A Simple Weekly Content Workflow for Busy Authors

Today, we are wrapping up our series for June on the topic of create once, reach more, simple content repurposing for authors. So, over the past few weeks, we’ve talked about why most authors are creating too much content, how to turn that one idea into a week’s worth of content, and last week we heard from Dr. Carolyn Wiley about how your book can become your 24/7/365 content engine.

So today I want to bring it all together with something really practical, and that’s because at this point you may be saying to yourself, “Okay, Alyssa, I understand content repurposing. I understand creating once and reaching more. But how do I make this actually work in my real life?”

You Need a Simple System

That’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today. I want to share a simple weekly content workflow that busy authors can actually stick to. Because the truth is, the best content system isn’t the most complicated one; it’s the one that you’ll actually use.

So here’s why most content plans that you might have used in the past fail. One reason is that so many of us struggle with consistency because our content plan often requires too much of us, and then we try to create content for every platform, we try to post every day, and we try to keep up with what everybody else is doing.

And before long, honestly, we’re looking around, and we’re overwhelmed, and then we feel guilty. Well, first we’re overwhelmed, and so we stop, and then we feel guilty, and then we start over. So if this sounds familiar, the problem isn’t a lack of motivation, the problem isn’t a lack of simplicity. Most of us don’t need a bigger system; we just need a simple one.

Identify Your Core Piece of Content

So the workflow that I recommend when I work with authors, speakers, and coaches, and the one I encourage you to use, is to have one core piece of content each week. Just one. That’s it. And then everything else grows from that one piece of content. And if you’ve listened to me before, you know that for me, that’s this podcast episode.

For you, it might be a blog post, it could be a video, it could be a podcast, a teaching session, or a chapter from your book. The format doesn’t matter as much as having one primary piece of content does. Think about that as your foundation, and you’re going to build everything else on top of that foundation.

Build Your Workflow On Your Content

Step one is to either create the long-form content or pull it, like from a chapter of your book or a teaching that you’ve done. And this is where the best ideas live. This is where you teach, you share stories, you answer questions, you serve your audience. So instead of worrying about creating content for 10 different places, you will focus your energy here first, because if you have that strong foundation, repurposing becomes easier.

Step two is to pull out key takeaways. Once you’ve created that content, don’t immediately move on to something new. Instead, ask yourself, “What’s the biggest lesson that I can pull from that? What quotes stand out? What stories that I shared resonate? What action steps can I encourage them to take?” Most of the time, you’ll find several pieces of content sitting in that original piece. You just need to extract it.

Step three: create an email. Take one takeaway from that content and turn it into an email. Keep it simple. Share a story, share a lesson, share an encouragement, and point readers back to the full content. Remember, your email isn’t meant to contain everything. Its job is to connect your readers and to invite them into your content ecosystem.

Finally, step four: create a few social posts. Now take those same takeaways and create two or three social posts. Not 10, not 20, just a few. You could share a quote, a tip, a question, a lesson learned, or even a short story. The goal isn’t to flood social media. The goal is to consistently point people back to your message.

Create a Simple Workflow

So, what does my workflow look like, you might ask? I want to be transparent because my workflow isn’t perfect every week. Clients happen, life happens, family happens, and sometimes I don’t meet my own deadlines.

But generally speaking, my process looks like this:

• I record a podcast episode, and then that becomes a blog post on my website.
• I also shared an email about that episode.
• After you send an email, you will then pull some social posts from your content. I often have a team that helps me repurpose and distribute that content across platforms.

So there’s nothing wrong with outsourcing some of this work. That’s what my VAs do for lots of our clients, and if you’re interested in that, we might be able to help you as well. The key isn’t perfection. The key is having a repeatable process.

Create a Sustainable Workflow

You can also batch content. I often hear, “Should I batch my content?” And my answer’s going to always be yes when possible. Batching simply means creating multiple pieces of content during one focused work session. For example, you might record four podcast episodes in one day. So, for example, today I did an interview with a guest, and that podcast is going to go out one week, and then I’m doing this podcast to go out the next week.

You can write several emails at once. You could schedule out your posts for the week. You could, you know, whatever the case may be. Batching helps you to reduce your decision fatigue, and it helps you to get and stay ahead, and it also creates some breathing room when life gets too busy. So that being said, don’t let batching become another thing that overwhelms you, but if you can do it, great.

If you can’t, focus on being consistent instead. It’s more important to be sustainable than to be perfect, and this may be the most important thing that I say all day. Your content workflow should fit your season of life. If you’re working a full-time job and you’re caring for your family members, you’re writing a book, you’re serving clients, or juggling multiple responsibilities, your workflow may look different from somebody else’s, and that’s okay.

Your Goal is Consistency

The goal isn’t to create the most content. The goal is to consistently share your message. Remember what we’ve talked about throughout this entire series. You don’t need more ideas. You don’t need more platforms. You don’t need more complexity. You just need a simple system you can sustain. So this week, I want you to map out your content workflow.

Ask yourself, “What’s my one primary piece of content? How will I turn that into an email or create two or three social media posts from it?” Write it down, keep it simple, and commit to following it for the next 30 days. As we wrap up this series, I hope you’ve seen that content repurposing isn’t about doing less for the sake of doing less.

It’s about being intentional, and it’s about creating once and reaching more people with the message that God has given you to share. And if you’d like help creating a content system that works for you, we would love to help.