Nine content planning tips

Content planning is not easy. As I’ve been working on increasing my presence on LinkedIn and producing the podcast each week, I’ve found keeping up with content has been challenging. I need a plan.

Here are a few things I’m working to include in my planning process – with the goal of actually getting ahead rather than just getting by.

Nine content planning ideas

I started a Trello board for both my podcast and LinkedIn content. On both boards I have an inspiration column. When I see a post on Linked In or listen to a podcast that I know I can share my own perspective on the topic, I create a card on that list
On my podcast board, I have a column for guests. On each guest card, I make notes about what we are planning to talk about, any questions I want to remember between our initial conversation and when we actually record the show, and any research I’ve done into the topic or them. I also keep their contact information and important links on that card.
Also on my podcast board, I have a column for prospective guests. I keep notes about why I’d like to have them on the show. Some are people who have reached out to me, some I’ve found in podcasting groups such as She Podcasts on Facebook, while others are industry names I aspire to have on the show at some point.
On my LinkedIn content board, I have a card for the Speak Out challenge by The What Works Network. Tara McMullin created this for herself to keep her focused during the month of October – then decided to share it more widely with the network and publicly on her Instagram feed. There is a word for each day of the month. So far I have used 8 out 10. Here’s how I’ve used them:
- Habit – My spin was to view it as a means of creating consistency in your branding efforts. Here the key points: Always use your logo in the same way (size, color, location, don’t break it up into pieces, etc).; Respond consistently to repeat questions or actions.; Deliver the same customer experience; tell the same story
- Passion – What topic really gets you going? One that when you hear something about it, you have to be involved, or speak up, or learn more about?
- Choice – do you know we make up to 35,000 choices a day? Think about that when it comes to the frequency of sharing your story or your call to action. It supports the idea we need to share more often than we think in order to be remembered.
- Offer – I continued the conversation around choice this one and asked the question of can you imagine if a candidate for president only told one person of his or her intention to run? Would they get any votes? The offer needs to be made frequently. Current research says we need to hear something 30 times before we remember it.
- Commitment – Just do it. Live boldly. Don’t leave home without it. Be What’s Next. These are all powerful taglines that reflect the commitment the brands have to those they serve.
- Community – It takes a community to succeed – in life and in business. And just because a person is a “solopreneur” does not mean we need to do everything alone. I encouraged people to delete that word from their vocabulary.
- Foundation – as it relates to the purpose/why of your brand.
Another content hack I’ve started doing is saving posts on LinkedIn when I come across a post I know is something I could write about. Maybe it is the topic. Or maybe it is the analogy the person has shared. The ability to save posts on LinkedIn has been a lifesaver for content ideas.
I also have sections on the Trello board for suggested text for connections requests and how to reply when someone accepts a connection.
Pinterest is also a great source of content ideas. A quick search for writing prompts results in a large number of pins with lists and lists of ideas. Granted these lists are not necessarily in line with my exact niche – but I’ve always found a suggestion that will get my mind spinning with ideas.
Pick three primary areas of your business you want to create attention around – and then create content for those three areas using these 10 “buckets” or themes – resulting in 30 pieces of content!:
- Tell a story
- Share a personal philosophy
- Rant – this could be something that others are doing wrong and how you would do it to establish your expertise
- Training – such as how-tos, practical tips
- Interesting facts about your industry or your work
- Address an objection your clients voice before working with you
- Promote another piece of content such as a podcast, blog, or an interview
- Highlight a case study
- Ask a question
- Invite your audience to take action, through a lead magnet or other similar action so you can send them more value later.
And the last one that I really need to get better at – repurpose content already developed.

Make your content work for you

As I mentioned in the last episode, the media buy (promotion) should be 1.5 times the cost (effort) of production (content.) If we are only sharing our content once, we aren’t making it work hard enough for us. We are putting a lot of effort into something only to use it one time.

And once you get your content planned out, you need to write it!

Check out the messaging course I developed through a combination of four previous episodes and worksheets to help you map out how and what to say as well as where to share it.

Download the messaging course