Once you’ve worked through the other steps of creating your marketing strategy – once you’re clear on your target person, your message, your channels and the content that needs to be created – you now need to figure out how to manage the resources you’ve got so you can actually get it done.
There are basically 2 options to consider when it comes to mapping out your content marketing production timeline.
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So how do you practically go about setting up a marketing strategy timeline to actually get your marketing strategy done?
Hi I’m DJ from Rainbow Dragon Digital and in this video I’m going to be explaining the the kind of practical thinking you need to use in order to map out your your production timeline and get your content created.
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Content Marketing Strategy So Far
When you get to Step Five of the Content Marketing Strategy, you’ve sorted out the other steps already:
- You’ve got your target person (Step One)
- You’ve got your USP (Step Two)
- You’ve got your channels chosen (StepThree)
- And you’ve thought about all of the content that you could be creating (Step Four)
Now it’s time to sit with all of those ideas, all of those content ideas and figure out what can actually be achieved.
I’m just gonna give you some ways of thinking that might help you with mapping out that timeline.
Start By Working Backwards
The first thing to think about is to make sure that you work backwards from any piece of content.
In that, you start with the what the content is and then the step that needs to happen just before that, how long will that take?
The step that needs to happen just before that – how long will that take?
Then the step before that step before that.
Then you get a good measure of how long you need to create a piece of content.
Example: Creating A Video Blog
- An example might be creating a video blog.
- The last step is the video blog is published.
- The step before that is uploading the video blog to my blog.
- The step before that is uploading the video blog to YouTube.
- The step before that is getting the video blog edited.
- The step before that is recording the video blog.
- The step before that is planning what I’m going to write in the title and all of that.
Those are all the steps that need to happen now, but how and when that happens is the next thing that I’m just about to talk about.
Two Choices When Deciding on Your Content Production Timeline
When figuring out how and when things are going to happen you’ll either look at all the content and, maybe, on first look you’ll think, “Yep, this is all stuff I can create. I’ve got enough time, I’ve got enough resources, I’ve got all of the equipment I need. I can do this. I’ll just map this out and do it.”
If that’s the case, excellent, go for it, you’re on your way.
However, most of the time entrepreneurs look at the steps required and think, “I am not going to be able to do all of that. I want to publish all of these things, but I’m not going to be able to do all of it.”
So you have two choices.
First is that you Push It To Later.
You have limited time and you have limited resources. You’re doing other things and not just marketing in your business.
So this piece of marketing may need to happen later.
That’s okay.
Be okay with pushing some things to later, if need be.
Second is Bring In Resources
There are some strategies, there are some marketing pieces, where you will say, “No, this has a deadline, and it has to be done sooner. It absolutely has to – it cannot be pushed to later.”
In that situation you then need to pull in resources to get this thing done sooner.
You could burn the the the candle at both ends, or burn the midnight oil, or whatever the saying is, to tire yourself out and get it done. Whether that’s something you want to do or not is up to you.
I think it makes more sense that if you need to get something done sooner pull in resources that will be able to do it for you.
This is where having a slow, structured approach really helps. It means that you’ve now planned this out really well, so that pulling in the resources at that stage is a cinch. You say, “This is what I need, I need you to create it. How much will it be?” Then you can get a quote and you can get it done.
So those are really your two big ways of doing it. Either push it to later, if you’re gonna do it yourself, or pull in resources. It really really is that simple.
Marketing Strategy Golden Rule
I would like to make sure I emphasise on this point especially at Step Five: Keep It Simple. Keep your marketing as simple as possible.
It is too, too easy to go crazy because in the end marketing is not just one thing, it is a bunch of little things that all work together.
So there will be lots – there will be lots to do.
Resist the urge to do everything and keep it as simple as possible. Keep it as limited as possible.
Then your production timeline will make sense and will motivate you to keep going.
Motivation Comes in Breaking It Down
On that last point, I just want to emphasise the benefit of breaking your bigger marketing strategy down into small tasks, that you achieve and you check off a list somewhere.
There is a function of our brains that makes us happy whenever we complete a task. (It’s a release of dopamine!)
So, break it down into little tasks that you can complete and with every little task you complete you’re a little bit motivated to do the next one.
Make sure that that timeline is not too complex but broken down enough so that it doesn’t feel like you’re not going anywhere.
I hope you got something out of this blog and if you did, if you didn’t, please feel free to email me or comment below to tell me your thoughts.
I would love to hear from you especially if you’re doing something ethical or sustainable or trying to change the world in some way.