Having a Content Sharing Plan is no longer optional if you want to build a long-term, successful business in the online world.

And I know you want to create a business that lasts.

First of all - what is a “Content Sharing Plan?”

A CONTENT PLAN is a set idea of the exact topics + sub-topics you want to speak, film, and write helpful content for - in order to meet, draw in, and nurture an audience that is looking for your solutions to their problem. These are helpful pieces of content such as: blog posts, recipes, videos to share on Youtube, Facebook or Instagram LIVE casts, webinar presentations, social media graphics + text posts, and more!

It’s absolutely necessary to both establish your online presence AND nurture ongoing online relationships. It makes complete sense to both YOU and your followers (and soon-to-be clients) and nowadays, it’s more possible than ever for everyone to do it effectively and affordably.

I wish I had known about this 11+ years ago when I started venturing into the online business world as a health coach! That’s why I’m writing this blog post series for you - so that you can build your business to effectiveness and profit quickly - and hopefully without the mistakes I’ve experienced.

Why do we need a Content Sharing Plan?

For starters, to make sure you are working smarter, not harder, in serving the people God brings you to serve. A clear-cut content plan is comforting because it gives your followers a sense of purpose, all while keeping you focused as you work.

Once you put your content sharing plan in place, every time you sit down to work, you'll know exactly what you'll be sharing about on your website & blog, social media channels, and to your email list. You’ll go into each week ready to work on your tasks, feeling clear and on-purpose.

To do this week after week, you first need to establish a strong foundation to your business, which is your THREE PILLARS.

What are the 3 Pillars to a successful business and clear Content Sharing Plan?

They are:

Your Website & Blog
Your Email List
Your Social Media Channels

Let's break down how it works here...

From Your Website - you'll share the sign up page for the FREE THING that your readers get through your auto-scheduled emails. You'll share weekly blog posts or recipes that are meant to be helpful and maybe even transformational for your readers. You'll share resources and tips and some of your knowledge and expertise with your readers. These will all be shared additionally to both your email list (weekly) and social media followers (daily.)
From Your Email List - readers will sign up on your website (from either there directly or the social media posts where you invite them to) and they will receive the amazing free thing immediately (instant gratification!) and then receive helpful, automatic follow-up emails (called a nurture sequence) and then real-time, weekly emails you create based on your community's overarching content plan.
Your Social Media Channels - you'll share social media posts daily to your followers (LIVES on occasion, too) based on the overarching content plan. You'll share sneak peeks and links to your weekly blog posts to your followers on social media. Share posts inviting people to sign up for your amazing free thing on your email list, as well as the weekly emails. You can even share posts inviting your readers to book a free connection call with you (speak to the solution you'll bring to their problem, and send them to your calendar link.)

Content Sharing Plan for Online Businesses

You can see from the diagram, that all three work together to:

DRAW your people to your business
CAPTURE them to your “online real estate” - your website and email list!
SERVE your people well with meaningful content

In this post, we’re going to cover the topic of your website and blog FIRST, and then in future posts in this series, we’ll break down the other two and how they tie into your Content Sharing Plan.

WEBSITE AND BLOG

There’s a lot of conflicting information out there now that’s saying websites and blogs are no longer needed or effective for your business building. Some say you can just build your online business through social media alone, by posting and putting up videos and selling that way.

I politely disagree with that opinion.

Let me give you the reasons I STILL teach and believe in the effectiveness of having websites and blogs for your coaching business.

They are the ONLY place where YOU, the business owner, hold all control to your content. (Other channels change ALL the time - for example, look at the censorship on social media, and how they’re changing the algorithm constantly, resulting in great loss of reach and sales to the “little guys” aka US!)
The work you do TODAY on your website and blog stands the test of time, and will be found by your desired reader weeks, months, and years down the road. (Versus social media posts that have a “shelf life” of only a few days to a week.) It’s true that strategic work to “rank” your website for it’s desired niche is entirely possible through SEO efforts (though you have to have patience, as it takes faithful WORK and sometimes, a little while to get going!)
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is still effective, and when it’s done right (which equals another few minutes’ research and time put into each blog post and page on your website) you’ll be drawing readers and potential clients to your business for years to come. The efforts you apply now, will pay you exponentially down the road.
Your website and blog can be an effective “home base” for your business - picture it as a virtual representation of what would be your brick-and-mortar business front. It’s your online storefront! It houses your free thing, your shop, your services, your bio, your expertise and reputability, your message and branding. It’s so vital as your one-stop-shop for WHO YOU ARE in business and what you’re providing to those looking for you!
Your blog posts can become a valuable resource tool in themselves. They will be go-to articles and/or recipes that you’ll use for your own client resources in addition to sharing to your social media platforms as a way to build your expertise. For instance, write a blog post about the top 10 foods to fight inflammation, and then use it as an additional reference tool for clients struggling with inflammation. These posts can be put in your “coaching toolbox” as well as used by other health coaches for theirs down the road!

This is just a short list of all the benefits of setting up and maintaining an effective website. You see why I still believe in the power of websites & blog posts? Such a valuable tool for your business.

More About Your Website

Now, this is where many coaches feel the overwhelm start to creep up on them. And I totally understand.

Tech is a scary bear for so many of us, and this topic just brings on that “tech-dread!”

But I have good news for you.

You don’t have to dread this particular step in your business. I’ve been using a wonderful tool for my websites for over 4 years now, and I’m still just as happy with it today as I was then.

It removes the tech-dread, the overwhelm, all of it. I promise! (At least it does for me!)

My websites + blogs are on Squarespace now. It’s an easy-to-learn, robust drag-and-drop builder, every tutorial you could need as you learn it can be clearly found in their database and if not, their customer service is wonderful at answering any further questions you’ll have.

I loved that I pay just a small hosting fee once a year, and then, no more expenses! Back when I had my sites on Wordpress, I was constantly paying for something - plugins, help, design, and more! I went back and looked at my past spending trend in 8 years of using Wordpress, and since switching, I’ve easily saved over $6,000! (I know, so crazy!)

It has majorly freed up my time, and relieved my anxiety.

I now spend about one-third the time on posting blog posts that I did before. So I have time to post more faithfully now!

If you want to explore it for yourself, I made a detailed screen-share video that explains why I love it HERE!

Whatever platform you decide to use is not as important though, as it is to just GET A SITE created and up. Get used to writing and posting blog posts + recipes. Things that will become resources in your business to grow your expertise, your knowledge and ultimately, your client base.

Remember, your website & blog is only ONE of the 3 Pillars you need to create a balanced, effective Content Sharing Plan (which is the heart and soul of your business!)

You’ll also need an email list (to capture your leads into one direct place to reach them and nurture their relationship with you) and of course, one or more social media outlets to share on and interact daily with your followers in a conversational way.

In the same way that you can avoid tech-dread with your website and blog, you can with your email list and social media. I’m going to help you!

The next post in this series will explain how to easily build your email list with a user-friendly service, while highlighting your amazing personality and bringing your important message to your followers.

In the meantime, you can be working other angles of your business and gaining new clients if you GRAB your FREE 15-page PDF “25 Ways to Meet & Serve New Clients” HERE.

Blog