It is one of those days again. You have a few unexpected tasks on your schedule. A long queue of emails awaiting to be answered. You are supposed to start working on a new product idea. AND it’s the day when you are supposed to write and publish your next blog post!
We understand your frustration and we know that you cannot simply push a task for tomorrow and free up time for the other. Without new products, your business will stall. Without communication with customers, you will lose them. And without content marketing, you will lose momentum and exposure.
Work Smarter, Not Harder!
This concept is tooted by every motivational speaker out there. But what does it mean? We do not attempt to give it a general-purpose definition that will not help you but point out a specific area where you can apply this principle. The area is content marketing. And the manner in which you can work smarter, not harder is content batching.
What Is Content Batching After All?
Content batching means creating a number of content pieces in one go. It is similar to baking some cookies. You could bake one cookie per day, thus having to create the cookie mix every time. Or you can make a large batch of cookie mix and bake enough cookies to last you for a week.
You can do the same thing with your content. At the start of the month, look over your content plan and get it ready. Consider the days when you feel most inspired and creative as the days when you should sit down and work on your content.
Of Course, You Cannot Do Everything in One Day…
And this is why you should set yourself a simple schedule, such as:
Day 1 – Create the outline for your content pieces
Day 2 – Draft your content (blog posts, social media posts)
Day 3 – Edit and proofread (use online tools like Grammarly or Hemingway App)
Day 4 – Check your facts, set the template (for newsletters) and select images to illustrate your content.
This simple schedule will help you get all your tasks done without having to clear up a whole day just for content marketing. After less than a week of work, you have the assurance that your content marketing plan will work as planned.
Why Should You Adopt This Method of Creating Content?
1. You Are Covered for Busy Days
As a business owner, you know that something unexpected always comes up. And when it does, it is usually urgent and you have to drop everything to solve it. But what if this urgent issue arises on the day when you are supposed to write your newsletter or blog post?
Using content batching, you are covered. Besides writing your posts ahead of time, you can also schedule them to be emailed to your subscribers and published on your site and social media accounts.
2. You Have A Clear Image of Your Content Strategy
Blog posts and social media posts should form a unitary strategy that encourages your leads down the sales funnel. But it is easy to get disconnected or to lose the thread of the main idea if you write your content piece by piece on different days.
With content batching, all the ideas are created and expanded in the same context and mindset. You know what you want to do from start to finish and you execute it accurately.
3. You Can Take a Well Deserved Vacation
Have you ever had a spontaneous vacation since you opened your business? Probably not. Every moment is accounted for and vacations must be planned ahead of time. Using content batching allows you to surprise your family one weekend and take them out camping or for a scenic drive.
4. You Are More Productive
All the time spent in bits thinking about a blog topic and writing it can be put to work in a better manner. You can focus on ways to upsell to your existing clients. You can attend a business event and network. Or you can simply think and come up with a new and innovative product.
5. You Will Reduce Stress in Your Life
Stress is the number one enemy in modern times. Employees and managers, business owners and independent contractors – we are all labouring under stress to reach our goals and make the money we need to support our families.
Trying to come up with a content idea can add to your existing levels of stress, especially on a busy day or when you have to solve a problem. Content batching helps you create your content on those days when you are more relaxed and inspired. And, little by little, you will reduce overall stress in the coming days and weeks.