{"id":251,"date":"2011-09-22T12:53:03","date_gmt":"2011-09-22T12:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.write-angle.com\/thewritestuff\/?p=251"},"modified":"2011-09-22T15:41:17","modified_gmt":"2011-09-22T15:41:17","slug":"questions-to-ask-before-embarking-on-a-content-creation-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.write-angle.com\/thewritestuff\/questions-to-ask-before-embarking-on-a-content-creation-effort\/","title":{"rendered":"Five questions to ask BEFORE embarking on a content-creation effort"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.dreamstime.com\/register?jump_to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dreamstime.com%2Fstock-photo-what-where-why-when-questions-image10954980\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"yiv1657208465myimage\" title=\"What Where Why When Questions\" src=\"http:\/\/www.dreamstime.com\/what-where-why-when-questions-thumb10954980.jpg\" alt=\"What Where Why When Questions\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong>In journalism and police work the five Ws &#8212; who, what, when, where and why &#8212; amount to the framework of investigation and the building blocks of a story or case. This also applies to just about any content-creation initiative you can name. The order of the questions may be different but the same regimen applies.<\/p>\n<p>For example, a product launch or a major re-branding campaign might call for support materials, a web site makeover, an update to existing content and a variety of other deliverables.\u00a0 Each piece will have its own objective but still be seen as part of a larger effort that should be greater than the sum of its pieces.<\/p>\n<p>Making the whole exceed the sum of the parts <a href=\"http:\/\/write-angle.com\">requires a plan.<\/a> Specifically, it requires asking these questions up front:<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>1. <\/strong><\/em><em><strong>Why<\/strong><\/em><strong> are we engaged in this effort in the first place?<\/strong> A product launch typically doesn\u2019t necessitate a new web site but a re-branding would.\u00a0 A major acquisition might call for something else entirely.\u00a0 You may want to consider how to re-purpose existing material consistent with new messages along with creating something entirely new. <em><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>2. <\/strong><em><strong>What<\/strong><\/em><strong> is the objective or mission we want to accomplish?<\/strong> Giving reassurances to existing customers is not the same as acquiring new ones.\u00a0 New versions of established products require descriptive material that is subtly different from the content created for an entry into a new market or an altogether new product.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. <\/strong><em><strong>Who<\/strong><\/em><strong> is the target of this effort?<\/strong> An purchase influencer might respond to a very different appeal than the outreach you make to the actual buyer or the key decision maker. Once identified, \u201cwho\u201d you are pursuing will tell you what it will take to get this target to act.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. <\/strong><em><strong>Where <\/strong><\/em><strong>is the source material <\/strong>on which the content will be based?\u00a0 Content creation is not the same thing as as creation of the underlying product or marketing strategy.\u00a0 The content articulates the product\u2019s benefits.\u00a0 But those benefits were the outcome of rigorous efforts made earlier in a far different process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. <\/strong><strong><em>When <\/em>is the trigger event for delivery of the content?<\/strong> You may want to use the content creation process as an ingredient in preparation of the strategy \u2013 as a way to prompt ideas and new thinking. All assumptions should be challenged as a way to ensure validity and consistency with the current environment.\u00a0 Best of all, it\u2019s a good measure of how well prepared you are to embark on your initiative.\u00a0 Better to know this in advance, than to find out \u201cin real time\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Success is based on asking the right questions at the right time. Ask the wrong questions, get the wrong answers. Get the wrong answers and you mobilize the wrong effort and waste a lot of resources.<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s  your process for content creation?\u00a0 How do you create and prepare  source material to generate compelling marketing content?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In journalism and police work the five Ws &#8212; who, what, when, where and why &#8212; amount to the framework of investigation and the building blocks of a story or case. This also applies to just about any content-creation initiative you can name. The order of the questions may be different but the same regimen [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,36,9,30,10,53],"tags":[14,210,26,86,38,17,212],"class_list":["post-251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-content-marketing","category-content-strategy","category-online-content","category-rx-for-content","category-website-content","category-white-papers","tag-branding-content","tag-case-studies","tag-content-creation","tag-content-guidelines","tag-content-strategy-2","tag-sales-minded-content","tag-white-papers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Five questions to ask BEFORE embarking on a content-creation effort - The Write Stuff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.write-angle.com\/thewritestuff\/questions-to-ask-before-embarking-on-a-content-creation-effort\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Five questions to ask BEFORE embarking on a content-creation effort - The Write Stuff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In journalism and police work the five Ws &#8212; who, what, when, where and why &#8212; amount to the framework of investigation and the building blocks of a story or case. 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