Episode 114: 4 Content Planning Mistakes

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When it comes to content, you'll want to make sure you aren't making these 4 content planning mistakes if you're wanting to see growth!

Are you making this content planning mistakes?

Today’s episode is going to be short and sweet, but I wanted to take some time and address some of the most frequent content planning mistakes that I see. This is obviously not an exhaustive list of all of the content planning mistakes out there, but 4 of the most common that I see. My hope is that this will open your eyes to some of your own habits, and that way you can start taking steps forward in correcting any holes you might be digging for yourself.
You’re listening to episode 114 of the Chasing Simple Podcast, and I’m your host – Amanda Warfield. Let’s dive in.

Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

This week’s action step: Take out a piece of paper. Write on the top what you want to be known as the expert in. And then set a 10 minute timer and brain dump as much as you can about that topic. Make a list, write in paragraphs, whatever. You’ll have plenty of content ideas to sprinkle in.
This week’s book recommendation: Will by Will Smith
Find me on Instagram and tell me you completed this week’s action step: @mrsamandawarfield

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Rather Read? – Here’s the Transcript!

*Just a heads up – the provided transcript is likely to not be 100% accurate.

Today’s episode is going to be short and sweet, but I wanted to take some time and address some of the most frequent content planning, mistakes that I see. This is obviously not an exhaustive list of all the content planning, mistakes out there, but four of the most common that I see my hope is that this will open your eyes to some of your own habits. And that way you can start taking steps forward and correcting any holes that you might be digging for yourself.

You’re listening to episode 114 of The Chasing Simple Podcast. And I’m your host, Amanda Warfield. Let’s dive in.

The first mistake that I see when it comes to content planning is that creators are planning launches that are too short. So what that would look like is you are teasing that something is coming. You drop that it’s open for purchase. You can buy it. Doors are open carts, open, however you want to phrase it.

And then a few days later you close the cart. Now, what I’m not saying is that the length of cart open to cart close is what’s too short. What the actual problem is, is that you need a launch runway. And what I see over and over again is people that are teasing. Hey, something’s coming. Hey, I can’t wait to share about this, but then the first time they truly share about it with their audience.

Is when the cart is open. And so by the time cart is closed, no one has really had time to decide whether or not it’s the right offer for them. You have to have a lunch runway. My goal, when I am launching something is always to make it so that most people know whether or not they’re going to buy it before I even open the cart.

If you want to hear more about what my launch strategy actually looks like, go listen to episode 1 0 3. I really encourage you to stop using this idea of teasing what’s to come as your entire launch runway. I’m not really sure where that idea came from. I know I’ve seen other marketers share to do it, but if the only chance people have to decide whether or not to buy is during cart open the cart close.

You’re not going to have as much success as you would. Otherwise you want people to be ready to buy when doors open that way, you already have most of your sales coming into the beginning of the launch and anything else or people that didn’t have it decided beforehand, but then did decide during the launch, but you want people for the most part to know before cart even opens that they’re planning on buying.

Now the second mistake that I often see with content planning is that you’re either planning too much or too little at a time. So if you’re planning too little you’re planning week by week or day by day, what it is that you’re going to create and put out there content-wise, you are very much stuck on that content creation hamster wheel.

And it is enough to just get anything out. On the other hand, the opposite side of things, you could be trying to plan six months in advance. And here’s the thing it’s going to be almost impossible to have a cohesive strategy without a bird’s eye view. And while I encourage everyone to have an idea of what your plan is for the next six months, I don’t encourage anyone to plan their content for the next six months. You should know what your business strategy is going to be. You should know, or at least have a good general idea of what you’re going to launch when within the next six months. But you really shouldn’t be deep diving into your content plan.

More than two months out. I don’t dive into my content plan more than any two months at a time. And the only reason I do two months is because my podcast episodes have to be recorded so far in advance. I don’t do any kind of planning for my blog, my email list for my social media posts until the month before at most.

And the reason for this is because things can change so quickly. And so all having a plan is important. You also need that flexibility for pivoting as needed, whether that’s because something has come up in the world or because you have a new collaboration, you need to remember to share about there’s a million different reasons why you could need flexibility.

And what you don’t want to do is create a content plan that is so locked in for so far out that you don’t have any flexibility to do any of that. Because even if that works for you, most business owners are not planning that far out. And so you could miss out on a lot of collaboration, events, and opportunities, because you don’t have the flexibility.

Now the third content planning mistake that I often see is monthly themes, planning, a monthly theme for your content each and every month. when I’ve seen this taught in the past, it has been. Kind of this idea of, okay, what, what are you going to talk about this month? What offer are you going to focus on for this month?

And someone will create content for one month around one offer. And in theory, That sounds great. But the problem is, is that this again makes your strategy uncohesive. It doesn’t give you enough of a bird’s eye view and it really pigeonholes you into talking about one specific thing. Like I said, I get the theory behind it.

You don’t want to focus on trying to sell too many different things all at once, and you don’t want to be all over the place with your content. You don’t want to talk about this thing. And then this thing, this thing that you want to have some cohesion, but when you’re only looking at your content in one month chunks, but when you’re looking at your content in one month chunks, you’re not going to have cohesion for one month to month. There’s going to be this invisible boundary line where I was talking about this thing, you know, I’m drastically talking about the next thing.

You have to have larger chunks of cohesion than that, because a month in terms of content is not a lot of time, it’s just not, which is why. As I mentioned earlier, you want to make sure that your launch runway is long enough and a month just will not cut it for a launch runway again, go listen to episode 1 0 3, to hear more about preparing your launch strategy for your next course lunch again, go listen to episode 1 0 3, to hear more about preparing your launch strategy for your next course launch, but a month isn’t long enough for a launch runway.

And then the fourth and final mistake. Well, I shouldn’t say final because these are, this is not a all encompassing list of all the different content planning, mistakes out there. But the final one for today’s episode is that I don’t see people repurposing their content. They are reinventing the wheel over and over and over again.

They’re trying to always come up with something new to say, Outside of the fact that trying to constantly come up with something new to say is exhausting. It’s exhausting mentally. It’s not helpful to you as a business. Because you’re not submitting yourself as an expert, but it also makes it so easy to stray into comparison territory.

Because if you are constantly trying to find new things to say, you’re not going to be staying in your lane. If you are constantly in the back of your mind thinking, what else can I say? How else can I say things? If you’re not confident in saying the same message over and over and over again, in a bunch of different ways, you’re going to naturally.

Compare what you say and how you say it to other people. So you want to make sure that you’re really focusing on staying in your lane, because if you’re not staying in your lane and you’re not repeating yourself over and over and over again, you are not convincing your audience, that you are the expert on what it is that you’re talking about.

And that is the whole goal of marketing you want to become known as the expert in what you do. And the only way to do that is to stay in your lane, stop, reinventing the wheel and say the same thing over and over and over again. So the four large content planning, mistakes that I see. One you’ve got launches that are too short Two you hurt either planning too much or too little at a time three you’re really just focusing on monthly themes.

And there’s not a lot of cohesion. And four, you are reinventing the wheel. Your action step for this week is to take out a piece of paper, right on the top. What it is that you want to be known as the expert in, and instead of 10 minute timer and brain dump, as much as you can about that topic, make a list, write in paragraphs, whatever, whatever comes most natural.

Just get it all out. After doing that, you’re going to have plenty of content ideas to sprinkle into your content plan so that it’s cohesive. So it’s strategic so that you are not reinventing the wheel

And so that you are becoming the expert to your audience and what it is that you do. This week’s book recommendation is Will by Will Smith. I devoured this book. I mean, it is. So it is so well written. I love it. I love a nicely well-written book that you just can’t put down who doesn’t write it’s. So well-written will Smith is so

thoughtful, emotionally aware of. And it just made me more emotionally aware to read this. And obviously as I’m recording this, the Oscars just happened. That’s a whole thing. What I’ll say about that is both men are grown humans, neither is in the right, but we’re all just human and we have to accept. Our flaws and the flaws of others, and it is what it is.

And that’s all I’m going to say on that because it’s not my place to speak on it, but this book is a masterpiece, highly recommend Will by Will Smith. I will link to it in the show notes. It’s funny I have really been on a memoir kick this year. And I did not think I was a memoir type person and it turns out I really am.

I don’t know if that’s age, if now that I’m older, I realize how much I can learn from other people in their experiences or what, but if you don’t think you’re a memoir person, I would still recommend giving this one a try. All right, friend. I hope that this was helpful. I hope that you are able to take a look at these and see maybe some that you are falling into and able to take some steps forward for easier and better content planning.

And until next time, I hope that you’ll go out and Uncomplicate your life and biz.