Reduce Stress With a Content Plan
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:40AM 
If you want Google to send people to your website, blogging or aticle writing is an important component.
It does a few things for you. It gives you an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and the regularly posted content attracts Google's interest and helps you rank better. Of course, I'm simplifying here, but you get the idea.
That begs a question: How can I possibly keep up with a content schedule?
I like to plan ahead whenever I can. It's one of the reasons my clients hire me. I've found that advance planning reduces stress and often gets better results.
I'm working on the 2012 content plan for one of my clients and it occurs to me that I need to develop my own content plan for the year.
Generating content is challenging enough without waiting until the last minute. Not only is it stressful, but the end result is likely to be inferior. But I've discovered a few things to make it easier.
Here are five simple ways to make it easier to develop content
1. Plan your content for the year
If you publish a monthly newsletter it should be easy to come up with twelve topics. If you're hammering out a weekly blog or video it might make sense to do your planning quarterly.
Regardless of the interval you choose, planning in large chunks makes life easier. You don't have to write the content all at once, but selecting your subjects in advance will help you. It won't necessarily eliminate writer's block but you won't waste time trying to select a subject out of thin air. And when you have the subject already planned it gives you the opportunity to have a few ideas rolling around before you sit down to write.
2. Consider what you've been reading
Think about the books or articles you've been reading. Does that provide any inspiration? Maybe you have an entirely different take on a subject and want to flesh it out.
3. Cover something you want to learn about
Sometimes I like to kill two birds with one stone. There's a subject I want to know more about, so I study it and then write about it. While providing meaningful content for my audience, I enhance my own learning by communicating new information.
4. Write a Series
An article series is a great way to make life easier for yourself and go deeper into subject matter for your audience without giving them too much all at once.
5. Stay Flexible
Your plan doesn't have to be set in stone. It's there to serve you and make life better. You can always write about something different when you're inspired or when you want to tie in to a current event or news headline.
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Steve Smart provides small business marketing help for small business owners.