Have you ever wondered what successful content marketers are doing differently?
There are a number of factors to consider here. Part of the equation comes down to experience; no matter what you do, someone with more years of experience under their belt will probably stand a good chance of outperforming you. Another is their access to resources; if they have a flexible budget and a team of high-quality staff members, they’re going to do better than someone struggling to do everything by themselves with a razor-thin budget.
But another part of the equation, and a more controllable one, is the daily routine and habits they maintain while progressing through their career. Your morning habits may seem like they take up a small part of your day, but they can dictate how the rest of your day develops, and their cumulative power over the course of many months is substantial.
So what are successful content marketers doing differently every morning?
1. They Read
Successful content marketers take the time to read, and they read a number of sources. Whether it’s first thing in the morning or after a round of answering emails, they pull up a feed of their most important content marketing news sites, and read up on new findings, new ideas, and new trends.
They may also subscribe to a feed of blogs belonging to their competitors; not only does this help them brainstorm new ideas for their own blog, it also gives them a heads-up about what their competitors are doing, so they never fall too far behind. Just half an hour of reading a day can make a difference here.
2. They Touch Base
Content marketers who have a team of their own, or who work with other marketing team members will take the time to touch base with these other authorities. Some teams do this with a 15-minute recap meeting, while others use instant messaging or email to check in with each individual. This is a key opportunity to make sure everyone is aligned on high-level goals and informed about the day’s top priorities.
Any misconceptions about the day’s work can be cleared up proactively, long before you or your employees waste time on the wrong priorities. It’s also an opportunity for your team to ask questions, and collaborate with each other on items that affect multiple team members.
3. They Prioritize
Too many content marketers take a reactive approach to their jobs. They start their day working on whichever task catches their attention first (such as the first email in their inbox), and are pulled in multiple different directions throughout the day as new emails, meetings, and incoming tasks catch their attention.
This is an inefficient way to work, so successful content marketers start their mornings by prioritizing all their tasks, projects, and other agendas in a clear, hierarchical order. They know exactly what their most important jobs are, and they aren’t afraid to ignore their lower-level priorities in favor of them.
4. They Delegate
Most content marketers have a sense of pride or commitment to their work, which encourages them to take on as much work themselves as possible (rather than allowing someone else to do it). But successful content marketers know that their employees and extended network of contractors are there for a reason; they aren’t afraid to delegate projects and tasks that interfere with their highest-level priorities, and they trust their employees to accomplish them successfully.
There’s an art to successful delegation, but any effort you make to optimize your workload is a step in the right direction.
5. They Focus
Did you know it takes an average of 23 minutes to recover from a distraction? Successful content marketers do, or they at least have an understanding of the value of true focus. They aren’t afraid to take some time during the morning to turn off email and message notifications, and they aren’t afraid to close the doors of their office for an hour.
Blocking out all distractions, including communications, helps you zero in on your most important work, so you can do it more efficiently from the start of your day.
6. They Experiment
Establishing a routine can help you boost your productivity, since it gives you a repeatable pattern to follow, but if you have a bad routine in place, you could end up losing time. Seasoned content marketing experts know this, and aren’t afraid to change things up, from the route they take to work in the morning to the order in which they manage their daily administrative tasks.
This experimental nature continues into their content work directly, encouraging them to try new types of content and AB test different headlines and audience targeting methods.
Some of these habits are preferential, and others are dependent on other factors (like having a team of employees to work with), so don’t feel like you have to adopt all these habits to be a successful content marketer. Instead of looking at the habit itself, look at the effects of the habit; for example, the point of reading each morning is staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends.
If you can do that with some other habit, or do it in the afternoon instead of the morning, you can similarly benefit. There’s a ton of wiggle room in the field of content marketing, but you’ll need to work hard if you want to improve as a content marketer.
