By Paras Singhal

Have you ever tried to build a house without a blueprint? It can be a lot of work, and it’s easy to make mistakes. The same is true for creating content without a content plan.

Without a content plan, you’re just winging it. You might get lucky and create some content that resonates with your audience, but it’s much more likely that you’ll waste your time and resources.

Before we get into the 7 steps on how to create a content plan that converts.

Let’s first define what a content plan is.

What is Content planning?

Content planning is the process of creating roadmap of your content.

Content plan tells you what you need to build (your audience, your goals, your resources), how to put it together (your content topics, formats, and channels), and how to make sure it’s structurally sound (your content creation and distribution process).

Content planning helps you stay organised and ensure that you are consistently publishing high-quality content that meets your goals.

Here’s how to create a content plan in 7 steps. 

1. Define your content goals

Here are a few things to consider:

• Who is your target audience? 
• What are their needs and interests?
• What are your competitors doing?

2. Choose your topics

 Choosing the right content topics is like finding the perfect fishing spot. You need to know where your audience is, what they’re interested in, and what they’re searching for. 

Looking at what’s popular on social media can be a good starting point for finding content ideas, but it’s not always the best way to go. That’s because a lot of popular content is driven by paid advertising, and it may not be relevant to your target audience.

A better way to find content ideas is to do keyword research. This will give you a better understanding of what people are actually searching for, regardless of platform.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to Google Trends.
2. Enter a keyword that your target audience is searching for.
3. You can also see related keywords and topics.
4. Google Trends shows keyword popularity and trends over time.

Let’s say you’re a parent who wants to create content about baby clothes. You could use Google Trends to find out that the keyword “baby clothes” is one of the most popular keywords for baby clothes content.

Keyword research can help you create content that is found by parents searching for baby clothes.

3. Choose the right content formats 

Not all content is created equal. The right content format can make all the difference in your marketing efforts.

The key is to create content that your audience will actually read, watch, or listen to. So take some time to get to know them and what they’re interested in.

Then, choose the content formats that will resonate with them the most.

Here are a few examples:

Visual learners: Infographics, videos, and presentations

• Text-based learners: Blog posts, ebooks, and whitepapers
• Audio learners: Podcasts and audio recordings
• On-the-go learners: Social media posts, short videos, and infographics.

4. Create a content calendar 

Building a content calendar is easy. Just start by brainstorming a list of topics that you want to write about. Then, schedule them out in a way that makes sense for your audience and your goals.

You can use a spreadsheet, project management software, or even a Google Calendar to create your content calendar.

Let’s say you’re a pet food delivery service and you want to create a content calendar for the month of October. You could start by brainstorming a list of topics that you want to write about, such as:

• The best dog food for puppies
• How to choose the right cat food
• Tips for feeding your pet during the colder months

Once you have a list of topics, you can schedule them out in a way that makes sense for your audience and your goals. 

By creating a content calendar, you can ensure that you’re publishing high-quality content on a regular basis, and that you’re reaching your target audience with the right messages.

5. Optimize your content for SEO 

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.

SEO is like a secret formula that helps your content rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). It’s not magic, but it can be a powerful tool for reaching your target audience.

To create content that searchers want, look at what’s ranking.

For example, if you’re creating a blog post about how to smoke brisket, you can look at the top-ranking results for the keyword “smoked brisket.” If all of the top results are recipes or how-tos, then you know that searchers are looking for that kind of content.

By optimising your content for SEO, you can increase your chances of ranking higher in search results and getting more traffic to your website.

6. Promote your content 

Your content’s impact is only as good as its reach. So once you’ve published it, you need to promote it so that people can find it. 

Without promotion, your content is just a whisper in the wind, lost and forgotten.

Here are some specific ways to promote your content:

• Share it on social media
• Email it to your subscriber
• Guest blog on other websites
• Run paid advertising campaigns
• Submit it to relevant websites and directories

7. Track your results

By tracking your results, you can make adjustments to your strategy as needed and ensure that you’re on the right track to success.

(IMAGE SOURCE: TRACK WEBSITE RESULTS IN GOOGLE ANALYTICS)

Google Analytics tracks your website visitors.

To use Google Analytics, create an account and add a tracking code. Google Analytics offers reports to track results, see what content resonates, and improve. Use Google Analytics to make sure content marketing is on track and achieves goals.

So get out there and start measuring your results!

It’s the best way to ensure that your content marketing is successful.

Finally…

Creating a content plan that converts is no easy feat, but it’s definitely possible with the right steps. But if you follow these 7 steps, you’ll be well on your way to creating content that engages your audience and drives results.

So what are you waiting for? Start creating your content plan today!

Article by Paras Singhal