You're a team of one, or just a few. Your job is to create "content," whatever that means, but you don't have resources, access, or approval. What do you do? This presentation provides tips for individuals and small teams of content creators. Tools, advice, and capybara all included.

1. Lean Content
Writing for One, When One’s All You Got
Ian Lurie
CEO, Portent
EVP Marketing Services, Clearlink
@portentint
ian@portent.com

2. Me: @portentint
Sarcastic marketer since 1995
Dr. Who fan

3. I just sold my company

4. No

5. Yes gods yes

6. Me When you say “seo content”

7. Me When you say
“CONTENT = BLOG POSTS”

8. The Content Creator’s Dilemma

9. THE PACE WE WANT

10. THE PACE WE GET

11. THE
CONTENT
WE WANT

12. THE
BUDGET
WE GET

13. We can all go get
or…

14. Chip away
One problem at a time

15. calendarX
ideasX
productionX
d’ohX
ApprovalX

16. Problem 1: The content calendar

17. 11% of writers surveyed
said they stick to their
content calendar

24. Option 1

25. Option 2

26. Option 3

27. When you’re on your own,
Structure is more important
than planning
Rule 1

28. Content
types

29. ?X PER WEEK
1X PER MONTH
1X PER QUARTER/SIX MONTHS

32. ?X PER WEEK
1X PER MONTH
1X PER QUARTER/SIX MONTHS

35. ?X PER WEEK
1X PER MONTH
1X PER QUARTER/SIX MONTHS

38. BrandinG
Levels

39. Lightly BRANDED:
the solution
“How to cook radishes”

40. Brand is irrelevant

41. Brand is irrelevant

42. Moderately BRANDED:
THE solution, OUR EXAMPLE
“How to cook radishes
using our radish cooker”

44. I can use this, with or without Linode
(but it’s easier to follow if I use Linode)

45. Interesting fact, based on our own brand

46. HEAVILY BRANDED:
BUY OUR PRODUCT
“Our radish cooker rocks”

49. Plan based on type/branding structure
Week 1 Week 2 Week 4 Month 3Week 3

51. When possible,
Connect CONTENT
Rule 1B

52. Lightly branded…

53. …leads to moderately branded, and so on.

54. How Fiverr will
end civilization
Artificial intelligence and
grammar: Not their yet
The Foo, Inc.
editor directory
We’re the best
content provider
Hiring a great
content provider
Week 1 Month 3

55. structureX

56. Brainstorming list
They were cooking broccoli. Then this happened…
The groom looked at broccoli 40 years later.
What he saw shocked him
Purple things are intelligent. So is broccoli
I used to eat broccoli. Then I read this…
How gazebo broccoli gardens can save the world
Broccoli is the miracle food
Peanuts go well with broccoli
Broccoli should not be in the book of grudges
How to cook broccoli
Broccoli florets
Broccoli, the song
Dr. Who and broccoli
Broccoli pens are the new rage
How broccoli can save your marriage

57. cough

58. Problem 2: “ideation”

59. YOU’RE DROWNING
IN IDEAS. Choose
ONE, ALREADY.
Rule 2

61. Answerthepublic.com

62. Answerthepublic.com
Most people stop at the questions.
Look at the comparisons, too.

64. Find popular
threads
“How to Install the Solr php Extension”

65. Find popular
SLIDES

66. Find popular
SLIDES

67. Find popular
SLIDES
“How to use Hemingway"

68. Find popular
SLIDES
“Sharepoint CSS Classes”

69. TRANSFORM THE SYNERGIESLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut
labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris
nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit
esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in
culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
The whitepaper transformation
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut
labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris
nisi ut
aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse
cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa
qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
synergies
dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
- Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit
- voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatu
- Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in
- culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Blog post
SLIDE DECK
PULL IDEAS FROM
A WHITEPAPER

70. PULL Tweets
OUT OF A post

71. calendarX
ideasX

72. it’s all
written. I’m
just waiting for
a designer.
design’s
done. I’m
waiting for a
proofreader.
Code’s done. I
need a writer.

74. Problem 3: resources

75. USE WHAT YOU
HAVE. NOT WHAT
YOU WISH YOU HAD
Rule 3

76. use plain text
& markdown
You don’t have a producer
rule 3A

77. But… why?

78. Text editors don’t crash

79. Markdown is portable

80. Convert to
word
html
pdf
slides
…

81. Edit anywhere

82. Can open in 20 years

83. Generate beautiful html fast

84. http://portent.co/mkdown-syntax
Use Markdown

85. H1 and H2
http://portent.co/mkdown-syntax
Use Markdown

86. Use Markdown
H1 & h2

87. link
http://portent.co/mkdown-syntax
Use Markdown

88. Use Markdown
link

89. list
http://portent.co/mkdown-syntax
Use Markdown

90. Use Markdown
list

91. image
http://portent.co/mkdown-syntax
Use Markdown

92. Use Markdown
image

93. Use Markdown
Smart quotes!!!

94. Text editor: ATOM.IO
viewer: Marked 2
converter: Marked 2
http://portent.co/mkdown-install
Use Markdown

95. Be graphics
independent
You don’t have a designer
rule 3B

96. AVOID STOCK PHOTOS

97. Canva for
graphs and
charts

98. Snagit for screen captures

99. (BUT IF YOU MUST)…

100. NO.

101. NO.

102. Brand safety:
Do an image search

103. NO.
Do an image
search

104. NO.
Do an image
search

105. NO.
Do an image
search

106. NO.
Do an image
search

107. Try analogies
crowd

108. Makes a point

109. Try analogies
crowd

110. Try analogies
crowd

111. Make it your own
why are you
all staring at
me!!????

112. Or awesome

113. Pexels
Unsplash
Istock
Shutterfly
…
Source legally

114. Have an image
prep workflow
rule 3C

115. Save the original

116. 2x for retina

117. Compress
5.4 mb 661 kb

118. JPG: 60KB PNG: 8KB
Use PNG for line art/few colors

119. PNG: 4mb JPG: 360kb
Use JPG for photographs
4 seconds .6 seconds

120. Handle colors
on your own
rule 3D

121. Canva color palette generator

122. calendarX
ideasX
productionX

124. CREDIT: ZEKE MILLER, TIME REPORTER

126. Problem 4: editorial

127. Have your own
EDITORIAL
workflow
Rule 4
You may not have an editor

128. Read it
backwards
One paragraph at a time

129. Read it
backwards
One sentence at a time

130. Read it
backwards
One WORD at a time

131. please just
end my misery

132. Hemingwayapp

133. grammarly

134. calendarX
ideasX
productionX
d’ohX

135. Good t0 go?...

136. Legal

137. Brand

138. Problem 5: approval

139. content
governance
rule 5
own

140. as sexy as…

141. identify policy makers

142. interview them

143. write it down

144. MAKE IT EASIER
go piggy back

145. calendarX
ideasX
productionX
d’ohX
ApprovalX

146. Bonus round: Repurposing

147. Waste
nothing
rule 6
Resources are limited

148. Slides to post
Badger rule of content #6A 50,000 omg!!!!

149. Slides to post
Badger rule of content #6A 1,500 pheh

150. 1,200 ok

151. Webinar to ebook
Badger rule of content #6C 350 leads??!!!

152. Turn e-mails to blog posts
@crestodina

153. Rollups
@seo_theory

154. Rollups
@seo_theory

157. Polished Video transcripts

158. cheep?

159. Bonus round: Content marketing

160. With
content
Bonus round
Promote content

162. Create posts that live on their own. Link to more.

163. Create posts that live on their own. Link to more.

164. Create posts that live on their own. Link to more.

165. +22 visits. Meh. +1 link. Yeah!

166. target your followers
especially on Facebook

167. yes, facebook is for b2b

168. you always have a little less than you want

169. There is
always a way
the big rule

170. Chip away
One problem at a time

171. Not glamorous

172. Effective

173. Ask me anything at the Post-Presentation Huddle!
Ian Lurie
ian@portent.com
@portentint
Slides and links: portent.co/mpb2b-content