How to plan your content

With topic ideas, goals and an idea of the different types of formats, you’re ready to begin creating a winning content plan. Your content plan will help you stay organized, focused on your goals, and productive. 

As your business grows it can be difficult to manage and track all of your content – it adds up quickly. A content plan will help you stay on top of everything so you not only don’t miss anything, you’re also able to maximize your content for the best results. 

What Is a Content Plan?

A content plan is quite simply a detailed outline of what you’re going to publish, the goal for the content, and when you’re going to publish it. Your plan may also include:

* Links to include in the content

* Creation notes – Who is creating the content and what do they need? For example, if you hire a ghost writer to create your blog posts.

* Deadlines – When do you need to have topic research completed? When do you want the content uploaded and scheduled on your blog? When do you need to get the graphics from your designer for your report? 

* Analytics and Tracking – How will you measure success? 

In short, your content plan includes any and all relevant information about your content. There are a few key questions you’ll want to answer before you create your plan.

Organization – What’s the best format for your content plan? For example, do you work better with pencil and paper? If so, then you can create a written version of your content plan. Prefer digital planning tools? Try an online calendar or content management system. 

Length – How far in advance do you want to plan your content? Consider planning at least a month in advance. It’s often better to plan for three months so that you can create a more streamlined approach. However, for some people that can feel like too much. 

Schedule – When will you review your content plan? This often depends on how you approach creating content. If you create a month’s worth of content in one or two days then you may only review your plan on a monthly basis. If you create content weekly then you’ll probably want to review your plan more often.

Next Steps…

Begin pulling your topic ideas and notes into a content plan. Decide how to best organize your information. Decide how often you want to publish content, what types of content you want to begin with, and how you’re going to create your content. Will you do it yourself or outsource some content creation?

​In my next blog, we’ll take a look at how to write content that your audience wants to read.