Making progress with content but still spinning your wheels?

Content writing journey – Making Progress level

Progress is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as: Forward or onward movement towards a destination.

And that’s exactly what this level is all about … progressing forward on the content journey. Destination: Wow Factor!

Welcome to the Progress level of the content writing journey.

This is the level of content that I loved and also suffered immensely with. Typically this is what happens …. You have been doing so much in your business that your head has gone into information overload and is about to explode!

You are having some success because you have momentum from doing “all the things” and taking everyone’s advice.

But your results are sporadic and you’re still posting randomly because you just don’t have time.

Don’t worry – I’ve been here too. Content (and business) take commitment.

This is a level you really need to hack – because if you don’t, you risk Content Burnout (or even a health burnout).

And you do not want that.

Now, it may feel like nothing is working and that’s because you are doing so much. It might also feel like you have dug yourself into a hole that’s going to be very hard to get out of.

And your content becomes an afterthought.

But there is a way out and there is hope! You can have structured content that works hard for you and still keep your sanity!

The progress level can be very busy

The Progress level is very busy if you haven’t got a content plan in place and you haven’t honed your content writing skills (or you haven’t outsourced this task).

You are making some progress at this stage because you have been doing it for a little while now (1-2 years), and you are getting some results, but they are not consistent. 

CASE STUDY: 

You may be at the same stage as a client I recently spoke with. She is well known on social media, but is exhausting her contacts. She has a website but it needs work and she doesn’t have a lead generation strategy or a promotion strategy to get more leads and sales.

And she’s worn out.

This savvy business woman knows she gets results from her content but it’s never been consistent and now she is wondering why she’s even persevering.

The thing is, she hasn’t nailed the strategy side of things, her writing and content creation skills need investment, and she needs a leverage plan (leads, promotion and sales).

She is actually on the verge of what I call CONTENT BURNOUT.

Are you suffering from Content Burnout?

Your situation could look like one of two ways:

1) You may or may not have a one-member team (such as a Virtual Assistant) that helps you out, but you are still doing most things yourself (working until 9pm at night).

And this means you are still trying everything that everyone says to do, you haven’t got the content foundations laid down and you’re probably not posting regular content.

OR

2) You are putting out so much content that you have flooded your platforms (and the internet!) with content that’s not really relevant to your target audience and people are tuning out.

Then you wonder why the heck you are doing all this work with little results.

Many people will stop creating content at this point, saying: “It doesn’t work for me”.

That’s Content Burnout.

If you are here, please don’t give up, you can turn it around and make it to the next level, which is the Transform stage.

How to turn the Progress level around

The Progress level is all about understanding the Content Writing Framework (especially the Strategy section) and the 7 pieces of content you need for a wow online presence.

Content 2 Ca$h – content writing framework

This is where you may have to go back and get your content foundations in place before you can really move forward (our Introduction to Wow Words Mini Course will be a huge help with that).

At this level, it’s your strategy and skills that need the most help.

What are the content foundations?

• PLAN: The goal you want to achieve, understanding your target market, message and wow words, plus knowing when, where and how to deliver your content to your business besties to get the very best outcome.
• TARGET: Understanding and identifying your target market and what they need from you (including the issues they have) and then knowing how to WRITE for your business besties so they hear you!
• MESSAGE: Identifying the message/s for your content. One of the most frequent questions I get is … what is a message, anyway?! Writing with intention and having a very clear message on how you help people will not only help them, but will help you by attracting the people who genuinely need your help!
• WOW FACTOR: Identifying yours and Business Bestie’s Wow Words (a major money step!) and then how to actually use those Wow Words (TM) so your target market feel like you get them and are speaking straight to them on a deeper level.
• TOPICS: Coming up with topics to write about (and restyle) can be the hardest part. But when you know what to write about you’ll never suffer writer’s block again and you’ll always have plenty of fodder! 

These points make up your content writing strategy.

Time vs Money

If you have no time to write and create (or just plain don’t want to) – it’s time to outsource the content tasks. 

If you have time but still not making consistent money – you will need to learn how to write and create amazing content, get an editor on board and then outsource at a later date.

The Progress level is an awesome stage to be at if you are organised (following the content writing framework above will help you become more organised). 

If you are not so organised (like I was! I’ve had to learn how to be an organised business owner) then start with getting the basic strategies in place and then get each piece of content nailed (our 8-week Content 2 Ca$h online course goes through each one of these and will help you create content that rocks and gets results).

Make progress with your content and get consistent results

Before you can leverage your content (that’s what happens in the Transform level) you need something to actually leverage!

So you must create some awesome content … it sounds cliché but you will need to spend money in this level to make money.

There’s only so much “free stuff” you can do. Now it’s time to invest. 

I remember right at the start of my business journey – I did a high-level sales and marketing brand accelerator called Key Person of Influence.

If you have no interest in learning how to write that’s OK, but then you will need to start outsourcing. You might get a Brand Angel on board – these content writers are awesome! They have been taught by me and are on hand to write your blogs and social posts monthly … all you have to do is approve the content.

This will free up your time by 5-10 hours a week (up to 40 hours a month!). Doesn’t that sound like a good investment now that you are in overwhelm town and on the brink of Content Burnout (if you’re not there already?).

One of the biggest mistakes people make at this level is to put their head in the sand and allow themselves to fall off the content bandwagon – please don’t do this. 

HOT TIP: Whatever you do from now on, remember that content = income! So treat content like a money-making activity.

How to get out of this level – spend money to make money:

• Invest in a writing course like our 8-week Content 2 Ca$h online course
• Get a mentor and editor – we can help you with this
• Outsource your content writing to an agency (like EC Writing Services)
• Make sure you start on your plan and content foundations
• Don’t get distracted or put your head in the sand
• Get an accountability buddy 

Now, I know you will be reluctant to spend money here because cashflow may be all over the place. But having someone to help you will only mean a dip in funds momentarily while you get yourself back on track and out of being overwhelmed. Then you will increase revenue again and cash flow will be more frequent because you have a strategy and are sticking to the things that work.

And it will set you up to leverage your content in the next level – the Transform stage – I cannot tell you how freeing this level is. The hard work stops being hard and you get more time back, more clients and more opportunities from your content!

It frees you up to start living your Wow Life.

Conclusion

If you are ready to outsource your content, I’d love to talk with you about your needs and how we might be able to help you. Please, book a time to talk with me here.

If you need to get your content foundations in place, take a look at our Introduction to Wow Words Mini-Course and if you’re ready to step it up in the content and business department, our 8-week Content 2 Ca$h online course is your next step.

Meanwhile – stay tuned for next week’s blog on the next step in the content writing journey – the Transform level, the blissful level!