A Simple Content Strategy for Creative Online Business Owners

A Simple Content Strategy for Creative Online Business Owners

A Simple Content Strategy for Creative Online Business Owners

A Simple Content Strategy for Creative Online Business Owners

by

Caroline Zook

ould you believe we stopped posting on social in 2021 and our business actually grew?

ould you believe we stopped posting on social in 2021 and our business actually grew?

ould you believe we stopped posting on social in 2021 and our business actually grew?

If you’re absolutely EXHAUSTED from trying to keep up with the Instagram and TikTok algorithms, keep watching because there IS a way to eventually break free from the clutches of daily content demands. And we're here to unveil that secret strategy.

Fighting against the advice of more 🙅‍♀️🙅‍♂️

It seems like every podcast and tutorial out there is chanting the mantra of "more, more, more" when it comes to content.

🗣️ "Post ten times a day! Establish a LinkedIn presence! Why haven't you joined TikTok yet?"

But guess who's singing that tune? People who have their personal camera crews following them around, documenting every moment. People with creative teams that rehash content 20 different ways a day and meticulously manage each and every platform on their behalf.

And if that's not your reality... we're right there with you!

Is the daily content hamster wheel a necessary part of running a successful business? OR... could there be a content strategy for solo entrepreneurs or small teams that emphasizes "enough" content on platforms you genuinely enjoy?

Well, we wanted to test that for ourselves, so we stopped posting daily social media content almost two years ago. We hopped off the algorithm train and instead, we came up with a more sustainable strategy that we call our “Content Salad Strategy 🥗,” which has allowed us to actually get MORE customers in the past two years, without posting on Instagram and without ever opening TikTok.

Be smart about your content strategy

 

There are 3 parts to our Content Salad Strategy 🥗: You have the lettuce, the toppings, and the dressing.

Are you ready for a SIMPLE yet incredibly powerful way we strategically tackle different content platforms, all while keeping your sanity intact and your revenue growing? Great, grab your business forks and let's dig into this salad metaphor!

3D Shape

Content Salad Strategy Priority #1 is your Evergreen Content aka "Lettuce"

There are two categories of content lifespan: Evergreen and Ephemeral

Evergreen content is medium to long-form content, and it can be discovered months or even years after it’s created, like a YouTube video or a blog post like the one you're currently reading. Ephemeral content has a much SHORTER shelf-life, it rarely lives on more than a week or two after it’s posted, if not gone in a day, like an Instagram story, a tweet, or a TikTok video.

Evergreen vs Ephemeral Content

 

For your lettuce, you want a powerhouse primary content channel that's all about Evergreen content, and it needs be on a platform where fresh eyes can stumble upon it.

That last bit is the real kicker because this Evergreen foundation is what will still be bringing NEW faces into your brand world, long after you've said goodbye to those fleeting social media posts.

We recommend publishing 8-10 blog posts for your Evergreen Foundation

These are 8-10 meaty, long-form articles that should strategically target several SEO keywords linked to your business that your audience is actively searching for.

📌 Further reading: Are you completely lost when it comes to SEO? Us too! We've learned a thing or two and you can read everything we know about SEO here.

Blogging is NOT dead yet!

People are still on the hunt for answers, asking Google for solutions. And guess what? They're not stopping anytime soon. Until this behavior becomes obsolete, SEO-driven traffic is still a huge asset to your business.

We STILL get hundreds of new email subscribers a month coming from organic search to our articles, and that passive traffic is a huge part of why we don’t have to post on social media.

Stop putting off this foundational task to your content strategy! Get working on your Evergreen foundation articles (your "lettuce") today!

Bazzoon

Content Salad Strategy Priority #2 is your Tasty Toppings aka Ongoing Content

You've put your lettuce on your plate, now it's time to add consistent flavor to your salad! This is where your trust-building, ongoing NUTURE content comes into play.

An absolute non-negotiable ongoing content item is an email newsletter

It might sound unsexy, but email newsletters are still incredibly effective at driving sales, and it is the best way to capture the attention of your audience AWAY from social media platforms.

Content Strategy with Email List

 

We can directly tie $4,000,000 in business revenue to our email newsletter in the past decade! Email is not dead and it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

The consistency of your email newsletter, ideally on a weekly basis, forms an incredible relationship with your audience, which is the key to great marketing.

If you're looking to add an additional tasty topping to your content strategy, we'd recommend YouTube videos or podcast episodes. The biggest thing to remember here is that the goal is to build TRUST, deliver value, and establish your authority with your audience (ongoing!)

Fuzzy Donut

Content Salad Strategy Priority #3 is your Dressing aka Ephemeral Social Content

Does coming up with social media content ideas stress you out? Well, we have a SUPER EASY tactic to help you come up with ideas:

Take your foundation content or your nurture content and you want to repackage that into bite-sized social media posts.

Boom! Simple. This is where your YouTube Shorts clips, Instagram Reels, Tweets, or TikTok videos come into play.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Your social content should guide people BACK to your lettuce and tasty toppings

Remember, the entire goal here is to get off the hamster wheel of daily content creation on social media. By using social media content to grow your nurture channels, you end up more in control of your audience growth and less beholden to algorithms.

Quit using social media

 

You absolutely may need to use social media for 3-6 months if you're just getting started in growing your email newsletter, YouTube subscribers, or podcast listeners.

But the endgame is to build up organic search traffic so that your audience is growing on its own, not because you're posting something new daily.

Yellow spiral

Content Salad Strategy Wrap-Up!

The most important thing we want for you is a content strategy that works on your behalf. One that doesn't require you to feel stressed and constantly chasing the latest trend.

An email newsletter, a YouTube channel, a podcast, all of these content types are so much easier to maintain and build trust with your audience.

We've absolutely loved being off social media for the past two years while watching our business revenue grow and we want the same thing for you!

Our days are now calmer, our focus is sharper, and we can tackle the game-changers in our business without the constant hum of Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, etc in the background.

While you may not be able to hop off the daily content treadmill TODAY, right now, you can ABSOLUTELY pave your way to a social media off-ramp.

Start your content strategy today

 

To start today, give our Content Salad Strategy 🥗 a whirl...

  1. 🥬  8-10 SEO-friendly articles as your foundation

  2. 🥕  An email newsletter (optional: a podcast or YouTube channel)

  3. ✨  Sprinkling in social content that directs traffic back to your articles and series—until your organic traffic is consistently growing your newsletter without social media

It IS possible to have a simple, sustainable, and effective content strategy and to steer clear of social media… it just takes time, intention, and patience.

Want our time-tested advice on how to grow a Calm Creator business?

Want our time-tested advice on how to grow a Calm Creator business?

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Hey, I'm Jason!

Hey, I'm Caroline!

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Get our Growing Steady newsletter with 3 tips every Monday for making your business more profitable, more predictable, and more peaceful.

By subscribing you agree to with our Privacy Policy and provide consent to receive updates from our company.

© 2024 Really Awesome Company. All rights reserved.

Get our Growing Steady newsletter with 3 tips every Monday for making your business more profitable, more predictable, and more peaceful.

By subscribing you agree to with our Privacy Policy and provide consent to receive updates from our company.

© 2024 Really Awesome Company. All rights reserved.

Get our Growing Steady newsletter with 3 tips every Monday for making your business more profitable, more predictable, and more peaceful.

By subscribing you agree to with our Privacy Policy and provide consent to receive updates from our company.

© 2024 Really Awesome Company. All rights reserved.