If your dream is to turn your side hustle into a full-time hustle, in most cases you need to be publishing new content consistently.
Consistent content creation is important for building and maintaining a strong online presence, attracting and engaging your audience, establishing yourself as an authority, and ultimately driving sales for your budding business.
But while that’s all well and good to say, creating content every week is another matter.
It can be super difficult to find the time and the motivation to put out fresh content each and every week. That’s why in this newsletter we want to share the secrets of consistent content creation: batching.
Content batching is a marketing strategy where you create a whole bunch of content at once by grouping similar tasks together. So, instead of writing one blog post at a time, you write a whole month’s worth in one sitting! How awesome is that?
And guess what? Content batching is not just efficient, it’s also tons of fun! You can turn up your favorite tunes, grab a cup of coffee, and settle in for a content creation marathon.
By dedicating a few hours a week to content creation, you can keep up with your side hustle marketing efforts and publish amazing content consistently.
So, in this week’s newsletter, we’re going to give you all the juicy details on content batching.
We’ll show you how to do it, why it’s awesome, and give you tons of tips and tricks to make your content batching experience a success.
Get ready to maximize your productivity and create content like a boss!
This week’s newsletter brings you:
- Trends: Is content really all that important for a business? We bring you all the hard data that proves it is!
- Strategies: How exactly do you content batch? We share all the tips and tricks to show you how to batch like a boss.
- Tool of the Week: Every side hustler needs a good content scheduling platform to publish content consistently! This week we introduce you to one of our favorites.
Trends
Wondering just how important content is when marketing your side hustle? The short answer is – very important! Check out the stats below to find out how many businesses use content marketing, the most popular types of content, and more.
How many businesses use content marketing?
According to a survey conducted by SEMrush, a whopping 97% of business owners have content as part of their marketing strategy. There’s no denying it, publishing content regularly is a great way to promote your side hustle.
Content marketing strategy
Most businesses know that they need to publish regularly, but it’s shocking the number that don’t have a proper content marketing strategy in place. In fact, over 40% of businesses don’t seem to know what they’re doing when it comes to marketing!
By developing a solid strategy for your content, you can help your side hustle stand out from the rest!
Most successful content types
So what type of content should you publish? While it’s important to play to your strengths, according to survey results the top 2 most popular content types are still video and blog posts.
Strategies
Now that we know why content marketing is so important, let’s talk more about the importance of consistency. Putting out content regularly is important for several reasons:
- Builds Audience Trust and Engagement: By providing regular and consistent content, you build trust and loyalty with your audience. They come to expect and anticipate your content, and it keeps them engaged with your brand or message.
- Increases Visibility: Regularly posting new content increases your visibility on social media and search engines. By consistently providing fresh content, you increase the chances of your audience discovering your content and sharing it with their own networks.
- Establishes Authority: Consistently providing valuable and informative content positions you as an authority in your niche or industry. Over time, your audience will look to you as a trusted source of information.
- Boosts SEO: Search engines favor websites that regularly update their content. By regularly publishing new content, you increase your chances of ranking higher in search engine results.
- Improves Conversion Rates: Consistently putting out content that resonates with your audience can help improve conversion rates. By providing relevant and valuable information, you establish trust and credibility with your audience, making them more likely to convert into customers.
Alrighty, content creators, now that you know why you need to be putting out content regularly, it’s time to get strategic!
Define your content strategy
Before you jump into content batching, you need to have a plan in place. But don’t worry, it’s super easy and fun!
First things first, decide what kind of content you want to create. Do you want to write blog posts, make videos, or post on social media?
Think about what comes most naturally to you. Are you more of a writer? Then blog posts may be where you want to start. Do you love being on camera? YouTube could be the way to go. Love talking but can’t be bothered with cameras and lighting? Maybe starting a podcast is right for you!
Whatever you decide, make sure it plays to your strengths and works for you.
Next up, think about your audience. Who are you creating content for? Knowing your audience is like having a secret weapon – it will help you make content that they’ll love and keep them coming back for more.
Now, let’s talk goals. What do you want to achieve with your content? Do you want to be internet famous, drive traffic to your website, or become the go-to expert in your niche? Whatever it is, write it down and make a plan to achieve it.
Lastly, create a content calendar. This is like your roadmap to success! It will help you stay organized and on track. Your calendar should have all your content ideas, due dates, and important milestones. You’ll also want to schedule in your content batching sessions so you have all your content ready to go before its publish date!
By getting strategic before you start content batching, you’ll be well on your way to creating amazing content that your audience will love.
Batching session #1: Brainstorm and plan your content
Now that you’ve got a strategic plan in place, it’s time to get those creative juices flowing! For your first batching session, you’re going to brainstorm and plan your awesome content. So grab a coffee, a notebook, and let’s get started!
First up, let’s start by brainstorming some ideas. Think about your audience and what they’d love to see. Maybe it’s a how-to guide, a listicle, or a funny meme. Keep a running list of all your ideas, no matter how crazy they may seem. You never know what might spark inspiration!
Here’s a few quick tips for your first content batching session:
- Keeping a running list of content ideas
- Taking inspiration from your audience, competitors, and industry trends
- Brainstorm with a group or a friend for added creativity
- Trying different brainstorming techniques like mind maps, word association, or free writing
Now that you’ve got some killer content ideas, it’s time to create your outlines. This is like your content road map, so you don’t get lost along the way.
Use tools like Trello or Google Sheets to keep your content ideas organized and on track. Set deadlines for each piece of content and make sure to include important details like keywords and topics.
Let’s say you’re a budding artist and you’ve started a YouTube channel with the aim to put out at least one new video each week. Here’s what your first content batching session might look like:
Topic: Making Art
Video ideas:
a. Techniques for sketching
b. Different ways to use watercolors
c. Tips for painting portraits
d. Materials needed for oil painting
Outline for video A:
- Introduction
- Sketching Techniques
- Pencil and charcoal techniques
- Tips for sketching from observation
Outline for video B:
- Intro to watercolors
- Wet on wet, wet on dry, and dry on dry techniques
- Tips for mixing colors
You get the picture! By choosing your content topics and creating a rough outline, you’ll know exactly what you need to do in your next content batching session.
Batching session #2: Create your content
Alright side hustlers, it’s time to get down to business and start creating some amazing content! Whether you’re writing articles, filming videos, or recording podcasts, we’ve got you covered with some awesome tips and tricks for this next batching session.
First up, let’s talk about creating high-quality content. Some tips for creating content that will knock your audience’s socks off include:
- Researching your topic thoroughly
- Writing or presenting in a clear and engaging style
- Including visuals to break up text
- Making sure your content is SEO-friendly
- Staying on-brand with your messaging and visuals
It doesn’t matter what kind of content you’re creating, you’ll want to make sure you follow these guidelines so that your content has the best chance of reaching the audience you’re trying to attract.
Next, let’s chat about creating content more efficiently. Remember the outlines you created in your last batching session? It’s time to pull those out so you know exactly what you need to write or say when creating your content.
So set a timer for a couple of hours and get writing or recording! Don’t worry about editing your content at this stage, we’ll get into that in the next batching session.
Batching session #3: Edit and review your content
We know you’re excited about all the awesome content you’ve just created, but before you hit that publish button, you need to set aside another block of time to edit and review your work. Don’t worry, it’s not as daunting as it sounds!
Editing and reviewing your content is crucial to ensure that your content is error-free, engaging and aligns with your brand messaging. It’s important to review your content with a fresh pair of eyes and make sure that it’s the best it can be. We recommend waiting at least a couple of days after you’ve created your first drafts before you come back to edit your content.
Let’s dive into some tips for editing your content:
- Take a break between writing and editing (ideally a few days)
- Read your content out loud to catch errors and awkward phrasing
- Using editing tools like Grammarly to catch spelling and grammar errors
- Making sure your content is easy to read and scannable
- Check that your content aligns with your brand voice and messaging
If you’re recording videos or podcasts:
- Cut out any mistakes
- Add video or audio transitions between points
- Write the descriptions for your content
By following these tips, you can ensure that your content is high-quality, engaging and aligned with your brand messaging. So, let’s get editing and make that content shine!
Batching session #4: Schedule your content
Now that you’ve created awesome content and edited it to perfection, it’s time to schedule it for publication. This is an important step in the content batching process, so let’s dive in!
Establishing a consistent publishing schedule
One of the most important tips for scheduling your content is to establish a consistent publishing schedule. This means deciding how often you want to post your content (daily, weekly, or monthly) and sticking to that schedule.
It can help you create a habit for your audience so they know when to expect new content from you. It also ensures that you have a steady stream of content to share with your audience, which can help to build their trust and engagement over time.
Scheduling your content ahead of time
This means creating your content in advance and setting it up to publish automatically on the chosen date and time. This approach can help you save time and ensure that your content is consistent in terms of quality and messaging.
Many social media platforms have scheduling features that allow you to plan and publish your posts in advance, making this task much easier.
Making sure your content aligns with current events and holidays
It is essential to ensure that your content aligns with current events and holidays, as this can help you stay relevant and engaged with your audience. Creating content around relevant holidays or events can also help you to reach a broader audience. For instance, if you run a food blog, you could create content related to the holiday season, such as holiday recipes or entertaining tips.
Using analytics to determine the best times to post
Using analytics to determine the best times to post can be incredibly helpful in scheduling your content. By analyzing your audience’s behavior and engagement, you can determine the times when they are most active and engaged, and schedule your content to coincide with those times.
This can help you to maximize your reach and engagement, ultimately leading to better results.
Cross-promoting your content on different platforms
Finally, cross-promoting your content on different platforms is another helpful tip for scheduling your content. By sharing your content on multiple platforms, you can reach a broader audience and drive more traffic to your website or social media pages.
It’s essential to tailor your content to each platform to ensure that it is effective and engaging. You can also use cross-promotion to increase engagement across your various platforms, helping to build a strong following for your brand.
Batching session #5: Analyze your content performance
Now that you’ve scheduled your awesome content for publication, it’s time to analyze its performance.
By regularly analyzing how your content is performing, you can understand what’s working and what’s not, and make improvements to your content strategy. It can help you determine what kind of content resonates with your audience and what areas need improvement.
Some popular metrics to measure include:
- Engagement metrics such as likes, comments, and shares
- Traffic metrics such as page views, bounce rate, and time on site
- Conversion metrics such as click-through rate and conversion rate
- Social media metrics such as reach and engagement rate
By analyzing these metrics, you can determine how your content is performing across different platforms and adjust your content strategy accordingly.
For example, if you notice that your blog posts are performing well but your social media posts are not, you can adjust your social media strategy to align with what’s working on your blog.
Final thoughts
And that’s a wrap, side hustlers! We’ve covered everything you need to know about content batching for your side hustle. Let’s recap some of the benefits of batching:
- Saves time and increases productivity
- Ensures consistent content creation
- Helps you stay organized and focused
- Improves content quality and performance
Our final thoughts? Give content batching a try! It may seem overwhelming at first, but with practice, it can become an essential part of your side hustle routine.
Remember to define your content strategy, brainstorm and plan your content, create high-quality content, schedule it for publication, and analyze its performance. You’ll be a content-batching pro in no time!
Tool of the Week
Let me introduce you to Hootsuite – the ultimate social media management tool for side hustlers! Hootsuite is like your personal social media assistant that helps you stay on top of your content game.
With Hootsuite, you can easily manage all your social media accounts in one place. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube, Hootsuite has got you covered. You can schedule posts, track performance, and even engage with your audience – all from one platform.
But that’s not all! Hootsuite also offers a content library where you can store and organize all your visual assets, making it easy to create and share amazing content. Plus, Hootsuite’s analytics feature allows you to track your content performance and see what’s working and what’s not.
And the best part? Hootsuite is super user-friendly and easy to navigate, so you can focus on creating amazing content without worrying about the technical stuff.
