How to build a content plan you will actually stick to

Content plans usually collapse for one of two reasons. Either they are too ambitious to survive a busy month, or they are so vague that every week starts with a blank page. The fix is a small set of fixed decisions made once, so the weekly effort is only writing.

Step one: pick four pillars

Four themes you want to be known for. No more. For an accounting firm that might be tax changes explained plainly, running a better business, technology and automation, and life at the firm. Every piece you publish belongs to one pillar. If it does not fit, it does not get written.

Step two: name two or three audiences

Not 'SMEs'. Something like owner managed construction firms turning over 2 to 10 million, or first time founders taking investment. Write down what keeps each of them awake, in their words. Every piece is aimed at exactly one of them.

Step three: set a rhythm you can survive

• One long form article a month. That is your anchor.
• Two LinkedIn posts a week, at least one from a named person.
• One email a month to your list, built from the article.
• One quarterly piece with original data or a client story.

Step four: work in batches

Plan a month in one 45 minute session. Draft in one sitting per piece. Publishing weekly does not mean writing weekly. The firms that keep going are the ones that separate thinking, writing and posting into different days.

Step five: build the reuse loop

1. 01Write the article.
2. 02Pull three separate posts out of it, each with a different angle.
3. 03Turn the best section into a one page download or checklist.
4. 04Send it to your list with a short personal intro.
5. 05Ninety days later, update the numbers and publish it again.

A plan that survives your busiest month is worth more than a perfect plan that survives your quietest one.