“It only takes a minute if you wait ‘til the last minute.” Okay, maybe not the best advice if you want to promote your business with care. But if you’ve been struggling with your content creation process, then I have a feeling this guide should help.
A few weeks ago, I set myself up at a cafe only 90 minutes before they closed. I had two client projects to complete, and I knew it was now or never.
Not the time to scroll through Instagram, comparing myself with other marketers or content/copywriters.
Also not the time to second guess these client projects, which were already 75% done.
I did this to/for myself, knowing there would be a sense of urgency.
But what I didn’t know was that the cafe would be playing a fun Beatles playlist! So I got to sing and bop in my chair while writing:
- SEO-friendly blog content for a law firm
- a lighthearted and personable sales email for a skin spa
Ninety minutes later, I completed my to-do list *and* some.
Adding Deadlines to Your Creative Process
What about you?
What’s the deal with *your* creative process? Been overthinking it? Losing yourself in the social media scroll?
Ever thought about adding deadlines to your process? The point isn’t to feel stressed out of your mind while a blank Canva slide or Google Doc stares back at you.
Instead, deadlines help you realize you *can* produce effective content when:
- life gets busy
- you don’t have an on-staff marketing person
- your business demands 500 things from you
What if deadlines aren’t quite doing the trick? Perhaps this is why your content creation feels like a waste of time:
- You’re selling a half-baked product.
- It *is* a waste of time.
- There is zero urgency in your creative process.
- Perfectionism is holding you back.
- You rely on single-use content.
- Your body and soul aren’t ready to focus.
- You’re not using any content templates.
Let’s dive deeper into each factor, along with questions you can ask yourself to actually start enjoying the content creation process.
7 Reasons Your Content Creation Process Feels Like a Waste of Time
Half-Baked Product
Your product or service isn’t clear, valuable, and deliverable. If you’re not able to explain what you’re selling in simple terms — and deliver on your promises — how is your audience supposed to get excited to give you their money?
Ask yourself: “Have I created something people don’t value or understand?”
It *Is* a Waste of Time
Your business model is set up in such a way that only you can complete high-level projects. Therefore, you should be outsourcing your emails, blog posts, and social media posts to a creative studio or marketing agency.
Ask yourself: “What is my behind-the-scenes hourly pay rate, and which tasks are worth less than that rate?”
Zero Urgency
You sit down to create content whenever you feel 100% up for it…which is less often than your business needs. Maybe you track your time, but you’re not using the Pomodoro Method or another simple tool to add urgency to your process.
Ask yourself: “How can I place limits on my creative work sessions without sacrificing quality?”
Perfectionism
Every pixel of your Canva graphic must be perfect, and every word in your IG caption must be written by the angels above…or else all of your professional skills mean NOTHING. How silly does this sound out loud? Super silly. Don’t let this subconscious belief slow you down.
Ask yourself: “At minimum, what must my content achieve to be considered post-able?”
Single-Use Content
If you’re trying to reach potential customers or clients on various platforms (instead of just IG or just TikTok), then start repurposing every piece of content. For example, one blog post can become a reel, a thread, an IG story, and a portion of your email newsletter.
Ask yourself: “How can I turn last month’s top three performing posts into nine more high-quality posts?”
Body & Soul
You just binge watched 30 TikToks about the latest Dateline horror story, and somehow you expect your brain to pump out an inspiring email newsletter about adding more zen to your life in 2023. Not happening.
Ask yourself: “How can I nourish my body, prepare my mind, and set up my environment for optimal creativity?”
Zero Templates
Reinventing the wheel every time you want to advertise your offer gets exhausting. Countless entrepreneurs share their systems and content templates for free…and they actually work! Why not download one and adapt it to your brand’s specific needs?
Ask yourself: “What is one system I can start implementing to make my writing or designing process more templated and repeatable?”
Speaking of templates…
Speed up your creative process with my fully customizable guide, designed to help you create genuine connections with your audience.
With this digital download, you’ll get instant access to:
✓ Ready-to-Use Hooks: Access 52 powerful hooks in Google Doc and PDF formats, complete with a video tutorial for seamless customization.
✓ Interactive Learning: Participate in a hook-writing exercise based on successful strategies from my award-winning esthetics client, along with two proven hooks that drive results.
✓ Flexible Navigation: Easily explore each hook by week, brand voice, or format (question vs. statement) for quick reference.
Whether you’re enhancing your social media, email campaigns, or website content, these hooks will keep your marketing dynamic, relevant, and captivating!
Further Reading on KatQuintana.com: Excited to improve your content and copywriting strategy? Read more of my digital marketing blog posts here.
