The new year is coming up and it’s quickly approaching! If you haven’t created your editorial calendar yet for 2019 (or even a few months of it), go back and read this post. Inside of last week post, I teach you step by step on setting up an editorial calendar for your blog.
Once you have created an editorial calendar, it’s time to look past the next few months and into the more distant future. You want to plan for growth and scalability, which helps you keep up with the constant changing needs of your business.
As busy as I know you are, you want to make your content creation as efficient as possible. So how do you do that? How can you plan for future growth? Here are your next steps to creating efficiency, growth, and scalability with your business:
Your Long-Term Business Plan
First and foremost, you need to consider your long-term business plan. Where do you see your business in five or ten years, and how will your content needs be different then? I know you can’t predict it, but you can envision how you want to be creating and managing your content.
For example, you might decide that you’d like to be an expert in a very narrow niche. To do this, what content do you need? You might plan to put out several self-published books and be running a successful membership site within five years. This includes a workbook content with an archive of articles and resources to offer as exclusive content to members of your site. Then you need blog posts, videos, and articles to build initial awareness, and a lead magnet to entice people to sign up on your site.
Time Management for Content Creation
If you manage your time well, you’ll be able to easily find time to create content, even when your need for content grows. Decide exactly when you will work on content creation each week. I write my main content on Monday mornings.
Then you will use your editorial calendar as a publishing schedule so that each piece on that calendar will have a definitive time when you’ll work on it. Work your way backward from its deadline step-by-step and choose the timeframe and date for each.
Plan your content in either quarters, bi-annually, or yearly. This will give you an idea on when you should be writing and creating new content.
You should also create a schedule for content-related tasks such as brainstorming or searching for ideas. You could set aside a few hours each month for idea generation or brainstorming sessions for future quarters or related to a product launch. Use this time just to generate new topics and titles to put onto your editorial calendar.
Just like any habit, creating a regular schedule gets you into a rhythm that’s easy to follow. It may take some time to get used to it, but once you do, you’ll sit down and start creating content effortlessly.
Content Idea Generation
Since you’ll need a constant flow of new ideas for your content (don’t forget that repurposing your content counts – or even writing updated versions of past content counts!), it’s good to create a system for content idea generation. You can think of it as a sort of pipeline for ideas from initial inspiration to a spot on your editorial calendar.
When you’re creating brand new content, it can be difficult to find new ideas that haven’t be talked about a thousand times (by you or someone else). For this reason, you should find some good sources for ideas that you can turn to when you need inspiration.
I have mentioned keeping an idea folder and watching your competitors. Another method is to subscribe to newsletters or follow other content creators in your industry. A few people I follow, as an example, is Content Sparks, Mariah Coz, and Kimberly Jimenez, just to name a few. I am on their email list so that I can see what they are doing so I can gain ideas and inspiration.
When you need ideas, you have to actively go out and find them – but if you can make this process more focused and passive, it will cut out a great deal of work. For example:
- Create an email address solely for the purpose of getting ideas and subscribe to as many niche-related email newsletters as possible. When you need ideas, just check your inbox and see what your competitors are saying.
- Sign up for Google Alerts for keywords related to your niche. Each day, it will bring relevant results straight to your inbox. I would suggest getting an email address specifically for this because it can flood your email very quickly!
- Create a Twitter account solely for following people in your niche or relevant hashtags. Not a Twitter fan? Then follow people on your favorite social media platform.
Another idea is to create a swipe file on your computer where you save eBooks and other information products in your niche that you can refer to when you need ideas. I download or screenshot ads as I am scrolling on Facebook so I can go back and take a look at it later.
Finally, keep the channels of communication open with your audience by regularly asking for feedback. Listen closely for when they ask questions, tell you about problems they’re facing, or what they’d like to see you write about.
Managing Time and Resources
As your needs scale, you’re going to need to cut down on the resources and work it takes to meet these needs. When you begin to scale, you might find yourself asking someone else to do it for you.
One way to save time on content creation is to delegate it to someone else in your team or hire a VA. Find someone who has a knack for writing or creating content and ask them if they’d take over some of the workload. As your business grows, you can start building a team of content creators who work together and collaborate on your main ideas.
The other option is to outsource or hire someone from outside your company to create content for you. There are many content creators offering their services online.
This is great, but if you’re wondering what types of content is going to build relationship or convert potential customers into paying clients, then I want to invite you to come to the Free Masterclass, 4 Types of Content Every Business Needs for Ultimate Success!
Inside this QUICK Masterclass (a total of 40 minutes with q&a!), you’re going to learn:
- What the four types of content you need for your business to include in your editorial calendar for maximum impact and results (how to use it and where to use it)
- Discover the fuel behind content that will connect and build your brand
- Understand how to use and interchange content to put your business growth on maximum drive for faster results
- Get the tips and best practices behind content marketing that will scale your business for profitable growth!
Get in on the free Masterclass today and fill your editorial calendar with content that fuels and drives your business for profit and scalability!
