What is your content marketing strategy?

Where's the strategy?

Content marketing only works with a strategy built around organization and consistency. 

Without a content marketing strategy in place, you'll never be consistent, and without consistency, your content will never reach a level of quality to make your efforts worthwhile.

The first step to getting organized is to write down a plan.

Be consistent. Write down your plan!

Creating your first content marketing strategy should only take about 15 minutes but will take care of your content for the next 3 months. Don't wait any longer. Do the following steps right now.

Step 1: Open a new Google Doc and write down the next 3 months. For this example, we'll use September, October, and November.

Step 2: Next to September, write "September blog topic." 

Step 3: Come up with a topic. Think of your topics as ways to solve your ideal customers problems. What do typical customers ask you about the most? What are their problems? Why do they need you? 

It may be something you think is simple, but others can’t or don’t have the time or ability to do. Maybe it's teaching someone how to change air filters if you own an HVAC company. Or perhaps you work for a landscaping company and can educate people on what type of grass to plant at a new home to minimize erosion. As easy as these tasks seem to you, there is a group of people who have no clue they need to change their air filters regularly. And there's a new home buyer who just paid a lot of money to have someone spread the wrong grass seed on their yard.

Step 4:  Put writing this blog on your schedule. Make it a priority like any other administrative task like paying bills or renewing licenses.

Step 5:  Stay consistent and do this in September and October (and onward!).

Step 6: Pick a date in each month (go with the 15th so it's easy to remember) and make that the due date for each of your blog posts.

Step 7: Where will you post your blogs? Write down where you plan on posting your blogs once you've written them.

That’s it!

Here is what your Google Doc should look like:

• September Blog Topic - How to change air filters is a Rheem HVAC unit - Due September 15, 2022. 
• Post to my website. Share the blog link on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
• October Blog Topic - How often should I get my A/C unit serviced? - Due October 15, 2022.
• Post to my website. Share the blog link on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
• November Blog Topic - How to get started with a content marketing strategy - Due November 15, 2022.
• Post to my website. Share the blog link on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
  

Print this out or add it to your calendar. If you don’t see it, you won’t do it.

P.S. We have a content calendar template that you can use here.

Don't worry about SEO or keywords at this point. Just spend 15 or 20 minutes creating topics you can discuss or write about in your sleep. This exercise will get you in the habit of writing down your content ideas and scheduling them. If you don't write it down, it won't happen.

Congratulations! You just created your first content calendar. This is the first step toward building a solid content marketing strategy that will lead to more website traffic and potential leads.