Obsessively Making Content Creation Stress-Free
I’m an organized person by nature. In fact, some have jokingly diagnosed me with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder)—well, at least I think it’s a joke. I certainly resemble that remark, but I embrace it wholeheartedly because I’ve seen the results that good organization can provide. Among my top organization tips, I highly recommend creating your own exclusive content calendar, especially if you’re the face of your brand. Here are five reasons why this little bit of OCD is good for you:
PREPARATION:
First, a content calendar helps ensure that you are organized in your efforts. When I work with clients to develop a calendar, I first layer in items from the promotional calendar for their industry. For instance, for my real estate professionals, I consider things like National Moving Day or Home Improvement Month. I also look carefully at what their ideal customers are doing—and when they’re doing it. Then I take into consideration any national holidays, industry trade shows and events, etc. Once those are all in place, then we can begin to build their exclusive content around those items. I try to create a different theme each month of the year, then layer in post or article topics relevant to that theme. This helps us to remain timely and relevant across the board.
PEACE OF MIND:
Let’s face it, content is the big beast that hovers over us in our sleep. When we think about producing our own exclusive content, we feel intimidated, overwhelmed and break into a cold sweat. But just a few hours of thoughtful planning can alleviate 90% of that stress! After all, it’s really not the time it takes to write a short article that overwhelms us…it’s sitting down to an empty document, wondering where or how we will begin. Wipe all of that away by producing your own calendar. You can make any adjustments on the fly, but just having that base of content topics in front of you does wonders to calm your mind and lessen the load.
CONSISTENCY:
I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that consistency is vital to becoming the authority in your industry. A good content calendar will do more to help you maintain that consistency than anything else. You can add a ‘create content’ reminder to your calendar every Monday morning, but if you aren’t organized and prepared to deliver, your weekly reminder can simply become hollow. Consistency over time leads to top of mind awareness and trust.
MULTI-PURPOSE
Beyond the obvious blog post for your own website, your content can be shared across all social platforms. But take it further. Submit your content as articles to industry trade publications (print and online). They’re consistently looking for great content! And don’t forget that you can produce your own publications. Publish your exclusive content as a printed book, e-book, slide presentation, video, webinar, etc. Great content is great content. Publishing it in multiple formats and across multiple platforms allows you to deliver your expertise to your ideal customers in a manner that is sure to suit their needs and learning style.
CONFIDENCE
This one may seem like it doesn’t belong in this list, but I’ve saved the best for last. It’s actually my #1 pick of reasons to create a content calendar. Sometimes we forget how much we know. We forget what we have to offer. And we forget how important our knowledge and experience is to those we are here to help. When we continue to create excellent content, people notice. When you’ve been consistently creating content for several months, you can look back with pride and sometimes even surprise yourself at the impact of that content—on you and others. Not surprisingly, confidence is also one of the 10 Traits of a BrandFace©.