I'm excited to share my latest project with you: a 24-page ebook on the state of the art in content creation, based on a detailed survey of some of the tech industry's top content pros.
The respondents represent over 600 years of collective experience in journalism and professional collaborative content creation. The participants were a diverse group of professionals with decades of work history creating various types of content, including blog posts, bylines, press releases, social media copy, research reports, and more.
The report includes pithy advice from these pros on writing better, both alone and as part of a team. And it's got data reflecting the top tools used by these content pros, and the type of work they do.
The report is 24 pages long and contains 8 charts and more than two dozen quotes from experienced content creators on the challenges, rewards, and secrets of collaborative writing and collaborative content creation.
Storylines subscribers can download a free PDF of the report below.
There's also a Kindle ebook edition of the report in the works! I'll update this post with a link to that once it goes live.
Some of the findings in the report
- Blogging is far from dead: 82% of content pros are still creating blog posts
- But also, op-eds and bylines are hugely important: 63.2% create this type of content, as pared-down newsrooms mean publications are hungry for outside contributors
- Microsoft and Google co-exist: While 79% of content pros use Google Docs for content creation and editing, 61% use Microsoft Word — and 41% use both
- Canva is emerging as a serious competitor to Adobe for designing content, with 34.2% of content pros using Canva
Advice from the pros
When I asked survey respondents for advice, they didn't hold back. Just a few examples from among two dozen:
- “Ask for help from your writing colleagues,” said one respondent, a former editorial lead for a PR agency. They pointed out that writing is typically a solitary activity, and it tends to attract people who don’t like to ask for help. You need to get over that reluctance when you’re working with a team.
- “It's important to control the process,” said a longtime writer and content pro, now a VP of marketing. In the early stages of a project, encourage more participants and lots of collaboration. “Later, when buy-in and alignment have happened, you need to send some of the cooks out of the kitchen.”
- "Herding cats is basically the biggest thing."
- "It's like playing Castlevania; the margins for error are slim to begin with, and they only get tougher as you progress."
- "Have a plan! Content outlines and creative briefs are absolutely essential."
- “Put the reader first!”
Download the ebook
An inexpensive Kindle version is coming soon.
You can also click the link below to download the free, 24-page PDF. You'll need to be a subscriber to access it, so if you don't see a PDF link here, sign up for my newsletter already! (It's free!)
