Will Slowing Down Help Your Content Creation?

We’re all familiar with the hustle and bustle of content creation. You have to stay in front of your customers. You have to create consistent, valuable content to remain significant in the digital world. You have to be creating content aimed at your audience. You have to keep writing. Keep taking pictures. Keep shooting video. Keep making infographics. Produce. Produce. Produce.

This is the strategy for content creation in the digital age, right?

Yes and no.

Step back for five minutes. Take a look at your recent content creation efforts. How would you rate the quality of the content you are producing? Be honest. Is your content adding value to your audience’s lives? Or is it full of half-baked ideas designed to get your site ranking higher, but not providing any real value? Make sure you can answer these questions before you publish your content.

More Content Creation is Not Always Better

Producing on volume is not always the best idea. Thinking of a post idea in the morning and having it out the door before noon might be a recipe for publishing an idea that is not fully developed. You’ll have to be honest with yourself as to whether this is the case.

Think about it this way. Those of us in the service industry can run into problems when we sell our services on volume. It’s very easy to walk into a situation where you are producing more work and being paid less for it.

Develop a Content Schedule

It helps to plan ahead. It helps to know that during June you want to be talking about a specific subject. Creating a content schedule, or editorial calendar, can help you maintain a deliberate path, and fully develop your content creation ideas.

It also helps align your content with your marketing and sales goals, to attain the most from your efforts.

Step Away from the Computer

If you have any doubts about your content, it might be time to step away from the computer. Take the garbage out. Go for a walk. Empty the dishwasher. Take that small break to let your mind rest for a bit. The brain works in funny ways when it comes to creative endeavors. Sometimes relieving the pressure valve has remarkable impact.

You’ll be surprised at the fresh perspective you can come back with. Is there something you wanted to add? Should you wait another day or two before publishing? Again, be honest with yourself and work these things out beforehand.

Let Someone Else Read Your Work

Do you have a friend or colleague who can shoot you an honest opinion on your content? It might be time to involve them. It might be time to work with a copy editor if you sense that your work might benefit from another round of complete edits.

A fresh set of eyes can help you identify and address the issues with your work.

Keep The Big Picture in Mind

Each piece of content that you create has the potential to be the first point of contact with a new reader or customer. It is important to remain professional in your published content. These truths have significant impact whether you work in the B2b or B2c space.

Do your best to detach yourself from your work. Learn how to take an objective look at things from your customers’ perspective. Make sure you are providing something they will truly benefit from.

If you feel like your content falls short of that benefit, it might be time to work on it a little more before you publish. Don’t be afraid to seek out a second opinion or work with a copy editor.

It’s important to remain deliberate and slow down in your content creation in order to avoid publishing less than perfect work, or suffering from content burnout. What do you do to keep your content stellar?