Creating quality content is a key component of any content marketing strategy, but it can also be a time-consuming and challenging task. How can you produce more engaging, relevant, and valuable content for your audience without sacrificing quality or burning out? Here are some tips and tools that can help you streamline your content creation process and boost your productivity.
One of the best ways to save time and ensure quality is to plan your content ahead of time. This means having a clear idea of your content goals, audience, topics, keywords, formats, and distribution channels. You can use a content calendar to organize your content ideas, deadlines, and tasks, and to align your content with your marketing campaigns and events. A content calendar can also help you avoid duplication, gaps, and inconsistencies in your content.
The best way I've found to plan ahead is to get crystal clear on what YOU want to be known for. The clearer you are, the easier it is to know what type of content to write about. The easiest way is to think of 3-5 topics YOU want to be known for. For me, they're: - Positioning yourself - Building an offer - Writing comments & DMs - Content creation - Conversion. As long as I post about 1 of those 5 topics, I'm adding to that reputation I want to build.
Planning ahead is the foundation of content creation, your strategic approach to stay organised and ready. Picture it as your content blueprint, your roadmap to success. A content calendar is your reliable companion, ensuring you never run out of ideas or miss deadlines, much like a well-thought-out plan before a journey. With a content calendar, you're the commander of your content ship, steering it precisely. It keeps you in control, avoiding the rush and last-minute content crises. It naturally transforms you into a content strategist, guiding you in audience engagement and SEO optimisation. It's your toolkit for successful content creation. Embrace the power of planning to conquer the content world, one well-prepared piece at a time
Choose the right tools There are a number of content calendar tools available, both free and paid. Some popular options include Google Sheets, Trello, and CoSchedule. The right tool for you will depend on your needs and budget. When choosing a content calendar tool, consider the following factors: The features you need. Make sure the tool has the features you need to plan and manage your content, such as the ability to create and track deadlines, assign tasks, and collaborate with others. Budget. Content calendar tools can range in price from free to hundreds of dollars per month. Choose a tool that fits your budget. Your level of experience. If you're new to content marketing, you may want to choose a simpler tool that's easy to use.
Quality content is all about engaging the persona one is targeting - so it does take time. Key is to understand the context, the persona and where he/she is placed within the org and then tailor the content accordingly. No shortcuts or 'less time' concept here!!
Another way to speed up your content creation is to use templates and frameworks that provide you with a structure and a guideline for your content. Templates and frameworks can help you format your content, outline your main points, and write your headlines, introductions, and conclusions. You can create your own templates and frameworks based on your content types and goals, or you can use existing ones that are proven to work. For example, you can use the AIDA framework (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) for writing persuasive copy, or the 5W1H framework (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How) for writing informative articles.
Why start from scratch when you can rework new templates and old frameworks? They're like content blueprints - providing structure, guidance, and a dash of inspiration. Templates and frameworks help you whip up content faster than you think. They give you the format, main points, and even the headline, intro, and outro – it's like content magic! And you've got options – you can craft your own templates to fit your content style or hop on the tried-and-tested ones that you know are going to work. Thinking of persuasive copy? AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) is your content wingman. Need an informative article? The 5W1H (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How) framework is your trusty guide. So, why reinvent the wheel?
Templates and frameworks can help you: Save time and effort by providing a structure and a guide for your content. Format your content consistently, ensuring a professional look and feel. Outline your main points clearly, making your content easy to understand. Write headlines, introductions, and conclusions that grab attention and keep readers engaged. Use keywords strategically throughout your content, improving your search engine ranking. Additional tips: Be selective. Choose templates that are most relevant to your content types and goals. Be flexible. Don't be afraid to modify a template or framework to fit your specific needs. Get feedback. This will help you identify areas where you can improve.
When you find a format that works, use it again. We learned that our Miami Tech Reporters to Know article was overperforming in terms of traffic and engagement, so we expanded it into a series. And now a bunch of the individual blogs within the series -- VC Reporters to Know, Toy and Parenting Reporters to Know -- are also overperforming.
A smart way to create more content in less time is to repurpose and update your existing content. This means taking your existing content and transforming it into different formats, platforms, or audiences. For example, you can turn a blog post into a video, a podcast, or an infographic, or you can turn a webinar into a slide deck, a ebook, or a blog series. You can also update your old content by adding new information, insights, or examples, or by removing outdated or irrelevant parts. Repurposing and updating your content can help you extend your reach, increase your visibility, and refresh your content.
Here are some examples of how businesses can repurpose content in a professional way: A blog post can be turned into a video, podcast, or infographic. A webinar can be turned into a slide deck, ebook, or blog series. A case study can be turned into a white paper, infographic, or social media campaign. A customer testimonial can be turned into a blog post, video, or social media post.
In today's content-rich landscape, being an creator involves mastering the art of revitalising your content. Think of your existing content as a treasure trove waiting to be rediscovered. Transform a blog post into a captivating video, podcast, or infographic. Repurpose webinars into slide decks, eBooks, or blog series. Be a content wizard – update older content with fresh insights and remove outdated sections. It's not recycling; it's reinvention. When you revitalise your content, you expand your reach and boost your visibility. Why start from scratch when you can reimagine your content? Be the content innovator and let your content shine in new, exciting ways!
Another way to save time and improve quality is to automate and delegate some of your content creation tasks. This means using tools and services that can help you with tasks such as research, editing, proofreading, design, or distribution. For example, you can use tools like BuzzSumo, AnswerThePublic, or Google Trends to find popular topics, questions, and trends for your content. You can use tools like Grammarly, Hemingway, or ProWritingAid to check and improve your writing. You can use tools like Canva, Lumen5, or Adobe Spark to create attractive visuals and videos. You can also outsource or collaborate with other content creators, such as writers, designers, or influencers, to leverage their skills and expertise.
Here are some additional tips for automating and delegating content creation tasks: Start small: Don't try to automate or delegate everything all at once. Start with one or two tasks and gradually expand from there. Be selective: Not all tools and services are created equal. Choose the ones that are right for the business's needs and budget. Get feedback: Once the business has automated or delegated a task, ask for feedback from others to make sure that it's working well.
In the UK's vibrant content arena, being a maverick means mastering automation and delegation. It's not just about saving time; it's about unleashing your creative brilliance. Imagine your content dream team. Tools like BuzzSumo, AnswerThePublic, and Google Trends are your insight wizards, unveiling trending topics. Grammarly, Hemingway, and ProWritingAid are your writing maestros, refining your prose to perfection. For captivating visuals, think Canva, Lumen5, and Adobe Spark. Why be weighed down by tasks when you can automate and delegate, setting your creativity free? Be the content maverick and let your content shine! ??
Tap into SMEs outside of content to fill some gaps. However, we found it was harder to count on those pieces coming in on deadline or in a shape that was close to ready-to-publish. So we limited our number of outside contributions and also put some guardrails against them. Every quarter we shoot for these things from outside contributors: *one thought leadership topic from an SME they write themselves *one topic that is ghostwritten on behalf of someone after an interview/intake session *one that follows a template and is an easier lift *and one based on personal stories, which is also an easier lift. Consistency is way easier when you can count on others outside of your team, but you have to enable success.
The final way to create more quality content in less time is to test and optimize your content. This means measuring and analyzing the performance of your content, and making changes based on the feedback and data you collect. You can use tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, or HubSpot to track and evaluate your content metrics, such as traffic, engagement, conversions, or retention. You can also use tools like A/B Tasty, Optimizely, or Unbounce to run experiments and test different versions of your content. Testing and optimizing your content can help you improve your results, learn from your mistakes, and deliver more value to your audience.
Here are a few examples: Use Google Analytics to track your content metrics: Google Analytics is a free tool that can help you track the performance of your website traffic, including the pages your visitors are viewing, the time they spend on each page, and where they came from. Run A/B tests: A/B testing is a method of testing two versions of the same content against each other to see which one performs better. For example, you could test two different headlines, two different images, or two different call-to-actions. Get feedback from your audience: Ask your audience for feedback on your content. This could be done through surveys, polls, or social media comments.
It's not just about creating content; it's about sculpting content that resonates, captivates, and dazzles. Think of it as being a content scientist. Tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, and HubSpot are your data laboratories, decoding the performance metrics of your content. It's like having X-ray vision into what works and what doesn't. But it doesn't stop at data. Tools like A/B Tasty, Optimizely, and Unbounce become your content alchemists, conjuring experiments and testing different content versions. It's not just about creating content; it's about sculpting content that resonates, captivates, and dazzles. It's about understanding your audience's desires, learning from missteps, and delivering unparalleled value.
Honestly, I don't think you should even try. High quality content serves the highest purpose of marketing - really connecting with your target audience. Better to focus on quality vs quantity and have a bigger impact vs showing up everywhere for everyone and not making a mark. But if you really need to create a lot of content at volume, definitely invest in automation of content processes, onboarding for your team and vendors, and the liberal use of technology like AI.
If your understanding about the target audience and market is appropriate, content creation in a lower duration will not be a challenge. Its always idealistic to have your market insights, competitor analysis and end user pain points kept as a playbook nearby, to hit the sweet spot every time a campaign is run.
I have begun to experiment with using ChatGPT to generate content that the C-Suite often wants but that requires more time to produce than the interest that it might attract. I also tested it to produce a press release and a crisis comms hold statement. The results are interesting: I instructed ChatGPT to put a Safe Harbor statement at the end of my hypothetical press release, and it generated one that could pass muster with a legal team. That said, I still want to improve my prompt writing before using AI in a real situation.
Understanding your audience and the industry that you're working in makes it far easier and quicker to write and create content about it. Being an expert in your field, or working with people with that expertise, is essential for making the most of content.
Content should not be treated as commodity. It is an art form that should get better with time. It requires adequate time and effort.