Content Planning Like a Pro
Recently, I posted in my Facebook group asking for feedback about what people would like to learn from me. This was fun and insightful, and saved me a ton of wasted work hours.
Why? Well, because for the next few months, instead of guessing at what my audience wants, I actually KNOW! And as they say on those funny G.I. Joe PSAs, “Knowing is half the battle.” #childofthe80s
One of the things people asked for was content planning. I’m so excited to help you plan your content! I actually just worked on it with a client, and I swear it’s always easier from an outsider’s point of view. If you want me to do it for you, contact me and we can chat. Or use the points below:
How to Create Killer Content for Your Audience
Focus on the core mission of your brand.
If you’re just getting started, think about what you want your core content to be. These are things that line up 100% with your brand and mission; things that are relevant all the time. They are also topics you can create good opt-in content around. This helps you build your list! Think about high-quality posts you can imagine being shared again and again, either by you or others.
Example: When I was first building this blog I stuck to my core message of selling. My sleep coaching client already had lots of great blog posts centered around sleep. Now is a chance for her to branch out since she has great core content. If your business is new, or you’re just getting started, think of core content first.
Ask your people!
If you already have an audience, use it! This is what I did and even with just a few people responding I was able to get enough info for about five blog posts, at least. Anywhere you connect with your audience, be sure to ask if they have things they’ve been curious about, and let them know you’re asking so you can help them better.
Example: In addition to content planning, folks asked for help with burnout, doubt, dealing with failure, and outsourcing (to name a few). While I have some ideas of my own in the works, I know I need to address these topics sooner than later.
Think about your ideal client and their needs, concerns, and curiosities.
What do people tend to ask you about? When you do discovery calls (or connect in other ways) with potential clients/customers, is there something you hear again and again? What about topics adjacent to what you teach on?
Example: I’ll use a client of mine to show you what I mean, especially with “adjacent” topics. She’s a sleep coach for parents of young kids. In addition to being an expert on sleep, she also just knows a heck of a lot about young kiddos in general. Her clients have other questions that relate to their babies and toddlers, that have nothing to do with sleep. For instance, what are some high-quality toys they could get their kids? Is that trendy new stroller really worth the price tag? While she focuses primarily on sleep, she can add value by also speaking about the other concerns of her ideal clients. Kind of like how I talk a lot about selling and ways to make money in your business, but I also give some practical how-to’s and mindset stuff too!
Audit your current content, and figure out what you could repurpose.
Are there other things you feel would be useful to your ideal clients that you haven’t written about yet? Did you write a post giving an overview of something, but you know you could go more in-depth and turn it into a series of posts? You don’t have to give every piece of expertise away for free, but sometimes you can save yourself the hassle of coming up with something completely new, and just expand on what you already have.
Example: Let’s say you wrote a post called, “Three Things to Know Before Becoming a Virtual Assistant.” You don’t have to dismantle that older post, but you can now take each of those “points” and elaborate on them in their own posts. Then you can use hyperlinks to help readers know there’s more content on that same topic elsewhere on your website. The longer they stay on your site, engaging in your content, the faster they “know, like, and trust” you, which equals a better chance of them spending money with you in the future.
Think about seasonally relevant content.
This is content that will be highly relevant to your ideal clients’ lives at the moment it gets published. Think about the magazine industry. A lot of their content is “time-bound.” Martha Stewart isn’t going to talk about Halloween in March. InStyle won’t feature strappy dresses mid-winter. Some of their content works no matter when you read it, but a lot of it is catering to people where their mind is right now. Also, they are usually about one month ahead, and that’s because they want to catch your attention before it’s too late. So don’t release that holiday recipe guide on your food blog mid-December. It just might be too late.
Example: If you are a life coach for moms, you could write about finding time for your passions when back-to-school time rolls around. If you sell giftable items, do a holiday gift guide. If you’re a travel agent, do a special feature on the best summer vacation spots for families.
And if you’re still scratching your head about what repurposing content looks like, or how in the heck you’ll have time to create all this content, then check out RKA’s newest show, which explains it really well, and might make you pee your pants. ;)
Happy content creating!
