Is it possible to create content faster and reduce wasting time in the process? Yes it is!
In this post, we’re sharing nine tips to speed up your content creation and improve your marketing productivity.
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[02:34] Start with Content Goals
[03:44] Outline Your Content
[04:44] Start Writing at the Middle or End
[06:02] Separate Content Creation Into Stages
[07:26] Work in a Distraction-Free Zone
[08:05] Choose Your Optimal Working Hours
[08:52] Form Good Habits That are Sustainable
[09:48] Speak Your Thoughts
[10:53] Make Use of Tools
[11:37] Outsourcing
[12:35] Bloopers
[Meghan] In one of the Content Marketing Institute’s annual reports (2020 Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – North America), they discovered that half of B2B marketers outsourced their content marketing.
And, of those marketers, 84% cited content creation as the activity they outsourced. That was regardless of company size, company budget, or overall content marketing success.
I feel like that could be a testament to the level of effort that content creation demands.
[Theresa] Anyone who has spent any time with content marketing knows that keeping up with content creation is challenging. It’s no surprise that content creation is the most outsourced task.
In fact, it’s one of those tasks that you often discover you can delegate after you’ve assessed your marketing priorities.
[Meghan] Even with outsourcing, you’ll likely find yourself needing to create content. It’s such a big part of digital marketing. That’s why we’re sharing some valuable tips to help you create content faster.
We’ve been doing this a long time. I’ve been a content creator for over 25 years! So, I’ve learned some tricks to move the process along.
[Theresa] And as solopreneurs ourselves, we have to deal with creating content just like you do. So, these tips are what we do to stay on top of things.
1) Start with Content Goals
[Meghan] Ok, let’s jump right in with the first tip, which is to identify your goals for each piece of content before you create anything.
Content goals clarify and define the basics. Before you start down the creation path, you need a grasp of the who, what and why. Ask yourself:
- Who is this content for? (avatar, target audience, ideal customer)
- What struggle does the content solve for this person? Or,
- What benefit do they get from it? (Avatar goal – what do you want them to get out of the content )
- Why am I creating it? (business goal – how the content supports the business)
By the way, we do this for every episode!
[Theresa] Yes we do! And, why do we do it?
Because answering these questions first helps your brain focus on the purpose of your content—for both your target audience and your business.
And that will keep you on point. It also improves the work you produce.
[Meghan] That’s right. Plus, having content goals makes outlining easier. And that brings us to tip number two.
Here's how to fast track content creation and keep up with content marketing (without sacrificing quality) when you're a team of one. Click To Tweet2) Outline Your Content
Use the content goals as a guide to write an outline.
Ask yourself:
- What does my audience need to know about this topic to get the result I’m promising? Or,
- What points do I need to cover to support my avatar goal?
- What needs to be addressed to support my business goals (ex objections, faqs)
Take notes first. Then, organize the notes into a more logical order. We’re talking a loose outline here. It will usually look something like:
- Working headline
- Intro
- Main points you want to make
- Main objections, concerns, FAQs to address
- Closing / Wrapping it up
- Call to action (CTA)
[Theresa] Outlining makes content creation faster because you’re not starting from scratch when you sit down to create. And, it helps you avoid writer’s block.
3) Start Writing at the Middle or End
[Meghan] With the outline, you’re not actually writing the intro or closing, but reserving a spot for them.
Instead, start writing in the middle or the end. And that’s tip number three.
Start at the end with the call to action and work backwards. Or, start in the middle with your main points. Usually you know this information really well, or it’s the most obvious. Either way, the middle and end are typically the easiest—and therefore the fastest—to create.
Do not start your writing with the introduction. In fact, write it last!
Creating the introduction will go infinitely faster when you do it last. Once the middle and end are done, you know so much more about what you’ve created—the theme, angle, sentiment, direction—so the intro will come to you more easily after the rest is written.
[Theresa] The intro and headline are where you grab attention, so they’re the most important and require the most strategy.
But often they are sticking points! So, don’t waste time trying to come up with them first. Wait until the end when often the ideas will come to you more easily and your decision making will be faster.
4) Separate Content Creation Into Stages
[Meghan] You may have noticed that those first three tips address the beginning steps of content creation. You’d do tips 1, 2 and 3 in that order.
Why? Because breaking your content creation into separate stages makes things go much faster. It also makes your content superior, stronger, and more effective.
It’s a process that you can break up into different days to squeeze content marketing into your schedule. So, that also means you’re more likely to get it done.
I recommend breaking content creation into these stages:
- Research, such as ideas, topics, sources, etc. (This is where having a content strategy and content calendar make quicker work of your creation since this step is partially done in advance.)
- Outline
- Write
- Edit
- Format
- Design
[Theresa] Now, these stages don’t equate with one day each. The time spent on each will vary. You may need a week to write a lead magnet but only two days to write a blog post.
The emphasis here is to break up your work. If you try to do these tasks in one or two days, you’ll burn out, overlook mistakes, and have more re-work to do.
5) Work in a Distraction-Free Zone
And while we’re on the subject of re-work, the next tip is all about setting yourself up for success to avoid re-work – and that is to create content in a distraction-free zone.
We’ve talked about how switching tasks robs you of your brain power, and that’s true for more than multi-tasking. If you’re distracted while you’re creating content, it’s going to take you far longer to do it. Not only that, but you’ll also have more re-work to do.
Frequent interruptions will demolish your concentration and tank your productivity. So, find a distraction-free zone or create one.
6) Choose Your Optimal Working Hours
And, after you figure out how to reduce external distractions, focus within.
Carefully consider your inner clock and natural cycles. When are you most alert? When is your creativity at its peak?
Each person has different sleep patterns and different biological clocks, which is called chronobiology. You may not be the person who’s up at 5 am and ready to work, and that’s okay. The point is to pay attention to your natural cycles and use them to your advantage.
[Meghan] Listen to your body to determine when you’re most productive, and schedule your content creation for then. By doing your work during your most effective times of the day, you’ll create content faster and easier.
Read more about chronobiology and productivity here.
7) Form Good Habits That are Sustainable
[Theresa] Working during your most optimal times of the day helps you recognize patterns, and that gives you the opportunity to form good habits. And that’s tip number seven.
Build good habits around writing and creativity to speed up content creation and reduce common barriers to productivity. And try to avoid marketing productivity killers.
For example, like Meghan suggested, get into the habit of breaking your content creation into stages.
Or, if you figure out that after lunch you’re tired, don’t schedule writing then. Instead, set aside time when you’re more productive to write. And, do it every day to get into the habit of writing—even if it’s only for 20 minutes. This habit will make you a better and faster writer.
Those are just two examples. Your habits are individual to you. The important takeaway is to support your content creation productivity by adopting good habits that suit you.
8) Stuck? Speak Your Thoughts
[Meghan] Okay, this next tip is for those moments when you can’t seem to get your fingers to type what your brain is thinking. I know that sounds weird, but if you’ve experienced this during your writing, then you know what I’m talking about!
When you’re stuck, sometimes it helps to talk it out. Speak what’s in your head out loud. Get your mouth moving. This can be to another person or just to yourself.
This action can help you formulate your ideas better and express yourself easier.
[Theresa] That’s one version of this tip. Here’s another take on it.
Some people actually speak their thoughts better than writing their thoughts. So, if this is you, verbally dictate to your phone or computer to create the first draft of your content. Just be sure to go back, review and edit!
9) Make Use of Tools
[Meghan] One thing that really makes fast work of content creation is tools. And that’s our final tip. Use tools to streamline your work, reduce barriers and implement faster.
Why start from scratch each time you’re doing repetitive, ongoing tasks? There’s no need.
There are templates, checklists, and frameworks out there for writing blog posts, emails, sales letters, and social media posts. There are also graphic templates for designing and formatting your content.
And, you can also design your own templates, checklists, and frameworks based on your content creation process.
[Theresa] These tools remove some of the decision making in your content creation, and that is a big win when it comes to time management and productivity.
RELATED READING: Must-Have Templates to Streamline Marketing Tasks and Improve Productivity
The Ultimate Solution to Create Content Faster: Outsourcing
[Theresa] We’ve given you some solid tips for speeding up content creation. But you still may find it overwhelming or that it’s not in your zone of genius. If that’s the case, consider outsourcing at least some of your content creation.
Often solopreneurs dislike relinquishing too much control or are concerned that managing a freelancer is more work than it’s worth.
In full transparency, outsourcing IS a lot of work at the onset. But once you find the right person and train them, they can help with graphics, social media posting, formatting and other tasks to save you time and stress.
And once you’ve freed up some of your time, you’ll wonder why you didn’t outsource sooner!
[Meghan] I love that message! We’ll end on that thought.
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