The Importance of Content Planning

By Claire Winter.

We’ve all been there, when we are planning our content, sat with a blank page waiting for inspiration to hit us. The truth is we can wait for sporadic moments of creativity, and they could be brilliant, but waiting for them can be both frustrating and time-consuming. 

So, what is content planning? Content planning is something that allows us to spend our time wisely by thinking about the content marketing objectives we want to accomplish. 

When we think about the goals we want to achieve, it helps us contemplate and understand what type of content is suitable and most likely to succeed. Here are a few factors to think about when planning your content:

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• Firstly, who is your audience? This is vital; understanding who you are trying to engage will help you to think about the tone, the language, and the means of how best to promote your idea(s).
• Secondly, what methods or platforms are you going to use to help engage with that audience? You may consider using social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Alternatively, you may decide on blogging, e-newsletters or direct emails. Depending on your audience, it will help to determine what platform is best to utilise.
• Thirdly, are there any events that coincide with themes or topics that you want to advertise? This can include holidays, such as Christmas, or perhaps you want to show your support for awareness days and months, such as Pride Month or Mental Health Awareness week. 
• Fourthly think about how you can entice your audience further with a sale, promotion codes or vouchers. Everyone loves a bargain!
• Lastly, think about the future. What new courses, programmes, or products are you launching? Do you know what your plans are? If so, share them! It allows your customers to know what to look out for and when. 

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As well as knowing what content we want to showcase, it’s also essential to think about what format we use to make our content plan. It’s different for everyone, some may prefer the old-fashioned way of mapping it out with pen and paper, but with technology continuing to evolve, you may find it helpful to make use of some of these ideas:

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• Using your calendar on your mobile, tablet, or computer, or set yourself reminders with alerts, will help you monitor your progress.
• Make use of management apps such as Asana, HubSpot, Microsoft Project or Wrike. These apps can help you organise tasks that need to be completed by specific dates, and you can assign different tasks to your team members. Adjustments can always be made with dates or who is tasked with specific assignments. 
• Creating a timeline. You may want to plan for the month or think about planning quarterly or even the year. A timeline is another excellent way of ensuring that you are up to date with your plan. You could also download my free content planner here 

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Planning your content will enable you to have a clear message and save you time and money. You can also share it with your team; by measuring the metrics, you can soon work out what works and what doesn’t! A comprehensive plan ensures you will continue to create captivating content that engages your audience and turns them into paying customers or clients.

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Claire Winter is the host of the Cracking Content podcast and a Copy and Content trainer and coach. She is passionate about helping coaches and creative entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content, and PR so that they can get more sales and make a bigger impact through 1:1 coaching, her digital courses and membership.

Claire currently writes for all 41 Families magazines that cover the UK, which reach 9 million parents a year. She has have been a content creator for 20 years and helped thousands of business owners get more sales with their content marketing. She is a trained NCTJ journalist and started her career at ITN in radio and television. She also runs a free Facebook community called Cracking Content where she shares writing, content, and PR tips. 

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