I used to beat myself up and feel guilty for not getting more done in my business each year.
There were so many awesome content ideas burning in my brain for videos, books, and education I wanted to create. Yet, not much was really getting done.
Sure, I was busy as hell, but my content creation process wasn’t very productive. Then I started working with a mentor who shared her simple daily content creation checklist with me.
By following her version of the checklist, she’s able to create a video, a livestream, a podcast episode, a blog post, multiple social media posts, and additional free education on top of that — every single day.
And all of her content is really, really good.
I decided to give it a try. I created my version of her checklist and then spent a day working through it.
That day was a game-changer for my writing business, so make sure to grab your free copy of the editable PDF checklist I’m going to share at the end of this post.
It could be a game-changer for your content marketing productivity as well.
A system that produces substantial results
I was so blown away by how much I got done in that one day that I decided to keep the experiment going. By the end of the week, I had created 21 new pieces of content for my business, including:
- 5 blog posts
- 6 training sessions for my membership site
- 5 videos for my YouTube channel
- 5 videos for my Instagram account
So, what’s the secret to making a content marketing productivity checklist work?
Four very simple things:
1. Have a mindset practice
Your mind has to be clear and focused if you’re going to produce that much content.
When your mind is full of negative thoughts, limiting beliefs, or worries, it will make it much harder to stay inspired and keep taking action.
Mindset work will be different for every writer. The idea is to do something every day to improve the way you think, believe, and feel.
Here’s my daily practice:
- Journaling: Every morning I write my intentions for my day, week, and life. I write out powerful statements declaring who I am and who I want to be, all written in the present or past tense. For example, “I am a great writer. All of my content attracts my ideal tribe, and I create content with ease and flow this week.”
- Verbal intentions: Intention is powerful, so I have multiple practices that incorporate intentional ways of thinking. Right before I create a piece of content, I set an intention for it. For example, before I write a blog post, I might say, “This blog post turns out great. The words flow with ease, and when it’s published, my ideal tribe finds it and reads it.�
The most important thing about mindset work is how it transforms you. It builds confidence and gives you clarity. You’ll start thinking and talking differently, which will then cause you to take more productive actions in your business.
2. Get inspired
It can sometimes be tough to come up with ideas for new content. That’s why I brainstorm and keep lists of ideas, even if I never actually do anything with them.
I’m a believer in using lists and brainstorming as a way to clear out crappy ideas and make way for really good ones — or to let the really good ideas come through. Sometimes when you make that list, you automatically find a couple ideas that are a “Yes!â€?
Right before I’m going to write something — and especially when I don’t have an idea — I’ll read or watch something inspiring.
I have a go-to list of people I follow who always create inspirational content. Or I’ll pick up a book and read a chapter.
Read or watch until you feel a “sparkâ€? in your brain. Something will trigger a thought you want to expand on or a full topic idea — and then you’re off and writing.
3. Create your daily content marketing checklist
Like I said, I make a lot of lists. But one thing I’ve (almost) stopped doing is making “to-do� lists other than a weekly list of deadlines or other projects that need to be finished.
On a day-to-day basis, the checklist I follow is more for general activities that I want to accomplish rather than specific work.
Here’s what my list includes:
- Write a daily blog post (25 minutes): I try to keep my blog posts short and to the point. They’re usually less than 1,500 words, but some days I write more.
- Provide value in Facebook groups (15–20 minutes): I run a free group for writers and I’m also active in several groups. I try to mix it up so I’m not sharing the same content in each group on the same day, but I also don’t reinvent the wheel. I may post something valuable in my free group one day and then share a version of it in another group I’m in the next day.
- Create free content for social media (15 minutes): Fill your social media channels with valuable content and occasional personal updates to remind people that you’re human. My rule is that one piece of content should be used in at least five places. After I write a blog post, I’ll create a teaser image with a link I can share on Instagram, Facebook, etc.
- Write books (15–30 minutes): Writing more books is a priority for me, so I have daily time set aside to work on whatever book project I have going on at the moment. Doing this has helped me triple the book content I produce.
- Visibility (10–15 minutes): If you want people to know who you are and eventually buy from you, you have to be visible. I aim to increase my visibility with content each day, whether it’s with a video, a Facebook livestream, or a blog post with a personal picture.
- Create paid content (30 minutes): I run a membership site, so I’m always creating new content and trainings for my members. Having this as a daily task has helped me build engagement and increase the amount of time people remain members.
- Create free content again (15 minutes): Yes, I repeat this activity. Why? Because free content is the bread-and-butter of any writing or content marketing business.
Now, you don’t need to do all of these things every day. You may devote a lot more time to writing your content, for example. Maybe for you, just focusing on two or three tasks on the checklist will allow you to start creating more content.
The point isn’t the number of activities — it’s how much valuable content you can create.
Here’s how to build your own daily content marketing checklist:
- Make a list of your content marketing tasks. Focus on what you want to accomplish in a typical day, so that you stay on track for the entire week or month.
- Designate an amount of time for each action. Experiment to see how long you need to complete each task. I used to create social media content for 10 minutes but found I was finishing somewhere around 12–13 minutes, so I changed that item to 15 minutes.
And if you don’t finish something you started, don’t worry. Just finish it during your next content creation session.
4. Use a timer
This is a super important step for me. Timing all of these content marketing activities forces me to become laser-focused and improves my ability to get more done.
I have an egg timer that I use, but you can also use the timer on your phone or, if you like gong sounds, this timer here.
Your free content marketing productivity checklist
Without this process, there’s no way I’d get as much content created each day and every week as I currently do.
Download your free, editable content marketing productivity PDF (57 KB) and incorporate the checklist into your routine to optimize your content creation sessions.
What would you add to your checklist? Share in the comments below.
Reader Comments (40)
Brandon Cox says
Awesome! I keep trying to create something like this and I keep getting stuck. Using a Calendar doesn’t help and it seems that most systems are too organized and too complicated. I love the simplicity of your list.
Jennifer Blanchard says
Yes, I love to keep things simple. I find that the simpler it is, the more I actually get done. When I try to overcomplicate things, that’s when I start to slow down my productivity. But if I just follow my list and use my timer, I always get it all done.
Edvin Lofgren says
Awesome list!
It’s important for me to do the productive things first. Before I start with entertainment etc. If you start your day with procrastination, it’s easy to get stuck.
Jennifer Blanchard says
YES! My saying is “create before you consume.” It makes a big difference in your creativity and your productivity to not be inundated with emails and social media posts and stuff that I’ll be reactive to. When I do my writing/creating first, that’s when my day goes much better.
Audrey says
“Create before you consume”–this is so awesome I wrote it on a sticky note for my vision board. It is way too easy to get this reversed and end up doing almost nothing in a day.
Jennifer Blanchard says
@Audrey YES! So true!!
Akash Srivastava says
Awesome checklist Jennifer!
Jennifer Blanchard says
Thanks Akash! If you create a version of it for yourself I’d love to hear how it works out for you.
Gaurav Kumar says
This is such an amazing content productivity checklist that we should follow. I like the idea of dividing time into different content marketing tasks.
Jennifer Blanchard says
Dividing the pieces up really helps you to see what you’re working with and I think it gives you more ideas because you’re looking at each section individually, rather than all of it as a whole.
Sue Frye says
Thanks so much! Such a fabulous lists, and very, very usable!!!
Jennifer Blanchard says
Hey Sue! Thanks for stopping by 🙂 I’m glad you like the lists. Which tasks will you add to yours?
Sam says
Hi Jennifer,
The first step can be super tough for me sometimes. The biggest factor is simply making that checklist – from there it’s all downhill!
Jennifer Blanchard says
Yeah, making the list might take you a little bit of time, but it will help you stay organized and get you creating more content. So definitely worth the time it takes to put it together.
Rahil nm says
Hi Jennifer Blanchard
The checklist you are mentioned here are awesome
Thanks
Jennifer Blanchard says
Thanks, Rahil! What items are you adding to your list?
Pragati Udyog says
Thank you for sharing such an awesome content marketing strategy. I think this will helpful to me in increasing more productivity.
Jennifer Blanchard says
It definitely will, Pragati! I find on the days I don’t use it, I’m always way less productive than on the days I do.
Ravi Chahar says
Hey Jennifer,
To produce an effective content, you should always train your mind. Journalism can help.
Building a strategy for generating a piece of the content on the daily basis would be great.
You have mentioned some great points here. I am sure, people are going to implement.
Thanks for sharing with us.
~Ravi
Jennifer Blanchard says
I agree. I’m a trained journalist and I love working on deadline and having a timer helps a lot too 🙂
Jennifer Blanchard says
I’m glad to hear that, Amar! Let me know if you end up using the checklist. I’d love to hear how it goes for you.
Lisa Marie Miles says
Excellent article! I can’t wait to try this myself and start getting things done.
Jennifer Blanchard says
Let me know how it goes for you, Lisa!
Craig says
I’ve been using the Productivity Schedule worksheet by Storyline for a little over a month and it’s crazy how useful it’s been.
It has a space to jot down to-do tasks (so I can dump them onto a list and only tackle them when I’m thinking… “what should I be doing right now?”). It has three main sections for tasks with Hours and Minutes on it and small rest/reward line between each. I love it and totally recommend trying it out!
You can find that here: http://www.storylineblog.com/storyline-productivity-schedule.pdf
Jennifer Blanchard says
Whatever works for you, Craig!
Julie McCullough says
Thank you for the Content Marketing Productivity Checklist. I am looking forward to using it.
Jennifer Blanchard says
Thanks, Julie! Let me know how it goes for you.
Empowee says
Hi Jennifer, my favourite part was when you said “II try to keep my blog posts short and to the point. They’re usually less than 1,500 words, but some days I write more.”
For normal people 1,500 words is a lot of words lol.
That’s how I know you’re super human.
Whenever, I set about to write a post, I get a migraine lol. I tend to write faster in the morning when I finish having a shower lol or when I am genuinely busy. That’s when I have to rush for a pad.
Empowee
Jennifer Blanchard says
Empowee– Have you ever thought about dictation? I have writer-friends who swear by it for getting more writing done faster.
Myrna T says
I have a long-standing personal tradition of romancing overwhelm by spreading myself thin to the breaking point. What with self-managed web sites, blogging, research and archiving, outlining and creating (remember ‘yada, yada, yada’?) –Well, this old workhorse collapses at writing out the list.
I am ‘rediscovering’ some of what I learned ‘back in the day,’ though. Kitchen timer resurfaced a few days ago, some of my old ‘flash fiction’ emerged from the crypts, and now I find this article in my email while I’m procrastinating because I can’t decide where to start!?! –Good thing I don’t ‘believe in’ coincidence!
Only thing I see missing is creating merchandising bonuses to offer specials on, for purchasing the books. So far, I have a Sudoku puzzle T-Shirt and the ‘Tiberius’ line of bracelets and pendants. A few of the emails are mapped out but still need assembly, matching up text with free content and bonuses (not to mention an occasional CTA). I have no mailing list, so need a capture page — need I go on?
Considering where I was a year ago, it makes me wonder where I will be, a year from now?… Thanks for being part of the inspiration for it, whatever it turns out to be!
Jennifer Blanchard says
You can always add to your checklist the things that you need–such as the bonuses and special offers.
Kat Moody says
This is brilliant! I already turned my tedious and never-ending to-do list into a bullet journal that is simplified and streamlined. I’m still working out the kinks with that but found that I continually have trouble remembering the regular work I need to do for my own and work-related projects for content development and marketing.
I’m definitely trying this out! 😀
Jennifer Blanchard says
Thanks, Kat! Let me know how it works for you.
Mehndi says
Definitely awesome post! So many great resources curated for novice and veteran content marketers.
Thanks, all!
Jennifer Blanchard says
You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed it.
Tim Ludy says
Great post Jennifer!
The time intervals you listed seemed really short (25 mins for a blog post?) but after thinking about it more, those times are probably pretty realistic if you are focused and have clarity on what you’re trying to accomplish. Aside from the importance of having a checklist I definitely took away from this the benefit of developing the right mindset and creating a system that can help you maintain that state through your work.
I also wrote “Create before you consume” on a notecard for reference!
Thanks!
Tim
Jennifer Blanchard says
Hey Tim–yeah, 25 minutes is probably short for most people, but I can usually write a blog post in that amount of time without a problem (and then I go back through and revise).
I’d say the mindset and productivity system of following the checklist and using the timer is what makes the biggest difference.
Ola Rybacka says
Hi Jennifer,
I’m more than happy to inform you that this article is featured in our latest episode of weekly Productivity Articles roundup!
Thank you so much for sharing the interesting content about using content marketing hacks to increase productivity!
Please find the entire list here: https://www.timecamp.com/blog/index.php/2016/12/productivity-articles-11122016/
Ola Rybacka, Social Media Manager at TimeCamp
Jennifer Blanchard says
Thanks Ola!
Cath Manuel says
Thanks so much Jennifer, this is exactly what I was looking for to plan my content marketing!
Although I’ve been creating content for many years, I never had a set guide about what or how much I was creating and sharing.
It was a little all over the place…hit and miss!
Now I have a new podcast show and realising I needed a better strategy for creating content, I still didn’t have a guide to follow…until now!
Thanks you again. I’ve shared your article in my mastermind group!
This article's comments are closed.