Episode 338
How to Save Time and Money Creating Content
Where to start…
Before we dive into how to save time and money creating content, we need to talk about simplifying your processes. Whether you’re just getting started or have been creating content a while, it doesn’t hurt to re-evaluate what you’re currently doing.
Here are my 3 philosophies on simplifying:
1. You don’t need all the bells and whistles to get your content going. Start where you are with your budget, your resources, and what you can manage right now. Trust me, I’m grateful that I didn’t invest hundreds or thousands of dollars on my early equipment when I didn’t really know what I was doing.
2. Think small but reliable when it comes to your audio and video equipment. I got started with a $20 microphone for my podcast, free software Audacity, and recorded YouTube videos on my phone.
3. Audit your tools and your time. If you check your books each month and you realize you’re spending way too much money on tools or software that you rarely use, it’s time to cut the cord. My thought process is, “If I haven’t used it in the last 90 days, it’s gone.”
Now, let’s dive into the ways I save time creating content.
Recommended Books for Setting Time Boundaries!
How to Save Time Creating Content
There are two main ways I save time when creating my content: repurposing and batching. Let’s dive into how I approach both of these strategies.
REPURPOSING
We’re going to have more content about this soon, but you need to flip the repurposing model on its head and start thinking about what content you’ll create BEFORE you ever hit Record.
And I want to share something I wrote in a recent weekly newsletter that I got a bunch of comments on
“Wanna know my thought process when I’m planning content? Here it is…
1. What’s the topic? The main theme of the content.
2. What stories/info can I share? These are all of the ideas and main points of the content itself.
3. What platform(s) should I share this on? Does it need to be a podcast episode, YouTube video, live stream, and cut down to an IG Reel?
4. What changes do I need to make so each piece is platform-specific? “Should I make the podcast episode in a longer format and then cut out the longer stories to make a YouTube video more actionable?”
5. How can I tether my platforms together in my calls to action (CTAs)? “Is there are a YouTube video I can mention in my podcast episode that relates to this topic?… How can I bring up my podcast in this YouTube video so I can link to it in the video description?”
BATCHING
Batch planning, editing, recording, and publishing have all been sanity savers for my content creation processes. When I can do one task for an extended period of time, I get so much more done.
No task-switching back and forth between “creator” and “editor”, which I did do for several years until I figured out my batching processes.
And I didn’t realize how much y’all wanted to know about how I batch and repurpose so much content until recently! The questions have been rolling in nonstop about how I create content. But expect more batching content in the future.
In the meantime, check out these videos below on repurposing and batching content. You can click here to watch the full playlist on YouTube.
How to Save Money Creating Content
When it comes to saving money, I fall into the category of frugal — aka cheap. I like to run a tight budget and not overextend what I’m spending in any part of my business.
Here are the different ways I save money when creating content:
Podcast Editing
- Do the editing yourself. (Check out my latest video on how I edit my podcast in Audacity in 2022!)
- Use tools that can help your audio sound better without the price of a podcast editing service
- Magic Mastering in Buzzsprout (Watch this video on Magic Mastering.)
- Auphonic
- Descript
Video Editing
Camtasia is much simpler than Adobe Premiere and will have a one-time purchase fee as opposed to a monthly fee. Unless you’re already paying for the Adobe suite of tools for another part of your business, I’d go with a one-time software.
Blog Writing
Use tools to help you plan your content and SEO:
There are more ways to save money in your content creation in today’s episode, so make sure you listen to the full thing!
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