How to create a content calendar (and keep it consistently updated!) with the JK5 method
Content management... cue the collective sigh from digital creators and sellers. Creating a content calendar and keeping it consistently updated is notoriously time-consuming, and many entrepreneurs need more consistency, while others need help with content creation that feels true to their brand. I’m here to teach you how to use the JK5 method, a popular content creation method coined by Jenna Kutcher. The JK5 method effectively develops your brand, attracts new followers, and engages with existing followers.
First, decide on the five topics you want to focus on for your content calendar. These topics should be reflective of your brand’s goals and values. Depending on the type of business you have, you may choose topics such as customer service, product launches, industry news, promotional offers, or simply stories about yourself, your team, or your customers. You may also want to include any content from guest bloggers or influencers. When choosing these topics, remember that only one should be directly related to selling something – the other four should foster a connection with potential clients by providing valuable information. Once you have chosen the five topics that will make up the bulk of your content calendar, keep them consistent throughout the year.
Additionally, it’s important to ensure enough variety within each of these topics to keep them interesting and engaging over time. For instance, if one of your five topics is product launches, consider featuring sneak previews of upcoming products or giving behind-the-scenes insights into upcoming releases. This provides more depth into the topic while still staying within its boundaries and allows people who follow it closely to feel like they’re getting exclusive information not available anywhere else - something that will increase customer loyalty over time!
Once you’ve established the five topics for the year ahead, create a plan for when each topic should be featured in your content calendar. This can be done through a weekly or monthly schedule template which outlines when each topic should be covered and how often they should appear in your feed or other media outlets. For example, if one of your topics is customer service related, then it might make sense to feature this once a month on a specific day every month rather than randomly throughout the week. Setting up these templates helps ensure consistency in frequency and timing so that your followers can become familiar with specific topics appearing at certain times. This template can then become the basis for creating individual posts around each topic throughout the month or week that represent what you have already planned within that overall structure. This could include blog posts, videos, good quotes– anything within those categories.
Don’t forget the details! You want consumers to remember what it was about and get something out of viewing it. More detailed information makes this easier as readers can have a comprehensive picture as they go through the post instead of just skimming through it without fully understanding what they read. Always strive for high quality over quantity – make sure each post adds value and engages readers rather than just being ‘filler’ material for the sake of meeting quota. And while including more details increases the word count in each post, this doesn’t mean compromising the quality of the text; semantic richness ensures that readers still understand the main point while taking away fluff words from the text at hand. Think about it. Would you rather read a post that has a point and gets to it? Or would you rather read a post that gets to the point with just enough detail?
Once you have identified what needs to be posted and when it needs to be posted, make sure you stick to it! Many businesses skip out or lag in their postings due to busy schedules, other commitments, or simply being overwhelmed, but having a regular posting schedule that adheres to those five topics helps keep your feed fresh, engaging, and relevant for viewers. It’s also best to stay informed about current events and trends and create posts accordingly. This will also help ensure that posts remain relevant and topical for viewers in real-time.
My last piece of advice? Get comfortable with analytics tools such as Google Analytics or Sprout Social to track how well each post performs based on when it was posted and how successful each topic has been overall. Adjust accordingly if needed – maybe even adding new elements into the mix if one topic isn’t performing as well as expected! Take note of what does and does not work on different platforms. If certain types of posts perform better than others (e.g., videos do better than text-based posts), try adding more variety to your future scheduling plan accordingly!
By following these steps closely and consistently updating your content calendar using the JK5 method, you’ll create an organized yet dynamic approach to creating content that reflects your brand values and resonates with audiences who follow it closely. Not only will this help grow audience engagement, but it will also provide insightful data points into what kind of content works best for building relationships with current customers while attracting new ones along the way!
