremost metrics. We’ve positioned all of the content material we’ve ever tracked into related classes and plan to investigate the information to seek out prime performers and their frequent threads (like our readers’ jobs-to-be-done or content material format) and incorporate all our findings into future content material.
Our thesis is that understanding and specializing in what content material performs greatest will assist the weblog develop and inform us what our viewers gravitates in the direction of most, and assist us assist them.
What has helped me construct out my workflow and write sooner
Alice Lemee requested what helped me construct my workflow and write sooner.
Nothing has helped me greater than immersing myself in every factor I must sort out. There have been issues I already knew earlier than becoming a member of Buffer. I knew find out how to write a good Search engine marketing-optimized article, I knew find out how to use many on-line instruments to allow my writing. However I’ve realized a lot it makes my prior progress seem like going from crawling to working a half-marathon.
- To get concepts for articles, I began following all of the thought leaders, even remotely linked to social media after which, later, the creator financial system.
- To find out about Buffer customers’ almost definitely frustrations and get hands-on expertise with their challenges, I began posting to social media extra ceaselessly utilizing Buffer.
- To study extra about e mail writing and automation, I began a e-newsletter.
- To enhance my advertising and marketing abilities, I took Amanda Natividad’s Content material Advertising 201, and I’m presently taking CXL’s Technical Content material Advertising course.
- To grasp Notion higher, I constructed a database of sources.
Mixed, all this effort has made writing for Buffer’s viewers – excuse the drama – a part of my existence. I reside and breathe being a creator now, so I basically write for myself.
What lies forward
A structured writing course of, coupled with steady studying and adaptation, can result in prolific content material output that resonates together with your viewers. I don’t think about myself an professional, but when I needed to give any recommendation on changing into a greater author, it’d be:
- Suppose past techniques and construction. When you’ve realized the fundamentals of writing on-line, you’ll must additional perceive advertising and marketing, branding, and market analysis. Immerse your self in your trade to generate impactful concepts and create significant work.
- When doubtful, use a template. With a structured define (just like the 30 p.c format), you’ll be able to keep away from a lot of the fear about whether or not an article is optimized and deal with delivering high quality writing to your reader.
Reflecting on my journey, from the primary month at Buffer until now, it is clear that progress is a continuing effort. I plan on being at Buffer for some time – I can’t wait to see how a lot I’ve grown in one other 100 articles.
