the truth about batching content 👀

Hey there,

Have you ever been told that the secret to being consistent with content marketing is batching?

I’m guessing you have.

Because it’s one of THE most common pieces of mainstream content advice for online business owners.

And…I hate it.

Especially when the advice is given to anyone new-ish to content creation.

Here’s why:

You need to start with the basics.

Or as I once put it in a podcast interview…you’ve gotta crawl before you can batch.

If you decide to batch at all!

It’s not the necessity it’s outspoken fans make it out to be.

This is an argument I’ve been making for years in my other business: that batching tasks isn’t a productivity cure-all.

That just trying to batch as much / as frequently as possible without taking into account energy management is a guaranteed recipe for burnout.

Taking energy management into account means considering how much and what kind of energy a task or action will take when planning when or how to do it.

And through that lens, content creation is usually one of the WORST tasks to batch!

Content planning? Sure.

Content research? Just fine.

Content promotion? It could work.

Those tasks are usually lower energy, and take fewer types of energy at a time.

It’s totally possible to do a whole “batch” of them without running out of energy.

But the “creation” part?

The part that requires writing, speaking, or filming in full sentences with full focus?

That’s a high energy task that requires multiple types of energy: creative, analytical, and maybe even physical.

So it’s probably not ever going to be the best kind of work to batch.

And like I said earlier, it’s an especially bad idea for anyone new to creating content, which is why I get so frustrated that it’s such popular beginner advice.

If you don’t already…

• Feel comfortable creating content (in whatever format you do so)
• Have a system to create content smoothly
• Know how to quickly get “into the zone” for creating content

Then not only will batching creation NOT save time, it’s probably going to make content creation MORE overwhelming, not less.

Think about it, what feels less overwhelming?

• Producing 1,000 words or 10 minutes of audio/video in one work session
• Producing 5,000 words or 50 minutes of audio/video in one work session

Hell, I’ve been a content marketer for 12 years, and write tens of thousands of words of content each month, and I still don’t think I’ve worked up to 5,000 words in a single writing session.

But that’s what creating in batches essentially requires: exponentially increasing how much creative work you do at a time.

And creative work is draining!

If you do want to play around with ways to bring batching into your content workflow, there are other ways to do it:

• Brainstorm content ideas in batches
• Upload / schedule content to your CMS in batches
• Update old content in batches
• Promote content in batches

And if you REALLY want to batch content creation, for example to get ahead so you can take a content break, remember to start small.

Don’t try to go straight from writing 1 email per week to trying to batch 5 in the same amount of time. Instead, aim for 2 or 3.

It still lets you “get ahead” of your content calendar, but with lower expectations and pressure for yourself.

Here’s an example:

Right now I’m trying to get to the point where I write the Work Brighter newsletter the week before it goes out, since I send it Monday mornings.

Instead of trying to write double the amount I normally do in one week to get ahead, I’m splitting it up and breaking it down further.

The newsletter is made up of 5 different sections. So for the next few weeks, I’m trying to write that week’s newsletter plus just ONE section of a future newsletter. After 5 weeks, I’ll be a week ahead.

You can apply the same method to something like taking time off from creation for the holidays.

For example, if you want to take all of December off from new content creation but still show up and market your business online, you don’t need to create 2 month’s worth of content in November.

You could slowly get ahead, creating one or two extra pieces per week until you have an extra month’s worth.

Or of course, you could get more creative and just repurpose content instead. 😉

Or as the meme goes…why not both?

That's all I have for today, but I should have some cool news for you next week!

And in the meantime, I'd love to know: have you ever tried and fail to batch content?

Did this help you understand why it didn't work?