{"id":24753,"date":"2013-06-13T08:20:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-13T07:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/?p=24753"},"modified":"2013-06-13T09:00:13","modified_gmt":"2013-06-13T08:00:13","slug":"content-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/content-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"Content planning… filling in that blank piece of paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

Content planning made easy<\/h2>\n

Over the past 18 months to two years it seems there has been ever-increasing volume of advice on\u00a0content marketing.\u00a0You would have to have been on a very long holiday or living under a rock to not notice how content marketing is a huge topic and an industry worth\u00a0$44 billion<\/a>\u00a0and that's just in the United States.<\/p>\n

While there are many posts exhorting us to \"create awesome content\" there is a big practical challenge of how you plan and resource this content creation. One specific problem many of us face is how to encourage other specialists in our companies to create content which we have covered in this post based on a discussion on persuading others in your company to create content for you<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I wanted to add to this by reviewing the issue of when you're face with a blank piece of paper\u2026..what content are you asking colleagues to write in the 1st place?<\/strong>\u00a0 It's an ongoing challenge, it sounds like a symphony being played in St Pauls Cathedral, although more annoying, \u00a0it sounded more like my neighbours children playing the same song on a recorder, on repeat.<\/p>\n

Ideas on planning your content and content-based campaigns<\/h3>\n

Just how do you plan in advance your newsletters, blog posts, or other SEO link bait that ticks all the boxes and will genuinely be worthy content, and not the rubbish that penguin and panda updates are targeting?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Staring at a blank piece of paper trying to find the inspiration for that useful, exclusive and valuable piece of content is not as difficult as you may think.<\/p>\n

I have created a simple content plan that can be used as a template for your newsletters, social media, and SEO link bait needs. There are more detailed editorial calendars available; however this template is ideal for the smaller SME Company, with limited content budgets and marketing resources. I have used it in larger companies too, but it works well for smaller companies too.<\/p>\n

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Recommended Guide: Editorial calendar spreadsheet<\/div>\n

Includes different worksheets for planning and prompting ideas to generate content<\/p>\n

Download our Content planning spreadsheet<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Below are some top-level tips for you to never sit with a blank bit of paper again.<\/p>\n

Getting started with your content<\/h3>\n