There’s just something special about the garden and floral industries.
Gardens — and the plants we grow in them — bring joy every day to people all around the world. But where do people go for information on how to grow these backyard havens?
Google.
(at least these days!)
Which means if you want to stand out as a helpful brand in the garden and floral industries, you have to produce a lot of content.
And since we still haven’t managed to make content grow from a tree (we’re working on it, okay?), you’ll have to figure out how to fill the pages of your website another way.
That brings us to our mission: find the biggest content weeds in your niche and show you how to pull them out. To accomplish this, we’ve contacted some experts who have figured out how to cultivate their content, and we’re sharing their tips with you now.
1. Outsourced Content Quality Can Create Rocky Experiences
“I’ve definitely run into some issues when it comes to content creation. I try to pump out at least one article per week that is extremely high quality and well- SEO’d.
For me, I’ve found outsourcing and creating fresh content can occasionally be difficult, even if you write about something that you’re very passionate about, like me. I have tried to accept content from outsourced writers, but I’ve found that the content is rarely the quality that I create myself.
It can be easy to get burned out when you’re working to create fresh content week after week..
There’s always a massive to do list when it comes to blogging. Weekly newsletters, weekly posts, product creation, etc. can quickly drain the creativeness out of the best of us.
I’ve found that planning ahead helps to ease the pressure and allows me to be more productive and creative.
Once a month, I sit down and have a ‘brain dump’. In a brain dump session, I write down all of the ideas that I can think about for 30 minutes. Some of these are ideas for newsletter topics, some are for blog posts, some are for useful products.
Then, I map out how I want to tackle these ideas over the next month or so. The key to this is to write down everything that comes to mind, even if it seems outrageous or impossible. It can always be tweaked later and made into a manageable or useful product or article.”
2. Nuanced Topics Are Hard To Write Without Personal Experience
“When it comes to plant-related projects like terrariums, it can be a nuanced field. There’s no single “correct” way to do it, and it’s really as much an art as a science. In the end, so much comes down to experience and trial and error – making it very difficult to find anyone qualified to create content on the topic.”
“My team produces 20,000 words monthly for a gardening client and our problem is finding gardening writers that actually have the experience to back up their content. We’ve discovered that many freelance writers apply thinking that anyone can write about gardening, yet delivered work shows no expertise at all. Since there’s no certifications for gardeners, finding true experts takes some time. This is the challenge we have when onboarding new writers.”
3. Prioritize Pictures,Quotations, and Deadlines To Elevate Content
“Our agency offers an array of services to the Natural Pond, Pool and Custom Garden industries.
Every month, we produce 1-2 articles that are focused on ideal topics for that time of year. For example, because we are based in Chicago, during the winter months we primarily focus on “booking your custom natural pool or custom garden this spring/summer” type of articles from Fall – Spring. This strategy enables us to focus on SEO directed at finding new customers for our clients, providing the opportunities to book their “active” months out well in advance.
We’ve found that seeking experts for collaboration can be difficult within the industry — if you’re looking to speak with a series of “gardening influencers”, this area can be a bit more time consuming than other industries. However, once you are able to solidify quotes and collaborations, it was well worth it!
On top of that, stock imagery for content pieces or social media is usually over-used by the industry as there are only so many stock-images platforms. Because of this, we encourage our clients to take as many photos of their projects as possible. This enables us to share beautiful and one-of-a-kind graphics for promotional and content purposes.”
“We have 4 clients in this niche. We tend to focus on the seasons when it comes to putting together content for our clients in this space, meaning we stick to flowers, plants, and shrubs while providing simple tricks and tips. Winter consists of the normal protective tips, spring for planting, etc.
One challenge many agencies face is getting a client to take pictures that can accompany the article. Before and after (or even step by step pictures) while they’re out doing a job is a struggle.
One tip that has worked well is to mention meaningful associations who might be interested in publishing content that are familiar to the client. When it comes to requesting info, quotes, or pictures, give them a deadline and say ‘we have to have this in by X date or it won’t get published.‘
Another tip is when you have the end of month meeting with these clients, hold the content strategy piece first on the agenda. It will force the client to provide you with what you need to create content before you start talking SEO and it usually shortens the meeting because you should have a hard stop time.”
“As a Landscaper and Social Media Influencer, capturing the best content can be tricky!
It’s taken some time to acquire this formula, but I’ve learned with Before & After pics that the best way to frame/stage the Before photo is after design plans are confirmed. That way, I know what angle will match the best After photo for maximum “wow factor”! This also makes it difficult for any of my team to capture the right photo and puts the pressure on me to get the content myself.
Then, there’s video content! Editing often takes more time than actually getting the footage.
My social media team has yet to find the proper formula for how the video should be edited. For example: they want something artistic and beautiful when my followers are solely looking for information, so choppy content can be a good thing!
The most important key to content creation is just do it! Listen to my gut and post every day!”
4. Get Insight From The Experts
“Writing for the landscaping industry is tough because you have to create articles that are technically sound, but are also interesting to readers.
You can’t just shoot from the hip. You have to really involve professionals to create sound articles that are also interesting and also solve questions that readers have.
So we have created a Facebook group of industry pros to help solve this problem.
Most people are unaware of Facebook groups and how they work, and this is an untapped resource that bloggers can use to promote and develop content.
We are members of every group that relates to our industry and we monitor the chatter in those groups ; what people are saying, what questions people have, what topics people are interested in, what’s upsetting or annoying people. Then we create content around those questions and will use those groups to promote the content so it’s a win-win.
This has really helped us stop wasting time on creating articles, blog posts , and videos that nobody cares about.”
5. Balance Information, Entertainment, and Engagement
“My team and I write our own content for the site. We try to publish at least 4 guides a month for our readers.
I personally have years of professional gardening experience, so I’ve got a ton of ideas in my head on what guides to create. But just like with many others, I still do get a writer’s block at times.
I also find it a challenge crafting the perfect message. Because my main goal is for the readers to find gardening a breeze through my guides, I know how confusing it can get when you’re just starting out with gardening. I’ve been in their shoes.
So I want to make sure that everything looks great (from the text to the image) and that I am able to get my message and the information across to the readers properly.”
Peter Miller—Founder of GardeningStuffs
6. Keep Fresh Ideas Flowing
“The gardening and landscaping industry is highly competitive, which is why SEO is crucial for any business in this market to see success. With so much competition, there is an even greater emphasis on the content that we create for our landscaping clients and the topics we choose.
It can be a challenge to continually think of new content to post on their blog and social media, as much of it seems to have been done before. To combat this, we try to keep the content specific to the uniqueness of the client and focus on brand differentiation.
Also, this industry is highly dependent on seasonality and geographic location, limiting what content is relevant to particular areas and the given time. For example, you cannot release a piece about growing grass in the fall when everything is beginning to die down.
However, our agency has had success planning content a few months out so we have enough time to write the pieces and post them when they are timely and relevant.”
If these challenges sound familiar (and you’ve been silently nodding your head as you read through the content above), we have some good news. Digging into gardening, floral, and landscaping content is easier than ever thanks to Verblio’s garden writing services and landscape writing services.
Just like a garden, every business needs to curate and care for their content if they want to see growth.
And just like every gardener, we have some prized pieces that we feel show you the best we have to offer:
- Native Plants In 3 Climates Prove Both Low-Water & Beautiful Landscape Designs
- Low-Water, Cost Effective Landscape For 3 Climates
Good things take time, but they also take work. Talk to us and see how our solution can help you make your content beautiful, functional, and worth sharing.
