How to Create a Content Marketing Plan

Real talk: creating great content on a consistent basis can feel completely and utterly overwhelming—when you don’t have a clear plan, that is.

Without a plan, content creation can feel a lot like throwing spaghetti at the wall. You spend hours each week planning new content, only to find that no one engages with it. What gives??

Before you throw your hands up and swear you’re done with social media forever, let me just say—I’ve been where you are. I completely understand the frustration you’re feeling.

And I promise—operating with a solid content marketing plan is THE game-changer you’ve been waiting for. And even though it may feel really tough right now, staying the course and creating content is absolutely worth it.

Why Bother Creating Content Consistently?

Creating content that connects with your audience is essential to building your brand. Content allows us to have a 24-hour conversation with our ideal clients.

This means you can be working on your business, spending time with your family, or sleeping… And your content can STILL be working for you & connecting you with potential clients!

Content serves your audience by addressing their pain points. For your audience, this may mean creating content that educates, inspires, or just plain entertains.

Content also helps us build trust. It teaches your audience that you’re reliable and consistent, and positions you as a trusted advisor.

Finally, content helps you keep your audience engaged. It allows you to tell stories, share meaningful experiences, and introduce people to the human behind your brand.

That said, developing a strategic content marketing plan is essential if we want to reap all of those potential benefits of content creation.

5 Tips For Creating Your Content Marketing Plan

1. Start by clarifying your goals. 

Don’t pay too much attention to what trends are happening or what everyone else is doing. Fads will come and go, and everyone has different goals. Instead, ask yourself: What are you hoping to accomplish with your content?

For example, are you launching a product or course? Do you want to increase your overall brand awareness? Are you trying to grow your audience?

Content marketing plans will be essential for each of these examples.

Your goals will impact the content you create, how often you’re sharing content, and your call to action for each piece of content.

2. Do your research.

Don’t skip this step! Before you start creating your content, find out what people are searching for. What does your audience actually need?

Pay close attention to questions and comments as your audience engages with you. Jot down notes from your consultations. Generate a list of SEO keywords either by hiring a pro, or using keyword research tools.

Add all of your research to a content marketing planner so that you can easily access ideas and research findings.

By creating well-researched content, you increase the value of your content and the odds of your audience engaging with it.

3. Use a content calendar.

This one’s for my fellow visual learners! Being able to see your content plan mapped out visually can be super helpful. You can do this using a virtual calendar, a number of different social media scheduling tools, or just a good old-fashioned paper calendar. These tools can be used as your content marketing timeline.

Planning your content with a calendar helps you create based on your annual, quarterly, and monthly goals. For example, I used to create content in 90-day chunks. As my strategy has evolved, I’ve learned that planning my content 30-45 days at a time works much better for me.

4. Plan to Plan Your Content Plan

Are you starting to understand how important planning is?? Joking aside, set aside time on your calendar each month to plan for the month ahead. Plan to batch your content creation monthly or weekly—whatever works best for you. There’s lots of room for flexibility here. The important thing here is that you budget time to work on your plan, and stick with it.

5. Document & Create

I launched a YouTube channel last year, and documenting my days has been just as valuable as creating content like this blog. Creating content takes a little more time and research. However, documenting allows you to take your audience behind the scenes of your everyday life.

Not sure what to share? You can share teaching moments, quick tips, resources, and so much more. My content plan for this year includes a combination of both documentation and content creation.

No matter what your goals are, creating a strong content marketing plan will help you achieve them.