How to Batch Create Content

Small business owner, we both know that creating content takes up so much of your time. When you started your business, you likely didn't start it because you love creating content. You started it because you wanted time and financial freedom, and you desired to make an impact on people.

If you feel overwhelmed by the never-ending cycle of brainstorming and creating content and you crave more white space on your calendar, batch creating content is the strategy you need in your toolbox.

What is content batching?

If you're new to the concept of content batching, here's what you need to know. Essentially, content batching is the practice of blocking off time on your calendar to work on similar tasks in chunks of time. It breaks up the content creation process by focusing on one type of task at a time, instead of creating an entire piece of content from start to finish repeatedly.

Here's an example of content batching. Without batching, you may sit down to create an Instagram reel from start to finish. This looks like coming up with an idea, filming, editing, writing your caption, and posting it all at once. If you batch create content, you may focus on a week's worth of reels together. In one block of time, you brainstorm all your ideas. Then, you do all your filming, next you edit all the reels. Lastly, you write all your captions and get that content scheduled.

What are the benefits of batch creating content?

While it might sound like a lot of work upfront, batch creating content saves you time in the long run. For most of us, our brains take time to refocus when they're pulled away from a task. Think about it. You're in the middle of a task, get up to fold laundry, and then it takes you a few minutes (maybe more) to refocus when you sit back down.

When you batch create content, you allow your brain to get into a flow state by focusing on similar types of tasks at once. You save that time it would have taken to refocus. It also makes it easier to work ahead with your content and stay consistent. Personally in my business, I batch create Instagram content 1-2 times per month. My content calendar is always full of ideas, and I never experience that last minute panic of "needing" to post.

Batch Create Content in These 4 Steps

Feeling excited to get more done in less time and batch create content? Here are 4 steps to help you get started.

1. Break big project into smaller tasks.

First, think about what projects you'd like to batch and break them into smaller tasks. You can use the above example for Instagram content, but here's another example. Think about batch creating blog posts. What tasks go into that? Those smaller tasks may be researching keywords, outlining the post, writing the post, formatting, and scheduling.

2. Group similar tasks together.

Now that you have your smaller tasks, group similar tasks together. You can either focus on one project at a time, grouping all your blog post research or writing together. Or, you could group similar tasks for different projects together. For example, this could look like a writing day where you batch write blog posts, emails, and Instagram captions.

3. Block off chunks of time for those similar tasks until project is completed.

If you really want to make batch creating content a priority, you must schedule time for it. Block off chunks of time on your calendar for those similar tasks. For me, I like having one, 2-hour deep work block in the mornings. During this time, I'll typically batch create something, like writing the month's emails or blog posts or filming reels for the month.

4. Repeat on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis.

Once you get into the flow of batch creating content, you'll learn how often you need to do this. For some, it's once a week. For me, I try to stick to biweekly or monthly for many tasks in my business. After you master batch creating content, you can move onto batching other things in your life—meal prep, cleaning, managing your financials, etc.

Content Batching Tips

To make the most of your content batching efforts, here are some tips to help you. Remember that getting started is often the hardest part, so stay the course and keep at it!

Use a content calendar.

My biggest and best content batching tip is to use a content calendar. This helps you work through each stage of the process and stores all your ideas. I created a strategic content calendar template (get it here) that I specifically use to batch create all my content. This will keep you organized and on track, and it will help you see at a glance how often you need to repeat this process.

Set up reminders to batch in your task management platform and stick with a schedule.

While this won't happen immediately, eventually it's helpful to have a batching schedule. For example, you can batch all your emails for the month on the first Monday. Add all your Instagram ideas to your content calendar on the second Monday. I highly recommend ClickUp for this, but you can use any task management software you prefer.

Partner with a marketing strategist for accountability and strategy.

Not-so-shameless plug here to work with a marketing strategist for added strategy and accountability. So many business owners are fully capable of doing this process, but their marketing is the thing that always gets pushed aside. Don't let that be you!

You can inquire to work together here. I offer everything from quick, 1-hour strategy sessions to monthly marketing support, so reach out and we'll chat about what's the best option for you.