Good, Fast, and Cheap Content From a Creator’s Perspective
As a content creator, there are always variables that affect my output. A tight deadline could mean a content piece doesn't reach its full potential. Then there are roadblocks like compliance, which can alter the process. And, of course, working with a team or a specific brand also adds elements that can change the final product, hopefully for the better.
But sometimes executing a strategy means making sacrifices to get a minimum viable product to market. Why? As General George S. Patton famously said, "A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week."
If content teams were working in a vacuum, we would be able to create good, fast, and cheap content. But even then, a minimum amount of hours is necessary to create a good piece of content. If you want to get content done quicker, it usually means adding members to the team, which would increase the cost.
We should always strive for quality in our work, but within a corporate context, there are way more forces at work that end up degrading the quality of content to accomplish larger goals. I see it all the time.
So, when I read articles about good, fast, and cheap, the purist in me wants to say that you should never sacrifice quality for speed or budget, but it's rarely my call. As someone who has worked on many content teams over the years, it mainly comes down to workflow, executive decisions, and the bottom line.
But even in an ideal situation, could you have it all when it comes to content creation? It's all a matter of perception.
Good and fast content
Creating quality content on a tight deadline comes at a price. If you have a month to create an ebook, you can work with a smaller team, which costs less. But if you have to produce the same ebook in a week, you need to call in reinforcements. And sometimes, that means paying a premium to have a professional drop everything they have on their schedule to work on this deadline.
Think about how moving companies work. The smaller the window of time necessary to move you from one place to another, the more movers are required. It isn't even so much about economics as it is about physics. If you have all day, you might get away with a team of two movers. But if you have two hours, you may need a team of six. And that team of six will need to be managed to ensure proper communication and coordination.
Creating content is the same, even though all stakeholders sometimes need help understanding it. If you rush two movers to get the job done quicker, you may end up with broken belongings, scratches on your floors, or worse, an injured mover. So, even if you force the situation, good will inevitably go out the window. And you will have to pay more to fix the damage the rush job created for you.
Fast and cheap content
When it comes to creating content that's fast and cheap, just say no.
If someone is asking for fast and cheap content and still expects quality, they most likely haven't worked on a content team before and may not understand what it actually takes to achieve quality. Or they simply don't care. Both are red flags.
A couple of times in my career as a content writer, I have been presented with writing quotas which is the hallmark of a company that wants content fast and cheap. The first thing an experienced writer would point out when presented with a writing quota is that writing shorter is more challenging and usually takes longer. So, the idea that you need to hit an arbitrary word count per day or week doesn't consider the actual process.
The best way to show how shorter writing takes longer is by thinking about the process of creating a brand name. It takes many hours of work to come up with one or two words that embody the brand identity and hit the right creative notes. Usually, you need to spend weeks in brainstorming sessions, discussions, research, presentations, and dialogues with the client.
The naming process is far more complicated than writing 2,500 words on a given topic for an organic growth strategy. In that case, you can express yourself fully without spending so much time editing for length. So really, writing fewer words costs more, even when you try to cut creative corners.
Good and cheap content
Is it possible to achieve quality at a low cost? With all the time in the world, sure. If you've ever placed an order on Etsy for a handmade item, you have probably been made to wait a month or two for the order to be fulfilled. Most handcrafted items take much longer than a product you would order from an Amazon fulfillment center. In this example, Etsy is good and cheap, and Amazon is fast and cheap.
When you try to rush through a job, your audience can tell.
When I learned to draw, my teacher sometimes began the workshop by asking us to make gesture drawings. This type of drawing is a quick, rough sketch meant to be completed quickly instead of precisely. It's good practice as you lead up to a final drawing, which takes longer. You can tell the difference between a gesture drawing and a drawing that took an hour in the blink of an eye. The markings make it obvious. Both are valuable in practice, but you don't see gesture drawings hanging in the Louvre for a reason. A drawing hanging in a gallery likely took many hours to complete, even by the most talented artist.
When it comes to content creation, the longer the timeline, the more thoughtful, methodical, and creative the team can be. It can be worked on over time, meaning you don't have to clear your team's schedule to get it done. You can change your mind, develop better angles, bolster your research, and polish the piece until it meets the highest editorial standards.
Ultimately, something's gotta give
There will always be people who want their cake and eat it, too–especially when it comes to business.
But those of us who have spent time in the creative trenches know that you can have it all, but not at the same time. The most effective content managers I have worked with in my career have been acutely aware of this and push back when executives make requests without understanding what goes into the content creation process.
There are logical and practical ways to cut corners. Many of my content jobs have involved going for low-hanging fruit, like repurposing existing content, optimizing instead of rewriting, or cutting down on design and functionality to get a piece through a workflow. But low-hanging fruit, rush jobs, word counts, and quick fixes don't do any favors for your audience. And ultimately, they can demoralize your content team and leave you with high employee turnover, content that doesn't convert, and websites that don't rank high in search results.
So, when choosing between good, fast, and cheap content, choose wisely.
