- Willow Paule
How to Streamline Content Creation
Entrepreneurs like you know how valuable it is to create content that connects with their audience to help them build leads. But, damn, doesn’t making that content eat your time! (I see you nodding your head over there.) I’m going to let you in on a secret: It doesn’t have to.
In this blog, I’ll be sharing strategies to streamline your content creation process. I’m going to show you how to step down from the content creation hamster wheel, all while creating content with big impact.
My own interest in streamlining my content creation was born in 2020. The pandemic hit, and after a case of covid, I started dealing with chronic health problems. I just didn't have the energy to be creating new content every day, much less every week. So, I started learning more about time and energy-saving strategies to create content. I found myself showing up in a new, more impactful, but less exhausting way.
In this blog, I’ll be talking about creating content that capitalizes on your strengths, then move on to sharing strategies like batch creation, idea and content banks, and strategic repurposing that will have you streamlining your content creation process in no time.
How do you like to express yourself?
When it comes to your marketing, you may be doing allthethings because that’s what you’ve been told to do. But it’s easy to lose steam. This is natural. Chances are, you’re not some huge conglomerate with a huge marketing team. Instead, you’re an entrepreneur, you wear a lot of hats, and you and only you are responsible for the success of your business.
The problem with doing allthethings in your marketing is that you’re unlikely to keep it up. That’s why I recommend finding the ways you most enjoy expressing yourself instead and focusing on using them to create content. This will make your content creation more fun, and thus, more sustainable.
Think about how you enjoy expressing yourself. Maybe it’s by hammering out your ideas in a long-form blog post. Or, maybe you’re more of a short-form video kinda person.
Maybe you’re making a confused face right now because you’re not even sure what kind of content you enjoy creating.
Well, to that, I say, experiment! If you’ve never made a Reel, try one to share your ideas with your audience. If you're feeling called to write short, pithy statements, consider sharing them on Threads, Instagram’s new version of Twitter.
Also, think about the type of content you most like to consume. That can definitely give you good hints about what to create. At least, you can start there.
Once you find the mediums that are right for you…that you actually enjoy, content creation will be less of a chore. There’s nothing wrong with switching up your content formats every once in a while, either.
Now that you’ve taken into account your own preferences let’s discuss some other strategies to help you spend less time and energy on creating compelling content.
The art of batch content creation
Emails, blogs, multiple social media platforms, it's a lot to keep up with. Some people find that batching content creation tasks works to streamline their creation.
With this productivity technique, you dedicate a specific period of time to create multiples of the same type of content in a single session. Instead of creating content only as needed on a day-to-day basis, you set aside a block of uninterrupted time to focus solely on one task in your content creation workflow. This approach allows you to work more efficiently, streamline your process, and increase productivity.
Experiment with how you segment the tasks at hand. For example, maybe on Monday mornings, you write Instagram captions. On Monday afternoons, you source photos for Instagram, blogs, and other content. On Tuesdays, you design graphics in Canva. You may also want to dedicate a specific time to research or gathering references, and a different time for drafting and writing content.
You may find that you don’t need to do content creation every week and that you can do it bi-weekly or even monthly. As you’re batching, assess which tasks are most important, which tasks you want to keep doing yourself, which you could outsource, and which might not even need to be done anymore. Remember, you’re trying to streamline your marketing, and part of that is assessing what’s the most important, and what you can let go of.
You will probably find that there are tasks you love, and tasks you don’t. Consider outsourcing the tasks you don’t to a competent VA.
Many people find that batching can help them stay on track, and produce work more quickly. Plus, if you work biweekly or monthly, it can free up other days of the week for tasks unrelated to content creation. But, if you’re not careful, batching can start to feel like working on an assembly line and get old. If that happens, try switching up the schedule you've designed or working in a new location.
Idea and content banks: your creative vaults
You’re walking down the street to a doctor’s appointment and suddenly you get a great idea for some content. It’s gonna be so good, but you’re in a hurry so you decide to revisit it later.
When you get back to your desk, your idea has vanished into the ether.
Don’t let your ideas escape! Make a voice note, write it on scratch paper, or keep it in your phone notes. Just don’t let it get away! An idea bank set up to capture your inspirations is invaluable in getting down those ideas in a place where you can quickly retrieve and review them.
Create your idea bank in whatever format works best for your brain. Personally, I keep my ideas in Asana as tasks. Then I start adding details, like how I plan to share the idea, i.,e., what type of content I’ll create with it, I’ll write a caption, and add subtasks if it’s a larger idea that needs to be split into multiple posts or blogs.
If you keep adding deposits to your idea bank, you’ll never struggle with the question, “What should I post?” again. And organizing them and fleshing them out will allow you to give your ideas the time they deserve in your marketing, so your messaging is clear to your audience.
You can really get as detailed as you want. This system is for you, so there’s no right way to do it. For me, mapping out how I’ll use the content is a life-saver. When I was just relying on remembering, I spent a lot of time dithering around trying to remember what I had decided before.
Now, let’s chat about the content bank. Think of your idea bank as your individual deposits. Your content bank is your storehouse of ready-to-use content and statement that helps you keep track of your content assets. They can live in the same program.
Once you've acted on your ideas, move them over to the content bank. Make sure to track what date you posted the content, where you shared it, and the link to the content. Later you can come back and reuse and repurpose those content ideas into new pieces.
Idea and content banks support different seasons of life
As an entrepreneur, I’m sure you've experienced different seasons in your business and life. I certainly have. (If you’re curious, my brain is currently split between the, ”I just want to eat chocolate and lay on the couch, but I don’t have one” season and the, “I have so many ideas for my business and I can’t decide where to start” season. )
Idea and content banks can support you through these different seasons. Maybe you need to concentrate on health in your current season. Or maybe you're in the middle of your busiest month of coaching, and it's just not the right time to concentrate on creating new content.
The idea bank will allow you to save your ideas to act on when you're ready. And the content bank will make it much easier to reuse and repurpose your content in those seasons when you're focusing on other things.
Reuse and repurpose your content
Look, publishing your content once and never again is for suckers. There, I said it. Your ideas deserve to shine, and that means you need to share them more than once. That’s where reusing and repurposing your content comes in.
Reusing content
Reusing your content means republishing it in the same format. Don’t be shy about doing this. Determine a schedule that works. Maybe you’ll reshare email topics every 6 months. Or you’ll reuse Instagram posts every 3 months. It depends on your overall strategy, but reusing your content can save a lot of your energy, and get your content in front of eyes that weren't reading it the first time around.
Repurposing content
Repurposing is remixing your existing content to use in a new manner or for a new purpose. There are three types of content that are ideal for repurposing: content that did well, content that didn't do well, and content that showcases your expertise and thought leadership.
Now, before you start repurposing everything all willy-nilly, remember that this is a time-saving and impact-creating technique. So, you’ll want to be intentional about what you choose to repurpose.
Here’s a way to frame it:
First, think about your business goals for the next 6 months.
Next, check Google Analytics or your web provider’s analytics to see which blog posts are doing best. Which blogs correspond best with your goals?
Now, take a look at your existing content again, whether that’s on your blog, on social media or elsewhere. Which pieces haven’t performed as well as you’d hoped, but speak to your expertise? Come up with new ways to share these ideas again.
Once you’ve decided on the content you plan to repurpose, you can start to think about the best format to reshare your ideas. Maybe you'd like to use one of your blog posts to create a carousel post. Find the key points in your blog post and condense them down into clear, short statements. Next, design carousel posts with minimal text, and a clear call to action at the end.
You don’t need to move the content to a different platform. Perhaps you had an Instagram post that did really well, and you’d like to share the same ideas again in a different way. How about sharing that post as a Reel? Here’s a tutorial to show you how to do that.
The sky’s the limit, but always remember the purpose behind repurposing. It's to help you create more impact while saving energy. It’s not a means to crank out low-quality, poorly-executed content. Use it intentionally and creatively and you’ll see how it works to get more eyes on your content!
You deserve more free time
Look, I know that purposeful content marketing can get your business in front of more of your soulmate clients. I also strongly believe you deserve more time away from your computer. That’s why I think these strategies: finding your favourite ways to express yourself, batching your content, keeping idea and content banks, and taking advantage of strategically reusing and repurposing your content will help you create impactful marketing while spending less of your precious time doing it.
And if you’re saying, “Look, this is great and all, Willow, but I want someone else to do it!” I could be that someone. Take a look at my content repurposing packages, and book a free strategy call to talk about what repurposing could look like for your brand.
Willow Paule (she, her) specializes in repurposing content for coaches and entrepreneurs to help them create more impact with way less stress. She helps them find the meaningful stories in their content and reuse and repurpose them in an impactful, heart-forward way.
Willow is a world traveller and expat, and she’s cultivated a deep understanding of and respect for world cultures that pervades every blog, email, and social media post she creates.
She’s also anti-cookie cutter (but totally pro-cookie). That’s why everything she creates for her clients is customized to their unique message and point of view.
Her goal is always to tell your story and share your purpose in a distinct, creative way so you can have more: more leads, more connections, more time – to focus on your business, your big goals, and (most importantly) time away from your computer.
Hiring a virtual assistant can help free up time so you can focus on the areas of your business you love most, like content batching. You’ll feel more motivated and have more energy to be productive.
As an experienced VA, Erin at Bizzybee has the skills to support your creative business in the most effective way for you.
Get in touch for more information.