Merchants know that content material advertising and marketing can have interaction and retain prospects. However, figuring out a subject that prospects wish to eat — learn, watch, hear — is commonly tough. But not for Kyle Boureston. His firm runs seven area of interest content material websites. He’s refined his matter choice strategies over time to interact guests from natural search.
He informed me, “We begin with a key phrase or a subject to grasp what’s being searched. We principally use Moz to establish these well-liked themes. We’re in search of key phrases with search quantity. Then we attempt to discover some grouping to create a number of items. Then we write it and costume it up.”
Boureston’s insights may help ecommerce corporations enhance their content material advertising and marketing efforts. He and I not too long ago spoke, addressing key phrase sleuthing, freelance writers, SEO, and extra.
Our total audio dialog is embedded under. The transcript that follows is edited for readability and size.
Eric Bandholz: You’re within the content material creation area.
Kyle Boureston: Yes, my firm is Boureston Media. We launched in 2013 with Mantelligence for males. Then we created Galtelligence for females. The Unbox is product and subscription-box opinions. Gamertelligence is for, properly, players.
The Golden is for owners. We have two Spanish websites: Manteligencia and Feminteligencia.
Bandholz: So, seven properties?
Boureston: That sounds proper. Plus, we’re on YouTube for Mantelligence and Galtelligence.
Bandholz: Content is more and more vital to ecommerce. Walk me by means of your operations. How do you generate concepts? Who’s doing it?
Boureston: We are strictly content material. No ecommerce. We earn a living primarily by means of promoting and a bit by means of affiliate internet marketing. We begin with a key phrase or a subject to grasp what’s being searched. We principally use Moz to establish these well-liked themes. Surfer website positioning is useful, too. We’re in search of key phrases with search quantity.
Bandholz: So you’ll have this idea. You’ll kind it in Moz and see what key phrases come up.
Boureston: Yes. Then we attempt to discover some grouping to create a number of items. Then we write it and costume it up. We attempt to concentrate on higher-volume key phrases. For instance, we’d possible keep away from key phrases searched lower than 500 instances a month. Some matters might solely have just a few key phrases. Others have 40, 50.
The variety of items per matter will depend on the related key phrase quantity. Ten items per matter is an efficient objective. And the size of every piece will depend on the subject. We shoot for 1,500, 2,000 phrases. Some are shorter. A product assessment, for instance, might be shorter.
Bandholz: You’ll assign it to writers after you’ve recognized the matters and key phrases. Is that it?
Boureston: Yes. Craigslist is our major supply of writers. I goal these adverts to Austin, Texas. I’ve discovered good folks in Austin, though I didn’t at all times reside right here. Nowadays after I publish in Austin, roughly half of the candidates are outdoors of the world, maybe attributable to websites that combination job listings.
We attempt to discover individuals who match the voice in our writing, our model. We don’t concentrate on a selected matter initially. If they’re in a position to promote a product properly, in the event that they match our writing model, in the event that they’ve gone to the web site and checked out our different product opinions to emulate, then we’ve a dialog about their pursuits and what they wish to tackle.
Bandholz: What’s the going charge for a contract author?
Boureston: We pay from 3 cents to 10 cents a phrase. Higher pay doesn’t at all times equal higher content material in my expertise.
If we publish the decrease charge on the advert, we’ll often hear from junior of us who simply graduated faculty or of us with full-time jobs which are making an attempt to get into freelance writing. We have lots of people who’re getting their toes moist. They’re all unbiased contractors. We’re their start line, which does contribute to extra churn, sadly.
Bandholz: So you handle these freelancers. You give them the subject to put in writing about. They ship. Then you publish. What about pictures?
Boureston: We use inventory images from a number of sources. We’ll typically create our personal visible, comparable to an infographic. We began including quizzes and, often, a desk of contents. We attempt to costume up articles for higher engagement. We’ll use freelance designers if obligatory.
Bandholz: So how large is your full-time workforce?
Boureston: We don’t have one. It’s simply me. The relaxation are unbiased contractors, all distant.
Bandholz: Search engine optimization. Everyone needs to crack that nut. You’ve talked about your concentrate on natural key phrases. What’s the state of website positioning in 2021?
Boureston: It’s chaos. Google releases an algorithm replace quarterly or extra. One quarter I’m doing nice, and the subsequent I’m consuming ramen. Fortunately, we began early sufficient that we’ve some authority as a basis. But it’s nerve-racking.
Bandholz: You have many alternatives to develop your manufacturers. Where can folks be taught extra about you and attain out?
Boureston: Listeners can go to BourestonMedia.com or Mantelligence.com. Both have contact kinds. I’m on Twitter and LinkedIn, too.
https://www.practicalecommerce.com/keyword-sleuthing-freelancers-propel-niche-publisher
