How To Create Content Consistently
How To Create Content Consistently
Please don't beat yourself up about it… We've all been there. You were meticulously preparing a content strategy and mapping out blog post ideas for months in advance, only for it all to be derailed when something more important came up.
Your intentions are good. I'm not questioning that. But consistent content isn't easy to come by. Content creators often struggle with consistently creating solid content. Are you one of them? Here are some tips that will help you keep the content rolling.
Importance Of Content Consistency
Just because you're an experienced content writer doesn't mean you have the time to produce high-quality content constantly. The reality is, you have lives and families and essential commitments. Yes, it would be best if you had a master plan for your content. It would help if you had a clear idea of your overarching goals for your blog, but don't neglect your other tasks.
The average person's attention span is now only about 8 seconds. That means it's impossible to have quality content constantly flowing from your fingertips, on-demand. An effective content strategy helps you think strategically about your content and publish regularly.
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I'm a firm believer that consistency is the key to content marketing success. The longer that you're able to consistently publish content regularly, the more chance that you'll have to break through to your audience and produce substantial traffic and sales in the process.
Here are just a few reasons why this is important: Less information overload. If you have to wade through more than a couple of too-good-to-be-true content marketing materials, it'll be nearly impossible to separate the wheat from the chaff.
If you have to wade through more than a couple of too-good-to-be-true content marketing materials, it'll be almost impossible to separate the wheat from the chaff—more attention from search engines. By publishing content consistently, you'll get more visibility.
Data shows that content creators who consistently produce high-quality work see greater results and have better retention and readership. Researchers found that “consistency in publishing quality content results in:
- Content is consumed twice as often as fragmented and poor quality articles,
- Pages are viewed three times as often as fragmented and poor-quality articles. The majority of users leave pages that they feel poorly written but at low rates,
- The majority of users are likely to share and react to high-quality content more than low-quality content.
Consistency is important. Content is a tool for your product or brand. It's a powerful marketing tool that will help you shape your audience's perception of you. Yet if you're not consistent with the content you create, the likelihood of your audience engaging with you is slim to none. The opposite of “perception management.” Think about the impact a consistent image can have on a brand. Consider how much of a difference having compatible products can make.
Plan Content In Advance
Even if you don't have an exact topic in mind, it's better to have a plan to be more deliberate about creating quality content. Writing about the same thing every week can be tedious, not to mention risky. A sudden theme drop is bound to leave readers confused or confused for a long time (unless you're writing about obscure things, in which case you might be doing it well). Write about new things.
Creating a consistent content plan and plotting out ideas can be overwhelming. One method to combat the lack of inspiration is to write about topics you don't usually write about. For example, write an article on the 10 most annoying commercials of all time. Plan content in advance. Plan for the significant events that happen throughout the year.
You may not be able to do this until May. But start preparing for them now. Check out this plan template. Write ideas down. I know this is obvious, but we're content creators, not planners. Some of the most awesome content we create came from brainstorming with a whiteboard, brainstorming with Post-It Notes, or just scribbling things down on a napkin.
Content planning is the easiest way to maintain a diet that focuses on quality, creativity, and great storytelling. Just pick an idea and start writing. Making an effort to plan and put together a good draft of your next piece can lead to an increased sense of purpose and reward, plus the end of writer's block.
Once you've put the words on the page, make your writing as error-free and readable as possible. Your audience is paying attention. When creating and sharing content, don't cut corners on sentence structure and vocabulary.
Your audience wants to know what you know, and they expect you to be knowledgeable. Instead of getting into the weeds of content, focus on the big picture, the message, and the experience. Be sure you're planning with content by month. Knowing where you're going before you get there can help you produce quality content consistently.
Create A Blogging Template Or Checklist
Getting stuck on post ideas is one of the most common reasons writers forgo publishing for months at a time. I'm not saying that you should abandon a long-term blogging plan. But create a regular writing practice and reference sheet. Consider making a content planning template or checklist. These can serve as reminders of what you're aiming for or be handy in generating new ideas.
What content formats should your content blog target? What tools and technologies work best for your team? How should the blog format itself be set up? If you're starting a new blog, create a plan that is short and simple. Review and revise as necessary.
Don't panic if you don't immediately end up with a new content plan in place, either. Keep trying. Writing blog posts is a tricky thing to get right. Even the best writers stumble over minor mistakes that turn up on social media or get posted in blogs.
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No matter how excellent your writing skills are, you can't force great content if you're writing on a blog that doesn't match your brand and messaging. Fortunately, you can create a checklist of the essential elements of a great content piece. A typical blog template includes:
- Key points (i.e., the top three items to highlight about your brand, product, or industry),
- Key takeaway (i.e., the underlying takeaway you want your audience to take away),
- Called to action (the action you want people to take once they've read your content), and
- Linking elements (such as images, video, and social media buttons).
We're bombarded by content and article recommendations daily. And every time we visit a particular website, it has a distinct look and feels. Even the articles themselves have different formats and sections. Well-written content has to resonate. It's an art in itself.
That's why developing an established blogging template or checklist will give you a consistent framework for your blog content. Yes, that means you have to spend some time before you even get started. But it will save you a lot of time and energy when it comes to writing a content marketing plan. It can also save you the headache of back and forth emails and conference calls. There are plenty of content templates out there.
Streamline Your Keyword Research
The content-development process can be a minefield. It's easy to make mistakes. One of the most common is getting caught up in keyword research that doesn't involve enough research into the target audience. A good rule of thumb is to ensure your research doesn't last longer than 2-3 weeks. In terms of length, make sure it doesn't exceed a page or two.
- There's no question: You'll need to do plenty of keyword research for your blog content. But taking the time to do so can be a real chore.
- Here's the dirty little secret about content: Building unique content requires research. That's right, it's true. Asking questions about your target audience and the best way to help them grow is a tremendous undertaking. But if you want to build something incredible, then you're going to need to dedicate some time to figure out what works for your audience.
Thorough keyword research is vital. A strong plan is all that's necessary for search engines to rank your content for your intended keywords. If there's one thing that helps to create consistently valuable content, it's constantly researching the keywords you will be using. If you need help, don't be afraid to reach out to other bloggers and get advice on specific topics.
Take full advantage of tools that help you generate good content ideas. Tools such as BuzzSumo can help you narrow down the value of your keyword research based on their algorithm. Most importantly, be aware of how your content might affect the title and keywords you're targeting. If you're creating content that doesn't include an action verb in the title but does include “buy” in the title, your content might be causing buyer's remorse.
If you're looking to establish consistency in your content, it's crucial to master keyword research and writing. Head over to Google and search for “content marketing.” Searching with the “WordPress” or “SEO” keyword will show you the most common keywords people use to find content. Before starting the writing process, use a tool like Google Keyword Planner to identify the most important topics you'll be writing about.
You can also learn what drives search traffic to your website by using SimilarWeb or Search Metrics tools. One of the easiest ways to improve your keyword density is to spend some time researching related topics you're interested in. While you're at it, make sure you add relevant, meaningful, relevant keywords to your content.
This is important because studies have shown that people prefer sites containing more keywords to areas with fewer keywords. Search engine optimization can be a powerful tool in improving your search rankings, and you'll be better positioned to achieve your SEO goals if you plan.
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Use Content Frameworks
Focus on creating a regular calendar of content delivery. For example, you may have a newsletter, which you periodically send out. Or perhaps you post at least one piece of content every day on your blog. This will keep your site active and valuable to visitors. You can also set up a content calendar for each piece of content. The “due” dates might be three months, six months, or 12 months out.
Regardless, it's good to have a deadline to shoot for. Before you start creating content, make sure you know what your brand is all about. For example, if you own a technical blog, you might not want to interview a CEO from a professional association.
Creating a framework for your blog posts is an effective way to keep things organized when planning your content. You can make content framework templates using WordPress to save time.
Creating consistent content is easy enough for solo business owners, but getting content out consistently can get tricky when starting a business with partners, like a blog or a team. This is where frameworks can come in.
When we're focused on a large-scale project, like building a website or launching a product, it's easy to lose sight of the more minor details that help make the whole experience a little easier.
Take your time to plan out a content framework where you can track and prioritize ideas and priorities across your various blogs, newsletters, blogs, and social media profiles. Many content creators are familiar with content frameworks, but they don't necessarily know how to use them properly.
Frameworks like FullContact and HubSpot give you a foundation on which to build your content strategy. They offer a simple structure and rule-set for creating content, and it doesn't take much to get started. Creating content frameworks helps you:
- Build content for different content formats,
- Know-how and when to publish,
- Create consistent messaging, and
- Build community with content (subscribe, comment, share).
Batch Work And Leverage Technology To Increase Productivity
Few things can turn a content machine on its head faster than thinking about content creation one time too many. I'm guilty of this from time to time. While batching posts is effective, it's also annoying to sit down to write a new article and have nothing ready to go.
Paring down your tasks by batching them is one of the essential strategies for increasing productivity. Batching is when you organize tasks and items into similar but different jobs. This allows you to complete several small tasks with one click.
The tasks are not strictly related but done simultaneously, each giving you a sense of accomplishment. Ask yourself, “Are you trying to get the most out of your blog content? Or are you just trying to get through the work?”
Productivity tools help by automating mundane tasks. Rather than asking yourself, “Can I delegate that task to my assistant?” Think, “What tech tools can I use to automate this?” If you need a little extra motivation to get started, consider signing up for one of these work apps that can help you.
Hortonworks Workload Optimizer – “You'll need the software to make it so that you can get through your day. This application will help you do just that by allowing you to optimize workload and find the most suitable applications to use while doing your jobs.” Batch your content creation. Using technology to automate time-consuming tasks will increase your workflow and allow you to work more consistently.
There are several tools available for managing your workflow. For example, we use this: Toggl to track my time spent on the blog and submit time reports to my boss every month. It also gives me a way to show my boss how much content I'm producing. The goal is to keep your schedule as consistent as possible to increase productivity and minimize workarounds and procrastination. Doing so will allow you to create content more consistently.
Speed Up Image Editing
Free photo editing apps can be a huge time saver when you have multiple images to edit, and a single photo file can be hundreds of megabytes in size. Save at least an hour a week by using a high-quality photo editing app instead of desktop software.
Tip: One app I recommend is Snapseed, a premium photo editing app for both Android and iOS devices. It has a built-in HDR tool for taking pictures with low lighting and a wide selection of essential photo editing tools and features. Once you upload your photos to the cloud, they live in the cloud. That means they can be easily lost, stolen, or forever lost, as they are not synced with your computer.
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Have you ever created an image and felt it should be a little bit different? Maybe it was a bit out of focus, the colours were too bright, or your smile was just a bit off. Or maybe, the problem is, you've got too much editing going on. All that sorting and trimming leaves you with just a handful of photos for your posts. My suggestion is to either speed up your content creation process or switch to manual mode.
The former requires you to devote your full attention to creating great content and is a little more complicated. But the latter can help you build a professional portfolio of images and may also prove beneficial if you're using them for future portfolio work. Take advantage of online tools that will let you create great-looking pictures in a fraction.
Use Plugins For SEO
I use a lot of free plugins for WordPress. Most of them are focused on content or social media marketing. There are a ton of plugins that specifically help you create consistent content. I use the ones most often: The Yoast SEO plugin enables you to create consistent content by automatically promoting your content in search engines. The plugin also helps you create hyper-focused content for specific topics.
The Facebook Customizer plugin helps you create consistent content by automatically sharing your content on Facebook and inviting your followers to share it on their pages. The Buffer Promote plugin enables you to create consistent content by automatically promoting your content on social media. SEO is essential for increasing your content's Google index. Instead of trying to juggle a slew of tools on your own, consider using an SEO plugin, such as Searchmetrics.
Make The Most Of A Content Calendar
It would be best if you used a content calendar every month or quarter. This will give you a time frame in which you should work on your content. When you're first starting, writing will be critical. You want to have a flow of good content to share with your community. Some content creators prefer to break their content strategy up.
They may write blog posts during weekdays and devote some time on the weekends to social media. This strategy can get a little schizophrenic, especially if you have other commitments. The majority of content created by startups and small businesses doesn't have a purpose in the grand scheme. So why should you write it? Start writing for the sense of the community that you're building.
With the rise of digital marketing over the last decade, planning has become a very integral part of producing content consistently. A content calendar (also known as a content strategy) will help you keep track of the content creation cycle. A calendar will allow you to plan out what content you're going to create and help you develop your blog's editorial calendar.
Essentially a calendar works by outlining the content you intend to create weekly. A weekly schedule of scheduled posts will keep you on track with the content you intend to publish. Your content calendar should also include calls for content. You may have seen this before when you list things you want to write about and ask readers to submit suggestions.
Conclusion
If you're reading this and thinking to yourself, “Yes, but I don't have the time,” then you're right. I don't have time to write at this point in my life. But when I did have the time, it was easy to neglect to create a content plan. It was easier to think, “Oh, I'll write a post or two when I have the time,” then think, “I'll write it tonight!” It's not easy, but it is simple. If you have to write one new blog post per month to keep content flowing, a minimum of 12 posts per year needs to be created. Keep them relevant and straightforward.
I trust you enjoyed this article about How To Create Content Consistently. Would you mind staying tuned for many more blog posts like this to come? Take care!
JeannetteZ
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Ideas? Thoughts? Questions? Do you have any other ideas on how to earn money from home? I would love to hear from you. Would you please leave me your questions, experiences, remarks, and suggestions about How To Create Content Consistently in the comments section below? You can also reach me by email at Jeannette@WorkFromAnywhereInTheWorld.com.
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