How To Create Blog Content Without Overwhelm

Earlier this week, we went over 9 ways to generate content ideas for your blog. Unfortunately, we all know that generating content ideas is only half the battle. Creating the actual content can be just as overwhelming, if not worse.

First, remember that content doesn’t have to be blog posts. It can be text, audio, video, simple social media updates – whatever works for you and your audience. I’ll be talking in terms of written content in the following post, but you can translate the various methods to whatever type of content you enjoy creating. Finding the right format for you will make creating content a whole lot easier!

Here, I have 3 methods for content creation. I’ve used all of these methods in the past – some great, some not so great. Let’s start with the not-so-great.

Method 1: Power through

This is the method I used for the first seven-ish months of running my blog. To be honest, it was pretty awful. I’d sit down the day I wanted to publish a post and outline, draft, proofread, and publish it – all in one day. I found that I ended up completely overwhelmed and that my content wasn’t as high-quality as it could be.

I think a lot of us find ourselves in this trap. The easiest way to get out? Plan your content ideas in advance! That way, you won’t have an excuse to procrastinate and you can create a plan of action for getting your content created ahead of time.

If you still find yourself using this method of content creation, I think you’ll like the next two options a whole lot more. Both of these will leave you with higher-quality content without the overwhelm.

Method 2: Set a timer

This method is one that I use occasionally. Choose a period of time, usually between 30-minutes to 1-hour, and use that time to write every single day of the week.

In that time, you can take care of outlining, drafting, editing, or whatever else you need to do. You can focus on one post or work on batching during that time period. As long as you’re working on content, you’re golden!

This method is great because you won’t have the pressure of working right up to a post deadline. Instead, you’ll likely find yourself getting ahead with your content! When I’m consistent with this method, I usually end up with blog posts and emails written a couple of weeks ahead of time.

When starting out, pay attention to which part of the day allows you to focus on your writing the best. For me, mornings are way better than any other time. If I write first thing in the morning my mind is clear and the content flows much more quickly than it does at any other time.

Method 3: Break it up

If you find that writing a whole post at once or sitting down for a set period of time to work is overwhelming, this method may be for you!

In this method, you break up the different parts of content creation and focus on one part each day. Here’s how I’ve been doing it for the past couple of months:

• Day 1: Outline – Write the main points of the post and then go back and add bullets with the points you want to make for each main topic.
• Day 2: Draft – Add space between each of the main topic ideas and start turning the bullet points into sentences, paragraphs, and actionable steps. You should end up with a solid draft after this is done, but the outline will make it much easier than you’re probably used to.
• Day 3: Proofread + Format – The day after you complete your draft, go back through and take care of proofreading and formatting the post. If Day 4 isn’t relevant to you, you can also get your post scheduled to go out on your blog!
• Day 4: Create Content Upgrade – If you create content upgrades to go with your posts, you can reserve the last day for taking care of that.

Breaking up your posts in this way will allow you to avoid the overwhelm you may be used to. You’ll be able to come back to your post with a fresh mind each day, leaving you with a higher-quality final product. You’ll likely find that your content is written in a much more patient and thoughtful way, and spreading it out over several days will even allow you time to generate a few extra ideas!

Is content creation getting easier?

Now that you’ve got a solid list of content ideas and a good strategy for creating content, make a plan for getting one month’s worth of posts planned and written. Whether you knock them all out within a week or two or plan one post per week, be sure you have a plan in place so you can hold yourself accountable.