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Do you feel as if you are spending all of your time creating content?
Do you wish there was a way to create more content in less time so you can be focusing on the work that you enjoy ie working with your clients?
If so, you are in the right place. Keep on reading as I’m sharing 5 ways that you can create more content in less time.
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1. Have a content plan
When it comes to creating content in less time having a plan is essential. There is nothing worse than sitting down at your content and thinking “What should I create today?” Remember when you are creating content for your business you aren’t creating content for the sake of it. You are creating content for a reason. This could be content to attract a new audience, content to position you as an authority, content to lead directly to a service or product you offer. You need to be clear on what you are creating and why you are creating it. Having a content plan will help you with both of those.
A good content plan should outline the purpose, platform and format of the content you need to create. Having this already planned out will make your content creation process so much quicker.
If you don’t already have a content plan then I urge you to focus on getting one in place. You can do this yourself or you can work with me. Content marketing is my speciality and in just one day I’ll create a clear strategy for you to follow and a detailed 90-day plan to get you started. Find out more a book a content strategy day here.
2. Batch Your Content
Batching your content is a great way to make more content in less time If you are unfamiliar with the term batching it simply means “to arrange in sets or groups”. In the world of content creation this means doing the same thing over and over again.
Here is an example of how batching would work for a business owner with a podcast. Currently, the business owner has a process that is:
- Decide on the focus on the podcast episode
- Write an outline or key points for the podcast episode
- Set up the podcast equipment
- Record an episode
- Edit an episode
- Write the show notes
- Upload to podcast host
- Embed player into a blog post on their website
This is what they go through every single time.
Now if this business owner decided to batch the process then instead of going through the process above for each single episode they might decide instead to create 3 episodes at the same time. So they would go through each step for all 3 podcast episodes before moving onto the next step.
You might be thinking “Is batching really going to save time? I’m still doing the exact same tasks”. Now in some instances it will take you exactly the same time. However, batching will help you to save time because you aren’t context switching. Every time you switch from one type of activity to another you lose time. My doing the same activity over and over again in the long run you are reducing the time you lose from switching context. Also, you definitely save time when the tasks involve using different tools or software. Using the example above it definitely makes sense to record more podcasts episodes once you’ve got your equipment setup and tested that everything is working. It also makes sense to edit all of the episodes back to back whilst you are in the groove with using the software.
Not convinced? You can find out even more benefits of batching in How to save time by batching your content.
3. Have a swipe file
One of the reasons why you might be spending a lot of time creating content is because you are uninspired. If that is you then you definitely should consider creating a swipe file.
A swipe file is a collection of great marketing and advertising examples. You can create a swipe file for every type of content you create (emails, videos, blog posts, social media posts etc) and then you can flick through to be quickly inspired. Having a dedicated resource to inspire you should mean your creative juices get flowing quickly and you are minimising the time you are sitting down thinking what should I create.
If the idea of a swipe file is new to you then you can find out more about swipe files and how to create your own here.
4. Use content templates and structures
You don’t have to keep on reinventing the wheel. Using templates and structures are a great way to make more content in less time. Templates are great for visual content. For example, I have templates for my social media posts, Pinterest Pins, YouTube thumbnails and more. Not only does using a template mean you can quickly adapt (rather than starting from scratch), but it will also help your content to look consistent. Branded templates are an easy way to make visually on-brand content.
Whereas a template is great for visual content you might use a structure for written, audio or visual content. A structure will set out the different parts within one piece of content. For example, have a structure for my blog posts.
5. Set yourself a time limit or deadline
Content creation is no different to most tasks in that it will take as long as the time available. According to Parkinson’s law “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. That means if you set yourself 1 hours or 4 hours to write your social media posts for the week it will probably take you that long.
As a business owner, you need to assess how important content creation is amongst all of the other tasks you have to complete and set yourself a time limit whenever you sit down to create content. Now obviously you need to be realistic (there is no point aiming to write a 2,000 word blog post in 30 minutes unless you are a whizz of a writer), but you should be pushing yourself to be as efficient as possible. My recommendation is that you time yourself next time to create a video, write social media posts or edit a podcast episode. Get an idea of how long you are currently spending on a task and then reduce the time slightly. This should push you to get the task done a little bit quicker than currently but still feel achievable.
6. Repurpose your existing content
You don’t always have to be starting from ground zero when you are creating content. If you have been creating content for a while then you definitely can be looking at repurposing your content. It could be that you shared an amazing story in a social media post that you could use in an email. Or you could have a wonderful video on YouTube that you decide to transcribe and have as a blog post.
Repurposing content makes sense not only because you’ll be able to create the content quickly, but by choosing content that went viral, had good engagement or resulted in lots of comments you can be confident that the content resonated with your audience before and will again.
There you have it! You know how to create more content in less time.
Now that you know my top tips for creating more content in less time I hope you are inspired to make more content for your business.
Unfortunately, just making more content doesn’t mean you’ll grow your audience, sales and business. For that to happen you need to get strategic about your content and that is what I help people with.
If you know you are ready to stop playing with content marketing and have a clear strategy that means your content is growing your audience, positioning you as an expert and attracting your dream client then book a Content Strategy Day.
If that sounds good to you then you can drop me a message here or if you would prefer to discuss your situation on a call then you can book a call here.
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