In a world of constant pinging and notifications. A world where information is everywhere and knowledge is power. A world where everyone wants answers now. How do you stay relevant and front of mind? By creating consistent content. To some that may come easily. But for others, I know this can be a daily struggle. So today I want to share my top tips on how to create endless streams of epic content.

**This post may contain affiliate links. The services I share are the services I personally use and honestly recommend to anyone. No extra costs are incurred for you; the referral commission simply contributes to bringing you valuable content. 

Now before I scare you off with the idea that EVERY piece of content you create has to be epic. Let me just say, I threw that word in because it made the subject sound better. And it rated better in my headline analyser. I don’t want this to be something that prevents you from putting content out. Something is always better than nothing. Not every piece of content will be epic, but when you know how to create streams of it, not every piece has to be. Because you’ll be creating so much, that you only really need some of it to be epic. And the more you create, the easier it becomes.

Ok, now that’s out of the way, let’s get into how to create endless streams of epic content…

What is content?

According to dictionary.com content is:

Something that is to be expressed through some medium, as speech, writing, or any of various arts.

In terms of online business content is anything you share to amplify your brand voice. Content can be presented in many different formats. For example:

• Written (blogs, social media captions, eBooks, articles, tweets, emails)
• Spoken (podcasts, audio books, voice memos, songs)
• Visual (photos, graphics, memes, infographics)
• Video (tutorials, vlogs, lives, webinars)

By the way, in case you’re wondering, who is this girl and why is she such an authority on content? I’ve been creating content for my online business for close to 5 years now. But I was also creating content on the daily long before that.

Even before social media came to be, I was always creating something. As a kid I would draw, paint, write, press flowers, make cards, make paper. At one stage my friends and I started a band, and I was the song writer. Then there was school assignments, uni assignments, the constant stream of photos and videos.

The only difference is, before I was creating content for myself and the people I knew. Now I’m creating it for the internet.

So if you think about it, opportunities to create content are all around us.

Why is content important?

If you’ve known me for a while, you would’ve heard me say “people buy people, not products” once or twice. Your content is the best way for your audience to get to know, like, and trust you. It’s how you build relationships, show people what you stand for. Prove you’re an expert in your niche.

And ultimately build a magnetic personal brand.

Gone are the days when you can just whack up a picture of your product and expect people to be knocking down your door to buy it. Did those days ever exist? I’ve watched enough Mad Men to know content was just as important even before social media. It’s never just about a product, it’s always about the feeling.

And in a world where lots of people are vying to sell the same products. It’s not enough to just talk about the feeling the products will give. It’s all about the feeling buyer’s get from you. You are the special ingredient that makes your product or services different.

Ever heard of the Rule of 7? Basically it’s a pretty old marketing concept that states people need to see your message 7 times before they will buy from you. These days it’s said to be 7-21, depending where you look the number varies. But the main premise is the same. The more someone sees a message, the more likely they are to act.

You can read more about this concept here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/its-nagging-repetition-effective-communication-marton-jojarth/

In the case of your personal brand, you are your message, and your content is the delivery. So it goes without saying, the more content you create, the more memorable you become.

What types of content should you be creating?

In an ideal world, it’s good to create all types. This way you can appeal to people’s different styles of consumption.

Regardless what platform you’re on, you generally have the potential to create and share all forms of content.

Let’s take Instagram for example (because it’s my favourite). You have your standard feed posts which can include photos, graphics, quotes, long form captions, short videos, memes, podcast audio snippets, and more. Then you have IGTV for your longer videos. IG live where you can have your audience engaging with you. And stories which are great for sharing your day to day moments with people, plus you get to play around with fun filters. This is why I love Instagram. It’s so versatile and you can cater to all different styles in the one place. Plus you can create based on your mood. Some days I feel like sharing videos, other days I don’t want to talk. I love that Instagram gives me the flexibility to do what I like.

Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn allow you to share all these types of content as well. Blogs also allow you to embed all forms of content inside your posts as well, but the text is the most important part if you want to meet SEO guidelines. So if you don’t like writing, maybe blogging isn’t for you. YouTube is mainly for video but you can still write long captions to go with your video, upload audio like podcast episodes as an mp4, and create webinar style videos with text on the screen. However, most people are going to YouTube for engaging videos, not audio content, so if you don’t really like creating videos then maybe it’s not the place for you.

There’s really no right or wrong answer to what types of content you should be creating. It all comes down to what you actually enjoy creating, and what your audience responds well to.

My advice would be to first think about what you actually like to create and then choose the platform best suited to that form of content. But you can still test and play around with different forms if you like.

What makes creating content seem so hard?

From my experience the reason people struggle to create content is because they’re trying to be like everyone else.

They’ve made up this idea in their head of what content should look like, and if theirs doesn’t fit that specific model they think it’s not good enough to share.

I understand this, because even though it looks like I have it pretty down to an art. There’s times where I’ve struggled to create content as well.

And it always comes back to me looking at what everyone else is doing. When my mind is clouded with everyone else’s thoughts and opinions it’s difficult for me to think for myself. That’s when creating content becomes a drag.

“Comparison is the thief of joy.”

~ Theodore Roosevelt

There’s so many posts out there that tell you how to beat the algorithm, how to get more followers, how to get better engagement etc. What I’ve learnt is, as soon as that becomes your focus, your content loses it’s individual flavour. Which is the primary appeal of creating content in the first place.

So, instead of creating content you think you should be creating so you can beat the algorithm. Create content you actually want to be creating. The more joy you get out of your content, the better impact it will have. When I ditched following all the rules and trusted myself everything else naturally flowed.

Also, think about how you want it to make your audience feel. At the end of the day, new followers won’t mean a thing if you’re not thinking about nurturing relationships with your existing ones. Whenever I create content I ask myself whether it serves one of these main purposes – does it educate or does it inspire? That’s pretty much all I aim to do with my content. For others, their aim might be to make people think. Others might be to make people laugh. Consider what your goals are and as long as your content is serving that purpose, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. You do you.

Ok, ok, but how do I create all this content? Glad you asked…

How to create endless streams of epic content

1. Change the story you’re telling yourself

If you keep telling yourself content is hard, it’s going to be hard. Change that story. Content gets to be easy. Content gets to be easy. Say it one more time for the people in the back.

Content gets to be easy!

2. Start with what you’ve already got

Yesterday I spoke about how to declutter your digital life. One of my suggestions was to go through all your photos and notes. I don’t know about you, but I’m always jotting down notes when I’m out and about. I have so many ideas and half written posts that have never been shared. So whenever I’m feeling stuck, I just check my notes and I’m bound to find something.

And now I’ve actually dedicated a Trello board to keep track of all my ideas. I’m a natural writer so I tend to get my inspiration from words which is why I check my notes first. But if you’re more inspired by photos, go through your photos. You’ll be surprised how much gold you can find in there. A photo might jog your memory about a story you can share etc.

3. Journal

I journal pretty much every morning, and I’ve been doing this for years. Before I look at social media. Before I turn on my laptop and allow the noise of the outside world to clutter my mind. I journal.

I used to use prompts, now I just write. And then I draw a card from my oracle/tarot deck and that usually inspires a whole new stream of writing. Usually within those journal entries I end up with plenty of content ideas.

If journalling isn’t your thing, you can try voice notes, or record a video each morning where you just riff off what’s on your mind. When I first started working online and lived in Bali with some of my mentors they told me to get in the habit of recording everything. While I was there I didn’t journal as much, but I recorded daily videos, and these usually turned into content.

4. Get outside

If you’re struggling with content, learn not to force it. Instead take a breather. Allow yourself space. Get outside and ground yourself in nature. Get some sunshine. Breathe in the fresh air.

Humans are connected to the earth, and when we’re in it, there’s the potential for so much inspiration to strike. I go for a walk to the beach every morning. And by the time I come home I’ve usually recorded a bunch of content ideas. This is how I have endless streams of content. Because I’m always out allowing myself to be inspired.

Magic doesn’t happen when it’s forced. Magic happens when you’re in flow and feeling good.

5. Document more than you create

If you find the idea of content creation really overwhelming, start by documenting things instead. This is why I love Instagram stories so much, it’s like a daily vlog without all the time consuming editing.

As for your feed, think of it as a document of your life. This is how I started building my brand. I just shared what I was doing every day. Eventually I found my niche and started putting more thought into my content. But even now, a lot of the time I’ll just share stuff on the fly. When you learn something share it. When you’re inspired by something share it. Read a good book, share it. You get my drift…

When you’re out and about, take a nice picture, and share it. If you’re worried about not being able to come up with captions on the fly, wait until you get home and can sit down and put a little thought into what you want to say.

6. Pay attention to what your audience wants

How do you think I came to write a blog post about how to create endless streams of epic content? Because my audience is constantly asking me how I create so much content. I know it’s something they struggle with, so this is one of the key topics I talk about.

These days every platform has insights so you can see what content is performing well. When you find something that works keep creating more of that. You can also repeat the same things over and over in different ways. Remember the Rule of 7!

7. Look outside your niche

Instead of following hundreds of people in the same niche as you and getting stuck in comparison mode. Expand your horizons.

Read books on different subjects that interest you, listen to podcasts from outside of your niche. Broaden your network. This gives you new ideas and topics to talk about. And 9 times out of 10 you can find a way to relate something back to your business and niche.

You’d be surprised how many of my stories come from random conversations with people, tv shows, or other totally unexpected places.

Plus, when you’re building a personal brand, you don’t always have to talk business. You get to talk about YOU too. So anything you find interesting or inspiring or valuable, is worth sharing. It gives your audience more insight into who you are beyond your business.

8. Don’t overthink it

Stop worrying about the vanity metrics. About people that hold no weight in your life anymore (it really doesn’t matter what Sally from high school thinks). About judgement.

Does it mean something to you? Will it give value to the people that do read it and need to hear that message? That’s what matters. Show up and speak your truth. If it feels right to share, if it aligns with your vision and values, if you feel called to share it, share it!

9. Repurpose content

One of the best things I ever learnt was how to repurpose content. This is another reason why I love using Instagram stories or Lives. Usually I’ll jump on there with the intention of saying something quick and then I’ll get on a roll and keep talking.

I then come up with some golden nugget that I can turn into a tweet, which I then turn into a cute graphic for my feed. I can then expand on it and turn it into a blog post, podcast episode etc. And then email it out to my list.

That’s a really basic example. But this is how I’m able to always keep coming up with so much.

For an even more in depth look at this concept, check out this awesome post from Gary Vee where he shares how to create 64 pieces of content in a day. Read it here: https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/how-to-create-64-pieces-of-content-in-a-day/

10. Have regular content topics

If you’ve followed me for a while you would know I have a few key topics I talk about. My overall niche is entrepreneurship and personal branding. And within that wider niche I generally focus on a few key areas – content creation, storytelling, personal styling, brand design/aesthetics, and spirituality (or woo as I like to call it).

People know they can come to me and expect to hear about these topics. And it makes it easy for me to create content because there’s so much I can talk about within these areas.

If you were to think about your own niche, what are 5 key topics you could talk about regularly?

11. Batch your content

Batching means you create a whole bunch of content in one go. For example, someone who hosts a podcast may record 5 or so episodes in one day. If each episode is about an hour they can have this done in half a day. Provided they have already planned the content of the episodes in advance.

Bloggers could write a few blog posts in one day and then have them set to go for a few weeks.

Same goes for vloggers, or influencers. You could spend a day or two out and about creating multiple different images/videos in various outfits. Then you have enough content to work with for a few weeks or even months.

It sure beats the stress of trying to go out to take photos or record videos when you’re really not feeling it. When you batch your content it not only saves you time, but it also helps you to create better quality content because you’re not doing it out of urgency and necessity. You’re in the zone and focused on one task – creating quality and intentional content.

For a behind the scenes look at a content batching day check out this post: https://jadescarfone.com/2019/08/how-to-save-time-by-batching-your-content/

12. Use a planning tool

This takes batching one step further. Once you have a bunch of photos and other content at your disposal, you can plan it all out in advance using a scheduling tool. I love Planoly for Instagram because it’s an approved partner, plus it’s really visual. So I can see exactly how my feed is going to look before I post.

I can do all my planning on my laptop then it automatically synchs with the app on my phone and reminds me to post on the day.

For a list of all the Facebook/Instagram approved partners go here: https://www.facebook.com/business/partner-directory

For more information on planning and scheduling tools check out this post: https://jadescarfone.com/2019/08/how-to-plan-and-schedule-your-content/

And there you have it, my top tips on how to create endless streams of epic content. Have fun creating consistent and valuable content and making your brand stronger than ever.

Jade xo

I hope you got lots of value out of this article. As usual, if you like what you’ve read feel free to like, comment, or share. Your time reading my posts is greatly appreciated.