7 Step System to Save Time Writing your Marketing Content

Most people I know have a really hard time writing their marketing content.

It tends to be one of the marketing tasks that always gets relegated to the bottom of the to-do list. This is a mistake, a huge mistake and will never serve you well.

I have an easy to follow 7 -Step System to Writing Blogs and Articles and want to share this with you.

First, I want to explain why this marketing task cannot be left at the bottom of your to-do list.

You need to understand how important blogs and newsletter articles are to your marketing. They are the cornerstone of your marketing content and should not be an afterthought.

This type of content on your website is the kind the search engines LOVE. The more you have, the better. If you are unsure how this works, then you should read this article I have, How Does a Blog Optimized for Search Engines bring more website traffic?

Knowing how important this content is, you need to book time off to plan and write your articles for emails and blogs.

I have set time every week that I book off on my calendar and it is called “Writing Time.” I tend to pick the same time each week, and it is purposeful, so it helps me and my Virtual Assistant get my newsletter emails and blogs published on time for the schedule I have set.

What I do in that time as well, is set up everything possible, so that I save time and get everything done all at once. It is a system of sorts and what I write and do in this time, helps save me so much more time than if I did this on a random basis.

I like to batch my time as much as possible so that when I am working on similar tasks, I do it all at once. By doing this, you will inherently save yourself time even if you do not think it is.

From my many years working as a Virtual Assistant, this was a huge lesson to learn and paid off with big results. I am very efficient at doing work and am always on the lookout to save time. I love setting up what I call an “Assembly Line Method” of doing work. Blog and Article writing is no exception.

Not only are you planning to set aside time for this type of work, but by doing it in batches, you will use your time more effectively, increasing your productivity and time available for other work – or even more personal time.

Here is how it works and saves some of the hidden time you do not realize you are wasting. 

When similar work is batched together, you are in the moment for that type of work and focused on it. Doing it in bits and spurts means starting all over again for some pieces. Simple things like logging back into accounts, opening documents you used before, reviewing the words you wrote to create different content for another purpose, sending instructions to your VA or assistant, or even saving the content in a storage system – these all take time. If you batch your tasks together, then you only do many of these things once. Hidden time saved.

Even the act of simply getting back into that thought process will add time to completing the work. Time better spent elsewhere.

So, what do I do when I sit down to write my Blogs and Articles?

When I sit down for my writing time, I have the goal of writing my newsletter articles as well as adding in info needed from that for blogs to go on the website and social media promotion as well. So those are the Goals of my Writing time. I have already spent other time planning what to write about and when … this is strictly writing time.

Here is my 7- Step System for saving time Writing Marketing Content

1. Have a Content Storage System. This is key to making this entire system work – having a set way and set folders you use and access, to save this marketing content. It is a huge piece of saving time, knowing exactly where and how the files are stored. (I could do an entire 1-hour training on this! hmmm, maybe I should, email me if this is something you would be interested in.)
2. Use your Base Article File. Write the article for your newsletter in a word document, so it can be saved for future reference and use! You always save your brilliance! And then your VA can easily access it. For me, we save all of these files in a dropbox folder. Follow your storage system rules for naming files and storing them. All I say to my VA when it is ready is “The doc for the Jan 10th newsletter is ready.” She knows where to find it.
3. Changes for Newsletter vs. Blogs. The article doc has several added sections to it that I detail out for my VA. I will add notes in that same article to change some pieces for when it is published as a blog versus what is needed for it as a newsletter. I indicate what gets edited or changed for each version. ie. the Headline may differ a little on a blog vs. the subject line in your newsletter. One is needed for SEO, and one is more personable for your subscribers who know you.
4. Add in Special Sections needed. I also add sections for events and add the info and testimonials I want to use. As an example, for testimonials, we have a doc with all the ones I have collected. I just indicate – “Use testimonial from Jane Doe” please, and she grabs it to add in. Add in relevant sections as needed to do the same.
5. Indicate the Call to Action. You may need to include a different Call to Action for the Blog vs. the Newsletter. (We have a saved document titles “Calls to Action,” and this is kept updated for any new ones we may use.) Then when I am writing I only indicate “Use CTA for Lead Magnet: Top 5 Lead Magnets Must Haves” and then my VA knows exactly what to add in.
6. Create Content for DUI visual. While writing the article, determine what you can use for a one-line tip or two (pick your most compelling and brilliant advice!) from the article content that you want to be created as an image. (Note: I did not say you create it!) This image can be used in the article for both the newsletter and blog, AND it can later be used as a stand-alone piece of content for your Facebook Page or Instagram or Twitter. (Double Use Images >> aka DUIs ;-). You only make a note to your admin person or VA that this is the one-liner to use and they make the image.
7. Keep to the Schedule. This is what makes this entire system work. Sticking to the schedule that you set up for this time booked off. I view it almost as sacred me-time, but it is in fact for marketing. It is similar to my time booked with my accountability partner – only things like vacations or being away at conferences move this time spot in my calendar.

This Writing Time is the time to knock all of these pieces of content creation off at once. If you split up this work, it will take more time. You do not have to re-think what is in the article content you wrote a few days ago, so you know what changes happen for the blog and then for social media content too. You may not think it saves much time, but I guarantee it does. Trust me, as someone who used a timer program for every task she did for years, and still does… I know exactly how much time it takes to do all of these things – and what it saves by batching work and tasks like this together.

This Assembly Line Method of working also is great for other types of tasks like marketing planning, scheduling social media content, live networking / marketing content too. As much as you can do similar types of work together at the same time, the more time you will save.

So … I challenge you to put a priority this year on your marketing content and the time needed to write it. Book time off on a regular basis to crank out all the content you will need for your blogs and email articles… and add in a little time to get ready for social media marketing and promotions too. PLUS, I can almost 100% promise you, if you do this, writing for marketing becomes less stressful!

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If you want to get more effective with this writing time too, consider registering for my Business Blogging Made Easy course.

When it comes to blogging, writing newsletters or emails or writing any content for marketing… consistency is what makes it work best.
Then knowing how to add in the marketing and blogging tactics – and where to add them – is what helps people find and read your articles. That is the secret combination to get results from your blogging!

The Business Blogging Made Easy course will help you achieve all this.

The training will cover topics like:

• Discover the connection between Search Engines and Blogging
• Find out the best topics to write about for your business
• Learn step by step how to write and format your blog posts using a WordPress website or blog system.
• Understand how to add SEO factors like title tags, keywords and more to your content.
• Find out how and why blog categories and tags are an important part of every blog you write.
• Optimize each blog for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to help them get found by people searching online.
• Easily add images to your blog, know what kind are best and how to optimize images for SEO.
• Receive a free Blog Planner along with several other resources as part of this self study program.
• Find out how to save time and market your blogs to boost traffic and leads.
• Learn how to track your blog stats using Google Analytics and what is a trigger to optimize a that is getting results.

Learn more about the group: www.pepperitmarketing.com/bbme