Despite being pretty confident about business blogging and understanding the value of content marketing, I know that I am not alone in going through periods of content overwhelm. Many of us have struggled this last year with knowing what to write about. Fitting in client work, caring responsibilities and generally coping with lockdown left me with only snatches of time to focus on marketing and writing blogs had to go on the backburner for a little while.
What content overwhelm feels like for me
So what does it feel like? For me, it is an inner voice that stops me in my tracks and sends me into a tailspin. The (imaginary) conversation goes something like this "Why would anyone want to know what you have to say?" "Stop telling people what to do and adding to their stress" etc etc. I'm sure you get the picture.
At times like this, the depths of content overwhelm can mean that you either post blogs half-heartedly, sporadically or not at all.
The result? It is very hard for your ideal customer to connect with you and find out the information they need to move forward on their journey with you.
Helping to break the cycle of content overwhelm
My first piece of advice is to recognise when you are feeling overwhelmed and be kind to yourself. If you need a break, go for a walk and spend some time away from your workspace to help your brain to feel more refreshed and ready to focus. Don't beat yourself up if you haven't posted for a while and start by going back to basics.
Who are you blogging for? Is it your existing customers, your ideal clients, businesses you would like to collaborate with? Picture them in your mind and build up a picture of their requirements and pain points.
What sort of information do they need from you? Content can help you build the know, like, trust factor over a period of time through your blogging, so focus on answering those burning questions and building up a picture of you and your business.
How often do you want to publish content? I find it helpful to work out how often I want to blog, to me it feels much less overwhelming to plan to post 12 blogs in a year, rather than every month. Slot in some old blogs or strong performing social media posts that could be re-purposed and suddenly there are only 9 to write. An added bonus is that this can then form part of your social media and email marketing content so should help to reduce content overwhelm in all your marketing activities.
Top tips when content overwhelm is stopping you from getting creative about blogging
- On the days that you are feeling inspired, try batch creating blogs. Then you have them in your back pocket ready to post on the months your feel that content overwhelm setting in, or for guest posts should the opportunity arise.
- Be kind to yourself - if you don't manage to post within the frequency you wanted, don't worry! Take the time you need and get back to posting when you are ready. As small business owners, your audience has an affinity with you and understand that sometimes external factors can interrupt the flow - global pandemic anyone?
- Invite guest contributors to blog for you - think about other business owners that work in a field that is aligned to yours and invite them to guest blog for you. This allows them to reach a new audience and you to demonstrate an understanding of the types of issues your audience might face beyond your area of expertise.
- Re-purpose - had a piece of content perform well for you in the past? Perhaps an Instagram Live, a LinkedIn article or an email. Package it up and use that great work to supplement your blog and also serve as valuable SEO copy to bring a new audience to your website.
If you are feeling overwhelmed with your blog content and would like to go back to basics, I have a self-paced masterclass that talks through all the reasons why content marketing is of value to your business. It includes practical exercises to help kick-start your business blogging and help you feel calm about creating content that your audience will love.
Kerry from Aim High Social and I are running more Content Simplified Lives over on Instagram in the next few weeks, so be sure to follow us and watch our conversations for more tips on getting to grips with content for your business and social media.
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