Content fuels your online efforts.
When operating a blog, being active on social media, or pitching your business you’ll want to regularly produce content to keep your community engaged and drive awareness of your brand and what it has to offer.
But for some – creating content each day can be frustrating or difficult.
This is how you can go about it…
1. Brainstorm, find inspiration, and keep notes
Ideas for content can come from anywhere; it could be sparked while watching a movie, having a conversation with a friend, or come to light when in a serious brainstorming session. This is why you should always keep some form of note taking app or pen and paper around for when the idea strikes.
Never dismiss an idea because even if you choose not to roll with it you can still use it as inspiration for a similar topic you’d like to explore. Also, try to think of ways the content interconnects so you’re able take a big idea and break it down into additional topics.
2. Find your content format
There are many ways to go about getting those ideas down into a content form:
- Text
- Video
- Audio
- Graphics
One of these may be easier for you so you may as well go with the one that allows you to easily transfer that information into what readers can consume. As you become comfortable with the content format you should explore some of the others to give your community a choice.
On the subject of online marketing, the website NeilPatel.com has an abundance of useful information. Patel predominantly uses text posts but isn’t afraid to make videos or host webinars to share his expertise on the subject.
You, too, should experiment and see what works.
3. Commit to a schedule
You don’t have to write the next epic. All you need is at least 500-750 words for a decent blog post and if you decide to go longer, that’s a bonus! Video may only be 2-3 minutes, which is easy enough to do if you have the appropriate equipment. Podcasts can be done off-the-cuff, which doesn’t pose difficulty if you’re presenting informally as if talking to a friend or associate.
The point is to create a schedule and make it a routine to produce content. In the beginning it may take a few hours to transfer those ideas, but with enough practice you could soon be banging out content in less than an hour a day. You could even batch the content and do a week’s worth in a single afternoon when you have free time.
4. Outline and gather the resources
Approach the content as if you’re looking at the index of a book where it shows the breakdown of each chapter because this is essentially how you can divide the work and make it easier to produce.
In a typical piece of content, you can expect to outline the following items:
- Intro
- Main point
- Support point
- Support point
- Outro
I like basing content around a simple notion: tell them what you’ll tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you’ve told them. This approach ensures you’re making and reinforcing your point but it also gives you structure on the creation and production.
Work on the sub-headings and gather the research prior to going in (as you would an essay back in your school days) and it’ll come together in a timely fashion.
5. Edit, Edit, and Edit
Step away from the work and let your mind settle. Reflect on the content you’ve just created. Go back to the piece after about an hour and check over the content:
- Does it have a point?
- Does it engage the audience?
- Does it serve a purpose?
- Does it encourage sharing?
Try passing off the piece to someone to give it a once over and hear their opinion. Work of their feedback and add in your edits to tighten up the work. Add additional resources, graphics, calls to action, and questions to refine the work.
That’s really all there’s to it for creating content each day. You just need to commit, develop a system of approach, and always have ideas to work from. With enough time of treating it like a routine you should have no issue creating great content.
