3 Actionable Steps to Avoid Content Creation Burnout as a Creative Solopreneur

With the consistent rise of digital platforms becoming the redefining of marketing itself, solopreneurs often feel overwhelmed by the constant need to produce content across various channels. How do I know this? Because I am YOU.

I own 2 businesses, and I can honestly say that managing social media has always felt like a whole separate person's job. It's not easy, and I can't even imagine what it's like for the solopreneurs who don't have a background in marketing. I have 5 years of experience in this field as a social media manager, and my main mission with Essence is to help wellness business owners, solopreneurs and crafters (crafting is a big element of my other business) streamline this process so that it doesn't take so much time out of time that would otherwise be spent on doing what they love.

I think we can all agree that content creation burnout has become a bigger issue in that past half decade for business owners than any other time. This is also a new issue considering all other elements of being a business owner- we've never had to deal with the expectation of producing content for our digital presence until about 5 years ago. And 2020 was when everything really became solidified in the sense that you almost NEED a digital presence to be considered "legit" or even relevant.

This point specifically I've always had a personal issue with. For the main reason that I don't believe managing an online presence is for everybody. I believe people in the creative fields have the hardest time with it because it can be a toxic distraction. I somewhat relate to this sentiment when it comes to my personal businesses- I have always had a hard time managing my own presence for the reason that it requires you be self critical. Sometimes it is much easier to have the content creation and management process done in a streamlined way so that it doesn't take up so much of your own energy, effort, and critique. I don't believe this kind of work should be in the hands of business owners themselves for this very reason, which is why Essence Presents Production exists!

Define the structure, because when life gets in the way (which it always does at some point), you at least have a structure to fall back on when you come back to work.

A super important point I want to make here is that in order to make high quality content, we need to have boundaries with how much we're doing in this given free time. For instance, if you only have two hours a week extra of free time, and you know that in order to make something with 100% of your effort, you may only get 1-2 posts out of that time, then allow that to be your baseline.

With this being said, I highly suggest (especially in the beginning) using this content on all the platforms you've decided to be on. Get the most out of your content by giving it the highest amount of reach. Once you've been doing this consistently with 2 posts per week, you'll be able to see through your in app analytics which platforms are working best with your content. Focus on these platforms and engage with your community there as much as you can and desire to.

This mindset has become more and more important to me over the years. You know when you are creating something, whether it's a product, piece of art, or collection of something, and you listen to music while doing it. Do you ever look back on your work and notice how the music influenced the outcome of your work? Maybe elements of your creation came out 'darker' than you proposed, or more emotionally-provoking in some way. What this means, is that what your environment is like around you comes out in your work. That's why it is so important to make this a fun and engaging task for you.

Creating content is already an extra item on your to-do list, so it's easily something that may come with some resentment as it's taking away from time you want to spend with loved ones, or time you want to have for yourself. Try to find ways to reward yourself afterwards, and always try to work as efficiently as possible so that no extra time is taken away from what you're truly wanting to do.

This may sound scary and technical to some of you but I promise, at the end of the day these tools are TIME SAVERS. And that is what we're looking for when it comes to supporting ourselves to thrive, not burnout. Some tools are obviously tools that you may need to reconsider with your budget, especially if you're just starting out. I assure you that integrating tools can happen on a budget though and I'm sure of it because 6 out of the 7 tools listed below has some sort of free option.

I am about 3-4 years into my solopreneurship journey, 5 years into a marketing career, and these tools I honestly don't know if I could live without. So take that as it resonates, and let's get into this automation tool list

• Canva for Graphic Design: (FREE VERSION) How does Canva automate content creation processes? When it comes to accessing your brand kit, logos, previous designs for series or recycle-able content, and formatting pretty much any kind of design you need through in app templates and graphic elements, Canva is an un-matched solopreneur tool.

• Later/Meta for Social Media Post Scheduling: (FREE) If you simply need the whole posting process off of your plate, a scheduling tool is 100% for you. Later is a paid tool but offers all-app integration which is game changing. This means you could post the same piece of content across Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, etc, etc, etc. A truly amazing tool in every sense. If you're not ready to pay for a scheduling tool, consider Meta Business- it's free and all you have to do is connect your Instagram and Facebook account so that they're connected. The downside to this is you will still have to schedule content on your other apps separately. Both tools include analytics tracking which is super helpful for understanding how your content is performing.

• Asana/Coda for Task Management: (Asana- FREE VERSION) So for all of your organized task management folks out there, this one is for you. Some people are able to know and manage all of the tasks they have to do in their heads, but some people need more assistance in this process, especially if you have digital automations set up for your business. My most favorite tool I've ever used is Asana- it's very intuitive and easy to use for almost everybody and I highly recommend
  

• Google Calendar/Drive for Time Management & File Storage: (FREE) You guys already KNOW how I feel about Google Calendar and Google Drive. These systems are arguable the best places to begin for business organization, time management, storage, etc. You can do almost anything you could imagine from the Google Drive, and I highly recommend it when you're starting your business and even beyond your beginnings for storage, file accessibility and more. Here is a video where I talk through how I utilize Google Calendar if you're interested.

• Notes on Apple Devices for Content Capture and Ideas: (FREE) This is my favorite tool for capturing thoughts, ideas, inspiration for my businesses. It seems like such a given, but if you think about it, you can't realistically carry around a journal all the time. Having a dedicated and pinned note for all of your thoughts on your busiess allows you to capture these thoughts anywhere and anytime.

• Wix Website for Hosting & Email Marketing: This is the only not free tool which is your website hosting platform. This is not to say that there are not free versions out there, but Wix specifically allows you to not only host your website, but there are SO many integrations with a Wix site that make it worth it to me for the investment over many other website hosting platforms. You can execute email marketing, invoice clients, and even set up subscription services through having a Wix website.

• ChatGPT / Claude for Content Refining & Ideation Assisting: (FREE) This may be one of my favorite NEW ways to automate processes, and yes this is AI. ChatGPT and Claude (another AI conversation tool) have allowed me to save A LOT of time. I use these tools for developing copy for certain things like YouTube descriptions, meta tags for blogs, etc. Many people also use these AI tools for content ideation and even for writing their social media content or blog content itself. My only precaution here is to ALWAYS review what you get from AI to make sure it sounds like a human.