What's your strategy for realistic content creation goals?

Audience-Centricity: Prioritize Audience Needs and Interests Passion + Audience Relevance = Effective Content Strategic Planning: Goals + Content Roadmap + SMART Objectives = Motivated Progress Consistency and Sustainability: Consistent Content + Sustainability = Trust and Loyalty Quality Over Quantity: Research + Refinement = Audience Satisfaction Innovative Engagement: Exploration of New Formats + Audience Preferences = Innovative Engagement Community Building: Genuine Connection + Engagement = Valuable Community Self-Care: Well-being = Sustained Creativity Adaptation and Evolution: Flexibility + Performance Data = Strategic Evolution

My strategy for realistic content creation goals begins with understanding my audience's preferences and my available resources. I set clear, specific objectives and break them into smaller, achievable tasks. To stay on track, I create a content calendar with realistic timelines. Regular review and adjustment ensure I meet my goals while maintaining content quality. One key piece of advice is to prioritize consistency over quantity, as it fosters audience engagement and trust. My experience has shown that setting achievable goals and adapting as needed is essential for effective content creation.

Knowing our WHY is the foundation of everything, and it's one of the first things you need to figure out. You will build everything else around it. Besides that, it helps you to make decisions that lead you to the right path.

I notice that many content creators skip an important evaluation phase: their legacy. Successful creators or creatorpreneurs maintain consistency alongside their creative explosion, and this is achieved by focusing on the legacy. They ask themselves, "What message do I want to leave for the next generation?" This question is relevant because it helps creators stay focused on their long-term impact and purpose. By considering their legacy, content creators can ensure that their work aligns with their values and goals, and they can create content that resonates with their audience and stands the test of time.

Setting realistic content creation goals begins with understanding your capacity. Evaluate your past outputs to gauge how much content you can produce within a given timeframe. Next, prioritize tasks based on their importance and ROI. Not every piece will drive the same engagement, so focus on high-impact content. Break down large projects into actionable steps, ensuring steady progress without feeling overwhelmed. Use analytics to adjust and refine your approach. Allocate buffer time for unexpected delays and research, as staying updated is key. Lastly, remain adaptable. While pushing boundaries is vital, recognize that unforeseen challenges can arise. Adjust your plans accordingly, ensuring consistent quality and timely delivery.

3 ways of doing this - -> Define Your Content Objectives: Always start by clearly defining your content marketing objectives. What do you aim to achieve with your content? Common objectives could include increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, generating leads, and nurturing customer relationships. -> Understand Your Audience: Know your target audience's preferences, needs, and pain points. This understanding helps you create content that resonates with them. -> Set Realistic Goals: Establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timebound (SMART) goals for your content marketing efforts. For eg, if your objective is to increase website traffic, set a goal for the percentage increase over a specified period.

In my experience, they key is knowing your customers and the problem you are solving for them. The more clear you are on the problem you solve, the easier it will be to identify and create content that will resonate with your target audience.

As content creators, it's vital for us to create metrics for ourselves outside of CRO and SEO implementation. We don't always have measurable data outside of those fields, but we CAN report on goals we set and accomplished. These can be things like: -Establishing a tone of voice and fine-tuning style -Increasing engagement/scroll depth -Utilizing writing formulas that support overall client goals -Identifying market positioning and highlighting unique value props These are just a few examples, and given the right amount of cooperation and buy-in from clients, they can be achieved without overextending your team.

In my work with partners, clients, and brands, I have been recommending a different approach to content production. This involves two main steps: 1- Develop curation techniques to capture changes in your field of expertise. 2 - Identify the territories where you have the most strength and require less effort to produce content. By combining industry changes with your areas of strength, you can focus on broader narratives where you have unique differentiators and something valuable to contribute. From these narratives, which can be called primitive stories, you can then begin the process of outlining, drafting, and adapting content to various formats and channels.

When addressing the prioritization of research, content production, and distribution for brands, startups, and entrepreneurs, I usually evaluate where tasks can be delegated, thus creating a multiplication of allocated time. Therefore, I try to identify within my network of contacts who can help me save time in research and co-production. This content receives priority because it allows me to save time and work in parallel.

Your content strategy will never work if it's unsustainable. So I design my approach based on what I know I can realistically accomplish. For example, I write about topics and trends that I find interesting for my LinkedIn posts. If I'm intrigued or learning something new, that's a good proxy for whether my audience will also find the content interesting. The same is true for my publishing schedule. I aim to post at least 3x a week, but sometimes it's once a week and other times it's 5x a week. It just depends what's going on that week and if I feel creatively inspired to write and share. Bottom line: I control my creative process; it doesn't control me.

Although the activity of Content Revision may seem incremental, I feel that it is important to indicate that content creators should strategically review their persona, way of being in the world, viewpoints, and positions. While it is true that the internet never forgets, it is also true that you can document your personal process of evolution. Do not consider your content as a cornerstone (or philosophical) that cannot be continuously polished. ;)

Additional tips: Set SMART Goals: Make your content creation goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Prioritize Tasks: Create a to-do list, ranking tasks based on their impact and deadline. Time Management: Allocate specific time blocks for content creation, editing, and engagement with your audience. Batch Process: Create multiple pieces of content in one go when you’re feeling most creative, then schedule them for later release. Celebrate Wins: Take time to acknowledge your achievements, however small, to keep yourself motivated. Take Breaks: Prevent burnout by scheduling time off to recharge.

Beyond the content you create, the relationships you nurture play a pivotal role in your content journey. Embracing collaboration and networking can amplify your reach, diversify your content, and provide fresh insights and perspectives. You should engage with fellow creators to co-create content. Whether it's a joint blog post, a shared podcast episode, or a collaborative video, working together can introduce your content to a broader audience and bring new dimensions to your narrative.