The Lightning Media Partners Writing Process

As a content creation agency, Lightning Media Partners understands the process of business writing differs by company and industry. Some organizations need one or two short blogs a month to keep their content strategy rolling, while larger companies like digital publishers — our forté — produce dozens of articles and pieces of written content a week.

The Lightning Media Partners content creation process remains unique to each client’s needs and goals, but our core editorial framework stays consistent. Ready for a peek behind the curtain?

In this article we’re going to break down: 

• • What services and functionalities Lightning Media Partners offers.
  • How our unique content creation framework optimizes the process of business writing.
  • Why Lighting Media Partners is the best vendor choice for publishers with content creation needs.

What does LMP do?

Lightning Media Partners (or LMP) produces SEO-optimized editorial content with a focus on scaling content production for digital publishers. From federal agencies to independent law firms, LMP tackles a variety of written projects for various industries. The LMP team’s diverse professional backgrounds enable the adaptability and excellence we bring to clients. 

Lightning Media Partners prides itself on being just that — a partner — to clients and their content teams. Our U.S.-based team of SEO specialists, outliners, writers, and editors keeps each client’s audience, SEO goals, conversion goals, and KPIs in mind when creating unique, valuable content. Unlike content farms or AI-powered content generators, we craft each piece to ensure it nurtures web traffic, attracts organic visitors, and accomplishes a business goal.

As a company’s content creation vendor, Lightning Media Partners creates well-researched, high-quality projects at a fraction of the cost of in-house teams. Based on the average cost of LMP’s editorial packages, companies can save $32,000 per year on content writers — or more, depending on the scope of the project.

While SEO-optimized blog articles remain the most popular service clients choose, other projects the LMP team regularly completes include:

• • Video transcriptions.
  • Email nurture campaigns.
  • Copyediting.
  • Content roundups.
  • Daily regional newsletters.
  • SEO audits.
  • Sponsored content.

Client discussion

Before signing a client, founders Nicole and Sean have a complimentary discovery call with prospective clients to identify their pain points, goals, and future content needs. This discovery call enables the team to create and execute a customized content strategy, whether the goal is to produce dozens of pieces a week, increase organic traffic, or establish a content plan. This conversation walks through each part of the business, understanding workflows, point people, competitors, and more.

After reaching an agreement with the client, LMP creates a three-month content strategy with proposed content topics and due dates. 

Some clients send a list of topics, headlines, or primary keywords with instructions and expectations while others give total autonomy to our team. Regardless of the client, LMP has ongoing discussions internally and with clients to ensure expectations remain exceeded and the team can proactively pivot the content strategy if business priorities change.

Related article: How to Decide What Content to Create 

Research and outlining

With a content plan established, LMP’s SEO specialists and outliners perform keyword and industry research to construct a framework for the writers. Research includes (but is not limited to):

• • Identifying the primary keyword and keyword variations.
  • Identifying the current top-ranking content (and taking note of word count, backlinks, target keyword, and audience).
  • Establishing a framework unique from currently-ranking content.
  • Recognizing what can be added to the conversation under the lens of the client’s expertise. 

LMP’s outliners take special care in collecting sources for content pieces. Each client has its own requirements, but outliners strive to choose well-established, high-domain-authority websites that cite empirical data rather than run-of-the-mill blogs with regurgitated content.   

Some topics pitched by clients require additional materials like expert quotes, custom graphics, and video transcription. LMP’s team adds these supplementary resources for an additional expense once the client approves them. 

Writing

LMP selects pieces for writers based on availability, industry expertise, and background knowledge. Equipped with SEO research and a plump outline, the writer fleshes out the content with special consideration for the content’s audience, goal, and position in the sales funnel. LMP sets internal minimum quality standards for writers, ensuring when a piece comes to its first edit, the writer has added more credible sources, satisfied the prompt, included keyword phrases, picked a title tag and meta description, and more. 

Writers aren’t alone in accomplishing their pieces, either. The LMP team collaborates internally to ensure questions get answered, directives are understood, and client expectations will be exceeded. While most clients contract a monthly batch of pieces between 600 to 1000 words, the LMP team doesn’t cut content off at the knees after hitting the word count — instead, the quality of information is the priority, and we always write to ensure the topic gets comprehensive coverage.

Related article: What is the Ideal Word Count for My Business Blog?

Editing and client feedback

Each piece of content — be it a blog article, video transcription, or anything in between — undergoes at least two rounds of edits. Once a writer finishes creating the piece, the First Editor uses a checklist with both general and client-specific items to review. First Editors conduct both developmental edits and copyedits, ensuring the use of proper grammar and AP style and evaluating the piece as a whole for clarity, comprehensiveness, and quality. Client-specific edits check the article doesn’t link to competitors, uses understandable industry jargon, satisfies best practices, and more. Should a piece fail its developmental edit, the First Editor sends the piece back to the writer with specific instructions for revision. 

After the First Editor approves the draft, the Final Editor also conducts a developmental edit and copyedits — in addition to evaluating the First Editor’s suggested changes. The Final Editor will make additional changes as needed before sending the article to the client for approval. 

Should a piece fail the client’s expectations, the LMP team continues making edits to the piece until it exceeds expectations. Within 48 hours of a client’s revision request, the piece will return to the writer and editors for changes.

Why choose LMP?

Lightning Media Partners is the best choice for organizations eager to scale high-volume content creation with a special focus on SEO. LMP’s U.S.-based team takes the time to understand company goals to create a unique content strategy that drives results and organic traffic. 

• • We’re dedicated to giving each project individual care, research, and a sharp editing eye. 
  • We ensure SEO best practices and help to establish an SEO strategy if a business doesn’t have one. 
  • We value the relationships we build with our clients and endeavor to become their favorite vendor — the partner they can rely on no matter what.

Why choose LMP? We’re efficient, affordable, reliable, and high-quality — with proven success from large digital publishers like CO–, BobVila.com, and more.   

To discover how you can get started with Lightning Media Partners, book a complimentary discovery call or ask a question on our Contact page.