5 Tips to Work Smarter, Not Harder When Creating Content

If you’re a small business owner - especially you solopreneurs, you know the pressure of constantly creating fresh content for your business marketing. Between social media, blogs, emails, and videos, it can feel like you're on a never-ending hamster wheel of content creation.

But here's the good news: you don't have to create new content from scratch every single time! 

The key to a sustainable content creation plan isn't about working harder – it's about working smarter. It’s a plan that maximizes and repurposes your content effectively so you can create more impact with much less effort.

We’ve got five practical tips to help you work smarter, not harder, when it comes to content creation. 

Tip 1: Use Long-Form Content as Your Foundation

Start to think of long-form content as your content goldmine - a whole lot of value that you can pull from. Whether it's a blog post, podcast episode, or webinar, this info packed piece becomes the foundation for all your other content.

Why Long-Form Content Works Best

• Covers topics in depth
• Naturally breaks into smaller segments
• Provides multiple angles and talking points
• Establishes your expertise on the topic

An example of how you can create long-form, foundational content

First, write a value packed blog post:

Choose a topic that directly impacts your audience and write a detailed post about it. Include different aspects of the topic, examples, and actionable tips. This becomes your "pillar content."

Then, make sure you structure your blog post for easy repurposing:

• Use clear sections and subheadings
• Include memorable quotes or statements
• Add statistics or data points when relevant
• Share client examples or case studies
• Provide actionable tips or steps

Also, create with repurposing in mind. As you create your blog post, or other long-form content, think about how each section could stand alone. 

Could this paragraph be a social media post? Would this tip make a great Reel or TikTok? Could these points become an email series?

Remember, the goal is to create content once and use it many times. When you start with a solid foundation of long-form content, you're not just creating another piece of content – you're creating a content bank that you can draw from again and again.

Tip 2: Turn One Blog Post Into Multiple Social Post

One well-written blog post can fuel your social media content for weeks. 

Here's how to mine your blog posts for social gold:

Extracting Key Quotes and Insights
Look for standout, impactful sentences that pack a punch on their own. These make perfect quote posts or carousel slides. Remember those "aha moments" you wrote about? They're social media gold.

Creating Graphics from Tips
Take the actionable tips from your blog and turn each one into a branded graphic. One how-to blog post could easily become 5-10 eye-catching social posts. Use tools like Canva to maintain your brand look while creating multiple variations of the same graphic.

Using Sections as Standalone Posts
Each major section of your blog post can become its own social media post (or shorter, more specific blog post). Add your personal take, a question for engagement, or a call to action. Suddenly, one blog post becomes a week's worth of content.

An extra tip: Keep a running list of these extracted pieces. When you need content quickly, you'll have a library ready to go.

Tip 3: Transform Training Sessions into Bite-Sized Content

If you're already hosting workshops, training sessions, or even client calls (with permission), you're wracking up an endless list of content opportunities.

Breaking Down Workshops
That hour-long workshop you recorded? It's filled with 2-minute nuggets of wisdom perfect for Reels or short videos. 

Within that workshop look for:

• Key teaching moments
• Powerful analogies
• Client questions and your answers
• Step-by-step explanations

Creating Tutorial Series
Take one concept or topic from your training and break it down into a series of quick tutorials. Your audience gets easily digestible, actionable-focused content, and you get multiple pieces of content from one recording.

Using Key Moments
Did you share a good story during your workshop? Was there a moment where you explained something in a unique way? These make perfect snippets for social media or email content.

Remember: Today's audiences prefer short, focused content. By breaking down your longer training into bite-sized pieces, you're not just repurposing content – you're making it more accessible and engaging for your audience.

Tip 4: Leverage User-Generated and Interactive Content

Here’s a great tip: Some of your best content doesn't need to come from you at all! 

Your audience and clients can be incredible sources of authentic, engaging content.

Using Client Questions
Those questions in your DMs or during calls or in the comments? They're telling you exactly what content your audience needs. Turn common questions into content pieces, and you'll be creating content your audience is looking for. 

Sharing Client Success Stories
With permission, share your clients' wins. This is a powerful way for your audience to see themselves in your work and the transformation you provide. 

One success story can become:
• A testimonial post
• A case study blog
• A celebration reel
• An email featuring their journey

Creating Polls and Surveys
Use interactive features - polls, surveys, response forms - to engage your audience and generate content ideas. Their responses become future content topics, and you're building engagement simultaneously.

Tip 5: Create Content Systems and Calendar

The key to sustainable content creation is having solid and aligned systems in place. This turns content creation from overwhelming to actually manageable.

Planning Content Themes
Choose monthly themes for your content based on the core topics you address in your business and services. This gives you focus and makes repurposing more natural. Everything you create ties back to your overall themes, creating cohesive, impactful messaging.

Setting Up Content Batching
Instead of creating content daily, batch similar tasks.

• Write several blog posts in one sitting
• Record multiple videos in one session
• Create a month's worth of graphics at once

Using Automation Tools
Let technology help you work smarter. Use tools like Automation on a Mission to:

• Schedule content ahead of time across multiple platforms
• Maintain your content library
• Track what resonates with your audience so you can plan accordingly
• Repurpose content efficiently

Creating content doesn't have to, and shouldn’t, be a daily struggle. By starting with strong foundational pieces, repurposing strategically, and implementing smarter systems, you can maintain that consistent, engaging presence without the content overwhelm.

Remember, working smarter means:

• Creating once, using many times
• Letting your existing content work harder for you
• Using systems and automation to your advantage

Ready to transform your content creation process? Let Automation on a Mission show you how to implement these strategies efficiently in your business.

Book your free demo to discover how we can help you streamline your content creation and automation!