Let’s look at some tips for content creation. In an earlier post, we talked about using an editorial calendar. This will help you pre-plan all the content that you need to create so that it can be repurposed into information products. Now let’s discuss how you can develop certain habits that will enable you to easily create information products and also deliver the types of content your audience needs on a regular basis.
Create a Schedule– Once you set your goals, you’re ready to create a content writing, publishing, and marketing schedule that will work for you. It’s important not to bite off more than you can chew and give yourself enough time to do the work that needs to be done based on your lifestyle and goals.
Find Your Trigger– One thing product creators have in common with any type of creative pursuit including writing, crafting, cooking, art and so forth is that they have some form of trigger. For cooking enthusiasts, the trigger might be the clock, which reminds them that it’s time to begin preparing their meal if they wish to eat at a specific time. You may have a different trigger. It might be something as simple as putting exactly what you’re going to do each day into your calendar. It might be more involved such as a ritual that you follow such as meditating, or exercising before you start creating.
Set Goals– Goals play an important part in helping you develop a habit of creating content for future product launches. Remember that goals need to be SMART. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.
Get an Accountability Partner– When you look for someone to provide accountability for you, pick someone who’s good at following their own schedule and isn’t afraid to remind you to do the same. For some that might be a friend, or someone in a Facebook group, or even a business coach. The important thing is that you need to tell someone what you’re going to do so that you’re obligated to do it.
Stop Multitasking– Yes, this is one of our tips for content creation. Often people think they’re good at multitasking but study after study shows that no one is. Even highly successful people can do better if they stop trying to multitask. Turn off extraneous noise like social media, television, and your phone when you’re working. Do one thing at a time.
Know What Motivates You– Everyone has a different thing that motivates them. For some, it’s just the knowledge that they’re providing for themselves and their family. For others, it’s the idea that they can support a cause with the money they earn. If you aren’t naturally motivated, find out what motivates you and use it to help you establish a habit of creating content for your business.
Create a Workspace– It’s always easier to work if you have a specific workspace. Ads that promote working on the beach are simply fantasy. Yes, technically you can work on the beach as long as you have a WiFi hot spot but why would you want to? Why not have a specific work space so that you can get in, get your work done, and then go to the beach?
Read– The more you read about your niche and industry, the more ideas and information you’ll have to share with your audience. It’ll be easier to fill out your content calendar and you’ll have more to write about.
Learn Time Management Skills– Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. But one thing highly productive people do is that they find a way to free up time by outsourcing or delegating to others. Plus, they know how to prioritize their time. You can start by focusing on money-making tasks first, such as getting the blog posts done, creating the information product, and then promoting it.
Set Boundaries with Others– It’s more than likely that you have family and friends who don’t understand what you’re doing. But they don’t need to understand it. They only need to respect you and they will, if you show them how to treat you by setting appropriate boundaries. For example, if you like to get work done between 12 and 5 pm, don’t answer your phone or email during that time unless it’s an emergency. And there are very few actual emergencies.
Finish What You Start– When you set a schedule, make sure you have an effective plan so that you don’t give up before you’re done. If you’re having trouble sticking to your schedule, take a look and decide if it’s realistic or not.
If you’re working at 100 percent and still not getting done, reorganize and experiment until you find what works for you. Otherwise, cut out the things that keep interrupting you.
With all that being said, there’s no reason why you can’t work on multiple products at the same time, especially since they fall within your niche. Certain products complement each other. Take, for instance, a blog series; it doesn’t necessarily have to follow a chronological order on your blog.
So if you’re promoting two products in the upcoming 90 days, you’ll want to create content for both. It’s also smart to allow space for trending content as not every piece of content you produce needs to be, or should be, used in your future products.
Reward Yourself– When you stick to your schedule and truly finish something, reward yourself. Whether that’s using a portion of your earnings to buy something nice for yourself, or doing something you enjoy such as taking a walk, find a reward system that works for you. As you incorporate these tips for content creation into your daily workflow, you can boost both your productivity and the quality of your content.
This article was taken from my 38-page guide, “Unleash Your Content Creation Potential: Streamline Your Process, Save Time, and Maximize Results.” If you found it helpful, you may want to purchase it in its entirety at Unleash Your Content Creation Potential