Content Creation Tips To Make Your Life EASIER!
Creating content ALL THE TIME can be exhausting so let me help make your life easier and share some of the content creation tips that have changed the game for me when it comes to creating content that MAKES ME MONEY!
Know WHO you are talking to
I've said this a hundred times but you can't talk to everyone or you end up talking to no one. You need to make your content a TV station. Or a Netflix category. People get the golf channel to watch golf... that's what they expect to see there. People go to HGTV to learn about home and garden things and I go to Bravo to watch mindless tv that helps me destress!
But getting back to your content... think about the people you are following on YouTube or Instagram. You probably started following them for a reason. I started to follow Natasha for her IG reels content - so if she started posing content around meal planning I might get confused.
So think about WHO you are talking to and what they are going to be following you for. Eventually, you can expand your topics but to see results and growth from your content you need to pick a lane or a niche and stick with it for a while!
Stop chasing metrics that don't put money in your bank!
So many of us want MORE subscribers or MORE followers or MORE likes BUT how is that going to put money in your bank. Your content as an entrepreneur needs to serve one sole purpose - make your revenue.
On YouTube look at click-through rate and audience retention because these are metrics the ALGORITHM loves and will promote more of your content.
On Instagram, it might be saves or shares or comments because the algorithm loves these metrics as well.
But ultimately you want to be focusing on the content that is driving more sales to your business! Which video or which post caused more client inquires or sales for your digital products? THAT'S the content you should double down on!
Have a plan - WHY are you creating content? What's the end goal?
Listen to me loud and clear here - you aren't creating content just to create content. I want you to have an end goal in mind. I don't even want you focusing on getting monetized on YouTube to make money. You need to know what your long term goal is here... book more clients, sell more courses... sell more digital products, get a book deal. What's the ultimate end goal to all the content you are creating and create content for THAT end goal in mind.
For example, this month on my Youtube channel I'm doing a case study and the entire goal of all my content this month is to see if it grows my channel. I do these case studies often so I can ensure my students inside of VSA have the latest and greatest content strategies and I can also implement strategies that are working on my client's channels inside my full service Youtube management agency.
Have a Pillar piece then REPURPOSE
A huge mistake I see with my students inside VSA is they are trying to post to all the social platforms out there and they are burning out! Here's the secret- you don't have to recreate the wheel for every social platform out there. Instead, focus on ONE pillar piece of content. I go into detail on the process in my video - My Go To Content Marketing Strategy for 2021!
RESEARCH what you REALLY need to talk about
When we are creating content we tend to forget we aren't creating content for ourselves but for our community. So if you aren't taking the time to really dig into what your audience needs from you, what they struggle with, what they need your help with, you are missing out on a huge opportunity.
In addition to making sure you are creating content for your community, you want to make sure you are creating content that is going to help you grow your audience. So for me on YouTube, I want to figure out the best angle for my video that will help my content get seen by more people here on YouTube and even on Google.
For Instagram, you may want to research the best hashtags to get a larger reach from the right people. Again, this is why it's so important to make sure you know WHO you are creating for because this will help you zone in on the right content research tactics!
Diversify your content! (You need an email list)
This is where I'm going to mention an email list and before you skip through this step hear me out on this. If you are going to build a following on YouTube or Instagram or even TikTok you DON'T OWN THOSE FOLLOWERS! It's happened before where platforms shut down and when that's the only place your audience can find you, all that hard work is gone in a flash - examples: Vine, Periscope, and even TikTok had threats.
I highly recommend starting an email list with something like Convertkit or Flodesk and just commit to possibly sending them a monthly email to keep them in the loop and allow you to reach them if something were to happen with any social platform you are building.
Focus on ONE Call to Action.
So many of us fall guilty to this one and it's when we tell our community to do lots of different things with one piece of content like - subscribe, like, share, comment, get this checklist, sign up for my master class, check out my website, follow me in IG... That's a LOT of CTAs and the viewer has decision overload, so they end up taking ZERO action!
I highly recommend when you are planning out and researching your content idea, to also pinpoint what your PRIMARY CTA will be and then a possible secondary CTA. This goes for any kind of content you are creating - YT videos, IG posts, Stories, and even email newsletters! Don't give too many choices with your content CTA!
Don't Worry About Perfection.
I know you want to put out the best possible piece of content you can but here's a spoiler alert for you... it will never be perfect. If you are waiting for that YouTube video or that Instagram post to be perfect - it's never going to happen.
Accept that done isn't perfect and that's OK. We are all humans and humans are going to relate to you more if you are your authentic self - for me that was posting some videos where I had lipstick on my teeth. And here's the kicker - most of the time people don't even notice the things you do! You are your own biggest critic!
Don't Post and Ghost.
Make sure you block time when your content is going live to engage or make time an hour after it's live to comment and respond back to your people
Set up a content marketing plan!
Fail to plan, plan to fail! And a content marketing plan is the ONLY way I'm able to 1. create consistent content but 2. Create content that generates revenue for my business. I did an entire video on how to create your content marketing plan and you can watch that here. This is a critical step to making sure your content works FOR you!
BATCHING!
Batching is another topic I talk quite a bit about here on my channel but it's so important to be able to maximize your time especially if you are a team of 1! By batching similar tasks like researching content ideas, filming content, writing content, you will be able to get more done in less time.
Again I do have a video on this topic and it goes into detail on how I batch a month worth of video content in one day! You can click here to watch that!
Use SYSTEMS and templates!
This tip was one I wish I did MUCH earlier! If you can get your content creation process written down into steps in a project management tool like Asana, it's so much easier to pump out content because you aren't wasting your brain space on what to do next. You already have your checklist written down and ready to implement.
You also won't drop the ball on any important steps! Taking the time to write out your content creation process will save you headaches in the future!
The same with templates! I love using Canva for this but creating templates of Thumbnails or Pinterest Pins or Instagram Story graphics and even graphics for IG feed makes creating graphics much faster for you and helps you keep your branding consistent across the board!
GET HELP
Now I know this tip might be a scary one and you might not be ready for it BUT you might be more ready for it than you imagine. That's getting some help. This doesn't mean hiring a full time employee but finding someone to maybe help you 5 - 10 hours a month. You could maybe budget $500 a month just to get someone to help you post your content. Then that leaves you time to maybe take on a new client - AKA more money for you OR create that digital product or course you've been meaning to create - AKA more money.
So when you are thinking about whether or not you get the help, think about the time you could free up to help you generate more revenue for your business.
My very first hire was Vanessa - my Pinterest strategist because I knew Pinterest was huge for me but I HATED planning the content in Tailwind. By allowing her to take the time to do it (which took her HALF the amount of time it took me), I was able to generate more traffic to my site, thus growing my email list and get me more sales for my courses! I made the investment back AND made money. That's how you need to think about hiring help.
Creating content doesn't have to be stressful. And with a good plan in place and these tips, you're going to be ready to make things happen!
