How To Create An Effective Content Strategy For Your Blog

Are you tired of cranking out content every single day? week? month only to get frustrated with the results? Yes, I know the feeling. You are not alone.

Nearly all bloggers and writers that I personally know struggle with not only writer’s block on a regular basis but the constant mind battle of “is this ever gonna work?”.

That is why a Content Strategy is super important.

Not only does it frees your mind from “always thinking mode” it enables you to gain perspective and answer the necessary yet hard questions that you need to answer.

Over the 5 years that I’ve been blogging, I’ve come to learn that you need to set clear intention to whatever it is that you’re doing – from creating content to selling products.

You see, the blogging game has changed. It’s not about publishing daily content anymore, your blog has a massive potential to become a successful business – but only if you know how.

Don’t panic. I got you covered. In this blogpost, I’ll share with you a simple content strategy that you can implement to your own blog so you stop stressing about content and actually get results from your efforts.

And please, if you find this helpful or you have any questions, could you leave a comment below? I’d love to help fellow bloggers like you 😉

Alright you ready? Let’s dive in!

1. Identify your purpose

The most successful bloggers and entrepreneurs learned how to use their passion to drive their purpose.

Remember, your passion is yours, while your purpose is when you leverage your passion to meet someone else’s need.

Why is this important?

Because life happens. There will be days when you don’t feel like writing, maybe you’re tired, un-motivated or juggling multiple hats and priorities.

Knowing your purpose will help you cultivate a sense of discipline and accountability to go after your goals no matter how impossible they may seem.

You might be thinking…

“I haven’t figured out my purpose!”

These questions will help:

(i) Do your friends ask you for a specific advice?

(ii) Or maybe in your job right now, what are the skills that you learn that can add value to other people’s lives?

(iii) What will you pursue if money is not important?

Though there are so many blogs and writers out there, your unique voice and authentic approach to solving problems will set you apart. Just remember, be yourself all the time.

2. Discover your target audience

Don’t make the common mistake of trying to create content that attracts everyone.

I know what you’re thinking…

What if different types of people come to my website? That’s okay! You will definitely get different people coming to your site.

The important thing to remember is to create a “persona” of your target audience. A persona brings your target audience to life by making her (or him) “real.”

By defining who exactly your target audience is, you’ll be able to:

(i) talk to your audience at the right level.

(ii)not waste your effort writing for people who will never enjoy your content.

(iii) not scratch your head thinking about what content to create because you know what your audience needs.

What makes a “persona” or target audience?

(i) Demographics (male or female)?

(ii) Psychographics (what frustrates them)?

(iii) Motivational Factors (what do they want to achieve)?

These will help you get a deeper understanding of the person you are trying to attract to your business.

3. Fill your content buckets

Think of your content in terms of buckets. Each content category is a bucket and you can have three-five content buckets.

If you are struggling to nail down your content buckets, head back to the purpose that you identified in Step 1.

What categories will support that purpose?

For example, if you have a frugal blog and the purpose is to help 30 to 40-somethings get out of debt, think about the content categories that will help the reader achieve that purpose.

These could be budgeting, intentional living, saving or investing.

Next, think about the content your target persona wants and needs.

What does he/she wants to learn from you?

What subjects do you have enough knowledge or experience in, that matter to her?

Then ask yourself, “If I wanted to be known for just three topics, what would those be?”

Determining your content buckets may sound restrictive but doing this ‘homework’ early on gives you an area to work with.

It defines your boundaries so that each piece of content has a role within your content map.

4. Build your content map

When someone visits your website, they’re not just “browsing” the internet for nothing. They are “searching for a solution” to the problem that they are having.

It could be simple or complicated for them, doesn’t matter. Your job is to make sure your content speaks straight to the heart of the reader to the point that she you will say… “I feel like you’re a mind reader!”

Bear this in mind when you create any type of content. Don’t just write a blogpost, post on social media or send an email for the sake of having something to publish.

You have to inspire, teach and transform.

Be intentional with you content, take the time to hone your writing skills without judgement. Don’t be afraid to “suck at it” at first, just keep going because it never gets easier, you’ll just get better.

5. Create a realistic content schedule

Creating content does not have to be stressful and overwhelming.

Remember, quality is more important than quantity and you don’t need to write 3,000 words, master SEO, hire a copywriter or quit your day job to make blogging work for you.

If you’re anything like me who get’s overwhelmed very easily, you will love this 3-step process.

We will deep dive with this in the upcoming workshop but for now, you have to understand what they are and why each step is critical.

You need to build the habit of blogging, as in sharing what you know in “writing” it could be in your blog, social media (microblogging) or youtube channel that is geared towards adding value to your audience.

Let’s break it down these 3-step method and how you can use it TODAY.

(i) Set goals – what do you want to accomplish in 1 month? Make sure it’s realistic! Some of the bloggers that I coach always exaggerate their goals like they will set…”I want to make $10,000 in the next month” My question is..”Have you made $1,000? Because if not, you’re fooling yourself!”

What I suggest is you to set goals that will build momentum and confidence. As you accomplish every goal that you set only then you will have the courage you need to step up and lessen the chances of self-sabotage.

For example, you can set 4 mini goals each week…

(ii) Plan it – assuming you did the first step, hooray! the next step is to simply put it on your calendar and schedule it. Without this, all the time you put to “goal setting” is basically wasted.

Also, if you’re the type of blogger who always says” I don’t have the time” you probably have to give your calendar a hard look and really be honest with yourself if your blog is really that important to you.

Because you know what? If it’s not scheduled, it’s not important.

Here’s an example of a schedule, obviously you need to take into consideration your family dynamics if you have children and other factors such as jobs or planned travel.

Related: How To Create A Blog Schedule You Can Actually Follow

(iii) Do the work – this is also called, “follow through”. This is where you’ll be tempted to procrastinate, when you talk yourself out of it because well, you’re tired from work or you just don’t feel like it…we all have those moments, right?

Guess what..when you really love your blog and you want to see it thrive, all those “excuses” that you tell yourself, won’t make sense.

So how do you do the work? Well, just do it! When the calendar notification pops up, open your computer and start!

It will also help if you set a timer to your phone, this really helps you get into “laser focused” mode and your brain will understand that the task that you’re working on is important.

Set 1-2 hours, depending on your available time.

Once you get this habit going, prepare to see incredible results. 😉

If you want to learn more, checkout our detailed guide on turning your blog into a business.

Now, it’s your turn..

What’s your biggest struggle when it comes to creating content on your blog? Let’s chat below.

Also, if you haven’t already, download the Content Mapping Kit with all the things you learned in this first series so you can take action, write notes and see results from your efforts 🙂