The GDS Content Marketing Blueprint

A simple, step-by-step guide that maps out exactly what creative content you’ll need at every step of your customer’s journey.

STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR GOAL

Why are you developing a content marketing plan? What is your definition of success? Map out a game plan with our worksheet here.
STEP 2: DEFINE YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

Do you want to target prospects similar to your current customer base? Do you want expand your target market and reach new groups of people?
STEP 3: STUDY YOUR BUYER'S JOURNEY

Evaluate best creative for the different phases of your prospect's journey with our cheat sheet here. Note that the type of creative you'll use will also depend on how content is distributed (step 8).
STEP 4: RUN A CONTENT AUDIT

What content marketing efforts have worked in the past? Is there anything you would do differently?
STEP 5: CHOOSE THE RIGHT SOFTWARE

Integrating marketing automation software is key in optimizing efficiency, boosting company growth, and managing customers. Here at Gallery Design Studio we use HubSpot and Kajabi.
STEP 6: IDENTIFY CONTENT IDEAS

Speak to your clients about their pain points, check community sites and forums to see if there is a recurring topic being discussed, partner with fellow industry colleagues or vendors to create collective content.
STEP 7: DETERMINE CONTENT TYPES

From blogposts and whitepapers to explainer videos, the content type you choose will not only depend on where your prospect is at in the buyer's journey, but also where you will be distributing content such as LinkedIn or an email newsletter.
STEP 8: BUNDLE IDEAS INTO TOPICS

Bundle articles into broader topics to make it easier for readers to discover related content. It also helps your team stay organized and avoid repetitive blogposts!
STEP 9: DETERMINE BEST CONTENT CHANNELS

Meet your audience where they are at by promoting content where they are already clustering.
STEP 10: TRACK & MANAGE CONTENT

Keep track of content with an editorial calendar, you can download our template here. Once your content is published, you can organize articles by topic on your website with a filtering system to help you easily find previously published posts, see example here.