Summertime, and the living’s easy. Halfway through the year, you’ve found your groove with your content marketing plan and maybe even eased into autopilot mode.

But wait.

Are you truly executing against the plan you set out? Is your plan delivering the results you’d hoped for?

Now is the perfect time for a mid-year content plan checkup. Start by asking yourself these five questions. After that, reach out to us for a strategy call to better assess your progress and help define your next steps.

Have you delivered on the schedule and cadence you intended?

When it comes to delivering content — whether through a print magazine mailed to customers, via an e-newsletter sent straight to inboxes or on your website — your audience expects consistency. If you planned a monthly delivery and have gotten around to sending only two issues, reconsider your future plan. What additional resources do you need to achieve that monthly cadence? Or is a less-frequent publishing schedule more feasible for your organization?

Are you on budget?

As a marketer, your favorite part of your job might not be justifying spending to leadership, but it’s an important one. Mid-year, it’s crucial to gauge spending to date. Have unexpected costs popped up? Maybe you experienced a postage cost increase for which you didn’t plan. Or perhaps your blog launch took more time and resources than you intended. If you’re not on track, you may need to find areas to trim or ways to get creative with your spending.

Is your content delivering results?

At the very basic level, are you getting eyeballs on your content? For e-newsletters, take a fresh look at your open and engagement rates. For your website, assess site engagement, including bounce rates, pages per visit and time on site. If you don’t like what you find, consider new ways to attract the masses to your content. And while content engagement is great, take it to the next level by assessing the leads that can be attributed to your content.

Is your content inspiring your audience?

Results-driven content is just half of the story. If your content isn’t also creating personal connections through storytelling, you’re missing the other vital half. Does your content humanize your brand? Does it inspire your audience to take action? If not, think of new ways to create more personal connections, like customer stories or Q&As with leadership.

Have trends emerged that should change your course?

So far, your mid-year content checkup has been insular to your organization and your audience. But look outward, as well. Has a new technology surfaced that could alter your content delivery plan? What content marketing trends are emerging in your industry that you should cash in on? What successful initiatives have your competitors launched that you should consider?

Are you ready to take your mid-year content checkup to the next level? Contact us for a strategy call to put you on the road to success for the rest of the year and beyond.