Secrets of a Content Alchemist

We’ve spent five blogs looking at the theory of creating great content. Time to focus on how this all works in the real world. Specifically we’re going to look at how I apply these tips in my capacity as a small business owner with a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at how I go about producing content.

Vision first

I have a clear vision for the business and how my content will fit into that. Knowing who my audience tells me how I can help them. I also know where I want Creative Words to go as a business.

This is on my mind at all times with every piece of content I produce. I know how people are most likely to find me and I focus in on that to maximise my productivity.

Content Types

Let’s be honest here. People are NOT going to open up Google and type “Where can I find my nearest Content Alchemist?” so my content is set up to raise awareness that Content Alchemy is a ‘thing.’ I do that by building relationships – primarily networking. I support that with printed collateral such as leaflets and bookmarks (which act in the stead of business cards) and by using social media. Then there is my fortnightly blog (you know that of course) and newsletter. I run occasional training courses and give presentations too.

This might sound like a lot of areas to focus on but by reusing and reshuffling the content it’s a lot easier than it sounds.

Firstly, my Facebook Live and blog are on the same topic, allowing people to engage with the same thing through different formats. The newsletter tends to be a summary of the blog as well as some other thoughts while my social media shares ideas from the blog, plus news from other clients, and quotes from experts. I also include a healthy dose of pictures of my cat, Lola (remember when I said that entertainment is content too?).

My blog content comes from information gained from my training courses and vice versa, and my web content all became the basis for my networking 60 seconds.

Making good use of my time.

Before I wrote this blog I set the theme and wrote a full outline of the entire series. By doing it all at once, I know I’ve covered all the bases and organised things logically.

I also get help: Creative Words isn’t just me, we’re a team, so we work together and put content together.  We all do what we’re best at, so everyone enjoys the process more and the end result is much better for you. What you are reading here is a collaboration of Cate, Tom and Katie (plus Lola walked across the keyboard – but that didn’t make it to the final edit).

I make use of a diary to get things done, the regular content goes out to a timetable so I make sure to put time in my diary to look after my own content- just as I would to work on a client’s content. In short I value my own time.

Reuse, reuse, reuse

I also go back to past content to see what’s still relevant and what I can reuse in a different format.

Once I have the ideas, it’s easy enough to translate it over to create a whole new type of content to appeal to a different substratum of my audience.

By following this process, I’m able to produce diverse and appealing content on a very regular basis, all while balancing my work/life balance.