WWM

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a managing editor in the sponsored content department, BrandFuse, at U.S. News & World Report, an online publication known for college and hospital rankings.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WWM?

When I first started working in my department, I looked for freelancers to have on-call when I needed support. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For the last seven years, WWM has provided my team with content marketing services. We provide them with a project brief, and then WWM's team uses research and institutional knowledge to develop sponsored content. Not all of our content work goes to Write Well Media; our team assigns the work to different freelancers we work with depending on their particular strengths. 

What is the team composition?

We work with Deborah (Founding Partner & Creative Director) and Claire (Partner & Editorial Director). 

How did you come to work with WWM?

WWM cold-emailed me with their resume to see if I was interested in their services. We had a preliminary phone conversation, and because they had a lot of qualifying experiences in various topics, I hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

Over the last seven years, we've invested around $30,000–$50,000 with WWM. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership with WWM began in June 2015, and it's ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We measure the success of our partnership with WWM through engagement rates. Generally, WWM meets or exceeds benchmarks related to the average time readers spend on our sponsored content — we're consistently double our 1.26-minute average. Also, WWM's work consistently beats our call-to-action rates.  

How did WWM perform from a project management standpoint?

WWM is very organized and works in tandem on their content. If one person is writing the content, the other teammate is there supporting them to ensure they're meeting deadlines and completing revisions on time. Whenever we have a new project, we have a quick phone call with WWM's team to discuss the project outline. Once the project begins, we communicate by email — WWM is very responsive to our questions. We usually trade content drafts and revisions through Google Suite products. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We continue to work with WWM because they can handle anything we throw at them, whether it's a story on thought leadership or travel. Many other freelancers specialize in one industry, so it's lovely that WWM can cover a broad range of topics. I've also never worked with a team that works in tandem to ensure they're delivering what we need — Claire and Deborah work well together to ensure they turn in the comprehensive copy on time. 

WWM's team works quickly, conducts good research, and is adept at different types of storytelling techniques. They're very professional and experienced, and I've learned so much from their team about looking for freelancers who can go above and beyond, just like they do. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't have anything for WWM to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd advise customers to provide WWM with as much information and research about their project upfront as possible so WWM's team can work independently. Limiting the number of questions WWM needs to ask will help them stick to their timelines. However, that's not to say WWM can't build out a scope and conduct their own research. My team mainly works with WWM on sponsored content, which requires our advertisers' requirements to be provided upfront.