Why you need to be planning your content

I was struggling when I first started my business to create blogging content weekly, just blogging content. I’m not even talking about the zillion other pieces of content it feels like you have to create to market and connect with your online business. I literally couldn’t get a new blog post up weekly to save my life….I even put it in my opt-in welcome email that I’d post every Tuesday morning at 8am….

Then 3 months later I remembered I said that and panicked by throwing up a blog post at the last minute.

It was anxiety inducing, not fun, and not useful for me or my business to create my content this way. I didn’t understand how I was every going to also create those zillion other pieces of content. How was I going to do it all by myself? I couldn’t consistently write a single blog post each week.

There was a big mistake I was making and it was making running a business miserable. I was completely skipping over planning part of the process.

Big mistake, and I’ll go into why it is important to plan out your content in just a second but I wanted to tell you what changed for myself personally and for my business when I created a content plan.

Planning your content benefits

When I started planning my content I no longer had to sit in front of an empty blog post for hours with no idea what to write. I had more space to think and create higher quality posts for my visitors. The amount of time it took me to create a single blog post went from hours to 30 minutes.

I’m now a notorious planner. I’ve got lists, calendars, schedules, templates, and charts for every part of my business. I absolutely love it!

Why is creating a planning your content important?

You know what is coming up.

Planning your content gives you an idea of what you are going to write about when you sit down to create content. You can already have your research part out of the way so that when it comes time to write you can just create. You never have to sit in front of the blank post again wishing an idea would come to you. You’ve already got your idea and you are ready to hit the ground running.

Plan and create a system that effectively uses your time.

Trying to come up with content in the moment doesn’t allow you to review your process and evaluate it for opportunities for improvement. You can start to see what kind of systems you can put in place to save you time and make your content creation time more effective. It might take you a little longer when you are first starting but you’ll quickly find your groove and ways to maximize your time!

Keeps your profiles active and consistently visible in front of your potential clients.

People are always watching on the internet. You never know when someone is going to decide that now is the time to look at your profile as a potential hire for their business. Planning your content ensures that your profiles are active and that you are consistently visible across your entire online presence for your potential clients.

You can’t expect yourself to be on all the time let alone on social media at the optimal time.

Let’s talk posting plans. There is a very real and important strategy to posting on your social media profiles and even your blog posts at optimal times. But real life happens and you can’t guarantee that you will be on the channel at all to share and most likely not during the best times to post. It’s ok we are all human. This is where your plan turns into a posting schedule. You can automate and then you never have to worry about forgetting to post. It just happens like clockwork.

No long rely on inspiration to strike to create your content

One of the biggest struggles my clients share with me has to do with inspiration. They wait to post to their social media channels or start writing their blog posts for that day when the inspiration strikes. But then sometimes inspiration isn’t with you and you don’t post. When you’re planning your content out ahead of time you no longer rely on inspiration in the moment. You definitely want to create content when you are inspired. So capitalize on those times. But then use your content plan to fill your calendar.

Take a break without losing the momentum you’ve built

Content creation can feel like you are handcuffed to your social media channels or your computer. You’ve got to be constantly creating and pushing stuff out there. However, when you have a content plan that isn’t so. You can take a step back. And not miss a beat on social media or your blog. Having your plan allows you to create content in advance or repurpose your content to fill your calendar and stay consistent. SCORE!

This has been one of the best things for my online business. I do almost everything by myself and sometimes I just get tired. Or even worse I get sick. Having my content plan allows me to fill my calendar consistently even when I am taking a break.

Now your turn!

I’d love to hear what your biggest struggle with planning your content is? Let me know in the comments!

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