Creating a Website Content Plan for Your Small Business

Once you’ve decided to use content marketing to increase the flow of targeted traffic to your website, your very next step should be the creation of a website content plan.

That’s because a solid, yet flexible, content plan will enable you to stay focused, more effectively manage your content marketing efforts and measure your results against your stated goals.

Sounds pretty good, eh? But just how do you go about creating a website content plan if you’ve never made one before?

Don’t worry! To help you figure it all out, I’ve gathered a bunch of great links below that will help you learn what a content plan is, why you need one and how you create it.

So enjoy and, if you’re interested in learning more about creating great content for your site, subscribe to my updates using the “Newsletter Sign-Up” form to the right.

NOTE: I’ll be launching a new course within the next two weeks that should really help boost your content creation and inbound marketing efforts.

If you’re signed-up for my updates (newsletter form to the right), you will receive a “Subscribers-Only” discount code on the day the course launches.

Creating a Website Content Plan for Your Small Business

What is a Website Content Plan?

• Content Planning: How To Get Started – serves as a great introduction to the components and processes within a website content plan.
• 5 tips for better content planning – the intro has a nice list explaining what makes up a content plan.
• Stay on Track with a Social Media Content Plan – what does a social media content plan look like?

Why Create a Website Content Plan?

• How To Develop A Simple Content Plan To Make Your Life Much Easier – some great reasons right at the top of this post.
• The Easy-to-Use Tool that Helps You Build a Breakthrough Blog – why do you need an editorial calendar? Find out and also learn about a handy WordPress plugin.
• How to Develop a Niche Blog Content Plan – presents some compelling points on why you should create a content plan.

How to Create a Website Content Plan

• 12 Questions That Should Guide Your Content Marketing Plan – if you have the answers to these questions in hand, you are well on your way!
• How to Build a Content Plan For Your Blog
• Planning your Content: Building a Business Blog, Part II
• Creating Your Digital Marketing Content Plan For 2012
• Three approaches to content planning – a recorded webinar detailing different ways to create a content plan.
• Here’s a series from the same site:
• How To Plan Content Marketing Strategies For Your Website – this post has a really useful guide on doing a website content audit.
• How To Create A Schedule For Your Content Marketing Plan
• Planning Your Content Marketing: Bricks vs. Feathers – Loved this look at two different types of content and how to plan for each. Make sure to scroll to the bottom and view the infographic.
• Get Your Own Content Development Process With This 4 Step Action Plan
• Facebook Page Content: How to Develop a Content Plan and Calendar – interesting look at using a content plan for your Facebook fan page.
• Plan Your New Website Content Strategy Using The Rule of Fives
• A Content Plan Makes Blogging Easier – I liked the point about planning out actionable content.
• Reduce Stress With a Content Plan
• A Photo A Day Content Plan for the Month of February – I liked this interesting take on content planning using a photo-a-day.

Downloadable Checklist and Worksheets

• Free Content Planning Tools – a checklist and worksheet
• Content Planning Calendar – a handy holiday content planning worksheet

Weekly Link Roundup

Each week, I collect the 10 best posts that I’ve read and share them with you here.

These posts focus on web-based solutions, online resources and up-to-date news for small businesses.

Enjoy!

7 Terrific Twitter Tips To Use Today: A handy list that you can put into action right away.

5 Ways to Market Your Brand on LinkedIn: If you’re in a B2B business run, don’t walk, to read this post.

Luxury Hotels & Social Media: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts: Love these kind of case studies!

How an SaaS company makes its Facebook marketing work: Another great case study.

Simple steps to a complete LinkedIn Profile: Recently, LinkedIn changed their criteria for having a “complete” profile. Learn the details here.

The 17 R’s of Savvy Mobile Marketing [INFOGRAPHIC]: This is a great tutorial on the key points of mobile marketing. Make sure to read the expanded points under the infographic.

PPC for Nonprofits: Learn how to use the power of search engine ads to further your organization’s cause.

Six Tips for Maximizing Email Marketing Campaigns: Some really useful tips for getting the most out of your e-mail marketing efforts.

8 Simple Strategies: Take Your Blog From Blah to Brilliant: Handy tips and tricks for making your blogging efforts more effective.

5 ways Facebook Timeline could help your brand tell its story: Facebook’s timeline functionality is coming to fan pages – how will it help your efforts on the most popular social network?