Time Effective Content Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs

Recently I worked with a small group of entrepreneurs at my Retreat in Santa Barbara. They wanted to know how they could create relevant content for their business websites and blogs without feeling like they were stuck in front of the computer endlessly with the writing process. There are several strategies I teach on this very topic, and we will go into more detail with the top three here. They are original content, curated content, and guest writing.

Writing original content is always going to be one of the best content marketing strategies when it comes to building your business and your brand. You know your topic inside and out and have both an interest and a passion for it that no one else will have. Time management is possible when you schedule out both the topics you wish to write about and the days and times you will sit down and commit to writing. I tend to do this during the early morning several days each week. I keep a small legal pad on my desk so that I always know what I will be writing about. Research time is kept to no more than five minutes for any piece of writing, and the writing is limited to anywhere from three hundred fifty to about eight hundred words in total. Over time you will develop your “voice” so that readers get used to your tone and inflection through your writing.

The second method of content marketing is through something that is referred to as “curated” content. This is content based on someone else’s original writing and then expanded upon by you with your thoughts, opinions, and examples. There are some excellent writers on every topic you can think of whom regularly create content that can be curated. In my business I have used writing from people like Seth Godin and Neil Patel to curate my own articles and posts. They teach and inspire me and I like to put my spin on their work to connect my audience to these new concepts. Everyone wins with curation.

Guest writing is the third method of content creation I will address here. This was first brought to my attention when it was taught to me as “guest blogging” more than ten years ago now. The idea is to trade original articles with people in complimentary niches and industries so that you are all exposed to different audiences over time. This was very intimidating to me when I was first online working as an entrepreneur. The others all seemed so experienced and professional in my opinion, and I was just starting out. When I made the decision to jump in and write something I believed to be of interest it was the best decision I could have made.

By now you can see that there are many ways to honor your time and still create enough content to publish on your sites on a regular basis. Spend some time planning out topics you can include as original content, curated content, and guest written content and see how well this serves you in your business. Content truly makes the world go ’round, and these strategies will help you with managing your time as a content marketer.

I am reminded of a quote from Anne Tyler. “If I waited until I felt like writing I’d never write at all.” Once you learn how to get your writing done in a reasonable amount of time this will make even more sense as a business and marketing strategy.

Content marketing is all about positioning yourself as an expert, continuing to create massive visibility, and building credibility for yourself and your business.