How to Batch Content
Creating and promoting your content can be very time-consuming. I try to keep it as simple as possible since there are so many different parts that make up a content marketing strategy.
I want to share with you one of the best methods to help increase your consistency.
… batching content.
Think about how much time you would waste if you were baking brownies and instead of making a dozen you baked each one individually. Imagine repeating the process of getting out all the ingredients, mixing them together and baking it 11 times in a row.
Or, if every time you went to the grocery store you only bought enough food for your dinner that evening.
You are already batching tasks in your everyday life, so why not batch your content and other business tasks to save yourself time and effort.
What is Batching?
If you are new to the concept of batching basically it just means that you complete similar tasks during a certain timeframe so that you aren’t getting distracted by context switching.
Doing this helps you to stay focused on the tasks at hand and helps you to make the most of your time because you aren’t switching from project to project.
Research shows that when you switch between two tasks at a time that 20% of your productive time is lost to context switching. That increases to a 40% loss when you try switching between 3 tasks at a time.
I used to think that I was batching my content because I would plan certain days in my schedule as “content writing days.” But, the problem with it was I would put so much pressure on myself to write several blog posts from start to finish.
This wasn’t batching because I was still going through the entire writing process and switching between all the different types of tasks that I do.
Rather than trying to complete your entire content process at one time, you need to break up the tasks and complete them at different times.
It might seem like a long process but trust me it makes it so much easier and will end up saving you a ton of time.
Why Should You Batch Content?
Besides the fact that batching your content saves you so much it will help you be more consistent with your content because it won’t feel so overwhelming to create something new.
When you don’t batch your content you have to write one post from beginning to end. This means doing SEO research, picking a topic, writing, editing, creating graphics, promoting and all the other tasks that make up your content process.
It’s a lot of work to do, but just like the brownie example above, you don’t have to make the process harder on yourself then it needs to be.
When you batch your content you are also alleviating that panic of sitting down at your computer trying to figure out what to write about or what to post on your social media channels because you’ve planned it all out ahead of time.
You may also like: 3 Myths About Creating Consistent Content
How to Batch Content
What I like to do is plan different days in my schedule for all the parts of my content marketing strategy.
This means that I plan a block of time in my schedule just to come up with ideas for my content. I don’t worry about writing the content or perfecting the title of it, I just brainstorm ideas.
Another day or block of time will then be dedicated to outlining the content. I have found that outlining my content makes it much faster when it comes time to write the actual blog post.
You can read more about how to create content faster here.
This process continues for when I actually write, edit and schedule my content as well. They are all broken up into different times or days so I can stay completely focused on the task I need to do.
Doing this has helped me to be much more creative because I would get into the flow of finding ideas or writing my content without having to worry about completing the next step of the process.
For example, your schedule could look like this:
Monday - Research and outline the content for your videos
Tuesday - Record 3 videos
Wednesday - Edit 3 videos
Thursday - Create the promo graphics and schedule the videos
When you plan it like this it will help you to get ahead on your content because you could have 3 weeks complete in just a few days.
Examples of Content Batching
I highly recommend that you give this method a shot.
Look at your content process and see how you can break up your tasks.
Some examples can include:
Brainstorming ideas
SEO research
Outlining
Drafting content
Writing
Recording
Editing
Taking photos
Formatting
Creating graphics
Scheduling
It’s up to you to decide the frequency or quantity of content you can do each time.
When you batch content you might find that you can successfully complete each of these steps for 3 blog posts, or you might be able to do 5 videos at one time.
It depends on how much time you have in your schedule. Be realistic with your boundaries and limitations. Start small and then build up to doing more each time you batch.
I do recommend that you try to get as ahead as you can in your schedule so that you aren’t writing or recording videos the night before you want to have them go live.
Related: How to Repurpose Content
Once you start implementing this process you will start to see how easy it makes your entire content creation and promotion process.
Instead of constantly worrying about your content you could spend 3 days at the beginning of the month batching and then have your entire month done so you don’t even have to think about it again.
I hope this helps you with batching your content. I’d love to hear if you already do this or your tips for how to batch content in the comments below.