4 Step Process To Creating a Blog Content Plan For Your Business
Have you ever sat down to post on Instagram or other social media platforms, but you hit a roadblock because you aren’t exactly sure what you should be posting?
If you’re like any other business owner out there, I’m sure you know the feeling. It happens to all of us, so you’re not alone!
What I’ve come to realize is that this roadblock often happens for 1 of 2 reasons:
You have SO MANY ideas and things you want to share that you feel completely frozen and paralyzed when it comes time to actually get it out 🥶
OR your creativity is totally tanked so you have no idea where to start with your content 📉
What tends to happen for people when they hit this roadblock, no matter which camp they fall in, is what I like to call “panic posting” which is exactly what it sounds like - posting something out of panic.
Maybe you’ve heard the gurus say that you must post x amount of times per day, so because of that, you fall victim to the pressure of getting something out there because something is better than nothing.
But is it? Is your audience really receiving value from something that you just threw together in the name of posting on your grid?
Are they getting the full benefit from something that really didn’t come from your heart of wanting to help them?
I personally think not, which is why I’m excited to say that you don’t have to live in this zone!
➡️ There is a way for you to confidently show up to Instagram, TikTok or whichever social media platform you prefer WITH a solid plan that will give value to your audience WITHOUT reinventing the wheel. ⬅️
How does this magic happen you may ask? You guessed it: BLOG CONTENT ✨
And I know what you might be thinking - “Natalie, I can’t even create Instagram content right now!! How do you expect me to write a blog post?!”
And I hear you! Just stay with me for a moment ⬇️
Whether you currently feel like it or not, as a business owner you have TONS of value to share and sometimes when you have so much knowledge and information, it can be hard for you to dial it down into a one minute reel, a 30 second Instagram story or one post, so again you might find yourself at a roadblock. 🚧
Blog posts on the other hand are naturally longer form content, which means that one blog post alone has the ability to turn into 3-5 social media posts for you.
This is really great news if you fall into camp #1 like I mentioned above - frozen with a ton of ideas - because blogs will give you more freedom by allowing you the ability to go deep into one topic without feeling constrained to time limits or character counts.
And if you fall into camp #2 - tanked creativity with no clue where to start - that’s where a solid plan comes in.
How To Create A Blog Content Plan For Your Business
Step 1: Determine how many blog posts you want to write per month 🖥
This looks different for everyone and should be structured in a way that works best for YOU and your business.
For you this might look like once a week, twice per month or multiple times a week.
For clients, I like to suggest they commit to 2 or 4 blog posts per month so that you build your content bank quickly and have a lot to pull from when it comes time to plan your social media.
The key here is that you don’t pay attention to what other people are doing. Be honest with yourself and don't overcommit, otherwise it will start to feel like something you dread each week, which defeats the entire purpose!
Step 2: Brain dump your topics 🧠
Once you’ve determined your posting schedule, it’s time to brain dump your topics. DON’T SKIP THIS STEP!
Just like there’s panic posting on social media, there can also be panic posting when it comes to your blog if you don’t take the time to carefully define your topics.
This list will be what you pull from when it comes time to write, so lay it all out in this step. It shouldn’t be pretty right now. Whatever is in your head, write it down. ✍🏼
If you’re in camp #1, this step should be fun and easy for you. The ideas are probably flowing like crazy and that is a GOOD thing!
If you’re in camp #2 and you’re still struggling with what your topics should be, the first thing I suggest is taking some time to scroll back through your social media posts and see what has really hit for people in the past. This can be a great starting point for your blog topics.
If you’re still stuck, ask yourself these questions:
What questions do people ask you?
What problems do you help people solve?
What do people come to you for?
Aim for 10 topics before moving on to step 3!
Step 3: Consider any upcoming events, holidays, promotions, etc. 🎄🎃
Now that you have your topic ideas, it’s now time to consider current trends, the current season, upcoming events (internal or external), holidays, national days, promotions, etc.
This step is important because as a business owner, you want to be relevant and create content that shows people that you care about what’s going on around them and usually there’s a way that your specific business and the value that you bring to the table can tie in.
The topics you listed in step 2 are likely evergreen topics, meaning that they aren’t date specific and no matter when someone reads the post it would still be relevant for them.
Most blogs have a good mix of the two - evergreen and time specific - and that’s always what I encourage for clients!
To achieve this, take a look ahead at the next 3 months and list any major holidays, national days, events or promotions that you have coming up that you think you’ll want to capitalize on in your blog content.
For example:
a boutique owner could capitalize on Christmas with gift guides on their blog featuring products in their store
a business coach could use New Year’s as a way to provide guidance on yearly planning and then promote their yearly planning workshop
an AirBnb owner could get creative on “National Take a Hike Day” in November to create a blog post about the best hikes in their area (which would still be considered evergreen!)
This is where your creativity really comes to life and you can think about how to put a twist on the content you want to share and make it relevant to the time period at hand.
Step 4: Divide the content up into quarters 🗓
When you have your blog content topic ideas and you’ve considered upcoming holidays and events, it’s time to divide the content up into quarters so that you have an actual plan and know exactly what to take action on first.
Q1 - January, February, March
Q2 - April, May, June
Q3 - July, August, September
Q4 - October, November, December
By doing this, you’re eliminating the urge to panic post and can instead be more strategic, because you know what’s coming up and can plan accordingly.
NOTE: this plan doesn't have to be rigid! You’re allowed to change it as you see fit.
The point is that it gives you somewhere to start and frees your brain from having to think about what to post last minute. When you have a plan in place, you’ll probably find that you’re more creative and new ideas will come up more often!
This is the EXACT process I follow for clients and is how I’m able to plan their content in advance so that we capitalize on the right things at the right time.
To keep things extra organized, I like to use a spreadsheet like this!
Repurposing Your Blog Content For Social Media
When you create your blog content FIRST, you’ll find that your social media posts come more naturally and no longer feel forced or time consuming.
One blog post has the potential to become 3-5 posts for you in the form of TikToks, Reels or static Instagram grid posts that ultimately drive people back to your blog post for a more in depth look into the value you share.
And the best part is that your blogs can live on forever in a more organized and searchable way, so you can continually refer people back to them on an ongoing basis, which makes your and their life easier!
Download The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging For Your Business
Want a full step by step guide for starting your business blog from scratch? CLICK HERE to grab the free, comprehensive guide to help you do just that.
With this guide, you can feel confident as you start a blog for your business and know that you're creating content in a strategic way that will benefit you AND your audience for the long haul!
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