Do you ever stare at your computer waiting for a moment of pure genius to strike? Does it take hours or days to come up with one piece of good content?
You’re not alone. If we could snap our fingers and make quality content appear, we’d be millionaires. Unfortunately, we don’t have any magical tricks to share with you. But we do have a few techniques that will help you become faster and better at producing quality content.
Here are some things to consider:
1. Keep a Topic List
The task of deciding what to write about can take up a significant amount of your time. Who has time for that?
Keep a running list at work or on your phone with topic ideas. Sometimes these ideas strike when you’re on the treadmill, filling up your coffee, or answering client questions.
Speaking of client questions, these make for great content topics. Your content should add value, not create noise, so answering questions that are important to your clients is always a great idea.
2. Make a Plan
Now that you have your list of topics, create an editorial calendar for your content. Sure, it may seem like a lot of work upfront, but just think how much time you’ll save later!
Make it a goal to line up 3-6 months of topics. Schedule these topics on a content calendar to plan your content around seasons or industry events.
That said, plans can be broken. If something significant happens in your business or industry, your content calendar can be adjusted.
3. Begin with the End in Mind
Before you start your content, begin with the end in mind.
What do you want your reader to walk away with? What action do you want them to take?
When you start with the end result, it’s easier to work backwards so you know exactly what to write about.
4. Spin Current Content or Topics
Not every piece of content needs to be a new idea, process, or stroke of genius. Chances are you have great content right now that you could spin with a new title. Then refresh the body of the article by stating the same thing in a different way.
You may be surprised how a client or customer relates better to the same information stated with a different approach.
5. Make It Short and Sweet
High-quality content isn’t always long content. Enough said.
6. Don’t Write and Edit at the Same Time
The biggest mistake content creators make? Trying to make it perfect the first time.
Get it all out and come back to it later. Don’t be alarmed if it seems like a jumbled mess when you’re finished. This is normal.
When you come back to it later with fresh eyes, you can focus on sentence structure and grammar. The hardest part is getting the content out, so don’t let editing become a distraction.
7. Give Yourself a Time Limit
Whether you give yourself an hour or the entire day, you’ll use the time allotted to complete your task.
Enter the Pomodoro Technique.
If you’re looking for faster ways to knock out great content, try giving yourself a time limit – say 25-30 minutes. When your time is up, take a quick five-minute break and begin another 25-30 minutes of content creation or editing.
By giving yourself a time limit, you’ll stay focused and produce more jaw-dropping content faster.
Need help creating convincing content for your audience? At Digital C4, we specialize in helping businesses deliver consistent, high-quality content on schedule. Get in touch today to learn more about our creative content services.