Do you find it hard to create (or stick to) a consistent content marketing schedule for your business? Maybe the prospect had you all fired up in January? You planned out how to create content regularly on the advice of one of the experts. Maybe downloaded a template? Determined to increase traffic to your blog, grow your email list, or increase Instagram followers, you carefully mapped out the calendar. It looked good. You felt excited.
Now, in the reality of your day-to-day business life, it’s not working. Your content marketing gumption is starting to fade as swiftly as your holiday tan. You’re back to doing bits here and there again – or hardly at all. And you swore it wouldn’t be like that this time!!!
Photo by Bench Accounting on Unsplash So you’ve come across this post, and you wonder…did you miss something? Well, maybe you did, but it probably isn’t more action steps, hacks or plans. The truth of it is, there are two aspects to learning how to create content regularly. One is learning how to do things. The other is learning how to be the person who does them. And you can’t have the first one, without the second. Trust me, I’ve tried.
What you might have missed about how to create content regularly is the internal mindset.
Many inconsistent content creators are under the impression they need to know more about how to do the practical stuff. I have been there myself. It’s kind of addictive. It gives you hope. Of course, it’s all going to work out. You just don’t have the right strategy! And that has you stuck in a loop in search of it. I don’t know about you, but most of the stuff I’ve purchased is still filed away. Barely touched.
Now, I’m not saying any of this stuff is not valuable. It’s actually awesome. For the right person. But I’ve found, when you’re not ready for it internally, it’s just more noise. And, when you don’t accomplish the action, you feel even crappier. All those should do’s can be a lot of junk on top of what you already have weighing you down.
You say to yourself, “not only did I not create the content, but I didn’t even finish the 12 part course about creating the content! What is wrong with me???”
If you suspect that focusing too much on the external might be your problem, take that course out of your cart girlfriend! Step away from that PDF! It’s time to go ahead and riff with yourself over the following concepts that you might need to reframe around this.
Being willing to take up space
via GIPHY I was always too busy to create content. Always another problem I needed to solve. Somebody else’s deadline I needed to hit. My tasks kept getting moved to the bottom of the pile and everyone else’s priorities came first. Does this scenario sound familiar to you?
Now on the surface, it might seem plausible. After all, clients pay me to fix problems and produce work. Why shouldn’t I put them first? I watched them achieve what I didn’t have time to, and I told myself it was okay. When it really wasn’t. If this is you, I want you to ask yourself what I asked myself:
“Why do I think everyone else’s needs are more valid than my own?
You see, the first step to learning how to create content regularly is about expansion. It’s about taking up and reclaiming space. And that is what it takes to mentally jump the hurdle of showing up for your business. There was no point berating myself or resenting anyone else for changes I have made no space in my life to accomplish. Why would anyone hand me space I wasn’t willing to claim for myself? Space for my own needs, and my own abundance.
Badass boundaries
Now, before you freak out at me in regards to the phrase ‘badass boundaries’ I want to say, this isn’t a sermon on getting tougher (despite the image). In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s actually going a bit gentler that has got me over the line. With myself, and with my business!
I have sat with the idea of boundaries. What they mean to me. Why I’ve struggled with them. In the past, I’ve thought strong boundaries created this sense of being dominant over someone else. Like if my boundary was enforced, someone else would lose out. And that always made me super uncomfortable.
But I didn’t need to be harsh, I needed to lean into being gentler. With myself, and with others.
Photo by Patrick Ho on Unsplash
It’s not about putting up walls or keeping everyone at arm’s length. Just roping off a few lanes I can move down, and that I can steer my clients around too. It started with creating space within my working week to treat myself like my own client. With as much reverence as to anyone else, I’d made a commitment to. Sounds like a simple idea, but for many service professionals, this is a radical concept. But I’m doing it, and it feels great. So every Monday is a day for me. Mondays are me-days. And for the first time in over 10 years, I am getting shit done!
In the past, I’ve thought that showing up regularly with content was about being strict with myself. And typically, that gets me feeling all rebellious after a while. I hate being told what to do. Even by myself. After a while, I’d tell myself to F-Off and just do whatever felt good. The thing is, old patterns feel good. Like your comfiest pandemic pants. You don’t notice they aren’t serving you at first. Then one day you catch yourself in a shop window while wearing them. And realise they aren’t doing you any favours.
Freedom is what gets me going. It’s why I’m in business. To create it for me and to enjoy it. As well as help create it for other people. So I asked myself, “what would it look like in my life if I had the freedom to do everything I wanted to do? How would I make that kind of life unfold? What would I need to gently expand into to make that a reality?”
Every time I create, I tell myself I’m not settling a score. Not winning at anything. I’m simply expanding. I’m giving myself the freedom to grow into the kind of person I want to be. With that approach, I’m free from the judgement, and the rigidity that might ordinarily take me down.[/text_output][vc_column_text]
Minimum, yet unwavering commitment
]On me-days, I’m not going wild with stuff on my to-do list. I’m going lightly. That’s key. It’s tempting to pile 10 years worth of “Should Haves” onto my to-do list. But then, Mondays become a day I dread, not a day I look forward to. So I thought to myself, what if I didn’t know what I know about what I should be doing. What if I (shock horror) just did the bare minimum? How would that feel?
I realised that …just because I know something can be done to a higher level (higher frequency, more engagement, more optimisation, better conversion) doesn’t make it right for me today. Right now, I can commit to a monthly blog post, and one to two social media posts per week. This was one more social media post than the month before, in which I only showed up once per week. I’m totally good with that for now.
I’m channelling the tortoise and winning the race by going slow and steady. For those of us with a show-up-sporadically problem, thinking about “all the things” is unnecessary, and kinda dangerous. This pressure can very easily feed into that all-or-nothing approach we’ve become accustomed to.
So work out what you can get done realistically and bravely. Don’t worry about the impact it will have on anything. Just show up when you say you’re going to. If it’s weekly, sure. If it’s every two weeks, fine. And if it’s every month or even every two months, it’s actually just perfect!
We’re building up the muscle of being the person who shows up regularly. Not replicating a media house. Despite everything else going on in our lives and businesses. We’re working on proving to ourselves that we can reach those goals, and all that needs is tiny steps.
Remember, when you give to yourself you give to others
Let’s face it, many service professionals are over-givers. But too much giving can cause feelings of resentment. When I expand, when I commit to marketing myself and my skills, I am moving closer to my goals and dreams. By carving out some time to create what I want to create means I show up for clients with an open heart. I’m actually giving more of myself, not less.
In my profession, active content marketing has huge benefits for my clients. I’m in the trenches with them, not preaching a ‘do what I say not as I do’ mentality. I can relate to how it feels on a personal level. Maybe articulating something in a way that flicks the switch. That creates positive change. That’s the whole reason I’m writing this post! And maybe sharing more of yourself and your expertise can help your clients in ways you never thought possible.
Not the same way someone else shows up. Or the way some ‘expert’ tells you to show up. But in your way. With your own voice and experience.
Can you reimagine your own right to sovereignty in your business? What area should you be taking up space in? When it comes to learning how to create content regularly, going gentler, and expanding, growing into more of yourself is where it’s at. I promise.
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