How to Create Content Marketing Plans in 7 Steps

How to Create Content Marketing Plans in 7 Steps

You're here because you want to crush your content marketing.

You may have tried before and failed miserably. Perhaps you're just starting and feel overwhelmed. Or you're doing okay, but know you could be doing so much better.

Whatever your situation, I've got you covered.

I've been in the trenches of content marketing for years. I've seen what works and doesn't and wastes time and money.

And let me tell you something…

Most of what you've been told about content marketing is dead wrong.

It's not about churning out endless blog posts or spending a fortune on fancy tools. It's about having a solid plan and executing it consistently.

In this post, I will show you exactly how to create a content marketing plan that works—actionable strategies you can implement today.

Ready? Let's dive in.

🔰 TL;DR: Creating a content marketing plan doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. This post will show you how to craft a strategy that drives results, even if you're starting from scratch. We'll cover everything from setting goals to measuring success with real-world examples and actionable tips.

Why You Need a Content Marketing Plan (And Why Most Fail)

You're at a networking event. You spot someone across the room who could be your next big client. You make your way over, introduce yourself, and immediately launch into a 10-minute monologue about your company's history, every service you offer, and why you're better than all your competitors.

How do you think that's going to go down?

They'll look for the nearest exit before you finish your first sentence.

Yet, this is precisely how most businesses approach content marketing. They create a ton of content without any real strategy, throw it into the world, and hope something sticks.

Newsflash: It doesn't work.

Here's why you need a solid content marketing plan:

1. Direction: It gives you a clear roadmap of what content to create, when to publish it, and where to promote it.
2. Consistency: It helps you maintain a steady flow of content, keeping your audience engaged.
3. Efficiency: It prevents you from wasting time and resources on content that doesn't serve your goals.
4. Measurability: It allows you to track progress and adjust your strategy as needed.
5. ROI: It ensures your content efforts contribute to your business objectives.

But here's the kicker: Most content marketing plans fail.

Why?

They're overcomplicated, unrealistic, or focused on the wrong metrics.

I once worked with a startup that spent months crafting a 50-page content marketing plan. It was beautifully designed, filled with industry jargon and complex flowcharts.

Know where it ended up? Gathering dust in a drawer while the team scrambled to produce random blog posts at the last minute.

Don't let that be you.

In the following sections, I'll show you how to create a lean, mean content marketing plan that gets results.

Step 1: Define Your Goals (And No, “More Traffic” Isn't Good Enough)

Before you even think about creating content, you need to know why you're doing it.

And I'm not talking about vague goals like “increase brand awareness” or “get more traffic”.

Those are a good start, but they're not specific enough to guide your strategy or measure your success.

Instead, it would help if you had SMART goals:

• Specific: Clearly defined and unambiguous
• Measurable: Quantifiable so that you can track progress
• Achievable: Realistic, given your resources
• Relevant: Aligned with your overall business objectives
• Time-bound: With a clear deadline

Here are some examples of SMART content marketing goals:

1. Increase organic traffic to our website by 50% within six months
2. Generate 100 qualified leads per month through gated content by Q4
3. Boost email newsletter signups by 25% in the next quarter
4. Achieve a 10% conversion rate on our lead magnet landing page within three months
5. Rank on the first page of Google for our top 5 target keywords by the end of the year

See the difference?

These goals give you a clear target to aim for and a way to measure your progress.

But here's the thing:

Your goals need to be aligned with your overall business objectives. There's no point in driving tons of traffic if it doesn't translate into revenue.

📊 According to a 2023 study by the Content Marketing Institute, 80% of the most successful B2B content marketers have a documented content marketing strategy. Yet only 43% of all B2B marketers have one.

Don't be in the 57% that's flying blind.

Take some time to think about what you want to achieve with your content marketing. Talk to your team, look at your business plans, and set goals that will move the needle for your business.

Step 2: Know Your Audience (Like, Really Know Them)

Here's a harsh truth:

Nobody cares about your content.

Unless it's relevant to them.

That's why understanding your audience is crucial. You need to know who they are, what they care about, and what problems they're trying to solve.

But here's where most people go wrong:

They create generic buyer personas based on demographics and job titles.

That's not enough.

Dig deeper. You need to understand their:

• Pain points
• Goals and aspirations
• Fears and frustrations
• Objections and hesitations
• Information sources
• Decision-making process

How do you get this information?

1. Talk to your customers: Set up interviews or surveys. Ask them about their challenges and how they found your business.
2. Analyse your data: Look at your website analytics, social media insights, and email engagement metrics. What content is resonating with your audience?
3. Check out online communities: Visit forums, social media groups, and review sites where your target audience hangs out. What questions are they asking? What complaints do they have?
4. Review customer support logs: What issues do your customers frequently face? These can be great topics for your content.
5. Spy on your competitors: What content are they creating? What's getting engagement? This can give you insights into what your audience is interested in.

Once you've gathered this information, create detailed audience personas. But don't stop at demographics. Include psychographics, behavioural patterns, and content preferences.

Here's an example:

Meet Sarah, the Startup Founder:

• 32 years old, based in London
• Running a SaaS startup, two years in business
• Goal: Scale her business to £1 million ARR in the next 18 months
• Challenge: Balancing product development with marketing efforts
• Pain point: Limited budget, can't afford to hire an entire marketing team
• Information sources: Twitter, TechCrunch, startup podcasts
• Content preference: Quick, actionable tips she can implement immediately
• Objection: Doesn't have time for lengthy content, sceptical of “guru” advice

See how much more useful this is than a “32-year-old female business owner”?

With this level of detail, you can create content that speaks directly to Sarah's needs and challenges.

And here's a pro tip:

Create content for one person.

Instead of trying to appeal to everyone, write as if you're speaking directly to Sarah (or whoever your ideal customer is). This makes your content more focused and engaging.

Remember, relevance is critical. The more relevant your content is to your audience, the more likely they are to engage with it and take action.

Step 3: Audit Your Existing Content (And Be Brutally Honest)

Before creating new content, take a good, hard look at what you already have.

Why?

1. You might already have some gems that just need a bit of polishing
2. You'll identify gaps in your content that need filling
3. You'll spot content that's underperforming and needs to be improved or retired

Here's how to conduct a content audit:

1. Make a list of all your content: Blog posts, videos, podcasts, social media posts, lead magnets, etc.
2. Analyse the performance: Look at metrics like traffic, engagement, leads generated, and conversions.
3. Evaluate the quality: Is the content still accurate and relevant? Does it align with your brand voice and messaging?
4. Check for SEO: Are your target keywords included? Is the content optimised for search engines?
5. Assess the format: Is the content presented most effectively for your audience?

Once you've done this, categorise your content into three buckets:

• Keep: High-performing content that's still relevant and aligned with your goals
• Update: Content with potential that needs refreshing or optimising
• Remove: Low-quality or outdated content that's no longer serving your audience or business goals

I once worked with a company that had over 500 blog posts. After a thorough content audit, we found that just 50 posts drove 80% of their traffic and leads.

We focused on updating and promoting those top-performing posts, and within three months, their organic traffic had doubled.

Don't underestimate the power of what you already have. Sometimes, updating and repurposing existing content can be more effective than creating new pieces from scratch.

Step 4: Map Out Your Content Strategy (The Smart Way)

Now that you know your goals, understand your audience, and have audited your existing content, it's time to map out your content strategy.

This is where many businesses go off the rails. They try to create a complex content calendar that maps out every single piece of content for the next 12 months.

Don't do that.

It's a waste of time and will likely be obsolete within a few weeks.

Instead, focus on creating a flexible framework that guides content creation without boxing you in.

Here's how:

1. Identify your content pillars: These main topics or themes align with your business and audience interests. These might be SEO, content marketing, social media, and paid advertising for a marketing agency.
2. Determine your content types: Based on your audience preferences and resources, decide what content you'll create. This could include blog posts, videos, podcasts, infographics, etc.
3. Set your content ratio: Decide on a mix of different content types—for example, 70% educational, 20% promotional, and 10% entertaining.
4. Create a loose content calendar: Instead of planning every piece of content, set themes for each month or quarter. This allows you to stay relevant and adapt to current events or trends.
5. Establish a content creation workflow: Define the steps from idea generation to publication and promotion. Assign responsibilities to team members.

Here's an example of what this might look like:

Content Pillars:

• SEO
• Content Marketing
• Social Media Strategy
• Marketing Analytics

Content Types:

• Blog posts (2x per week)
• YouTube videos (1x per month)
• Podcast episodes (2x per month)
• Infographics (1x per month)

Content Ratio:

• 70% Educational
• 20% Promotional
• 10% Entertaining

Monthly Theme: January – “Setting Marketing Goals for the New Year”

Content Creation Workflow:

1. Idea generation (Marketing team)
2. Outline approval (Content Manager)
3. Content creation (Writers/Designers)
4. Editing and optimisation (Editor)
5. Final approval (Content Manager)
6. Publication and promotion (Social Media Manager)

This approach gives you a clear structure without being overly rigid. It allows you to stay consistent while adapting to new opportunities or changes in your industry.

Remember, your content strategy should be a living document. Review and adjust it regularly based on your results and any changes in your business or audience needs.

Step 5: Create Killer Content (That Gets Read)

All right, now we're getting to the good stuff.

You've got your strategy in place. You know what you're going to create and why. Now, it's time actually to produce the content.

But here's the thing:

Creating content isn't enough. You need to create content that cuts through the noise and gets read (or watched or listened to).

How? Here are my top tips:

1. Start with a bang: Your headline and intro are crucial. They need to grab attention and make people want to keep reading. Use curiosity, controversy, or a bold statement to hook your audience.
2. Focus on one main idea: Each piece of content should have a single, clear focus. Don't try to cram everything you know into one article.
3. Make it actionable: Give your audience practical tips they can implement immediately. The theory is acceptable, but people want to know what to do.
4. Use examples and case studies: Don't just tell people what to do; show them how others have done it successfully.
5. Write as you talk: Ditch the corporate jargon and write conversationally. It makes your content more engaging and easier to understand.
6. Use formatting to your advantage: Break up your content with subheadings, bullet points, and short paragraphs. Make it easy to skim.
7. Include visuals: Images, infographics, and videos can make your content more engaging and help explain complex ideas.
8. End with a clear next step: What do you want your audience to do after consuming your content? Make it clear and easy for them to take that action.

Here's an example of how this might look in practice:

Headline: “How I Doubled My Email List in 30 Days (And How You Can Too)”

Intro: “My email list was stuck at 500 subscribers last month. Today, it's over 1,000. And I didn't spend a penny on ads. Here's exactly how I did it…”

Main idea: Focus on one specific strategy (e.g., creating a high-value lead magnet)

Actionable tips:

• Step-by-step guide to creating a lead magnet
• Tips for promoting it effectively
• Tools to use for design and distribution

Example: A case study of a small business that used this strategy successfully

Conversational tone: “Look, I get it. Growing your email list can feel like pushing a boulder uphill. But trust me, once you get the right strategy in place, it becomes so much easier.”

Formatting:

• Clear subheadings for each step
• Bullet points for key tips
• Short, punchy paragraphs

Visuals: Screenshots of email growth, for example, lead magnets, infographic of the process

Call to action: “Ready to grow your email list? Download my free ‘Email List Explosion' checklist to get started.”

Remember, the goal isn't just to create content. It's to create content that resonates with your audience and drives them to take action.

And here's a pro tip:

Don't aim for perfection. Aim for done.

It's better to publish a good piece of content consistently than to sporadically publish “perfect” content. You can continually update and improve your content over time.

Step 6: Promote Like Your Business Depends on It (Because It Does)

Here's a harsh truth:

If you build it, they will not come.

At least, not without a bit of help.

Creating great content is only half the battle. The other half is getting it in front of the right people.

Too many businesses pour their heart and soul into creating content, only to hit publish and move on to the next piece.

That's a recipe for disappointment.

Instead, you must spend at least as much time promoting your content as you create it.

Here's how:

1. Leverage your email list: Send out a newsletter featuring your latest content. But don't just drop a link. Tease the value they'll get from it.
2. Share on social media: But don't just share once. Repurpose your content into multiple posts for each platform. A single blog post can quickly become 10+ social media posts.
3. Engage in online communities: Share your content in relevant Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, or forums. But make sure you're adding value, not just spamming.
4. Reach out to influencers: If you've mentioned someone in your content, let them know. They might share it with their audience.
5. Use paid promotion: Consider using platforms like Facebook Ads or LinkedIn Ads to get your content in front of a larger audience.
6. Optimise for search engines: Use relevant keywords, optimise your meta descriptions, and build quality backlinks to improve your rankings.
7. Repurpose your content: Turn your blog posts into videos, podcasts, or infographics. Different people consume content in various ways.
8. Collaborate with others: Guest post on other blogs, appear on podcasts, or co-create content with complementary businesses. This exposes you to new audiences.

9. Use content syndication: Republish your content on platforms like Medium or LinkedIn to reach a wider audience.
10. Update and republish old content: Refresh your best-performing pieces and promote them again.

Here's a real-world example:

I once wrote a blog post that I thought was pretty good. I hit publish and shared it on our social media channels. The result? A measly 50 views in the first week.

Frustrated, I decided to push it. I:

• Emailed it to our list with a compelling subject line
• Created five different social media posts for each platform
• I shared it in 3 relevant LinkedIn groups
• I reached out to 5 influencers I'd mentioned in the post
• Ran a small Facebook Ad campaign targeting our ideal audience

The result? Over 5,000 views in the next week, 500 new email subscribers, and three new client inquiries.

The content had stayed the same. The only difference was how I promoted it.

Remember, your content can't help your business if no one sees it. Don't be shy about putting it out there.

Step 7: Measure, Analyse, Adjust (Rinse and Repeat)

Here's where the rubber meets the road.

You've set your goals, created content, and promoted it like crazy. Now it's time to see if it's working.

But here's the catch:

You can't improve what you don't measure.

So many businesses create content without knowing if it's making a difference. Don't be one of them.

Here's how to measure and analyse your content marketing efforts:

1. Set up tracking: Use tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and email marketing metrics to track your content's performance.
2. Focus on the right metrics: Don't get distracted by vanity metrics like page views. Focus on metrics that align with your goals, such as:
   • Conversion rate
   • Time on page
   • Bounce rate
   • Social shares
   • Email signups
   • Sales or leads generated
3. Create a dashboard: Compile your critical metrics in one place for easy monitoring. Tools like Google Data Studio can help with this.
4. Analyse regularly: Set aside time each week or month to review your metrics and look for trends.
5. Compare against benchmarks: Look at industry averages and your historical data for your performance.
6. Identify top performers: Which pieces of content are driving the most results? What do they have in common?
7. Spot underperformers: Which content isn't meeting expectations? Why might that be?
8. Get qualitative feedback: Don't just rely on numbers. Ask your audience what they think of your content through surveys or social media polls.

Once you've gathered and analysed your data, it's time to adjust your strategy.

Here's what that might look like:

• If a particular topic is resonating, create more content around it
• If a specific content format is underperforming, consider reducing it or improving your approach
• If your email open rates are low, experiment with different subject lines
• If your content isn't driving conversions, look at strengthening your calls to action

Remember, content marketing is an iterative process. You're not going to get it perfect right out of the gate. The key is to keep testing, learning, and improving.

📊 According to a 2023 report by Semrush, companies that regularly track their content performance are 57% more likely to achieve their content marketing goals.

Don't fly blind. Use data to guide your content strategy and continuously improve your results.

Putting It All Together: Your Action Plan

All right, we've covered a lot of ground. Let's recap and create an action plan to get your content marketing strategy off the ground:

1. Set SMART goals: Take an hour to define 3-5 specific, measurable goals for your content marketing.
2. Know your audience: Spend a day researching and creating detailed persona profiles for your target audience.
3. Audit your content: Dedicate a week to reviewing your existing content and categorising it into keep, update, or remove.
4. Map your strategy: Take a day to define your content pillars, types, and ratios. Create a loose content calendar for the next quarter.
5. Create killer content: Start with one piece of high-quality content that aligns with your strategy. Spend a week crafting it to perfection.
6. Promote aggressively: Dedicate the next week to promoting that content through every available channel.
7. Measure and analyse: At the end of the month, review your metrics and identify what worked and what didn't.
8. Adjust and improve: Based on your analysis, make one significant change to your strategy for the next month.

Remember, content marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time to see results, but the payoff can be enormous if you continuously improve with it.

I've seen businesses transform their entire marketing approach using these strategies. One client went from struggling to get 100 website visitors a month to consistently attracting over 10,000 qualified leads through their content.

It's not magic. It's strategy, consistency, and a willingness to learn and adapt.

Now, it's your turn. Make these strategies your own, and create content that drives your business forward.

What are you waiting for? Your audience is out there, hungry for great content. Give it to them.

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