Compare TV - CJ CUSACK DOT COM

Carving out a niche in the affiliate marketing space has never been this much fun!

Compare TV is an affiliate marketing agency specialising in digital entertainment. Where some affiliate marketing sites spread out and compare, well, everything, this company had chosen to focus exclusively on helping Australians maximise the value of their free time online. Be it streaming TV, music, gaming, they were all over it. Not to mention broadband and mobile plans — because how else do you get online?

Focusing heavily on social engagement and SEO, the agency drafts quality news articles and reviews of various providers and services to help their visitors understand their options. They supplement this with how-to guides, comparison articles and tables, as well as responding to visitor inquiries via online forms and email. The agency had an international team of freelance writers producing emails, videos, website layout and design, ads and more.

An internal review made it apparent that the processes they had in place were making it hard to manage the content production process. This lack of oversight resulted in inefficiencies in drafting, as well as substantial variations in terms of content quality.

A four-month contract saw me take over as an interim editor, working with a local and remote team of writers, SEO experts, monetisation specialists and developers. The contract was to take over and redesign the processes involved in managing content schedules — both in terms of production and ongoing management.

The Content Generation System

I redesigned the process by which the company identified what to publish and how to publish it. First, I solidified responsibilities, outlined exactly who was responsible for each step. This insight let me consolidate processes, giving the writers greater ownership over their content while also reducing the number of touch points involved. This new process helped reduce the time taken up by the drafting process while improving transparency and content quality.

Content audits/refresh process

IT was clear that the system used to keep evergreen content up to date was incomplete. Important pieces were getting passed over, while content that returned less value was receiving regular attention. Inconsistencies in page layout and site design also reduced the effectiveness of the content. To remedy this, I consolidated all of the pages on the site, removing and redirecting duplicates, standardising layouts with content templates and setting refresh agendas. I also automated the refresh process with an intuitive, segmented system that notified content owners when evergreen content was due to be refreshed.

The Result

Compare TV now has an efficient, flexible and scalable content generation process in place. Projects responsibilities are transparent and the workflow is intuitive, with half the number of touchpoints involved in content production. This new process saves between $5000 and $18,000 each year at current production levels — not to mention the scalability it enables.

The new scalable content audit process is rock-solid, enforcing accountability over everything the agency produces. No more outdated pages, no more incorrect information — just accurate, helpful content that promotes a useful, professional feel.