Earlier this month I was in Asheville, North Carolina for a retreat with my business coaches and my fellow business owners. All of us are trying hard to get this entrepreneurial thing right. We face similar challenges:

• How to “do it all.”

• How to get better at things we’re not innately good at.

• How to make sure we’re always serving our clients in the best possible ways.

When the conversation turns to messaging (because it always does) I watch the defeat wash over them. Their shoulders slump. Occasionally there is eye rolling or even a slightly perceptible moan.

And then they drive a stake through my heart by telling me they “just dash off this or that” to get something posted or sent out.

Okay, the stake through the heart is a bit dramatic, but it sincerely pains me when solo business owners feel that creating useful content is out of their reach.

Because it’s not true.

Anyone can create solid, on-message content that speaks to her audience. It boils down to what I am repeatedly telling people in my Content Calendar Build Workshop — always write on purpose.

Writing on purpose can be as simple as asking yourself three questions before you write anything:

1) “What outcome am I hoping for with this content?”

2) “Who am I talking to with this content?”

3) “Why would they care about this content, what’s in it for them?”

Content is a conversation with your clients and prospects. It’s your chance to lead them to the place you want them to go.

For instance, I want my readers to believe that they are not consigned to a life of “just dash off this or that.” “Dashing off this or that” wastes everybody’s time and just adds noise to an already noisy world.

Writing on purpose is focusing on your core messages, connecting your content to your offerings and having a simple plan that takes the scrambling for topics and “dashing off this or that” off the table for good.

If you’re interested in learning how to create a simple, doable content plan, join me in January for the Content Calendar Build Workshop. You’ll get the tactics, the tools and the time to build out your next three months of content so that you’re (say it with me) always writing on purpose!