One of my superpowers is creating consistent content for my business.
*Regular blog posts since 2010
*Four cookbooks since 2011
*Weekly newsletters since 2012
Do you struggle with regular content creation? Do you start strong with a good idea for a book, blog, or newsletter, but then fizzle out and lack consistency in the producing of the blog posts, newsletters, or cookbooks?
Consistency is king. Customers like consistency. It’s trustworthy. Publishers like consistency. It’s dependable. Your readers like consistency. They want to hear from you. They like what you write about.
In order to help you move from struggling and overwhelmed, I want to share my five secrets to consistent content creation.
1. Decide if you want to create consistent content. You can do this if you want to. If your answer is yes, then let’s do it! If your answer is no, that’s ok. Quit beating yourself up and move on to another way to spend your time.
2. Pick one day and a specific time: I write newsletter and blog post content once a week on Mondays. I spend no more than two hours to do this. I get it done and don’t have to worry about the newsletter or blog post until the next Monday. On Mondays, my sweet spot is between the hours of 8 – 10 am. I set myself up for success. I don’t schedule phone calls during this time. I don’t run errands during this time. I don’t go get coffee with a friend during this time. This time is for my content. Each and every Monday morning. For you, it might be midnight – 2 am. The time doesn’t matter. Just pick a time where you are awake, alert, focused. And I hear what you’re thinking: but I’ve got little kids, I have a job, I have so much to do, I’m so busy. If that’s the case, go back to #1 and decide.
3. Get yourself in a good feeling place before you write. I like to show up on Mondays (and every day, quite frankly) refreshed and ready. For me, this means I have completed my morning routine and I’m cleaned up for the day. I can’t produce when I’m sitting around feeling and smelling like I just crawled out of bed. I work better when I’m clean, dressed, smell good, and my household tasks that I do on Monday mornings are underway.
4. Show up at your computer or laptop. Sit down (or stand up if you want to), and write (or create). By the time I actually sit down, I have a topic in mind to write about. These topics pop into my head in a variety of ways, but most often they occur to me during my morning routine. (This routine is a no-brainer and consists of some quiet coffee time, breakfast with my son, clean up the kitchen, shower, and morning notebook time.) You’d be amazed how many ideas pop into my head when I’m focused on other activities. The biggest take away here is to have a way to capture the ideas on your phone’s notepad or in a notebook. Creative ideas flow all the time. Write the ideas down. And then, when you sit down to write, you don’t have to think of ideas, all you have to do is expand on them.
5. Control your brain. There are times when I sit down that my brain says, “OK, this is too much. You need to quit writing so much. Skip this one time – it’s not going to matter anyway. Head back to the kitchen. Get a snack. Watch some YouTube or scroll through Instagram. There’s no reason you should keep writing this much.” This is what our brains do. When we evolve, grow, write, create content, our brains think there’s danger lurking. It tells us the way we stay safe is to stay the same and not rock the boat. For a few minutes, I occasionally entertain my brain’s messages. I consider that I should stop writing newsletters, blog posts, and books. But I know better. I can outsmart my brain.
Give these secrets a try. My hope is that they take you from the feelings of struggle, overwhelm, and confusion, to feeling good, more consistent with your content, in control of your brain. If you master this, I know you can do absolutely anything!
Cookbook author, editor, and Culinary Dietitian Maggie Green, RDN, LD coaches first-time cookbook authors during the pre-publication phase of writing a cookbook.
Would you like to write a cookbook, but feel alone in the pre-publication phase of writing?
Are you stuck thinking about your cookbook idea or has you project fizzled?
Do you feel overwhelmed with publishing options and the recipes, photography, and publishing process?
I’ve been there. I know first-hand that there’s not a lot of support for first-time cookbook authors who don’t have an agent or a publisher yet. That’s why I started my work as a cookbook writing coach.
Here are a few resources for you as you venture into the world of cookbook writing:
Checklist
An 11-point checklist that helps you answer the question, “Am I Ready to Write a Cookbook?”
10 Reasons to Hire A Cookbook Coach