Content, more tools and tips from a strategist (part 2)

Part two with the indispensable tools, tips, and tricks for a content strategist. 

This is about how to keep the overview so others can excel in the production; this is not a hack guide and the nitty gritty tips on how to make content. 

Why it matters

Nailing the content assets is one thing. Doing it over and over again and having content contribute to your business is something else.

How to get from campaign-based thinking to a more strategic approach?

Below is a second list of the tools I love and use daily.

• Grammarly Pro
• Pexels
• Data analytics
• Distribution
• A night of sleep

In part one, you find the why and how on Notion for content planning, PressPage for my .com, Canva for visuals and social assets creation, ChatGPT as my wingman, DeepL for translations, Leuchtturm for creative juices, and Rule 6 to love what I do and do what I love.

Grammarly Pro

Most of us know Grammarly. I really recommend getting the pro subscription. You’ll get better suggestions and alternatives, tone of voice evaluation, and it’s a bit sharper and smarter than the standard free version. I have used the Pro for a long time now, and I hardly remember the differences from the standard version.

Install Grammarly on your laptop, and you’re good to go in every tool or app you use, from Word to Whatsapp browser.

Pexels

Pexels.com is my go-to platform for free visuals. Amazing stunning photography and all free to use. 

Tip: if you are searching for diverse and inclusive photography, this is for you. Don’t use the prompt ‘black woman’; just search on your topic, and the diverse and inclusive photos pop up naturally.

As an alternative, you can use Unsplash. However, 9,9 out of 10 times, I find what I’m looking for on Pexels. Maybe also because I’ve built quite a large database on Pexels with visuals I like.

Read also ‘Think Visual’ on how I search, source, and edit my visuals. 

Data Analytics

You can go full-blown nerdy on the analytics. For me, honestly, some daily visitors and most read articles will do. So I use the standard tool and do some grinding work in Excel from time to time.

Of course, you can get all details, click-in, click-out, paths, reading time, etcetera. However, I don’t do anything with this data. So why spend the time and effort getting and analyzing it?

My steps every few months

• Check the sources: Google is by far my number-one traffic generator, and I see that once people read one blog, they often read a second or third
• Get an overview of the ~25 most-read blogs over the past six months
• Per blog, I check the distribution of the visitors: is it a one-off or frequent, steady daily number?
• If it’s frequent, I add the blog to my to-update-list
• I add this to-update-list to my content ideation overview to update, rework it and then repost it as (new) content

Distribution

For content planning over the different channels and posting a-synchronously, I use Notion. Read more on ‘Content planning made easy’ 

Why do I post a-synchronously? For Instagram story and feed, there is a big chance that your audience scrolls through both in one session. If you spread your posting over time, the chance you’ll reach a broader audience, and you'll reach them twice. Different timings mean different reach, even on the same channel.

And I also post a-synchronously on LinkedIn and Medium. No real reason, just because I can. And I like to spread the content to keep the story going.

My channels

• thinklikeapublisher.com
• LinkedIn newsletter
• LinkedIn regular post
• Instagram story
• Instagram feed
• Medium

When what channel depends on the blog and how much I really really really like it. And if the data analytics are in my favor, I often repost after a while.

Read more on ‘Get more reach by posting a-synchronously’

A night of sleep 💤

I never create and distribute on the same day. Even though it’s really tempting to publish and distribute immediately after writing, I know that my blog improves after a night of sleep.

• Create and post one day
• Sleep
• Refine, tune, tweak, and publish the next day

Tip: everything improves after a good night of sleep, from content to mindset to emotions. 

A little patience goes a long way. 

Food for thought

I hope these tools and tips help. If you have anything to add, please don’t be shy and drop me a DM.

Keeping an open mind with an inquisitive curiosity is magical.

Test and learn, learn and test. Use what’s useful; drop it when it’s lost its value. Simple as that.

Enjoy the ride.