On Wednesday, November 6th I gave a presentation at the Torrance Chamber of Commerce called, “7 Steps to Creating Great Content for Your Website, Blogs, Emails, Flyers, and Brochures.” And I want to share my entire Power Point presentation with you.

The Content Creation System: 7 Simple Steps to Creating Great Content

Writing Great Content Doesn’t Have to Be Overwhelming

I know how overwhelming it is to be the person who is responsible for bringing in new business,while at the same time having to create a content marketing strategy that includes:

• blogging
• emails
• newsletters
• reports
• flyers
• brochures
• direct mail
• and more..

I also understand how difficult writing can be if you consider yourself a non-writer (BTW, writer’s find writing difficult too).

Writing can be intimidating.

Well, I have a secret to share with you; writing doesn’t come naturally to me either.

All through school I struggled with reading comprehension and writing.  My temperament was much better suited to mathematics and physics.

However, my belief that I was hopelessly bad at writing started to change during my first semester in college.

While taking a creative writing course, the class was asked to write a paper describing an activity that we enjoyed.  I wrote about playing soccer.  I remember writing about sunshine, the smell of fresh cut grass, and the way my lungs would burn during the first fifteen minutes of play.

After that assignment, my professor pulls me aside and asks, “What’s your major?

“Marketing,” I replied.

“That’s too bad, because you can write.”

It was the first time anyone, including my parents (I’ll leave my parental issues for another post), had complemented my writing. And the seed was planted.

Years later I decided that I wanted to make a living as a writer. So I began studying the art of writing.  I read books on script writing, novel writing, non-fiction writing, copywriting, and journaling. I’ve taken writing courses, and I worked with a wonderful writing coach for about 18 months. Oh, I also started the habit of writing everyday.

The Three Most Important Things About Writing:

1.  Anyone can learn to write well.

2. You need  a system.

3. Writing is a craft that requires practice.

Why You Need A System

My oldest daughter is a naturally gifted musician. When she was ten she picked up a long forgotten guitar that was a Christmas gift and started playing a lick she’d heard on Guitar Hero.  She’d never had a lesson, and didn’t learn to read music for another few years.

If I asked her how she is able to hear a song and figure out which chords to play on the guitar, she couldn’t tell me. She just knows how to do it.

In fact, ask anyone who is naturally gifted at anything, whether it’s baking, playing sports, or writing, and they probably wouldn’t be able to break down their process.

It’s people who don’t have a natural talent, but who instead have persistence and desire, who are able to watch the greats and glean a process. Or if they are truly persistent, create a process of their own.

Which is what I’ve done for you.

I have a process when I write. I use this process 90 percent of the time when I’m creating a piece of content.

I call it, ‘The Content Creation System.”

Without it, I’d wander around in a creative wasteland, wondering what the heck I’m going say.

This process helps me to stay focused, and it helps me to manage my time.

I want you to have this process, and adapt it as you see fit.

Writing for my personal use and for my clients is a gift. And in an age where everyone is hungry for information, learning how to communicate your ideas, process, and products either visually or with the written word, is more imperative than ever.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please don’t hesitate to ask.