Are you having trouble creating consistent content for your business?

Maybe you committed (once and for ALL!) you’re going to do weekly blog posts and yet, every day you find yourself arrowing that to-do item forward until a week (or weeks) have passed by…

Maybe, at one time, you started out full of inspiration, but soon the ideas didn’t seem to flow. To be honest, it’s been hard to come up with new things to write about all the time.

Or perhaps you know you should have a schedule for posting, but every time you think about getting more organized, you remember all the time management spreadsheets you made in the past and how quickly you abandoned them…

Even though you know creating consistent content is the best way to build your audience, you’ve been having trouble doing it. The truth is, it’s a brave step to take to move into consistent content creation. But there are ways to make doing this easier.

One thing that helps is to see your writing (and creating content) as something to be in relationship with. Rather than bringing a bunch of rules and schedules or must do’s to ‘just get it done!’, it’s more about doing what needs to be done to build a good relationship with your writing overall.

Just like your clients who are seeking to change or heal or make some other transformation, there are two ways to improve your relationship with your writing and content creation: make a commitment and add some structure.

Make a Commitment

To cultivate a strong relationship with writing and marketing for your business, you need to make a commitment to spending time with it. It’s like your clients, they have to commit to doing the work, practicing the teachings, etc. for them to make progress.

I learned to treat my writing for my business like I would a client. I used to set aside a certain day to work on business development that included content writing. Often though, something would come up, and I’d tend to that instead. A colleague would call, and we’d catch up for an hour. Or, I’d decide on a whim to spend time doing some personal development, reading deep into something that caught my eye that morning. I wasn’t consistently making time to write for my business.

My teacher asked if I would skip appointments I made for a client because something more interesting came along. The thought would never even cross my mind! He suggested then I treat my business and writing for my business commitments the same way as I’d treat a client.

If you want to be in a good relationship with writing for your business, you need to set aside time for and honor those commitments.

Add a Structure

Similar to your clients whose progress is usually best supported by having structure, whether that’s set recurring interval for sessions or a process they go through, your content creation also needs structure to thrive. Here are two ways to do that.

1.       Set your timing

Being self-employed means instead of a boss or manager handing out deadlines, it’s just you. Deciding on a publishing schedule gives you a structure to lean into and helps you put some cadence into your content creation.

For example, if your blog post is your primary content vehicle, decide what day you will publish. If it’s a podcast, determine which day you will release, etc. From there, backwards plan for tasks to be completed. For example, my blog posts are published Wednesday mornings. Monday afternoons I write the post. Tuesdays I review it, make edits, and prep to publish. Wednesday morning, it’s published.

Having a set cadence relieves the pressure of having to find the perfect time to finalize your content. And it helps makes reinforce the commitment you made above to writing for the business.  You’re on a deadline, so to speak. For example, if you don’t finish writing your blog post on Monday, you know you’ll need to find time on Tuesday to get it all finished before the publishing deadline.

To do: Decide your publishing day, and schedule content creation time. when that time comes, honor it like you would a client appointment.

2.       List your topics

When inspiration strikes, it’s so much easier to write. Creating content feels effortless. It’s so understandable to want that all the time. What I know though, from over two decades of creative writing and writing professionally, try as you might, you can’t control when if or when inspiration does come.

If you have a list of topics ready to write about, you don’t have to wait for inspiration to show up. This doesn’t mean you can’t be inspired and write about something not on your list (as long as it is something your ideal clients struggle with and will find relevant). What it means is that when you show up ready to create, you don’t have to spend time trying to figure out what you want to talk about.

There are many ways to come up with a list of topics. One is to create a list of common questions clients or potential clients have asked you about. Another way is to create a list of things your clients struggle with. Some people I know keep a list in Google Keep open to add any time something occurs to them. Others go through and look at questions being asked in Google or Facebook groups.

However you start, keep the lists accessible so you can add to them as new ideas, thoughts or questions arise.

To do: Create a list of topics that resonate with your ideal clients.

Creating consistent content for your business can feel difficult, even impossible sometimes. Making a commitment to the relationship you have with it is the first thing you can do to make it easier. After that, deciding on a set publishing schedule and a creating list of compelling topics gives you something to hold onto, and makes keeping your commitment even easier.

A New Small Group Course on Content Creation

What if it were MUCH easier to create compelling content that would grow your audience and your business?

Creating content can take effort, but it doesn’t have to feel impossible.

I’m now offering: Write Now! An intimate, small group course to get you easily creating compelling content to bring your ideal clients

Early bird registration is open; and since it’s the first time I’ve run the course in this format, I’m offering beta pricing.

Click here to find out more.

Photo by Aykut Eke on Unsplash