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Want to know how I plan my content for the month ahead
When it comes to content creation and marketing I swear by planning. Not only does planning allows you to be strategic with your content but it also allows you to batch your content in advance so you can be consistent, which I believe is super important.
For years I’ve been sharing tips on how to create content, but now I’ve decided to let you into how I plan my very own content. Keep on reading to find out exactly how I plan my content for the month ahead.
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Before I dive into how I plan my content I just want to make clear this is written to share I plan my content with the intention of letting you see one way you could plan your content, but everyone is different. When it comes to planning content I don’t believe there is one system. When I work with clients I do everything from planning a year in advance to planning week by week. I also create plans on Trello, Asana, spreadsheets and physical planners.
Also, it is important for me to say that I look after multiple businesses/brands:
- CharelleGriffith.com – This is the home of my marketing consultancy. I blog, create emails and have social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and LinkedIn)
- PropelHer – This is the online personal development platform and book club I created for ambitious women. I blog, create videos, write emails and have associated social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn)
- Charelle Reads – This is my non-fiction book blog. It lives on CharelleGriffith.com and I use all of the associated social media platforms
- Free And Figuring It Out – This is a podcast I co-host with Verity Brown. We have a website (freeandfiguringitout.com) and I’m responsible for managing the Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.
As I run multiple business/brands and am a solo business owner (with a day job) what my schedule looks like may be very different from yours. When it comes to content planning the aim is to be consistent. Work out what is achievable for you, stick to that for a while and then build in the future if necessary or possible.
STEP 1: FILL OUT MY MONTHLY CALENDAR
When it comes to planning my content I have a pretty rigid structure and I’m old school.
On the first of the month, I start filling out the core content for the month ahead. I use a monthly calendar that is printed out on a piece of A4 paper.
The first thing I do is fill in the pieces of long-form content I create (blogs, videos and podcast episodes). To make my life easier, and ensure people know when to expect content, I follow a fairly rigid structure.
- CharelleGriffith.com – I post a new blog post every Wednesday
- PropelHer – I post a new blog post every Sunday
- Free and Figuring It Out – I release a new podcast episode every Friday
- Charelle Reads – I post a new blog post every week (usually Friday or Sunday)
Then I fill in all of the emails I send
- CharelleGriffith.com – I send out an email on the 1st and 15th of every month.
- PropelHer – I send a #MotivationalMonday email out every Monday morning
Finally, I fill in the social media content
- CharelleGriffith.com – I share my latest blog post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. I also ensure that I post 4 times a week on Instagram (that always includes a #MotivationalMonday post). You can follow me at www.instagram.com/charellegriffith/
- Charelle Reads – I share my latest book review on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest
- PropelHer – I share the latest blog post on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
- Free And Figuring It Out – I share the latest episode on Twitter and LinkedIn (Verity looks after Instagram and Facebook).
This planner acts as the basic minimum for me. It may be that I do more social media content, but I know with this planner that as long as I tick everything off I have covered the essentials.
Step 2: DECIDING WHAT EACH PIECE OF LONG-FORM TOPIC WILL BE ABOUT
As I mentioned above I follow a rigid posting structure in terms of blog posts and podcast episodes. Once I’ve plotted everything down on my monthly planner I then focus on each brand at a time and work out what the content will be for the month ahead (except for Free and Figuring It Out). Firstly, I will look at my annual calendar which is full of awareness days. If there is anything that I feel is relevant to a brand then I will plot those in. Otherwise, I will then decide what to write about based on what I would like to write, what has been popular in the past, what questions I often get asked or something I need to cover in relation to a service or an affiliate offer.
For each piece of content, I will make a note about what the purpose of the content is so that when I come to create it at a later date I’m crystal clear about why I’m making that piece of content.
Then once I have outlined the topics, and defined the purpose, I will do keyword research to help me create titles that are search engine optimised.
STEP 3: CREATING THE CONTENT
As much as possible I like to batch content and have things scheduled in advance. If you aren’t already a fan of batching you can find out why it is so powerful by visiting How to save time by batching your marketing content.
When it comes to batching content the key is to try and do similar things together. I think it is especially useful for recording videos and podcast episodes. However, I also use it for writing blog posts and sometimes even creating social media content.
STEP 4: SCHEDULING CONTENT IN ADVANCE
One of the reasons why planning and creating content in advance is great is because it allows you to schedule content in advance and forget about. YouTube videos, podcast episodes and blog posts can all be scheduled in advance so I can forget about it.
When it comes to social media content it is a bit more tricky. For PropelHer I schedule Facebook, Twitter and Instagram activity in Hootsuite. However, for Charelle Griffith and Free and Figuring It Out I post the majority in real life. Although I do use Later to prepare my Instagram posts in advance and then I have reminders sent to my phone so I can manually post at the time I had decided beforehand. You can find out why I love Later by reading ‘Why later is the best free Instagram scheduler’.
Once I’ve scheduled content in advance I highlight it green on my calendar so I can easily see at a quick glance that it has been done.
STEP 5: PREPARING AND DELIVERING ON THE DAY CONTENT
Whilst I love preparing and scheduling content in advance some needs to be done on the day such as LinkedIn posts, Instagram stories or any type of live video. For this content, I will try and have the theme or focus of the content decided in advance, just like I would for my long-form content. Then each morning in the morning I can wake up and look at my calendar, see what isn’t highlighted green and add those things to my daily to-do list.
NOW YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW I PLAN MY CONTENT FOR THE MONTH AHEAD.
If you would like to know more about how I create my content you can check out Content Creation: The equipment and tools I use to create content where I share exactly what I use to make all of the different types of content.
I really hope by sharing my process it has helped you to see how you could improve your planning process to ensure your marketing is consistent and effective, whilst also making your life easier.
If the thought of knowing what you need to create weeks or even months in advance seems heavily to you then I here to help.
On an Intensive Strategy Day not only do I create a 1-year strategy for your business, but we’ll also do a 90-day action plan where we’ll decide on the theme and purpose of each piece of long-form content you create. If that sounds like a dream you can find out more about what is involved in an intensive strategy by clicking here. You can find out how to work with me ongoing or via an intensive strategy day
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