This is the first part of our three-part series: We Delivered 15,000+ Blog Posts in 6 Years. Here’s What We Learned About Blog Writing. Stay tuned for more exciting insights from Ukti’s journey.
It’s been six years since we first ventured into the exciting world of content. Six years since Ukti got its first client.
That’s 70 months of creating and delivering exceptional content and about 2100+ days of working with a diverse range of clients, from B2B SaaS to EdTech and BFSI brands. And that’s six years, or roughly 50,000+ hours of extensive research, to deliver 15,000+ blogs. Phew! That’s a lot of math, isn’t it?
And owing to all those hours we’ve spent in research and writing as a content team, we’ve picked up a few essential things about blog writing along the way. So, I decided to dive deep into our internal processes and share some of our most *valuable* insights about content with you.
In this first part, I’ll explore the one process that has helped us exceed each of our client’s expectations over the years – Research.
Why is Research a Critical Aspect of Our Writing Process?
“Research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing”
— Wernher von Braun.
Let’s be honest. Even the best writers aren’t really experts in every single industry they write for. As writers, we have the skill to write quality content that reflects authority. But that authority won’t reveal itself unless you have taken ample time to put in your research.
Otherwise, there’s simply no quality, no authority, and no engagement in your content. Besides, looking at the growing impact of AI on content, I’d say research is one of the things that makes human-written content stand apart.
Humans have the emotional intelligence, the skill, and the authority to dig deeper into various subjects and pick out what really matters. AI? Not so much.
So, how will you know what your audience wants to read? Drive qualified traffic to your website? And most importantly, how will you establish yourself as the go-to source for the best information?
The answer is Research. Because when the research is solid, your copy will practically write itself, and hence, goodbye writer’s block!
This is the philosophy that guides our team’s research process at Ukti.
Our 3-Step Research Process
Let’s take a quick tour of the 3-step research process we follow when working with clients (and to boost our own site visibility) at Ukti.
First, Writers Conduct Client Research
Every content piece at Ukti starts with a thorough understanding of the client and the competition. We start off by analyzing the client’s target audience in depth. This involves learning more about their product or service, checking out their website, and going through the relevant material provided by them.
These valuable inputs are turned into detailed client briefs and individual content briefs by our content leads and editors. And help our writers get a foot in the door when researching content.
Then, We Dig the Socials
A quick Google search helps us better understand the topic and gain as much expertise as we can. We scout for reputable sources and pick out the key titbits of information that can add more value to the content.
But our hunt for the best and the most quality information isn’t just limited to Google. To bring more authority to the content, we often turn to LinkedIn posts and articles, platforms like Reddit, as well as our in-house collection of reliable sources to get the inside industry scoop and expand our knowledge on the topic.
Here’s a quick tip: Look for at least five to seven reliable resources; apart from blogs, check out eBooks, publications, news articles, or even Twitter threads to really amp up your research quality.
And Finally, We Make it a Team Effort
To ensure we deliver content of the highest quality, we have a seamless feedback system in place where the editors and writers work together. They collaborate to find out any gaps in the content, share resources, and smooth out the rough edges of the copy – more about our editorial processes in Part Two!
Besides, we don’t shy away from turning to each other for advice and fresh ideas to write better content. The team makes it a point to share any helpful resource they come across with others, making sure that we always have the correct information at our disposal at the right time, like this:
Top Sources for Better Research (As Suggested by Team Ukti)
Doing quality research can be challenging and, honestly, quite boring at times. But when you’re running against time to finish your draft and need solid information, try out these sources:
LinkedIn is a goldmine of information. From thought leaders to the latest industry trends, you can gain newer insights into just about everything. You can search for topic-related hashtags on LinkedIn to get the latest posts, or type in “Your Topic + LinkedIn” in Google search to access some pretty amazing LinkedIn articles.
Here’s what a quick Google search using “+ LinkedIn” led me to:
Reddit and Quora
Reddit and Quora are the platforms to be on if you’re looking for the inside scoop on audience you’re targeting or picking up on how your target audience “talks.” People are fairly candid and share a variety of opinions you can use in your blog post.
Help a B2B Writer
Help a B2B Writer is a fantastic platform if you want to source quotes from subject matter experts and business leaders, especially in the B2B and SaaS industry. The platform lets you submit your requests, and you can receive useful responses from experts around the globe.
YouTube
If you’re not clicking on the YouTube videos that come up on your SERPs, you’re missing out on a whole lot of helpful information. I personally love using YouTube for research – it not only helps me understand any concept better, but I often come across fresh insights that help me add more value to my copy.
Do you prioritize research when writing blogs?
Writing a well-researched content piece ensures that your efforts, as well as the reader’s time, are respected and valued. So the next time you’re stuck with research, do come back to this blog for tips, ideas, and processes to make your research process worth everyone’s time.
And if you’re looking to source content to score Page 1 rankings, you can always get in touch with us.
In the second part of this series, we’ll talk about why the editorial process is the key to amazing content. Stay tuned.