We’ll be honest: this question requires some legwork. That’s because you’ll want to tie content development to other corresponding metrics, which requires some manual work. Here’s what we suggest.

At the top of the funnel, consistent content builds search visibility and inbound traffic. For example, one former client grew from fewer than 6,000 monthly page views to nearly 18,000, with inbound leads reaching 400 per month, after a sustained content program. Another traced a third of qualified leads directly to PR and content activity over three years.

In the middle and bottom of the funnel, content supports the work your sales team is doing. A byline article in a trade publication, a research report built from proprietary data, or a customer announcement gives sales reps credible third-party material for prospect conversations and can feed your ABM programs. 

The key is connecting content to the metrics your CFO already tracks: lead volume, lead quality, sales cycle length and pipeline influence.

AI is never the sole writer. Instead, we use AI as part of our writing process, for research, copy checks, collaboration and ideation. 

For example, we may use AI to pull background research for an article we’re writing about the history of self-checkout. Or we may use AI to organize notes from a series of executive input calls when onboarding a new client. 

However, we believe that the writing itself should still come from a human. To continue to offer expertise in this field, we must bring a human with years of experience and an artistic je ne sais quoi to the process. Your leadership should reflect you, and that just requires a human writer!

First things first, you’ll need your core strategy in place. Before engaging with a partner, make sure you’ve ensured your business goals align with content, locked in your core messaging, confirmed an internal stakeholder who can provide input, and identified a content approval process. (If you’re not sure whether you’ve completed these tasks, we can always discuss on a call.)

After that, it’s probably time to get started with content development. You’ll want to invest in, at the very least, a few key pieces right away.

That’s because content builds compounding value. A white paper you publish today can still generate leads or inform analyst briefings in two years. A byline article published this month serves as a short-term validating logo and source for media commentary in six months. Custom research is even more impactful. Our clients that run the same survey year after year become the definitive resource for how their market is evolving.

Take Appriss for example, its returns research is consistently cited each year in top-tier publications in the U.S. and U.K. Our client XCCommerce’s recent survey was not only pitched to publications for pick up, it’s also been repurposed into many byline articles, blogs and pitches.

Great question! Aster Agency is focused on serving B2B tech companies in the modern commerce ecosystem. Our clients have a clear story to tell and a product they’re actively selling.

You're a strong fit if you need high-quality content but don't have internal bandwidth to produce it consistently, if you're building thought leadership and visibility in a specific market, or if your sales team needs better material to support prospect conversations.

You might not be ready yet if your core messaging is still being defined, or if your team doesn't have a process in place to provide input and review drafts on a reasonable timeline. Content programs slow down substantially when approval processes take weeks.

Think of it this way: the writing expertise is the same, but the context and delivery methods are different. 

Media relations content is developed primarily to support capturing earned media. We write bylines that we pitch to publications or develop executive positioning that inspires media coverage.

More general communications and marketing content is developed to be released through a variety of channels. Some of it supports media relations, others are hosted on your own channels. These include blogs, white papers, research reports, newsletters, social content for both company and executive channels, and ABM campaigns.

Many of our clients build retainers with us that include both kinds of content, as it makes for a well-rounded comms program. 

For example, one research study can be adapted into a press release, proactive pitches to media, analyst briefing materials, social media for thought leadership posts, multiple blog posts and bylines, and an ABM campaign.

We don’t want that for you either! However, we pride ourselves on knowing your space and being talented writers (if we do say so ourselves). This is the benefit of a specialist agency.

The first month is going to require the most from you as we learn your brand voice and the style and tone preferred by your leadership. 

After that, our process gets into a rhythm. For example, NIQ’s VP of total wellness remarked that our ability to produce insightful narratives with minimal input, and almost no required edits, saved her countless hours.

The biggest challenge we run into as we seek to consistently release content is when internal teams experience approval bottlenecks or simply don’t have the bandwidth to review drafts. We work to flag these situations honestly and find creative ways to improve our process together.

Most clients have a first draft in their hands within two to three weeks after our kickoff. For owned content (blogs, social, email) the turnaround is very fast. For byline articles, the timeline will depend on the publication.

Our process for getting started looks like this.

We send a questionnaire, which we review during a kick-off call so that we can learn your goals, audience and voice. We’ll ask you what you’ve developed before, what worked and what didn’t work as well. We’ll also ask for a library of resources (existing content, brand guides, etc.). Then we build a content calendar, prioritizing pieces that can get published quickly and that have the most strategic impact.