Have you ever wished that your content marketing could be just a little bit easier? Yes? Then you’re in luck!
Today we are sharing content marketing productivity tips that will help make the process of planning, producing, and promoting content much more manageable.
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[00:49] Content Marketing Productivity Tips
[01:40] Planning Your Content
[02:55] Producing Your Content
[06:46] Promoting Your Content
[10:28] Commit to These Content Marketing Productivity Tips
[11:22] Bloopers
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
The Hero’s Journey
Asana
HootSuite
Buffer
eClincher
MeetEdgar
AgoraPulse
Content Marketing Productivity Tips
[Theresa] Of all the things you do as a solopreneur, content marketing likely takes up the most amount of time. I am willing to bet that there have been many occasions where it’s taken you all day just to put out one good piece of content. And that? That’s frustrating.
[Meghan] It sure is. If you’ve been following this podcast, you know that we’ve shared different techniques to help you manage your content marketing. So today, we’re doing sort of a “round up” of those techniques into one episode.
[Theresa] Yes, today we’re sharing some content marketing productivity tips, some of which we’ve already mentioned and many of which are super simple to incorporate into your workflow.
By implementing one or just a couple to start, you should have a much easier time planning, producing, and promoting your content.
Planning Your Content
Create a Repository of Topics
[Theresa] We’ll start from the beginning, with planning. Tip #1 is to create a repository of topics to write about.
One common struggle of content creation is coming up with ideas. Typically what happens is that you sit down to write only to find yourself staring at a blank document. At that point, you may hop onto the Internet for inspiration.
This is not productive.
[Meghan] Instead, block time in your calendar to brainstorm some topics or categories. Then research those topics or perform a competitor analysis. Doing a little digging will reveal loads of topic ideas that you can record in a spreadsheet or in a note-taking app.
When you next sit down to write, you’ll have a slew of ideas in various categories that matter to your audience.
I recommend taking this action a step further by creating a content calendar. But, if that feels overwhelming at the moment, creating a repository of content topics is still very beneficial.
Now let’s move onto some tips for producing or creating your content.
Producing Your Content
Create Templates for Each Type of Content
[Theresa] Templating is one of the easiest things you can do to increase your productivity 10-fold. That’s why tip #2 is to create a template for all of the types of content you create.
[Meghan] Templates save you loads of time.
For example, we have several different template designs for our social media sharing graphics. Every time we upload a new episode to the blog we just choose one of the templates. We change the title, maybe tweak some colors and formatting. It reduces the number of decisions we need to make, keeps our graphics on brand and, most importantly, it saves us massive amounts of time!
[Theresa] So much time. But graphics aren’t the only thing that can be templated. Templates are great for writing. Think of it as a formula, like the Hero’s Journey that you can see played out in movies like The Lion King, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Spiderman.
Templates keep writing simple, which is super helpful if you don’t like to write.
Here’s one example of a template or formula you can use for your writing:
- Introduction
- 1 main point
- 3 supporting points
- 1 closing remark
- 1 call to action
[Meghan] The best part is that you can use this simple formula for all types of content:
- Blogs
- Social media descriptions
- Video
- Live streams
- Webinars
- Presentations
That’s the short list.
Separate Your Writing into Stages
[Theresa] Moving along, productivity tip #3 is to separate the writing process into three separate phases—research, writing, and editing. In other words, don’t try to do all of these steps all at the same time.
[Meghan] We’ve discussed the topic of planning your content in various other episodes, so we won’t get into the details. What’s most important to understand is that each stage of writing requires a different thought process.
Trying to research on the same day that you’re writing will add HOURS to your process. The same result will occur if you attempt to edit while you write. Plus, you need time between writing and editing. So, separate these tasks and do them on different days.
Even if you’re writing a five minute video script that you know you can eek out in 60 minutes, it’s best to take quick breaks between each stage. The process will go faster, and you’ll produce a much better product.
Repurpose Your Content
[Theresa] The final tip for producing content, which happens to be tip #4, is to repurpose your content.
Creating content is a lot of work. And when you put so much of your blood, sweat, and tears into crafting the perfect blog post, video, email—whatever—to just toss it aside and start on something new is a lost opportunity to do more with less.
Blogging is great for repurposing content and increasing your marketing productivity. (Read more about the reasons to start a business blog.)
[Meghan] So, don’t focus on always creating new content. If you already have content, repurpose what you have into other formats.
For example, one blog post can become:
- 10 social media posts
- 1 long video or 5 short videos
- 1 webinar
- 3 livestreams
- 1 lead magnet
Those are just a few ideas. The benefit is that the other formats you create and share will bring more attention to your main content. They all work together in tandem to increase brand awareness, build authority, and generate leads. And that’s a win!
Speaking of sharing, this would be a great place to jump into some productivity tips for promoting your content.
Promoting Your Content
Create a Checklist of Deliverables
[Theresa] Nice segue, Meghan! Yes, we are moving onto the final few content marketing productivity tips. Tip #5 is to create a simple checklist.
I’m talking about a tangible checklist. Not one that lives in your head.
[Meghan] Right. You need to pay attention to what happens after you’re done with the blog, vlog, or podcast. You’ll need a bunch of supporting deliverables to promote the content. What deliverables you need and the steps that follow will depend on what you’re doing to promote your content.
So, assess where and how you’re sharing your content. Then come up with a list of things you need to have ready to support your content projects. Things like:
- Video clips
- Audio clips
- Shortened, custom links
- Graphics
- Announcement email
Record the deliverables in a checklist in a Google Doc or in a project management tool like Asana. Then you can create a repeatable process via the checklist. Every time you publish a new piece of content, you’ll have your list of next steps ready to go. No risk of missing steps.
Use Tools to Your Advantage
[Theresa] OK. Up next is tip #6. Use a social media scheduling tool to help share your content.
I’m a big fan of batching. Batching means doing a set of related tasks all in one sitting. When it comes to sharing your content on social media, this is the way to go. Block off time on your calendar once a week and pre-schedule out all of your content in one block.
The most efficient way to do this is to use a social media scheduling tool. Instead of logging into multiple platforms, like LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, for example, you log into one platform. Your tool of choice.
Here are some great options for scheduling your content:
- HootSuite
- Buffer
- eClincher
- MeetEdgar
- AgoraPulse
[Meghan] Some of these tools have free options, which may be a good “for now” choice if you’re on a tight budget. Others are more robust and offer features like bulk scheduling and recurring queues, which also help to improve productivity.
Whatever you choose, a social media tool allows you to coordinate your content promotion in one central location. And, you can batch schedule your content sharing.
Managing your social media in this manner will increase your marketing productivity and save you precious time. So, definitely consider using a scheduling app.
Make Time for Promotion
[Theresa] And finally, tip #7 is to schedule time for content promotion. What’s the point of creating amazingly awesome content if you’re not going to tell anyone about it? Sure, if you’ve got incredible SEO going you can expect some organic traffic. But why not help it along? I mean, you didn’t write that blog post to keep it a secret, right?
If you don’t schedule time in your week for content promotion, it just won’t happen. You have to deliberately make time for it.
[Meghan] This is where time blocking comes into play. You will choose a day and time when you are going to commit to focus on content promotion each and every week. Then, you’ll commit to that time by blocking it out as a recurring event on your calendar.
Of course, if you have a checklist for promotion, this would be a great block of time to put it into action. Easy peasy!
[Theresa] It really doesn’t get more straightforward than that.
Commit to These Content Marketing Productivity Tips
[Meghan] No it doesn’t. As a matter of fact, many of the content marketing productivity tips we’ve shared today are quite simple to implement. But, with that said, it’s best to start small. Choose one tactic to implement first.
Take your time and really incorporate it into your workflow. Then eventually add another. Before you know it, you’ll be a master of efficiency when it comes to content marketing.
[Theresa] And on that note, it’s time to bid you adieu!
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