Turn a big topic into a brief your team can produce.
“We can't get out of our own way.”
We interview your internal experts, do the research and turn a high-level idea into a detailed outline and plan, so your writers and designers can create it in-house.
The hardest part is knowing what to say.
Every company has a few big topics it should own. A point of view on where the industry is heading. A new offering that needs explaining. A hard-won lesson that would make buyers stop and think. Your experts know these topics better than anyone, and you know that content built on their thinking would stand out in a market full of generic advice.
So why does it never get made? Because turning what an expert knows into a piece of content is the hardest step in the whole process, and nobody owns it. Your experts are too busy to write. Your writers do not have the depth to fill the gaps on their own. The topic sits on the list quarter after quarter, or it gets handed off with a vague brief and comes back as something nobody is proud of.
Content Catalyst does the part that keeps stalling. We research the topic and your market so we understand what has already been said and where the open space is. Then we interview your internal experts, asking the questions that get past the talking points to the stories, opinions and proof that only they can provide. We usually need just one conversation per expert, and we prepare in advance so their time is well spent.
From that research and those conversations we build the brief. You get an interview recap with the key insights, a prospectus that sets the angle and the audience, a detailed outline your writer or designer can work from and a project plan with steps, owners and timing. In other words, the thinking is done before production starts.
That changes everything downstream. Writers start with everything they need, so first drafts land closer to final. Designers know what the piece is trying to say. Reviewers see their experts' ideas reflected accurately, so the endless rounds of edits shrink. And the finished piece has a sharper angle, because someone took the time to find it.
Content Catalyst works best for bigger pieces where getting the thinking right matters most: research reports, white papers, ebooks, campaigns and sales presentations. Your team can produce from the brief, or we can take it all the way to the finished piece.
- Interview recap with the key insights from your experts
- Prospectus that sets the angle and the audience
- Detailed outline for your writer or designer
- Project plan with steps, owners and timing
What changes when it is done right.
The content is built on what your people know, not generic research.
Writers and designers start with everything they need.
A clear angle and structure up front make the final piece stronger.
From first call to finished work.
Every engagement starts with a conversation about your problem. Here is what happens next.
We study the topic, your market and what is already out there.
We talk with your internal experts to capture their thinking and stories.
We write the prospectus and the detailed outline.
We hand over a project plan so production can start right away.
Nervous at first. Hooked by the end.
I put off making content about myself for years. I knew I needed it, I just never enjoyed it. Studio 26 turned out to be half strategy session, half therapy session, and somehow it's become one of the most fun hours of my month.
I'm my own worst critic, so I went into my first session expecting to hate how I sounded. Steve kept it so relaxed that I forgot we were recording. Now it's a session I actually look forward to.
The questions are what make it. Steve pulls out stories I'd forgotten I even had, and the hour flies by. All I do is show up and talk, and the team handles everything else.
Executive, electronics and defense industries
I expected one more meeting on my calendar. Instead, it's genuinely entertaining, with plenty of laughing along the way. It's completely seamless on my end, and it's always fun.
Executive, luxury hospitality industry
See it in the work.
Case studies from B2B companies where this service played a part.
Questions we hear about this service.
Don't see yours? Ask us when we meet.
What kinds of content is this for?+
Bigger pieces such as reports, white papers, ebooks, campaigns and sales presentations, where getting the thinking right matters most.
How much of our experts' time does it take?+
Usually one interview per expert. We prepare the questions in advance so the time is well spent.
Can you also write and design the piece?+
Yes. Many clients have us produce it, using the brief as the blueprint.
What if we have several topics?+
We can run Content Catalyst for each one, or start with a Publication Planner to decide which topics come first.
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Got a big topic that keeps stalling? Let's turn it into a plan.