I have a confession: when I first started this blog, I was really bad at sticking to a content schedule.
You see, I spent several years publishing weekly on The Writer’s Cookbook. I was pretty burned out from regular blogging and wasn’t sure I wanted to keep doing it for myself.
But the thing is…
I’m not blogging for myself. I’m blogging for you.
What I really needed to find was why I was doing it.
And take a little break to focus on podcasting and video content. That helped too.
Once I’d taken a break and found a reason/motivation/strategy, I needed to decide how often I’d publish.
As I already write several thousand words a day, I chose a time frame that worked for me and meant that if I needed to take a break, my brain could have one.
But I also needed something that would mean regular content was going out that I could share with my email list and LinkedIn followers.
And so, my posting schedule was born.
If you’re unsure of what your schedule should be, consider your existing commitments, how long content takes you to create, and what you want to get out of your content.
In-depth content published intermittently will often get you a lot closer to your goals—and a lot faster—than one-off blog posts that aren’t part of a series, barely related to your brand, and sound like something anyone else could write.
But how do you actually stick to your content plan once you’ve come up with it?
Plan in advance
While planning too far in advance can be a little scary, if you plan your content a few months ahead, you’ll be able to see what’s coming up in your business and organise your content around it.
So as well as building awareness, your content will answer questions your prospects may have about your product/service. Which may also help you generate more leads and mean that passive prospects are more likely to turn into active customers, and maybe even superfans.
Not everyone wants to get in touch to ask questions, particularly for product-related businesses or SaaS. So, if you can answer basic questions in your content, it could mean more conversions. And who doesn’t want that?
Work in batches
Instead getting into a mad panic to create something the day you’re supposed to publish something, work in batches. Put aside a day or two a month and create everything then.
You’ll get into it much better without a constant stop/start process. Idea generation and troubleshooting will also be easier because you’re already in a content creation mindset.
You could even draft one month’s content at the start of the month before, then edit it a couple of weeks later. That way you’ve developed some emotional distance from it and can view it more objectively when you come to edit it.
Word vomit
Word vomit isn’t just for Cady Heron. Word vomit works wonders for writing, too. Free writing is a skill that can not only help you get out pent-up emotions, but also get out everything that’s going on in your head. Just throw it onto the page without filter. Judge it later.
If you find yourself editing as you write (please don’t do that!), turn your monitor off and set yourself a timer. If you can’t see what you’re writing, you can’t edit 😉
The timer also means you’re too busy trying to get your idea out before the timer goes off to think about anything other than writing down your idea.
Don’t focus on perfect
The perfect blog post doesn’t exist, but the old saying that ‘practice makes perfect’ is true.
The more blog posts you write, the better you’ll get at it. Which means the longer you put off getting started with your content schedule, the longer it will take you to write epic blog posts.
You’re always going to look back on old blog posts and cringe, but what matters is that they helped draw people to your content in those early days and you’ve grown since then.
Be accountable
When you’re accountable to someone else, it’s a lot harder to avoid publishing regular content. I’ve found having a VA helps, because she can remind me to do things I’m procrastinating on, works as a good sounding board, and needs me to stay on schedule so that she can create the visuals for my content!
Focus on helping your audience
Most of us enjoy helping other people. So, try to see content marketing as a way to do that, rather than a way to draw attention to yourself.
It can be a big mindset shift, and some days you’ll find this perspective easier than others, but when your focus is on how you affect the outside world, it’s a lot easier to contribute to the conversation and feel like you have something interesting to say.
Conclusion
Sticking to a content schedule is all about reminding yourself that you provide value to your audience and that they want to hear what you have to say. As your audience grows, they can hold you accountable, as can other team members like VAs or designers.
Planning in advance, and working in batches, can also be beneficial because you’ll be able to get into the content planning and writing mindset easier, and therefore into a state of flow, too. You may even surprise yourself at how much you can achieve in that time!
If you find content planning and writing hard, doing it in bulk can be particularly effective. Sometimes you still need a helping hand, though. That’s ok! We’re all here to support each other. If you’d like help with your content marketing, check out my packages or drop me an email.