The Brand ED Podcast

Robby: The branded podcast Robbie
Fowler, episode 99, conquer

Your Content Planning Six key
challenges and how to overcome them.

Part two.

Here's the central question
we're asking in this series.

How do you feel about your content
marketing over the past six months?

Do you feel great?

You've got your act totally together.

Do you feel pretty good?

Sometimes you do well, it's hit
or miss, or do you feel guilty?

You haven't shown up.

You've struggled to get content created.

And, you know, you should be doing better.

My goal is to help you create a
content plan you can actually execute

so that you can grow your business.

I want you to be able to expand
your brand and ultimately have it

show up in your bottom line revenue.

And the first episode of
this series, episode 98.

We looked at the problem and
the problem is what is missing.

Is, we don't have a simple
plan, that's connected to a

sexy goal and someone who cares.

That's what's missing in
most of our content planning.

That's why we are feeling overwhelmed
in spite of all of the tools, all

of the resources, all of the things
available to us intended to help us with

content planning and content marketing.

We still feel overwhelmed.

Why?

Because we don't have a plan, that's
highly doable, highly desirable, and

has a high degree of accountability.

And today's episode, we're going
to talk about the second challenge.

I call it the Chart the Course Challenge.

First let's divide our year up
into quarters quarter one quarter

two quarter three, quarter four.

The chart, the course
challenge goes like this.

What in the world should I be doing with
my content planning in this quarter?

And here's the question I want you
to ask as you begin to create a plan.

For whatever quarter of the
year, you find yourself in.

The question is, do you have any
big rocks in this quarter or do you

have tiny pebbles in this quarter?

So at the time I'm recording
this, this is quarter two of 2023.

So you'd be asking yourself in
this quarter, do I have any big

rocks or do I have tiny pebbles?

Now a big rock is something that
you're launching this quarter.

If you're getting started out, maybe
you were about to launch your podcast.

Maybe you're about to
host your first webinar.

Maybe you are.

You're about to release your first.

Offer.

Or your first.

Product.

That would be a big rock.

Maybe you're about to release
your first book in this quarter.

So those are examples of big rocks.

In other words, the intent is in this
quarter, I'm focusing the majority of

my efforts on something that's intended
to have a big splash for my business.

That's called a big rock.

The second option is if this is
quarter two and you don't plan on

launching something big this quarter.

In other words, this is just a regular
rhythm quarter where you still have

products and services and offers
available, but you're not introducing

something big or something new.

Then this is a tiny pebbles quarter.

This is where you're just trying
to turn the dial up on your thought

leadership on your expertise to expand
your reach into expand your influence.

So that's the first problem.

Most of us have a hard time with our
content planning, because we're not

sure quarter by quarter where we're
going and when you don't know where

you're going, it's very hard to plan
for nowhere or maybe even worse.

It's hard to plan for anywhere
I could be going anywhere.

So you've got to decide,
is this a big rock quarter?

Is this a tiny pebbles quarter?

And here's the action step
I want you to take with you.

Your action step is to decide your course
direction for the quarter that you're in.

So if this is quarter two, you've
got to decide your course direction.

If you're launching a big rock
this quarter: an offer a webinar

or releasing a book, something big.

Then here's what you want to be
doing in your content planning

and your content marketing.

You want to take all of that
content planning and you want to

aim it at the primary pain and
problem that your big rock during

this quarter is going to address.

You want to talk about the benefits
and the transformation that you were

big rock that you're launching this
quarter is going to provide your

ideal customer or your audience.

And you could even consider a
three-part attack that talks about the

opportunity, your offer your product
or your service, or your big rock is

going to provide for your audience.

You talk about the transformation that
it's going to make available to your

audience, and then you challenge them to
take a sense of ownership in relation to

whatever it is you're about to launch.

So if you were about to launch a webinar,
you would say something like I'm going

to be hosting some upcoming training.

That's going to really.

Really help you do X, Y, Z.

If.

You're wanting to go accomplish
this next thing, whatever the topic

of the webinar is going to be.

So in other words, you're beginning to
create some of your content plan around.

Hey, the thing I'm about to
launch is going to present you

with a really great opportunity.

And then you would also talk about
the transformation that the thing

you're going to launch is going to
make available for your audience.

And then you challenge
them to take ownership.

So if you're ready to take ownership
of XYZ, then you're going to

want to join me on the webinar.

You're going to want to hop into
this course or join my community or

whatever the big rock offer is.

So that's what you're deciding.

If you've decided that this quarter
is about big, a big rock that

you're launching, then that's what
your content planning goes around.

And addresses the pain and the problem,
the benefits and the transformation.

Or you can think about that three
part framework, the opportunity,

the transformation, and a challenge
to ownership for your ideal

customer or your ideal audience.

But what if this quarter is more
about just tiny pebbles, you're not

launching something huge or big or
significant this quarter, you are

just moving ahead in your business.

In that case, when it comes to
casting tiny pebbles out on the water.

Those don't make a big splash,
but they have a ripple effect.

If you imagine picking up a handful
of really small rocks and chucking

them out into a Placid lake, you would
see a bunch of little small ripples.

That's different than launching a
huge rock out into the middle of

the lake that creates a tremendous
splash and a massive ripple effect.

So if you're in a tiny pebbles quarter,
here's your goal in that quarter.

It's not to launch something.

It's to establish your expertise
and your thought leadership.

It's to establish your brand.

Now if you're a business to business.

Or a business to consumer business.

You're really looking for going
from free in this quarter to fee.

You're looking to move your
ideal customers from something

free to something fee.

And if you're a personal brand,
then you're looking to establish

expertise and thought leadership.

So you want to, in this
quarter, you want to add value.

You want to educate your audience
around the pain or the problem

that your business helps solve.

You want to solve problems for
your ideal customer for free.

So you're releasing content that's going
to help them with some of their pains

and problems and give away free value
that actually solves their problem.

And you also want to advance your brand.

Your brand in this case, I want
you to think about this very

simple sentence or explanation from
Marty Neumeier, who's a branding.

Genius and expert.

The only blank that blanks.

So the only, and then you insert the
category of the business that you're in.

That blanks you insert the key
differentiator and example would be

if you were a tea company, you would
say we are the only healthy tea.

That's the category where
the only healthy tea.

That the whole family will love.

That's the key differentiator,
or you might say.

I'm the only brand consultant
Building life giving brands that

bless the company and the customer.

So the only one, but that's.

That should be coming through in your
content marketing, because your goal in.

Quarter where you're casting tiny pebbles.

Is to advance your expertise and thought
leadership, or if you're B2B or B to

C, it's really to move people, your
customers from something free where

you're giving away free value to.

To a fee, something that
they're paying you for.

That's the goal, even if you're not
launching something significant,

you already have products,
services available, and your goal

is to draw more people into your.

Audience that would be potential customers
and to move them from free to fee, if

you're a B2B company or a B to C company.

If you want a killer example
of this as a B to C company.

Check out a Sunday lawn care, you
can find them at getsunday.com.

I'll put a link to this in the
show notes, but here's a company

that does this extremely well.

If you just look at their blog
for their content marketing.

There's categories, like
explore your shed home.

Lawn how tos, right?

How to do things, yearning your
lawn, gardening guides, weeding tips.

Pest pointers.

You can get product instructions about
how to use their different products.

They do a great job of releasing
content and moves someone from free

help about your lawn to fee signing
up for their lawn care services,

where they send you stuff in the mail.

So I would encourage you
to go check that out.

If you want to see an example of a
company that does that well, and then

go check out their Instagram, where
they're not typically selling things,

they're delivering helpful advice.

They're really establishing their
brand as a company that's safe and

free from pesticides that helps you
create beautiful green lawns that are

safe for your kids or for your pets.

So that's their brand distinction.

They're the only lawn care company.

Maybe they would say we're the only
online lawn care company that provides.

Chemical free, safe.

Lawn care.

For your, that's safe enough for
your family and for your pet.

So go check them out for a great example.

I'll put a link to
those in the show notes.

So I hope that helps you think
about your content planning.

One of the struggles is it's much
like trying to plan a trip when

you don't know where you're going.

So that's why the Chart the
Course Challenge is the first

challenge we need to tackle when
it comes to content planning.

Where am I headed in the next quarter?

Is this a big rock quarter?

If so.

Here's the implications
for my content planning.

Is this a tiny pebbles quarter?

If so, here are the implications
for my content planning.

I hope that helps you begin to get
your mind around, "Okay, that would

bring some clarity about how I get
my arms around this content planning

that has me just suffocating under
the weight of the expectations."

Chart your course.

Decide where you're going first
and that will clarify the content

planning that you need to do.

Join me on the next episode of this
podcast, as we jump into part three

of this series, now that we know where
we're headed, what do we do next?

I look forward to seeing
you on that episode.

Until the next episode,
thanks so much for joining me.

Please leave a review on apple podcasts.

If this is helpful, or you can share
this with a friend, if you want to

dialogue with someone else about this.

Just click that share button
on your podcast player and

share this with a friend.

I so appreciate that.

Until next time go and
build a life- giving brand