Ep. 034 How To Save Time When Creating Content

Welcome to the Cracking Content Podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content and PR, so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it. In this episode, I'm going to be talking about five ways to save time creating content. So this is one of the biggest problems people talk about when it comes to creating content, particularly if you're a solopreneur or run a small team. People are like, "It's just taking me too long to create content." And they feel overwhelmed and feel like they have to be on every channel three times a day because they see other people in their world doing that. {1:02} So the first thing is, you need to get organised. So how can you keep track of the content process from start to finish without a schedule in place? So this is one of the mistakes that people I've worked with often do; they post in the moment. Now that can work if you've got lots of time, but if you've got a busy business as a coach or a creative entrepreneur or a product-based business, you need to have a content schedule in place so that you are highlighting the products and services that you have to sell. {1:46} Making sure that you've got a schedule in place ensures that all your brand messaging and all the things you've got to sell are actually in your content. You wouldn't believe the amount of content audits I've done, where people actually don't use a sales call-to-action in any of their social media posts. And then they wonder why they don't have any clients, or they're not selling any products. {2:17} If you set up a content calendar and plan your content ideas ahead of time, it means you're not wasting time. So it can also help you time block. So you can set time aside every month to plan what you're doing. {2:38} Make time every month to map out what you're going to do. We like to plan our content in quarters. But at the moment, it's good to do a monthly check-in because things are changing so quickly that you might need to adjust or change the content you're putting out, depending on what's happening in the UK or wherever you're living.  {3:05} The next tip is to streamline your research process. Do you sometimes have a hundred tabs open on your computer? That's just too many things going on at the same time. The same thing can happen when you're researching a topic. So stay on task and save time by looking at your own analytics and also your competitors to see what topics are trending.  {3:56} One of my favourite and most easy things to do is to actually ask your audience. If you've got a good email list, you could send out a survey asking people what kind of products they would like or giving feedback on an existing product or service that you offer your clients. {5:15} Think hard about what channels you want to focus on. It's better to do one or two really well than try and be everywhere all the time. {5:26} Did you know that businesses that regularly publish a blog see 67% more leads from their inbound efforts over companies that don't?  {6:09} So, rather than posting something that's not very good every day, create an excellent blog and then pull out social posts from that. And you know you are boosting your search engine optimization, sharing ideas with your customers and clients. You can also use your email newsletter to share that blog in as well. {6:49} When it comes to promoting your content, cascade the content. So, I've talked about creating those core bits of content, like a blog or a podcast, and then think about how you can repurpose it. Create a listicle, Five Ways To Write An Excellent Blog, and then you push out those tips as well. So it is just really thinking about how you can make those core bits of content that you've created Evergreen. Evergreen is not just a tree. It's a bit of content that you can update every year that also helps people.  Connect with Claire:  You can download my free PR guide here https://clairewinter.info/freebies/be-your-own-pr/  To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info. Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/ Website: https://clairewinter.info/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk  Join the Cracking Content Club Membership: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/