Content is something we all know we need. Consistently creating content and getting it in front of your existing audience is the engine of growing an online business.
Content marketing serves many purposes. First, it creates visibility and awareness of your ideal customer. Second, it can position you as an authority in your niche and build trust with your potential customers.
You really need consistent content to be relevant on the internet. But it’s so easy to put it on the back burner. Sometimes, it takes a lot of time. Therefore, it can often be an easy choice to bump it off today’s to-do list when it’s already a mile long.
And for those of you who never consider yourself a good writer or creator, it can be even more difficult. Delays can reach historic highs when it comes to content creation.
If this is you, who find yourself constantly throwing content creation on your to-do list tomorrow and struggling to develop content ideas for your social media and blog content; read this article to discover simple solutions.
1. Keep a Stack of Good Ideas
Nothing consumes a writer’s time more than sitting down to write and figuring out what you want to say.
If there’s a time limit, you’re stuck in that chair until inspiration strikes. It’s a massive waste of time.
Avoid this problem by scanning several different sources of ideas. First, keep a list of possible content themes – I follow mine with the free WordPress Editor Calendar plugin.
Scheduling ideas in advance with an editorial calendar helps you consider your blogging needs throughout the month instead of just thinking about your next post. In addition, this change of mindset helps ensure any special events or other “time pegs” are on your radar and don’t get missed.
Forward-thinking can help you see how the topics of your post are related to each other, which can uncover gaps that other posts could fill. You can also rotate related posts to the content series. Grouping topics help with writing flow faster. If some breaking news crops up you crave to write on, you can always move another post idea forward.
2. Create A ‘Framework.’
In an article from the Oxford University Press, Olha Madylus found 13 required skills to produce quality content:
- Correct grammar
- Range of vocabulary
- Accurate punctuation
- Correct layout
- Correct register
- Accurate spelling
- Good range of sentence structures
- Linking
- Imagination
- Planning
- Drafting
- Proofreading
- Communication
Do you have all 13? Probably not… it makes putting a process and system fixings necessary. This is the point where the framework comes into play.
Don’t worry about answering questions like:
- Precisely what am I trying to say here?
- Which keywords should I optimize for?
- Who is the target audience for this post?
Blog Posting Framework is a guide to help you plan and write future posts with ease. This will keep your writing from feeling like a run or train with no escape, end, or middle.
So take a step back, think about your post and give it the structure and purpose it deserves.
3. Consider FAQs
Every website should have a section for frequently asked questions. If yours still isn’t, creating it will help your customers and help you develop content faster.
How? Put yourself in your customer’s place and then look at your products and services. Think about what would you like to know about your business? What problems does your business solve? Remember that these FAQs must be updated regularly. Doing so will also improve future content ideas.
4. Timebox Your Writing Time
If you’ve ever spent all day writing content, you’re not alone. Writer’s block fatigue is real. Although sometimes, that little black cursor that blinks isn’t your friend, that’s why marking the writing time is so important.
If your role has more responsibilities than just writing content, you need to make sure the content doesn’t suck up your entire chain. Setting a time limit for writing content will help ensure that you don’t burn out or burn your entire day on a 600-word blog post.
When your content creation block is complete, force yourself to stop and work on something else, then come back to your content during your next timeline. Be fresh and ready to start rather than stuck spinning your wheels.
5. Start at the End, and Work Backward
You stare at a blank page, trying to think of something to write. It’s clearly a massive waste of time.
Let’s say the average typing speed is about 40 words per minute. You can beat it too. If you could type for an hour straight, at 80% of that speed, you would use 1,920 words per hour.
Do you even come close to actually creating content? If you have, you probably don’t need this post. Such a dead time is the main reason for this massive difference in theory versus reality.
Main reasons for writer’s block: There are many reasons that can cause pauses while writing, but the most obvious is trying to think ahead more.
You are trying to figure out what to write next and whether or not it will make sense when you get to the later parts of your post. Sometimes, you just see a blank screen because there are so many possibilities that overwhelm you.
You can eliminate it with the reverse approach. Instead of wondering what to write at the moment, you should ask yourself, “What’s the point of this post?”
Once you know this, work backward and create a fundamental overview that supports your focal points. It takes 5-10 minutes at first, but it can save you a ton of time, especially with long posts.
6. Optimize for Different Channels
Sharing your content on social media is essential, but it takes a long part of your time. So it is a better idea to encourage your customers to share your content with you.
Nearly half of millennial consumers use social media to discover new brands, making it essential to optimize their social media presence. But despite these figures, many brands still have no way of ensuring that their content is shared across major social media platforms.
If you fall into this camp, take a look at the following tips we share:
- Make sure social sharing buttons are clearly visible on all content pages. If they are not accessible, readers will not use them.
- Use a call to action to encourage visitors to your website to engage with your brand on social media.
- Create alternative titles for different social media platforms for different audiences on social networks and engage with unique ways.
Hopefully, these tips will boost up your writing speed. If you are curious about content marketing hacks, you can contact us. Our experts are here to help you. Call now!