How to Batch Your Marketing Content

There’s a time commitment to marketing your practice. This can be significant, especially if you want to blog regularly and send out emails every month. But I’m going to share a trick that can save you time throughout the month. More time, more care for patients, which is why you originally started in functional medicine!

This trick? Batching content. Instead of taking three sessions to write one blog post, in which you’re distracted by emails and patient calls, you set aside a larger chunk of time so you can put your entire focus towards finishing the blog post.

It may sound like this won’t make a significant difference, but with all the new information on multitasking and maintaining a singular focus while working, you’ll become more efficient across your marketing tasks.

As a caveat, I realize that these time estimates may sound a little idealistic. My goal is to provide you with all the possible pieces, and help you choose which is most necessary.

This post is going to cover batching content in four different areas:

• Strategy

• Blogging

• Email newsletters

• Social media

Strategy

Batching your practice’s marketing strategy requires taking time each month to realign with your goals, review what is and isn’t working, and to make a plan for the coming month.

Bookmark articles and guides throughout the month, and schedule one to two hours to review them and adjust your current strategy. This focused time will be far more efficient than sporadic, half-focused minutes between patients. You’re busy, but you also need to take this time to make a cohesive marketing strategy happen!

Every 90 days, take an extra 30 minutes to an hour to plan the next 90 days worth of content. This will guide your weekly and monthly content batching so everything is cohesive. Ask yourself, “What are my primary messages that I want to share the next three months?”

Cohesive marketing’s greatest foe is going at it without a plan, and this 90-day plan will help prevent that.

In working with clients, I have them choose the top three points they want to focus on. This includes product or service launches or highlights, event sponsorships, and if they want something specific planned for national holidays and seasonal changes. Then, I’ll create a plan for the 90-days for every type of content, from social to blogs to newsletters. I’ll fill in the gaps, add what they want included, then send it for approval.

As a solo (or mostly solo) act, your process will be a bit different, but the foundation remains the same: consider what you want to focus on, and plan how you’ll use it in each type of content.

Blogging

Batching blog posts is more of a challenge, because each post is a large time investment. I find that it works best when I plan out the title and main points for the 90-days, then writing one blog post a week. This takes the guesswork out, because then I just have to follow the outline of the main points.

If you’re a quick writer and would prefer fewer writing sessions a month, then set aside a large chunk of time (at least 2 hours) and see how much writing you can get done. If I’m in the zone, I can get them done pretty quickly, but that’s not always the case. And, it definitely depends on how you write.

The best way to batch blogging content is by batching the planning, then segmenting the writing. Again, everyone has their own strengths and preferences, so I encourage you to find what works best for you.

Email Newsletters

One of the biggest mistakes I see practitioners make (and myself!) is overcomplicating email newsletters. The best emails are concise while only containing two to four points. Plan out a primary and secondary point for each email within your 90-day plan, making sure that they align with your overall messaging.

An example email could be:

Subject Line: The supplement shown to support liver health

Preview Line: + Our top tips for gentle exercise!

Main Point: Information on the liver health supplement, always make sure to include a medical advice disclaimer.

Secondary Point: Gentle exercise tips on type of exercise, how to fit it in, and how often to do it.

Call-to-Action: A link to check our more information on liver health on your website.

As always, though, there are exceptions to the rule. Morning Brew, for example, has a long email. But people read it! This shows how good content and great writing can make a broken rule the new standard.

If you do want to take Morning Brew’s technique, give it a try. I’ve used it in the past with clients, and while it did take more time to put together, the results showed that the additional resources were worth it to the client and their goals.

Social Media

Posting while you’re with patients? It’s possible when you batch your social media content. Some may think that scheduling content removed the immediacy of posting content in the moment. I’d counter that by saying it, well, doesn’t! You can always change a post if needed on the day of, but scheduling offers you greater time efficiency.

And, as Instagram Stories has continued to grow, it offers a way to have that immediate content without needing to polish a newsfeed post and select hashtags. The informality of Stories is ideal for quick content on meal examples, new study findings, or other questions you receive from patients.

I recommend scheduling two weeks or one month in advance. Two weeks requires a shorter chunk of time, but you’ll also need to set aside that time twice a month. Monthly calendars can be overwhelming with the amount of content you need to prepare, but it means you have it done for the month! Test out each method to find the one that works best for you.

Tools like Buffer or Hootsuite allow you schedule out each post, so you can be stay efficient while engaging with your patients and building those relationships. They are paid platforms, but the time saved far outweighs the cost.

The more you batch your content, the more efficient you’ll become. Commit to three months of consistent marketing, and you’ll see the results and the decreased amount of time you need each month. Start with a time commitment you know you can make; you can always add more once you see the efficiency grow.

-Hannah