It's time for new content on your website--you know that much. But what will the new content be? Who's going to write it or design it? Is it going to be a video? Where is it going to live on the site? Who is it for? These are all some questions you should be asking when you go to create new content. But before you invest the time or budget into creating this content, ask yourself why you're creating it in the first place. If your answer is, "Because it's good for SEO," it's probably wise if you invest first in a little content strategy. Being strategic about your website content means knowing why you're creating it, who it's for, and what it's supposed to do. Content that's created with a strategy in mind will come with a plan for how to measure its success so you can understand whether or not it turned out to be a valuable effort (or, more importantly, whether it helped you get any new leads!). If you're really trying to accomplish something with your website content, working with a content strategist will be invaluable to the success of your project. While it's more costly up-front to hire an agency to help you with your content, at the end of the day it's better to spend $10,000 and make $100,000 than it is to spend $1,000 and make $0 (or not even understand the return on your investment). Whether you're in the planning stage or the creation stage of your new content, take a moment and answer a few of the questions on our content strategy checklist. Be honest with yourself about the answers, and don't be afraid to start over if you realize you didn't consider something before the content was created. The most important thing is not just to get it done, but to get it right! Content Strategy Checklist: 

1. Why are we creating this content?
2. What is the goal of this content?
3. What to we hope to gain from creating this content?
4. Who is this content for? Will they find it helpful/interesting/compelling?
5. Does this content already exist somewhere else, from someone else? If so, are we able to do it ten times better?
6. Where will this content go on the site? Why did we choose this place?
7. What are the best off-site places for us to promote this content?
8. How will we measure the success of this content?
9. What is the best medium for this content? (Video, blog, written, visual, interactive, etc.)
10. Who is responsible for creating this content?