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Are you ready to learn about the 5 habits that will help you create a successful content workflow? It seems like content creation in your business is never ending, amen? And truth be told, it really doesn’t. It’s this on going journey we all embark on when we sign up to become business owners. But here’s the thing. Creating content does not have to be this daunting task that your dread.

There are a few key habits that you can infuse into your daily routine to make content creation feel so much easier.

 

Plan out your tasks

 

You want to be really clear on the tasks you need to complete in order to create content. Put it on your calendar. Block off a chunk of your day that you are going to specifically dedicate to content creation. Maybe it’s just a specific day each month that you are utilizing for batching content. I try to do this with writing out blog posts and podcast episodes. Treat content creation like a job, because it is. I know you didn’t sign up to be a content creator. But it’s a marketing strategy and a good one at that. And marketing is part of running a business. The more you start to plan things out and schedule tasks into your calendar, the easier and more normal it will feel.

Depending on the type of content you are choosing to create this might look like scheduling out a whole day to record a months worth of podcast episodes. Let’s say that means around 4 episodes. In the morning, you would take that time to actually record. Then in the afternoon you can focus on the admin tasks of either delivering your content to an editor or manager, or maybe that means editing them yourself.

It’s also really good to get into the habit of recording small bits of content as you go. I like to record podcast episodes on my camera, and then I might set my phone up on the side for behind the scenes content to use for Social Media.

 

Get organized

 

When I first started creating long form content, I was pretty much just writing down my ideas on a piece of paper and crossing them off as I went. And this kinda worked for a little bit. But it gets complicated over time. Plus, if I was ever to work remotely or travel, I had to carry around this notebook with me which was not ideal. I ended up finding a system that worked for me on an online platform called Notion.

You can use Notion for free. But personally I use the premium features so if that’s something you want, sign up here!

You can also access my Notion content calendar template here!

But maybe a notebook is your jam, and that’s totally cool! The key is to just find something that works for you and stick to it. You are going to want to make sure you are including 3 key elements into your content creation workflow in order to stay organized:

1. Create an area where you can see your overall content strategy
2. Have a place where you can store all of your content ideas
3. Create a content pipeline AKA: some kind of system to see where your content piece is at in it’s creation process

 

Use a scheduling tool

 

How many times have you scripted out a piece of content, or created a bunch of reels that are now just sitting in drafts doing nothing? Don’t let all that time and hard work go to waste! When you get into the habit of scheduling out your content it will not only save you time but it will also make sure your creation efforts are not wasted.

There is a question on whether or not using a scheduling tool will decrease engagement or not, but if you ask me, I would rather take a slight engagement hit to have the content actually be put out there instead of never getting in posted in the first place. Some engagement is better than no engagement if you ask me.

For Facebook and Instagram, I prefer to use Meta Business Suite… but there are honestly so many options out there!

For other types of content such as podcast episodes, blogs, Youtube videos, etc… most of those platforms will schedule the content for you directly through the platform.

Scheduling content is great because it auto publishes your content without you having to actively post it yourself. This is great for anyone who isn’t sure what to post on any given day. When you schedule in advance, you are going in with a plan that is leading you to a bigger goal. Not just posting to post.

 

Must do’s VS. Nice to have’s for your content workflow

 

Creating content is a balance and new factors are always seeming to creep their way in. New platforms, or maybe you are just burnt out on what you are doing. Some of these factors can hinder you from doing what you need to do in order to get the content finished and scheduled.

By creating a list of must do’s vs. nice t have’s, you will be able to prioritize certain pieces of the process and tasks. Must do’s are the commitments you are not going to put on the back burner. The things you have said you WILL do no matter what. Whereas your nice to have’s are those things you would like to try or experiment with, but these should be second tier. And should only be used after your must do list is complete.

Must do’s for me include creating a weekly podcast episode for The Every Successful Rancher Podcast. That is my main form of free content creation and it drives people to other parts of my business. If I drop the ball on that, it will affect so many other parts of my business.

My nice to have’s look like behind the scenes clips and shorter form content. Things that support my larger content strategy. But I do not let myself get distracted by my nice to have’s. Not every day am I on stories taking people with me throughout my day. Sure, it boosts engagement and helps me interact with my community, but it doesn’t always help move the needle in my business toward a larger goal.

 

Less screen time

 

This is something I really struggle with as someone who basically runs their entire business online. And maybe you are wondering how in the heck this is even going to help you in your content workflow anyway? The most obvious answer being, it will save you time. Put your phone on airplane mode when you go into batch work mode. Try to keep distractions of mindlessly scrolling to a minimum.

I also have noticed that I feel more creative and inspired when I scroll less. Often times what can happen if we are watching more than we are creating is we feel burnt out and imposter syndrome will creep it’s ugly head in. Don’t believe the lie that scrolling will get you inspired. Instead, use templates such as the ones found inside of The Social Herd to help you create content faster and without the need of seeing what everyone else is doing.

You don’t have to avoid your phone all day long. But maybe set a timer for 2 hours to put your head down and get work done, and then take a lunch break, allow yourself to scroll for 20 minutes and go touch grass or something. You catchin’ my drift here?

 

Conclusion

 

Now that you know the 5 ways you can create a successful content workflow, try these tips out for yourself and let me know what you think! The more you implement a system and strategy into your creation process, the more confident you will become and the quicker you will be able to create high quality content!

 

Resources

 

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