Why I Didn’t Write This Article

The Puppeteer Method: the Future of Content Marketing

I took what some might consider to be an unusual approach to writing this article:

I didn’t write it.

And no — I didn’t use AI.

I spent 30 minutes jotting down notes and about 20 minutes recording myself talking about the topic. Then, I handed a transcription of my audio recording and an outline to one of the writers on our team. From there, one of our editors optimized the final draft and published it here.

In one sense, we followed the same content creation process we take our clients through. In another sense, we took a new approach.

I’m telling you this because this is the future of content marketing. I call it the “Puppeteer Method.”

Let’s start with a bit of context on how we historically approached content:

Our Old Content Creation Process

Historically, our process for creating SEO-centric content entailed seven core steps:

1. We created a content strategy and conducted keyword research.
2. We created an outline.
3. The client approved the outline.
4. We wrote the article.
5. We edited and optimized the article.
6. The client approved the article.
7. We published and promoted the article.

This process is similar to what’s often referred to as the “Skyscraper Method.” The process entails looking at the content that currently ranks in Google and creating a slightly better version of those pages.

But then AI happened.

AI Has Changed Our Content Creation Process (But Not for the Reasons You May Think)

In November 2022, ChatGPT was released to the public, and AI started taking over the internet. Though flawed, ChatGPT and other tools have become more and more popular, and the quantity of AI-generated content has skyrocketed.

As a result, there’s now a ton of low-quality, repetitive content across the internet, much of which is downright horrendous.

With the massive rise of AI content in recent years, search engines have started to realize that there’s a potential problem:

There is now no barrier to auto-generating a long, extensive article about any topic in the world. With ChatGPT, you can create a 2,000+ word article — albeit a pretty bad one — in about 15 minutes.

Our content process still wins every day against this low-quality AI content. However, the overarching “Skyscraper” approach has become so ubiquitous that you’ll often find the top ten results in a Google search contain mostly the same information.

Google understands that this is a terrible user experience. So, they’ve started to reward what they refer to as information gain.

The Information Gain Score & E-E-A-T

In July 2022, even before ChatGPT became a huge presence worldwide, Google was approved for a patent called Information Gain Score — a new way to reward pages that provide novel information you can’t find on competing pages.

To learn more about information gain, check out this article from InLinks.

Here’s an example of how the Information Gain Score works:

Let’s say there are five pages about fishing. They all talk about the same five types of live bait. If one of those blogs talks about one or two additional types of bait that the others don’t mention, Google gives them a bit of “extra credit” for providing an additional snippet of information.

That extra credit means that the page has the potential to rank higher than the pages that don’t mention those other types of bait.

So what does this mean for SEO?

It means that content that offers new information will rank higher than content that doesn’t offer new information.

Thus, AI content won’t rank as well, as AI writing tools pull all their source material from existing pages on the internet. However, the Information Gain Score will also hurt those relying on the Skyscraper Method for content creation.

Simultaneously, Google is promoting the E-E-A-T framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) and rewarding sites that showcase first-hand user experience and expertise.

E-E-A-T is one reason sites like Reddit, Quora, and LinkedIn have seen search traffic skyrocket in the past 18 months — these platforms are filled with first-hand knowledge.

For SEOs, this presents a challenge: to find a cost-effective method for creating content that incorporates unique information not found anywhere else.

And this is why the Puppeteer Method offers such huge growth opportunities for businesses.

The Puppeteer Method: A New Approach to Content Creation

More than ever, companies need to focus on integrating their subject matter experts (SMEs) into the content creation process. But that’s not an easy thing to do.

For example, if you’re an ecommerce business, getting your CMO to write a blog article about next year’s product trends might be like pulling teeth. They have a million other things on their plate.

They may not have the time to do it, or writing might not be their skill set. Either way, it will be expensive for your brand.

The Puppeteer Method offers a different approach, allowing the subject matter expert to steer the direction of the article through audio recordings and transcriptions rather than having to write it themselves.

We’ve been testing this idea for the past four years and spent the last year formalizing the process.

How Does the Puppeteer Method Work?

The Puppeteer Method combines your subject matter expert’s expertise with your content team’s expertise.

For Intergrowth, it follows this framework:

1. We record an interview with a subject matter expert to get unique, first-hand insights for the article.
2. We write and edit the article.
3. Once the client approves the article, we publish it on their website.

Put another way, we collect the insights from your subject matter expert in 30 minutes of their time and convert those insights into an easily-digestible, search-optimized article for your site.

Why The Puppeteer Method Is the Future of SEO-Centric Content

So why is the Puppeteer Method the future of SEO-centric content?

1. It saves you money.
2. It’s more efficient than traditional writing.
3. It enables you to create more expert content.
4. It lets you focus on your business.
5. It gives you more free time.

We’ll elaborate on each of these benefits below.

It Saves You Money

Let’s assume that an hour of your time carries the same weight for your business as an hour of a professional writer’s time.

If a professional writer can take your transcription and convert it into a well-formulated blog article in half the time you can, then outsourcing cuts the cost of writing in half.

If you’re a CEO with dozens of employees on staff, your billable time may be 10X what the writers on your staff make. In this scenario, the Puppeteer Method can save you even more.

It’s More Efficient Than Traditional Writing

You might better understand where I’m coming from if you understand my own — very inefficient — writing process.

Writing a first draft of an article like this can take me 8-10 hours.

I start by jotting down notes on my phone as topics come to mind. Sometimes, I write down two sentences, sometimes multiple paragraphs. I outline how I’m going to explain these concepts.

Then, I sit down and write the first draft (usually in 2-4 sessions)

I love writing, but I write slowly. It also doesn’t scale. At most, I can write one article per month.

In other words, I shouldn’t be writing articles for Intergrowth.

It Lets You Create More Expert Content

I currently have 34 different content ideas saved as notes on my phone or computer.

Some have as few as two sentences; some have a couple of paragraphs. Some of these ideas date back to 2017, and many are outdated.

I missed big opportunities by not writing these articles five, six, or seven years ago, and the fact is that most of these notes will probably never turn into articles if I plan to write them myself.

It Lets You Focus on Your Business

Spending ten hours writing a blog article is not the best way to spend my time. When I do so, I disregard other business opportunities.

I could be putting that time into improving the quality of our services, reading industry updates, or responding to client questions. In my case, delegating articles can free up entire days for me to focus on other aspects of the business.

The Puppeteer Method Gives You More Free Time

My wife gave birth to our son four months ago. I want to spend as much time as possible with my growing family. If I spend ten hours writing an article, that’s 20% of my workweek. If I can take that work off my plate every month, I’ll have more time to watch my son grow.

For me, writing a blog article is a costly investment on all of these fronts.

Capitalizing on Specialization

Writing is a powerful way to think through a subject matter, and if it’s a complex issue that you’re struggling to explain to others, writing the article yourself is usually the best way to work out your thoughts and explain the concept the way you want to explain it.

But there are ways to do that without writing the entire article yourself.

With the right content team on your side, transcribing an audio recording of yourself talking about your core concepts is just as valuable. If you have an editor to play devil’s advocate and poke holes in your argument, even better.

Writing is a lot like running — it sucks until you start doing it a lot.

If you exercise your writing muscle, you’ll arm yourself with a powerful tool, but it might not be the most realistic approach if you already have a lot on your plate.

It’s going to take a lot longer to get in peak running shape if you’re also taking guitar lessons, learning a second language, or devoting your weekends to rock climbing.

Utilizing the Puppeteer Method may seem like a lazy approach, but sending your recorded thoughts to a team of writing and editing experts has benefits we can’t ignore.

Outside of writing, one of the hardest parts of content creation is coming up with an idea to write about. Our team tackles this crucial first step by working with clients in two different ways:

• By identifying the blog topics your customers search for online
• By asking you the right questions to help you unearth topics that showcase your expertise

If you’re too busy for interviews, that’s okay: we’re happy to identify topics, write articles on our own, and let you review them before publishing.

This is our tried-and-true approach, and the only thing you’ll have to do is review our work and provide feedback if you choose.

If you prefer more involvement, we can put the Puppeteer Method into action. We’ll record an interview-style call, ask questions to unearth your best insights on a topic, and turn your words into a full-length article that drives customers to your website and showcases your expertise.

Contact Intergrowth now to lead your content strategy, incorporate essential SEO components into your articles, and drive readers to your site every month.

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