One thing that marketing needs to be effective is consistency. However, as anyone who has ever started a regular journal knows, this is easier said than done. It is much easier to have great intentions but to find yourself struggling to follow through on a consistent basis. That being said, there are some tricks to making sure you have a consistent flow of new content, without becoming stressed and burnt out.
This blog is the second in a series. You can read about planning your content strategy in the first blog: Getting started.
Get your head into the right space
We are all productive at different times and for different things. Personally, I sometimes find it hard to switch from an intense period of engaging with people on calls and emails, to some heads-down writing. It can take an adjustment. Try to work out when you work best in the day, and when you work best on different tasks. If you know that you need a certain frame of mind to create something, try to identify when that will likely be and block off that time.
Set boundaries
There’s nothing worse for consistent creativity than constant interruptions. When you can, make time and space to just concentrate. This might involve turning off your email and putting your Out of Office on. Clients and employees are used to having to wait a little longer when you’re in a meeting or traveling, why shouldn’t then when you’re concentrating?
Take out the stressors
If you know that certain things get in the way of your productivity, take the time to remove them. For example, if you tend to procrastinate by tidying your desk mid-task, can you take some time at the beginning of the day to tidy? If interruptions from your children or significant other happen a lot while you’re working from home, can you set aside some strictly no-bothering time to get things done?
Forgive yourself interruptions
That being said, sometimes interruptions are inevitable. Whether it’s an employee popping in who needs help or a child who needs an iPad, interruptions happen. Whoever the interrupter is, and whatever the interruption is, there’s no point in getting frustrated by it or feeling guilty about it. It has happened, and now it’s up to you to get back on track.
If you can’t work, do something else
Sometimes it’s just too hard to create something. Some days are just like that. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Do something else and come back to the task at another time. This might be going for a walk or exercise, or completing something else quickly. I find it hard to write and then immediately proof a piece of writing effectively. I tend to read what’s in my head, rather than what’s on the page. I like to leave my writing for a few hours, ideally a whole day, and then look at it again with a different mindset.
Make a plan before you start
Some content will just flow and you’ll do it in one take. Some topics are more involved and you’ll need an outline of your key points so that you don’t founder halfway through and give up.
Use technology to automate tasks where possible
Technology tools are available to help marketing processes so that you don’t have to remember to do something every single time. Here are some handy ones to try:
Social media automation
Social media platforms are starting to enable users to schedule content in advance. For example, Facebook Pages lets you schedule a post in advance. But if you want to schedule posts to all your platforms in advance, you’ll need to use a program like Hootsuite or Sprout Social, or a feature of a more comprehensive marketing platform like HubSpot.
Email automation
Most email marketing platforms (such as Mailchimp or Mailerlite) will offer advance scheduling for your email campaigns. Many also now offer workflow automation as standard.
Workflow automation
Workflow automation is when you set up a range of rules so that certain actions take place, one after the other, depending on the user’s actions. For example, if someone downloads something from your website and enters their email address, you can set up a range of actions to happen automatically. This could be sending follow-up emails, changing their label in your CRM system, or inviting them to contact you for a demo or consultation.
Blog automation
This one might be a bit obvious but it is easy enough to schedule blogs in advance so that you can write your articles as far ahead as you need to, even in bulk if necessary. All blog platforms should offer this function.
Creating and publishing content isn't the end of the journey. To find out how you can better repurpose content, read the final blog in the series - Reviewing and reusing.