Is Your Content Creation Process as Efficient as It Could Be?
Is it hard to come up with new content ideas? Is it tough to earn audience attention? Don’t worry, we've all been there. I'll let you in on proven steps on how to improve content creation efficiency.
#1 Step to Improve Content Creation Efficiency: The Why
Start with your "why".Why are you creating this content in the first place? What problem are you solving? What value are you creating to your audience? Are you talking about something novel, unique, or exciting?
If you can't answer it, stop here. Go back to your idea bank and grab another one to give it a go.
Out of ideas? Well, if you really want to improve content creation efficiency, you should set up a brainstorming process to keep good ideas coming. You can grab my brainstorming template for that. Let me know how it goes!
#2 Step to Improve Content Creation Efficiency: Title
Your title is your "what".
A good title captures the essence of your content and is captivating at the same time. Tell me why should I click on it without saying it.
An awesome title is not worthy if your story doesn't live up to it. In that case, it's just pure clickbait. And you probably won't earn the click if your title doesn't do justice to the story. It's all connected.
Pro tip: I have an entire blog post on how your title can help you get the click.
#3 Step to Improve Content Creation Efficiency: Thumbnail
Your thumbnail is your "how".
A picture is worth more than a thousand words. What's new?!
But it's true. Out of the information we absorb, 90% is visual. Our brain processes images 60,000x faster than text, and prioritises visual over written information. We can't help but be visual creatures.
Thumbnails are an art in and of itself. To make it easier, just remember these key principles.
A good thumbnail doesn't contain more than 3 elements. Stuffing it with too much information is a rookie error. We feel like there's so much space to play with and tend to overuse it.
There are two great ways to test a thumbnail.
- Zooming hack - zoom out of your thumbnail to 15-20%. Can you still see the elements? Or is it just one big blur?
- Scrolling hack - put your thumbnail between two empty slides. Scroll through the slides quickly so you only get a glimpse of the thumbnail. Did you understand the message it was supposed to convey?
#4 Step to Improve Content Creation Efficiency: Description
Your description is your summary.
What are the key elements that build your story?
If you paid attention, you noticed that you've already prepared a cheat sheet for yourself.
Look at your "why", title, and thumbnail, and think about what would you as an audience member like to know more. You can think of your description as questions. What 3-5 questions pop up? These will define your core story.
The King of Content Creation Efficiency
Zach is the king. Zach King.
He's a renowned content creator with 150+ million followers on social media. King uses this approach to improve content creation efficiency.
Here's a structure from King's one of the most successful videos "Diving Into Vacation".
From the left:
- mock-up with a title, description, and thumbnail;
- work in progress, set design and rehearsal;
- final result.
How Can I Improve Content Creation Efficiency?
Could it be possible that the foundation of your content creation process is faulty?
We often tend to overcomplicate things by adding bells and whistles to improve our content creation process. In my experience, we should do the opposite. Going back to basics can really change the game.
These tips are a quick way to test if your content idea is viable. Planning and testing are key. They stop you from wasting time and money on random content that your audience will not appreciate.
You can use my content creation efficiency template to hit it off. Try it out and let me know how you'll do!
Want to Take Your Marketing Even Further?
If you found this content useful, you might be interested in how to improve brand visibility.
What If I Told You These Changes in Marketing Can Explode Your Brand?
If you want to grow your brand with some simple hacks anyone can do, let me know. Get a head start, because many companies are missing out on this!
Are you ready to shift gears? I’d be happy to help you out with content strategy and copywriting. Everything from A to Z.