Content batching is a time-saving productivity hack used by many entrepreneurs. If you’re new to creating content strategically, I’m going to walk you through my four-step process for how to batch content. This is my personal process and I’ve used it for a variety of content over the last few years. Batching content can work for any industry and any content platform!
What is Content Batching?
Before we get to the how to batch content piece, let’s go over what that actually means. Content batching is a way to segment your content creation process into easy-to-manage pieces. This productivity technique breaks the finalized piece of content down. You’ll work on one step at a time during content batching.
Think of Henry Ford’s method of the assembly line. This allowed Ford to mass produce cars quicker and more efficiently. That’s how you want to be with your content. And when you save time, you save money.
Let’s Learn How to Batch Content
These four steps are going to walk you through how I personally batch my content.
If you’d prefer to watch my YouTube video on HOW TO BATCH CONTENT! Get my EASY 4 STEP PROCESS and SAVE HOURS of TIME with this PRODUCTIVITY HACK! I’m linking it below. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel so you’ll never miss my next video!
Step One – Brain Dump
In step one, you’re literally going to write down all of your ideas. You can dump them in a notebook, your notes on an iPad or tablet, or even a task management system like ClickUp. I love using ClickUp for my YouTube channel because I can track the progress from idea generation to completion.
I keep a running list of all of my ideas in ClickUp and I have them color coded by category. This can be used for Instagram, blogging, YouTube, or even podcast production. ClickUp is a free tool, but I’ve upgraded to the paid version so I can use custom category features like you see below. I love using this platform because I always have it with me on my phone. You can get your own ClickUp account here!
When you are brain dumping, you are literally writing down everything in your brain. So if I’m brain dumping for YouTube videos, I’m writing down every idea that comes to mind. I don’t care if it’s a “bad idea” or something SEO-friendly–I’m just writing down everything! I’ll then sort through it prior to the next step. This allows my brain to free up some space.
Step Two – Take Action!
Now that you have all of the ideas from your brain dumping, you can start taking action. Let’s say you are content batching for YouTube.
The first step for a YouTube creator is to pick out 3-5 ideas from your content ideas list. Then you’ll need to keyword research and outline the topic. After that, you’ll film. So for each of the 3-5 topics, you’ll do the research first and then the filming. That’s the only action you’ll do during this step.
Each content platform is going to have different needs during this step. For example, a podcaster isn’t just going to hop on a recording platform and find a guest immediately. They’ve taken the time to find guests, get the questions for the interview, and then they record the session. Some podcasters may record a bunch of sessions one week, but they’ve already batched the pre-recording piece.
If you are a blogger, check out my post on How I Batch My Blog Posts and my content creation process for this platform.
About a month ago I told my mastermind cohort that I had filmed 15 reels for Instagram. They were all astonished at how I filmed 15 reels in one day. I had to remind them that I only filmed the reels. I didn’t edit them, write captions, or research hashtags. That isn’t part of step 2 of the content batching process.
Remember, this step is just about taking action and getting the content created. Don’t overthink it and worry about “on the spot editing.” When I write blog posts, I literally just write. I don’t look at grammar or spelling, I just get the information out. Whatever content you need to produce, go create it!
Step Three – Edit and Refine
At this point, you should have a few pieces of content to edit and refine. Back to our YouTube creator example, you may have 3-5 videos that have been filmed.
Filmed does not mean anything beyond the action recording of the content. For one video, you might have 10-100 clips that you need to edit, organize, and put together in a way that makes sense for the content consumer.
Bloggers may take their initial rough draft and start editing it. They will also make sure it is keyword rich, SEO friendly, and up to par with their grammatical standards. Where a podcaster will take all of their audio sessions and begin editing them. They will remove bloopers and any filler words like “um” as well as add in any ads plus the intro, outro, and music.
Again, each content platform will need something different during this step. You are not publishing content immediately after editing and refining. This is to finalize it so it is ready for the end user.
Those 15 reels I mentioned above, this is where I would edit them. I’d also create a rough draft for the caption since Instagram Reels need both written copy and video editing.
Step Four – Put a Bow on It!
This is probably my favorite step of content batching! I finally get to create the graphics and get it ready to share with the world.
After going through the three previous steps, you’ll have a backlog of content that is ready to be finalized. Start going through those content pieces and figuring out what you need for each one.
YouTube creators will need thumbnails and video descriptions. Podcasters will need show notes and maybe a special episode cover art. Bloggers will need pin graphics. All of these content pieces still need social media graphics and a marketing plan.
As you’ve finished creating 3-5 YouTube thumbnails, writing the descriptions, and uploading the video to the platform, you’re not done yet. You’ll need to create and schedule social media posts, write a blurb for your email newsletter, and plan to market it to your ideal client avatar.
Stick with your overall content calendar and you’ll be way ahead of schedule. That’s the beauty of content batching!
Why Batch Content?
Content batching gives you time freedom. Instead of waking up and trying to figure out what to post on social media today or what YouTube video you should film next, you’ll already have a plan to implement.
I enjoy content batching because it keeps me from context switching. If I had to film and then edit and write, I’m all over the place. But if I can film 3 videos back to back and not have to worry about editing until a few days or weeks later, my brain is happy!
Using ClickUp, I’m able to track where each piece of content is in my content batching process. From ideation to completion, I want to know where I am at with creating content. This tracking will keep you accountable to your content creation goals.
Content batching also allows you to be consistent. A lot of business owners struggle with consistency when it comes to content creation. Following this process will keep you in line with your content calendar. This helps get your content out in front of your audience and the public much quicker!
Not a fan of one of the content batching steps? Outsource it! There are a plethora of video and podcast editors out there as well as graphic designers and blog writers. If you have the money to outsource, go for it. If you have the time to do the work, but not the money, then roll up your sleeves and get to work, friend!
We all know that content is what builds our know, like, and trust factor. Having a potential client KLT you faster will get them to hire you quicker. This is all a part of building a successful business.
Are you batching content? What works best for you?
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