If you are like most people — and I include myself in “most people” — you spend at least part of December beating yourself up for the goals that slipped off your radar in 2019.

Why is it so easy to be hard on ourselves?

So I am here to remind you that today is a new day. A new month. A new year. A new decade, according to many (though some say they’re a year early.)

New days bring with them all kinds of possibilities and opportunities to try a different approach.

Because we all know that doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different result is insanity. (Unless it has to do with technology. Then go ahead and try to post that picture seven times. It’ll work on the eighth.)

One area my clients struggle with when we first start working together is keeping up a consistent and focused pattern of outreach to their most important audiences.

• They send a newsletter…now and then.

• They post on Instagram religiously…for a month.

• They think about creating a keep-in-touch system because their favorite business guru recommends it, but when faced with the nuts and bolts of content creation, they’d rather schedule a root canal.

As someone who has created thousands (seriously) of content plans through the course of my corporate career, small business ownership and as a content coach to entrepreneurs, I know one thing for sure:

You need a content plan.

It doesn’t have to be complex. You don’t have to spread yourself across a million channels. (In fact, that’s the opposite of what I coach my clients to do.)

Your content plan just needs to be focused and strategic.

It maps what you talk about and why, when you say it and how you deliver it.

That’s it.

It’s the approach I use for 4.23's editorial calendar and I plan a quarter at a time. It crystallizes my topics and how they get pushed out through my current channels, on which days.

No scramble.

No "ugh, what should I write about?" 

No "shoot, when's the last time I reached out to people?"

No “ugh, I’d rather get a root canal than work on content today.”

If you only have a handful of hours to focus on writing content (because you're also, you know, running a business), a content plan makes that time meaningful. It tells you "here's what you're writing about and it publishes/posts/sends on this date, so get going."

(Figuratively. Currently, my content calendar does not speak to me. Maybe next year.)

Creating a content plan means you don't waste your writing time staring out the window hoping for "inspiration."  

Content planning can change the how and the why of writing for your business. That's why I offer my Build Your Content Plan Workshop every quarter.

It's a two-hour, hands-on, get-the-guidance, brainstorm-with-others session that will define your Q1 content plan and start your 2020 content marketing efforts off on the right foot.

The next session is next week — January 8. You can get the details here or drop a comment below with your questions. But don’t ponder too long. I limit the number of seats available in each session to keep this a true working session.

A content plan will help you set and achieve better outreach goals. And when you stay in touch with the people you most need to stay in touch with, it can change the entire game for your business in 2020.

And if you want some guidance and support to create it, consider claiming one of the remaining seats in my next Content Calendar Build Workshop.

The new year is officially here. Let’s make 2020 the breakout year for your message.