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Are you struggling to create consistent and valuable content that markets and represents your brand? In today’s episode, Amanda Warfield joins us to share how you can remove yourself from the content creation hamster wheel and avoid the burnout that comes with creating content inconsistently. Listen in as she shares how you can utilize a batching system to create consistent content that will build trust with your audience.
Show up consistently instead of constantly.
Amanda is a simplicity-focused time management & business strategist, and host of Chasing Simple – a podcast to help creative entrepreneurs un-complicate their life and biz.
She traded in her classroom lesson plans for speaking and educating creatives on sustainably enjoying work/life balance, and her clients and students have gained back time, energy, and mental clarity.
Her mission is to help overwhelmed entrepreneurs take back their time and energy, so that they can stop trying to fit it all in, stop feeling guilty for spending time not being “productive” and stop feeling worn out and defeated at the end of each day.
If her nose isn’t in a book, you can find Amanda annoying her husband by slipping Disney into every conversation, or forcing her cats to snuggle.
Getting Stuck on the Content Creation Hamster Wheel
If you find yourself struggling week after week to keep up with pushing out content, you’re likely stuck on the content creation hamster wheel. It’s so easy to get stuck in the content creation process when you’re not being intentional with your content or time.
Let’s help you navigate this change by establishing your goal of creating content and why it’s important.
Building the Know, Like, & Trust Factor Through Consistency
The first thing you need to consider is how you’re building the know, like, and trust factor with your audience. While your audience may not resonate with every single piece of content you put out there, it’s important that you’re being consistent. That consistency builds a trust with your audience in knowing that you’re providing value to your audience on a consistent basis.
Why Content Creation Feels Exhausting
When you are putting out consistent content, it can feel exhausting, but why? It’s because you’re creating it non-stop. When we think back to that content creation hamster wheel, you’re stuck on it because week after week, you’re having to start from scratch.
This cycle eliminates your freedom for creativity, because it becomes a chore. So how do we combat this? Thankfully, Amanda is going to introduce us to batching.
Batching Your Content
How different would your time management look if you were to batch? Could you eliminate the week after week stress of having to come up with new content?
As business owners, we’re not just working on our own brands, we have clients and projects that have to be completed, so when we batch a month of content out, we’re giving ourselves the space and freedom to eliminate that stress.
Amanda’s preference is to set aside a full week of batching, whereas my own preference is to handle it in just a day or two. Finding a system that works for you is important, but I’d love to see you give content batching a try to see the impact it can have on your business and your life.
Must-Haves in Your Content to Inspire Connection
Once you’ve created a plan to create content, let’s look at what you need in order to inspire connection. Two key things you need to consider in your content creation process include:
- Consistency that will build trust
- Having high quality content
We’ve already highlighted the importance of building trust and how to approach that, but what about high quality content? Here are a few things you need to include in every piece of content in order to connect with your audience and eventually get them to convert:
- Hook
- Strong Actionable Tips
- Call-to-Action
These are really important items to consider when you’re planning out your content for your batching, especially if you want your content to work for your brand.
Simplify & Be Intentional
While content creation is important in your business, it can also feel overwhelming. That’s why it’s important for business owners to consider simplifying what they’re creating and to be intentional in their content. It’s more important to show up consistently instead of constantly.
You can access a free lesson on the basics of content marketing by heading to amandawarfield.com/bonnie.
Catch the Show Notes
Get to Know Amanda (2:27)
Know, Like, & Trust Factor (5:40)
Why Content Creation Feels Exhausting (9:03)
Must-Haves in Your Content to Inspire Connection (11:54)
Encouragement for Content Creation (15:21)
Connect with Amanda
instagram.com/mrsamandawarfield
Grab the Freebie: amandawarfield.com/bonnie/
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Review the Transcript:
Bonnie:
Hi friend, and welcome to the brand strategy podcast. A show created to equip you with the inspiration, encouragement, and clarity. You need to build a brand of your dreams. I’m your host, Bonnie Bahktiari, brand designer, and founder of the Illume retreat from sustainable strategy to heartfelt encouragement. Each episode is designed to equip you with the tools you need to chase after your dreams, because you deserve a brand that empowers you to do what you love, connects with your dream clients and offers a deep sense of fulfillment along the way. So grab a cup of coffee and join the on this journey. Won’t you
Bonnie:
Friends. Welcome back to the brand strategy podcast, where today we have such an amazing conversation lined up for you. We’re talking about how using consistent content can actually help you create a strong brand. And this is a topic that I’m so excited to dive into because I know so many of us as entrepreneurs, we understand the importance of content. We spend so much of our time creating content, but learning the purpose behind that and how we can actually leverage our content to create a brand that is strong and inspires, consistent connection with our I clients is so important. And today I am joined by Amanda Warfield, who is a simplicity focused time management and business strategist. She’s also the host of the chasing simple podcast, which helps creative entrepreneurs, Uncomplicate life and business. She’s on a mission to help overwhelm entrepreneurs take back their time and energy. So they really stop trying to fit it all in stop, feeling guilty for spending time, not being quote unquote productive and stop feeling worn out and defeated by the end of each day. And I am over here just excitedly nodding, along as I share that with you, because there’s so much power in reclaiming that kind of control over our time and energy and Amanda, I’m so excited to get to learn from you and have you on the show so that we can have this conversation. Thank you so much for joining me.
Amanda:
Oh, well, thank you so much for having me Bonnie. I am so excited to be here and to get to talk about consistent content today.
Bonnie:
Amazing. Well, I am really excited to get to dive into this topic today, but before we do that, you share a little bit more about yourself and your incredible business.
Amanda:
Yeah, absolutely. So like Bonnie said, I’m a time management and business strategist for creative entrepreneurs. And when I first started my business, I’m sure many of you can relate to this. I was staying up until all hours of the night on Sunday nights, trying to get my blog post out for the week. And when I first started my business, I was side hustling. I was teaching preschool. And so it would be, you know, 1:00 AM 2:00 AM and I would be staring at this empty word doc, just waiting for something to come to me, anything to come to me so that I could get this blog post out and go to bed before I had to get up and go teach four year olds, how to, you know, share and get along and sit still and listen <laugh> and it was exhausting. And every single Sunday I would tell myself, all right, this is it.
Amanda:
I’m finally gonna get ahead on my content this week. I’m gonna make a better plan and I’m gonna do it. And then I’m not gonna end up like this on Sunday night again. And then inevitably, I ended up right at the same spot the next Sunday night and week after week after week, I just could not get ahead. I would finish my content for the week and would feel really good about where I was. And then I would realize, oh, it’s Sunday, night it again. And I haven’t done my content. And I was so frustrated because I couldn’t figure out how to balance creating content and trying to start running this business all while working full time. And eventually I realized that I could take something that I was actually doing in the classroom with my lesson plans and tweak that and make a system for myself to batch my content.
Amanda:
And then I finally had this extra space where I was able to get consistent and show up for my audience. And I did that behind the scenes for quite a few years before I ever mentioned online that I was batching my content. And when I just had happened to mention it one day on social media, people lost their minds <laugh> and I realized that maybe this was something that people needed to hear. And so from there, this really just evolved. And now here I am trying to spread the word to as many people as possible about the fact that you can create content consistently without being stuck on that content creation hamster wheel. And
Bonnie:
<affirmative>, that’s such an important message. And I think that, well, I certainly can resonate with parts of your story and I’m sure that those who are tuning in can as well, that, that idea of, um, you know, every time you turn around almost you feel like, oh, there’s content that I have to create and I gotta get it out there. And if we don’t have those systems in place, and if we don’t have workflows that actually work for us, it almost seems to just pile up. And I like how you call it the content creation hamster wheel, because you’re so right. That’s just kind of this never ending cycle that we can get stuck in. But I’m, I’m curious about, obviously the goal here is to create that consistent content and to do it in a way where we can actually like hop off that hamster wheel of hustle and content creation. Um, but how do you think that we can actually use consistent content to grow strong or profitable brands? How does that content piece fit in with our brand and the future success we can experience? So here’s
Amanda:
The secret because is we tend to overcomplicate content and we’ve got people telling us, oh, you need to have certain buckets and you need to have educational pieces and motivational pieces and this and that. And we really overcomplicate what we’re saying to our audience, when really the key to building your audience is creating no like, and trust having your audience begin to trust you and see you. And the way you do that is by showing up. When you say you’re going to, so simply by being consistent, that is how you build a strong brand. But so often, because we’re stuck on this content creation hamster wheel, we’ll put out content, put out content, put out content, we’ll get burnt out from being on that content creation hamster wheel. And then we just stop. We ghost our audience, we ghost our, whether it’s a podcast, YouTube blog, we ghost our people. And when we ghost them, we erode that foundation of trust that we’ve been staffed. And so every time you ghost your audience, you have to start over with building that no like, and trust factor. Whereas if you just stay consistent and you’re putting out content for them, when you say you will, and you’re showing up, when you say you will, you’re actually building a really strong brand just by keeping your promise
Bonnie:
When you put it like that. It all made sense. And you’re so right. I think that where we get stuck is we make content and how that fits into the growth of our brand and our ability to connect with our audiences. We make that harder than it has to be. And I think it’s because at least I can seek from personal experience. It can feel overwhelming when you have so many different marketing experts out there, or, you know, content strategists out there telling you like all, all the shoulds, right? Like you need to be doing this, you should be doing that. Um, and so it always feels like there’s some kind of piece that’s, that’s missing or some secret that we don’t know, but the way that you just broke it down and explained it as such a clear and easy to understand concept like that, that changes everything.
Amanda:
Yeah. And we, we try to follow all of these best practices, right. But here’s the thing. We collect marketing experts. We collect gurus, if you will, mm-hmm <affirmative> and we try to listen to everything that they tell you. But then what ends up happening is you’re trying to follow the best practices for five or six different things. Facebook, Instagram reels, which is Instagram, but almost its whole own thing. TikTok, email marketing podcast, YouTube blog, whatever. And we’re trying to show up in all these places to the best practices. And you’ve gotta think that each of those experts that you’re following, they’re educating on one place because they grew their business using one place mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so it’s just not possible to do all the things to best practices. But if you can show up consistently, you’re still going to be able to grow your business without having to just run yourself RA on that content hamster wheel.
Bonnie:
Mm. That makes so much sense. Now kind of along those lines, I, I hear from my audience frequently that creating content is exhausting. It’s like over and over and over again, like one of their least favorite things to do. And, and I get it. But why do, from your perspective, why do you think that so many entrepreneurs feel like creating content is exhausting?
Amanda:
It’s because they’re creating it nonstop. Think about it. If you are not creating your content ahead of time, that means that you are every single week. If not every goal day, you are having to create some kind of content. And here’s the thing, creating content is very draining. It is a lot of work. It’s a lot of mental energy. It’s a lot of creative energy. It’s a lot of strategic energy. If you are constantly creating content and you are never giving yourself that space to away, well, it’s really easy to become exhausted. And that’s how that burnout happens.
Bonnie:
That makes so much sense. So what would you suggest in order for us to kind of hop off that content creation, hamster wheel
Amanda:
Batch your content. So set aside one week, every single month and alls you do during that week is create content, create the content for the whole next month, schedule it out. And then you have three weeks where you don’t have to think about content, your content’s going out without you thinking about it. And you are showing up for your audience consistently. You’re showing up. When you say you will, you’re continuing to build that no like, and trust factor, but, but you not only have the time to work on other aspects of your business to truly grow your business and move the needle. But you also have all this space where you have more mental energy and your creativity can come flooding back in just in time for the next batch week.
Bonnie:
Hmm. That is so smart. I love have a good practical tip too. Having, having, you know, action based steps that we can implement makes it so easy to take action on some of the really exciting topics we dive into on the podcast. So I love that idea of breaking it out into a week so that you have multiple opportunities to batch that content. I, I per like to do mine over the course of a day or two days, but the idea of having a whole week sounds so spacious and I love that <laugh>
Amanda:
Yeah, I could probably fit it all into a day or two, but honestly, it’s really nice to have the whole week and just be able to focus on, okay, I’m working on recording podcast episodes today. I’m working on writing emails and social media the next day and so on and so forth so that I have that time and space to really think through the content that I’m putting out and get strategic with it and get creative with it.
Bonnie:
That makes complete sense. Well, okay. When we’re thinking through, let’s say that we’re taking action based on this amazing advice to batch our content. We’re, you know, planning our content creation week, what are some things or some must haves that we should include in our content to help us inspire connection with our audiences and in the long run, grow our audiences.
Amanda:
So the two keys to growing your audience through content is that first piece is consistency that we already talked about showing up consistency in building that trust. The second piece is having high quality content. Now, what I mean by that is, I mean, content that you’ve thought through again, taking the time to think through strategically what you’re putting out and why you’re putting it out, making sure that you’re actually sharing valuable information versus just, I have to get something out and throw it out right now. Mm-hmm <affirmative> anything and everything, but making sure that you’re really sharing strong content with your audience. And those are really the only two things that you really have to worry about comes to creating your content. Like I said earlier, we tend to really overcomplicate what we’re saying and when, and oh, I’ve gotta have this type of content and this type of content and this type of content, as long as you’re showing up and giving your audience what they’re asking for, you’re giving them high quality content and you’re showing up consistently, you’re going to build that engagement with them.
Amanda:
You’re going to build that no, like in trust, but if anyone really wants something practical for that three things that I make sure I include in every piece of content, first is a hook, hook them in, give them something right off the bat that says, Ooh, yes, I need to keep watching, listening, reading then strong, actionable tips are always really helpful. Make sure you’ve got some kind of outline and purpose in mind with your content. And then finally a call to action with every single piece of content that you put out that may be as simple as leave an emoji on this Instagram post to let me know that you enjoyed it well <affirmative> or save this for later on this Instagram post or subscribe to my YouTube channel, leave a review. It could be anything. It doesn’t have to be this super complicated call to action. It doesn’t have to be go buy this thing, go join my email list, but having some kind of call to action so that you know, that you’ve got a clear purpose for the, that piece of content is really important.
Bonnie:
That is such fantastic advice. I absolutely understand that like those action based steps can help us create content. That is like you said, creating that like, you know, trust factor, but also it’s taking it one step further and it’s, it’s committing to showing up and sharing that, that quality content. And that makes such a difference. I know, I always appreciate, and I feel, uh, kind of, uh, almost a sense of, you know, kind of brand loyalty to content creators and entrepreneurs who consistently I see them putting out quality content that helps me, or, you know, really resonates with me or even just like consistently makes me laugh. And so I, I understand that like our audiences, they resonate in the, in a similar way and, and they want for us to be creating that, that quality content. So I really appreciate those tips. And I’m curious, one question I always like to ask, uh, towards the end of every episode center is around encouragement and kind of some final, uh, encouraging takeaways for our listeners. So for those who let’s say you are, uh, let’s say that you are sitting down with those who are tuning in today and you are sharing a cup, a cup of coffee with them, or your favorite beverage. And you see that they’re ready to take intentional action towards Jeff off that content creation hamster wheel. They’re ready to say, Amanda, I hear you. I’m ready to take action. Let’s do this. What kind of encouragement would you wanna share to them to get them going on their Merry way? So
Amanda:
First, very practical encouragement, go ahead and put a date on your calendar, set aside a week to batch your content. That is the best thing you can do is intentionally set aside that time to do it, but then a little not so practical friend, this is your permission slip to simplify your content creation plan. You do not need to put out as much content as you think you do, and your life is going to be a lot easier. If you can simplify what you’re trying to put out and instead focus on showing up consistently instead of constantly.
Bonnie:
Mm that’s amazing encouragement. I love the mix of more of the inspirational and heartfelt and the action based here on the brand strategy podcast. We love, we love a good dose of action based advice, but also we are heart centered entrepreneurs and resonating with the ways that we can be taking an action towards building sustainable businesses that propel us towards how we individually define success. I have a hard time imagining, and I speaking for myself here, but maybe those who are tuning in today can resonate as well. But I have a hard time imagining that when we think about our big picture, vision of success for our businesses, probably endlessly creating piles and piles of content, doesn’t make the list. I know it certainly doesn’t make the list for me. <laugh>
Amanda:
No, and it, it really, when you free up that time to not be creating content constantly, it is amazing how much free time you’ll find. I have students constantly tell me, like, I don’t know what to do with myself anymore because I’m not creating content all the time. I have no idea what to even work on anymore and they’re working so much less because of it.
Bonnie:
That is amazing. Well, Amanda, I know of it. Those who are tuning in today, they’re gonna wanna get to follow along with you. See more of your incredible content creation strategy and advice, and maybe even learn more about the ways they can work with you. So where can they find you online?
Amanda:
So the very best place to find me honestly, is Instagram. I am always on stories because I have the freedom and the mental capacity to be on stories and something I do every single month when I’m doing my own personal bash week, I share the behind the scenes of it. So be sure to come follow me. I’m at Mrs. Amanda Warfield, and you can get a really great behind the scenes, sneak peek at how I’m doing it. Mm
Bonnie:
Love it. And friends who are tuning in today as always, I’m gonna have all of Amanda’s links in the show notes for today’s episode. So if you wanna go to brand strategy, podcast.com and click on the link for the latest episode, you’re gonna be able to find today’s episode and everything that we’ve talked about and her links. And on top of that, you’re also gonna find the link to this amazing free resource that Amanda is sharing with us. She is giving us access to a free lesson on the basics of content marketing. And like I said, you can head to brand strategy, podcast.com and grab that. Or if you are in a hurry and you wanna get your hands on it, you can also go you Amanda warfield.com/bonnie and Amanda, what kinds of goodness can we expect when we dive into this incredibly generous free lesson that you’re sharing with us?
Amanda:
Yeah. So this is actually the very first lesson inside of my, my membership club content batching, and over a hundred students, I’ve gone through this now, and this lesson will teach you the basics of what you need to know in order to move forward, to create your own batch week, to create your own marketing plan, to create your own strategy. And it’s a really great jumping off point. So if you’re interested at all in simplifying what you’re doing with your content marketing, definitely go check that out.
Bonnie:
Uh, amazing. Thank you so, so much for sharing that with us, Amanda, I’m so excited for, uh, people to get to dive into that free lesson. And I so appreciate you sharing your expertise with us today. This has been such a fantastic conversation and I, I so appreciate you.
Amanda:
Well, thank you so much for having me. I had so much fun chatting
Bonnie:
Friends. Thank you again for tuning in to today’s episode of the brand strategy podcast with Amanda. If today’s episode resonated with you or you learned something and you wanna share the advice and the wisdom that Amanda shared with us today, be sure to, uh, recommend the brand strategy podcast and specifically this episode to an industry friend or a colleague, and let’s make sure that more entrepreneurs have the free action based education. They need to build the brand of their dreams and as always your support and your positive reviews and listening to the podcast mean so much to me and help us do what we do over here. So thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. And as always, I am cheering you on from Waco.
Bonnie:
Thank you so much for joining me today, friend, before you go, I would be so grateful to receive your feedback on the brand strategy podcast. If you enjoyed this episode or the podcast in general has helped you grow your brand. I’d really appreciate it. If you left us a review in iTunes, your positive reviews enable the brand strategy podcast to continue to grow and reach like-minded creatives. Just like you. Thank you for all your support and encouragement as together. We pursue building Brands with purpose and intention until next time I’m cheer you on from Waco.
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