I’ve been helping businesses with content for 17+ years and in that time, I’ve seen and heard a lot. One prospect I spoke with told me that they don’t plan their content, they just publish when they have something to say. Another prospect told me they tried to plan their content in the past but it didn’t stick.

I get it; creating a plan and sticking to it can be difficult. Just think about all the exercise regimens or diet plans people start but don’t finish.

A content plan can be the same way, but it doesn’t have to be.

In fact, if you’ve found yourself trying to stick to a plan but couldn’t, it’s probably not you. It’s the plan.

Components of a sticky content plan

A plan doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t implement it, so the best way to ensure you implement it is to make sure it’s a plan you can stick to.

Here’s what that looks like:

Clear priorities: you need to know what content not only supports your audience but also what content supports your business. Identifying a clear business goal to tie your content to will help you stay focused on your content rather than use your content to chase trends, which is exhausting and yields no return.

Flexible: a content plan is not written in stone; rather, it is your guide as you embark on your content journey.

Realistic: it’s so easy to want to create all sorts of content each and every day, but that’s not sustainable. A content plan built around your capacity is.

Repeatable process: a plan that has you guessing and wondering what you’re creating each week isn’t much of a plan. Knowing in advance what’s on the docket is much more manageable.  

Repurposing: as you plan your content, think about the different ways you can repurpose it down the road. That way, you’re planning for now and in the future.

Share it: a plan that’s hidden and never used isn’t much of a plan.

Accountability: check in with your weekly to make sure you’re staying on track.

Here’s the thing – businesses that plan their content see more success with content than businesses that don’t. Don’t believe me? Content Marketing Institute says 28% of B2B marketers say their content marketing is extremely or very successful, and guess what they attribute their success to? Have a documented content strategy and plan.

So if you’re not feeling particularly successful with your content, there may be an easy fix: content planning.

And if that’s the case, check out our content planning toolkit.

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