ABOUT
Pranjal Taneja is the founder of Gumtoo, a Singapore-headquartered B2B custom merchandise company with operations spanning Malaysia, Canada and the USA. He also runs ventures in the premium consumer goods and design services space.
Before founding Gumtoo, Pranjal had an eclectic experience in industries such as beer, airlines, banking and consulting. He juggles between his keen business acumen and his aesthetic design sensibilities. He holds an MBA from University of Oxford.
THE Problem
Like most SME founders, I needed content. Blogs that rank. Articles that convert. Writing that actually brings in leads — not just fills up a page.
So I hired content writers.
And then I ran into a wall.
Writers knew how to write. They didn't know how to write for a business.
What actually happened when I hired content writers?
-
Writers Googled the topic, read the top five, stitch, hand it back. It looked fine. It did nothing.
-
I directed them to read great content on HubSpot, SEMrush and NP Digital. It didn't solve the problem. These websites are built for enterprise teams with an SEO manager and an agency.
In needed something that was practical and my team could learn it fast.
What I found
Over the years, I've interviewed 100+ content candidates and reviewed 1,000+ resumes for content roles. The pattern is the same every time.
Built for output
Most writers are hired to produce content for SEO/AEO. Understanding the business rarely makes it into the brief.
Writing without a reader
Writers can write well. They're just not often told who they're writing for, or what that person needs to hear.
Research and repurpose
Read the top articles, summarise, publish. It's the habit the job teaches, and it leaves little room for original insight.
No feedback loop
Traffic and conversion data rarely makes it back to the writer. It's hard to improve without knowing what worked.
THE SME Content Playbook
Every rule in here came from a real situation I faced running content at Gumtoo. Nothing is theoretical. Nothing assumes a budget you don't have.
Whats Inside
-
Persona and segment mapping
-
Context engineering
-
The Publication Test
-
Blog architecture — H1/H2/H3 formulas
-
AEO — ChatGPT, Claude, AI Overviews
-
Answer-first writing
-
Schema markup for writers
-
E-E-A-T from your own data
-
The complete image system
-
CTA strategy and verb cheat sheet
-
Pillar and cluster architecture
-
Content freshness protocol
-
30+ point pre-publication checklist
WHO IT'S FOR / NOT FOR
FOR YOU IF
-
Founder paying for content that isn't working
-
Markeing manager building in-house content team without agency budget
-
Content Writer who wants the full picture
NOT FOR YOU IF
-
You have an agency on a retainer
-
You are big company with a big content team