18 Secrets to Creating More Content With Less Writing

1. Posting Photos

A picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say. Using pictures with concise, information-rich captions can substitute for writing a lengthy post, but still keep people scrolling and engaged on your page.

If you work in a visually driven industry, people want to see examples of what you’re doing, sometimes even more than they want to hear words.

Photographers focusing on B2C sales, for example, don’t need to explain the lens type or aperture. They do need to share beautiful images that drive consumers to learn more about their services.

As an example, photographer and small business owner Anna Angenend created a Mom Life photo series, which went viral and received media coverage from outlets like The Daily Mail, Huffington Post and The Today Show.

2. Work With Guest Bloggers

If you’re struggling to create enough content to post on your blog regularly, consider inviting other bloggers to share content on your site. A few tips for finding the right guest bloggers, the ones who will benefit you:

Find people in a similar or complimentary niche to yours.

Don’t shoot for the stars. You need to work with other people who are also looking for traffic and visibility, not those who feel like they’d be doing you a favor by posting on your site.

Be aware of their social visibility. Part of the benefit of working with a guest blogger is the fact that they’ll be promoting your site via their social media and other channels.

3. Do An Account Takeover

Similar to a guest blog post, an account takeover temporarily gives the reins of your social media to a collaborator, so they can share content that makes sense.

By allowing someone else to handle posting for the day, you can share expert advice or different perspectives, increase engagement and attract a larger audience of social media users who might be interested in what you have to offer.

One of the best recent examples of using account takeovers and influencers partnerships to get a message across was P&G’s collaboration with TikTok queen Charli D’Amelio. The resulting social distancing #DistanceDance received more than 30 million views and spread an important message about pandemic safety.

4. Publish Testimonials

Not in the mood to write? Let your customers do the writing for you.

Testimonials can easily be made into social media content and used across a variety of channels – from compiling several into a blog post (which will likely be filled with SEO-friendly phrases) to creating social images to recording and publishing video content.

Testimonials offer tremendous value regardless of the platform where you share them because they offer social proof, showing that other people use and value a product or service. 92% say online reviews and testimonials are part of their decision making process when considering a purchase.

5. Survey Your Customers & Publish The Results

Similar to customer testimonials, data collection and surveys work for content generation because they play on people’s curiosity and their desires to understand what their peers are thinking and whether they’re aligned in their efforts.  

SocialPubli, an influencer marketing agency, completes annual surveys of influencers, then compiles that data into a useful report that attracts their target audiences:  

• Companies considering partnering with influencers 
• Influencers who want to be part of their platform 

6. Compile An Expert Digest

Go straight to the source for good content. Talk to experts about a trending topic or about something that’s critical in your industry. They’ll provide knowledgeable, well-considered content, lend you credibility and help to promote your site or social pages.

We have a blog post that does this, sharing guidance from small business owners. Another great recent example comes from the travel section of The Washington Post: 7 black voices on what needs to change in the travel industry.

7. Make An Explainer Video

Many people find it easier to talk than to write, and videos earn great traction with both search engines and viewers. Video appears in 70% of the top 100 search results listings and viewers are up to 85% more likely to make a purchase after watching a product video.

What does that mean? It means it might be time to get you camera rolling.

As you start building your video library, explainer videos can be used to engage your audience and keep them watching.

They’re generally easy to layout, following a logical sequence or outline.

You can talk directly to the camera, with a minimal amount of graphic design or editing required.

If you’re a little camera-shy, you can also do voice recordings or on-screen imagery to produce your video.

8. Break It Down, Step-By-Step

Step-by-step processes can work across multiple platforms. Use them as a:

• Facebook photo collection, where each step is featured on a separate image
• A blog post, where the majority of the content is business-like and straightforward and not much creative juice is required
• An Instagram story that can be saved to your highlights and kept easily accessible

Beauty and skincare company Qutie’s Body Bar recently shared how-to content as part of a 30-day skincare challenge. The company’s lists of skincare step-by-steps were to the point and answered questions about processes but didn’t require in-depth creative writing to get content published.

9. Repurpose Content You Already Created

Take stock of what you’ve already published. Which content has resonated with your audiences?

Have you shared images of events that you’ve planned or products you’ve produced? Put together a behind-the-scenes look at how the event took place or what the production process looks like.

Have you published a video that got a lot of likes and shares? Repurpose the content into a blog post or a set of Insta Stories.

You can create a lot of content from just one set of source materials – break a listicle blog post into a set of LinkedIn thought leadership posts; create a series of tweets promoting a new blog posts; pin several Pinterest pins for each new piece of content you create.

You can also get more bang for your content creation buck by syndicating content from your blog on certain other sites (like Medium or LinkedIn). While the other sites may have stronger SEO and authority, the additional traffic they drive to you may be beneficial.

10. Do A Round-up Of Other People’s Content

Round-up posts drive additional traffic, position you as an expert for your target audience, and help you build relationships with other content producers interested in similar topics.

When you create a round up, link appropriately to everyone’s content and make sure you’re attributing anything you’re sharing. If you have some pages or images of your own that are relevant, give yourself a little link love as well.

Round-up posts can be industry-wide, like this post on email statistics, or can be tied to a specific product, event or area of interest, like this one highlighting regional travel activities for a convention and visitors’ bureau.

13. Transcribe Relevant Parts Of  Your Live Video

After you’ve created a video, you have a tremendous amount of information at your disposal. Use a transcription service (or grab the relevant parts yourself, if you’re on a budget), and turn it into additional content.  

If you find it easier to talk through something than to face a blank page and write it down, hearing yourself speak should give you a good baseline and allow you to capture your own voice and passion for your product.  

TED talks are an excellent example of how to utilize this content, as they transcribe each talk and make the content available in a blog post format, then offer additional supplemental materials like reading lists and reference materials (see this talk by Bill and Melinda Gates for an example).  

14. Make A Slide Presentation

SlideShare allows you to turn your PowerPoint-style presentations and information into socially shareable posts.  

This format can be great if you have content that easily condenses to bullet points. That means you’ll spend less time writing and more time focusing on stats and other information that drives home your point.  

And, SlideShare is a high authority site, which means content shared there is seen as relevant and typically ranks higher in search engine results. Once you post a presentation, don’t just leave it hanging though – share it across your other social platforms.