We all know that providing unique and valuable content is the way forward whether it be in the form of blog posts, social media posts, videos or a plethora of other options.
Providing valuable content for your audience is a sure fire way to increase traffic to your website and form a basis for increased engagement and sales.
Coming up with content on a regular basis can be time consuming and often feels like you can never keep up. Here are some simple things you can keep in mind to help boost your productivity when it comes to creating content.
Be consistent
The number one thing to do is be consistent! It doesn’t matter if you’re creating content every day or once a week, keeping a regular routine will help you to get into the habit of creating content. Set a schedule in your calendar and stick to it.
If it means getting up a little earlier each day, set an alarm and do it. Just make sure you turn up and create something.
The interesting thing i noticed when i started writing every day is that it made me realise things I never would have though of if i hadn’t been getting the words out of my head.
It doesn’t matter if you end up using the content, just create something on a regular basis and the good stuff will follow.
Start simple
You don’t need to write a movie script in a week. It can be as simple as writing down your thoughts in a journal regularly. The act of doing this alone will get the juices flowing and get the thoughts out of your head.
If you’re creating video content don’t get bogged down in the technical minutia of camera gear and lighting. Get your mobile phone out and use that to record a simple video.
This simple act of just getting something done will provide a huge boost to your confidence regardless of whether anyone sees that piece of content.
Start with writing
Everything starts with writing. Anything you can think of from books to movies to podcasts to marketing campaigns starts with some form of writing.
Whether it’s a simple outline of some show notes, an entire movie script, or a sales page. Getting words on paper is going to form the basis for every piece of content you create.
But everything has already been said!
With so much content already on the internet it can be tough to not think it’s all been said before. Yes a lot has been said already, but when you say it in your own unique voice it’s coming form a unique perspective.
Write about what you know
Writing about what you know and being honest will make your content stand out from the rest. Apart from being completely obvious when someone writes about something they know little about, it just making your job harder.
Thinking of things to create content about when you start with topics you know about is much easier and will benefit you and everyone who consumes your content.
Set aside time to brainstorm topics
As well as being regular with creating content, its a great idea to lock in a time and day to focus on coming up with topics to create content about.
Sit down for 10-20 minutes on a Monday morning, put a timer on if you have to, and start listing topics you know a thing or two about. Pretty soon you will have a list of things to write about or create content about.
Start an editorial calendar
The best way to remain consistent is to start a simple editorial calendar with a list of topics you want to create content about with a date next to each one. Having this helps to keep you accountable and as you start to create more often, you will not want to miss those days.
It can be a simple spread sheet with a date column on the left then a column for your topics. Seriously, trust me, once you have a list of topics in a list you will want to get it done.
Take the topics you came up with when you brainstormed and add them to your calendar. Start off with four to six topics and add a date next to each one of them for when you plan to expand on the content for each topic.
When it comes to that date:
- Use your topic as the title
- Expand the topic into 3-5 bullet points to break the topic down further
- Expand on each point.
Don’t worry about grammar or editing your writing, just get the words and ideas out of your head and edit later.
Do this consistently for a week or two and I guarantee you will start to think of things you never would have if you had not started doing this.
To re-cap and get your content on track:
- Be consistent
- Start simple
- Start with writing
- Write about what you know
- Set aside time to brainstorm topics
- Start an editorial calendar
Starting with these 6 simple tips to improve your content creation will be a huge step in the right direction to adding value to your audience and customers.
Doing it consistently will put you head and shoulders above most other people and make you stand out from the rapidly increasing noise on the internet.
Get in touch if you would like some guidance on creating content for your website