Planning Evergreen vs Campaign Content

Not all content is created equal. But when you’re staring at a blank calendar, it’s hard to know where to begin. This blog breaks down the two most important types of content you need to plan for. Learn the difference between evergreen and campaign content, how to plan each effectively, and why the best strategies use both.

Done right? Your content starts working for you.

What does evergreen content mean in marketing?

Copywriters and creators use a load of buzzwords to describe the different types of content that we work with. For the most part they're pretty intuitive, but let's start with the basics.

Your evergreen content is the stuff that’s made to continuously deliver over time. It’s relevant to your industry and business, offering longevity and generating consistent traffic. Think how-to guides, service, pages, pillar blogs, and FAQs.

It’s the bedrock of your brand, answering core customer questions, building search engine authority, and shows your audience who you are.

So, key benefits of evergreen content?

Successful SEO longevity
Build authority and trust
Drive consistent traffic
Less frequent updates

When writing my own services page content, the key offerings and benefits to the potential client are front-and-centre. Every freelance copywriter website probably has a services page, so I’ve made sure to maintain my style and voice throughout – while featuring unique benefits and essential keywords.

Evergreen or pillar blog posts are a bit different, but I still try to follow a Problem–Solution–Proof structure that hits relevant SEO keywords and specific reader pain points. In a post-AI digital landscape, blog posts and articles that provide real, actionable – human – insights are consistently performing well. So is more natural, accessible language favoured by voice search assistants.

What works and what doesn’t eventually changes. Ideally, your evergreen content should be updated a couple of times a year to reflect branding revamps, new industry trends, or SEO best practices.

If you get it right the first time, this isn’t usually too much work.

What is campagin content?

Campaign content is time-sensitive and usually tied to a promotion, launch, or event. But effective campaign content? Drives immediate action, taps into audience emotions, guides the user journey, and creates conversions.

There’s loads of options and combos for whatever niche, but we’re talking things like:

Seasonal landing pages
Ads for socials
Launch emails
Event or trending topic blogs
Time-bound offers

You’ll probably use an adaptable combination of campaign content types for various and individual events over time, and you should choose these based on target audience preferences, branding and style, and industry standards.

I will usually add infographic-type image carousels (made simply using Canva) to accompany blog promo posts on LinkedIn for example. They’re easy enough to put together, great for SEO, and honestly I just personally enjoy making them.

It’s also memorable, as it incorporates clear visual branding and value-focused, digestible copy. We’re more likely to pause for a second to look at an appealing or bold visual when we’re scrolling; and more likely to stay to read more if we decide the information on offer is valuable to us quickly.

In short, campaign copy is all about immediate impact.

Top tip: It may not be made for longevity, but you always still want your content to age well. Campaign content should be memorable; ideally not a Kendell Jenner and Pepsi situation.

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How to plan evergreen content for long-term SEO

Sometimes, the most obvious answer is the right one. When planning evergreen content you want to start with your core offers – thats things like the services page, FAQs, key educational blogs.

This is the stuff that most of your audience will initially see when there’s no active campaign, so it’s got to resonate above all else. The Think Rat services page gets the second-most clicks (after the home page), it’s where a lot of my own audience form their first opinion. First opinions are hard to shake.

The page on my website with the next-highest traffic tail is actually the Effective Copywriter Briefing Guide blog. It’s got natural keyword integration, relevant industry information, and real expert-led insights. All of this means the blog performs consistently well and in various formats.

(Side note: You’ll see my image carousels and social posts, but this could also include email newsletters, lead magnets, etc. This is supplementary though, and the focus should be on the core evergreen content being able to actually deliver).

But where do you begin?

Step 1: Audit any existing content using relevant performance metrics and analytics. Sort into “keep,” “update,” “replace”
Step 2: Pull together essential resources and build a content brief for your creator. Individual, relevant brief for all in “update” and “replace”
Step 3: Handover briefs and agree deadlines with your in-house or freelance content team. Draft, revise, and refine everything before release
Step 4: Revisit 2-4 times per year for light updates. Consider at least one full audit every year for optimal results; and keep (stick to!) a quarterly content plan/calendar

When planning evergreen content, always lead with keyword intent. Use tools like Google Search Console, AnswerThePublic, or even client enquiry logs to spot recurring questions and terms. This ensures your content aligns with actual search behaviour rather than generic keywords.

And finally, think distribution. If a blog or service page is evergreen, your promotion of it shouldn’t be a one-time thing. Re-share it when relevant topics trend again, or incorporate it into onboarding sequences and internal links to keep the traffic flowing.

Consistency always compounds.

How to deliver campaign content that actually converts

You’ll need to create campaign content for product launches, key events, and sales seasons. Start by picking these out in your quarterly calendar, and work backwards from the ultimate goal of each: what do you need your audience to do, and how do you make this happen before the Call to Action?

Campaign content should tap into the target audience’s mindset at that moment in time; and guide them organically through the intended customer journey. I always try to include a mix of content types, usually at the moment this is social posts, image carousels, and insight-focused blogs. This brings my audience from socials or blogs to the website, and ideally buying services! Everything needs to align and flow.

Quick Tips:

Include a mix of content types (email, social, landing pages, etc)
Give yourself enough time for testing and revisions for optimal performance
Link back to evergreen pages where possible for SEO and brand cohesion

The idea is to keep the user engaged right up until the point of action. So, how do we make that happen?

Step 1: Decide on your content-type combo; think about what’s needed and what your audience responds best to
Step 2: Finalise a CTA and the intended customer/audience journey. What do you want them to feel?
Step 3: Handover relevant, constructive briefs and agree deadlines with your in-house or freelance content team
Step 4: Review drafts and test with target audience members for resonance; adapt before release if necessary
Step 5: Release content either at the same time or as per intended campaign calendar

Draft your campaign content in layers. Start with a strong core piece (like seasonal landing pages), and build smaller satellite pieces (e.g. sale FAQs or product round-up blogs) around it; and internally link between them to boost SEO authority and user journey value.

Balancing evergreen and campaign content in your strategy

The best content strategies don't force a choice between evergreen and campaign content. Ideally, they’re woven together with intention. Campaign content generates the buzz; evergreen content maintains the hive. Use campaign materials to actively drive your traffic to your high-performing (or most important) evergreen sources like service pages, pillar blogs, or FAQs.

Plan in quarterly sprints, and constantly re-evaluate what’s the most time-sensitive; and what needs to stand the test of time. Even just a simple colour-coded spreadsheet can help you to visualise what’s going live, when, and how it all connects (that’s how I do it, anyway).

Treat your content calendar like a garden. Some pieces are slower growers that feed the soil, others are wild blooms that catch the eye. You need both to attract those bees.

Great content isn’t just great writing: it’s well-timed, relevant, strategic. And that’s why it works.

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