Batch Like a Boss: How to Create 30 Days of Strategic Content in Just 4 Days

30-Day Content Creation: How to Successfully Batch an Entire Month of Content in Just 4 Days

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Thanks for that reminder, Benjamin Franklin! This quote has become one of my core truths as a small business owner. Planning ahead helps me show up with intention, protect my energy, and stay focused on what matters most—serving my clients and building a sustainable business. That’s why I believe in the power of batching content. I’ve developed a system where I can create 30 days of content in just 4 days. That gives me 26 (or 27!) other days to focus on everything else my business needs from me. In this post, I’m walking you through the exact strategy I use every month. Whether you’re new to content creation or you’re tired of constantly feeling behind, this method will help you create with clarity and purpose.

Why Batching Content Works for Busy Business Owners

When you’re trying to wear all the hats in your business, content creation can quickly become overwhelming. You either post inconsistently or waste hours every week deciding what to say. That’s not sustainable. Batching gives you your time and energy back. And the best part? Once it’s done, you’re free to focus on client work, sales, systems, and all the backend pieces that move the needle.

Start With Your Long-Form Content Pillar

Here’s the first step: choose one long-form platform to focus on. I personally create long-form content for both my blog and podcast (The Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast). But when you’re just getting started, I highly recommend you choose one to commit to consistently—whether that’s blogging, podcasting, or even YouTube. Your long-form content is the foundation of your entire content strategy. Everything else—social posts, email newsletters, Reels, Pinterest graphics—can be repurposed from this. To be very honest, I do blogging for my family photography side of my business and then I do podcasting for the systems/workflow education side of my business! But if I were starting out, I would start off with ONE. And I would do a long-form piece of content that my ideal audience consumes (or likes to consume)!

Step 1: Define Your Content Pillars

Thanks to the brilliant Ashlyn Carter, I’ve learned how important it is to lead with “hero” content (also called content pillars). These are the core topics that reflect the heartbeat of your business and help guide your content strategy month after month. Here are the four main content pillars I focus on in my business:

• Family Photography (Blogging)
• Branding Photography (Blogging) 
• Systems, Workflow, and Business Operations Education for Family Photographers (Podcast Episodes + Some YouTube Videos) 
• Launching Education for Solo Business Owners Who Want to Learn How to Launch (Podcast Episodes + YouTube Videos) 

These pillars allow me to speak to different aspects of my audience while staying aligned with what I do and what I offer. Whether I’m writing a blog post, creating an Instagram Reel, or recording a podcast episode, my content flows from one of these four themes. You don’t have to have four to start—begin with 2–3 that align with your offers. Just make sure your content directly supports your expertise, services, or products. And remember: your pillars shouldn’t change every month. They’re the foundation of your long-term content strategy.

Step 2: Choose Topics Aligned with Your Pillars

Not sure what to write or talk about? Start by asking:

• What questions do I get often?
• What’s trending in my niche?
• What’s happening in client conversations?
• Can I create an evergreen series that will always be relevant (meaning, now matter what time of year a person “Googles” the question, your article or video will pop up)

Evergreen content (timeless, valuable content) is a great way to set your business up for long-term success.

Step 3: Batch Your Long-Form Content

Once you have your topics, it’s time to start writing (blogging, creating YouTube Videos, or creating Podcast Episodes) If you blog like I do, I highly recommend using the Yoast SEO plugin to help optimize each post for search engines. As you write, be sure to:

• Use clear H1, H2, and H3 headers
• Include keywords your audience is searching for
• Add a lead magnet CTA that connects with your post (because you should ALWAYS be growing your email list in your content creation process, too)

Freebie tip: I have a lead magnet all about creating a lead magnet—grab it if you’re unsure where to start with freebies!

Step 4: Design All Graphics in Canva

Now that the content is written, head to Canva to batch your visuals. I design graphics for:

• 5–8 Pinterest Pins for your long-form content
• 3 Instagram posts to drive traffic to your long-form content
• 4 Instagram Reel covers per topic
• Instagram Stories to match the long-form content
• Blog banner (for your Blog)

✅Pro tip: Organize everything by month and by week in labeled folders on your desktop. Once all your graphics are ready, return to your blog drafts and insert your Pinterest and blog images. Then… schedule them out! Here is a shameless plug for my Branding Photography Services. If you are a NASHVILLE-based business owner and you need visuals that help tell a story of what you do to your viewers, and you want a library of images to use, I highly recommend checking out my branding photography packages here (otherwise I would google “Branding Photographer in ___________- insert your city” so that you can work with a branding photographer who will help you create those visuals you need for your long form content)!

Step 5: Organize It All in Trello or your preferred project management tool of choice 

Once content and graphics are done, I open up Trello—my master hub. In Trello, I:

• Organize weekly content by topic
• Note what I’ll talk about in stories each day
• Track blog post, email, and social deadlines

If you’re new to Trello, it’s free and powerful.

Step 6: Automate Instagram with a scheduler 

After my captions are written, I use Facebook Business Suite to schedule things out because it’s Free!

1. Note: You can always use schedulers like Plann or Tailwind to help you with that, too!
2. Also note: I would highly recommend using a tool like Plann because they have a way for you to analyze your posts and hashtags and it’s a good analytics tool. I haven’t switched over to Plann quite yet because I try to keep my overhead costs low for my own businesses.

Step 7: Batch and Schedule Weekly Emails

I love Instagram, but social media is borrowed land. You don’t own it, and it can disappear overnight. That’s why I always recommend building and nurturing your email list. Every month, I batch and schedule my weekly emails in Flodesk. I write content based on my blog topics, but I make sure not to just copy and paste. Give your email list a little more heart. Share behind-the-scenes, tell a story, or dive deeper into the blog topic. Show up every week and build that trust. If you need 50% off of Flodesk, I’ve got your back right here (affiliate link) 

Why You Should Be Growing Your Email List While Batching

Batching content is the perfect time to think about your email list growth strategy. Ask yourself: how are you going to grow your email list this month intentionally? Start by attaching a lead magnet to your content. This could be a free guide, checklist, or training that relates directly to your blog topic. I highly recommend my Free Lead Magnet Master Idea List if you’re stuck on what to create. It includes tons of opt-in ideas that can help turn readers and viewers into subscribers. You can [grab it here] to get started! When you include email list growth as a part of your batching workflow, you’re turning your content into a powerful marketing system.

Step 8: Create Short-Form Video Content

Video is one of the most effective ways to connect with your audience—but let’s be real, it’s also one of the hardest for me. Here’s what I do:

• Film short videos or Reels related to each blog post
• Change outfits so it looks like different days
• Batch them all in one sitting

You don’t need fancy equipment. Use your phone. Then upload them into a folder organized by week so they’re easy to find.

Bonus: Track Your Marketing Results with Enji

One final tool I love using in my batching process is Enji. Enji helps me track all of my marketing efforts in one place—from content planning to performance tracking. This allows me to see what’s working, what needs improvement, and how I can better optimize my marketing strategy moving forward. If you’re already investing time in batching, make sure you’re also tracking your results. Data is your friend!

Final Thoughts: Why This Workflow Works

Batching content has been a game changer for me. It frees up my mental energy and helps me stay consistent without scrambling. But let me say this: It took time to figure out what worked for me. If you’re still building your workflow, give yourself grace. Test, tweak, and refine. But once you nail it? You’ll finally have a rhythm you can count on—and 30 days of content planned in just 4 days.

Another reason why I love a good batching schedule oh-so-much? It’s because I can concentrate on launching for my 1:1 clients. I’m still marketing my business in the background while I work on a specific launch. Working ahead of time (by batching) helps me in more ways than one!!!!  

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Meet Your Friendly Launch Planner + Systems & Workflow Educator For Family Photographers

Dolly DeLong is a Nashville-based family photographer and a creative business owner who educates other creative business owners on systems, SOPs, and workflows.  Dolly loves serving families with her bold, elevated, and radiant photography.  She also loves educating other creative business owners on how to set up systems and workflows to help them save time in their business. She produces weekly blog posts, podcast episodes on The Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast, and weekly YouTube Episodes.  She has a heart for serving the larger business community. Dolly shares her knowledge of tools like Dubsado, Email Marketing, and Business Systems with new creative business owners & family photographers in an encouraging and supportive way because she believes that anyone can find joy in systems, workflows, and SOPS! Plus, BONUS: Systems is where the MAGIC happens! You CAN streamline & automate the backend of your creative business with ease! Dolly’s faith and love for her family motivate her to help other business owners find the joy and freedom she’s seen in running a successful small business. Whenever she has a spare moment, she enjoys watching TV (i.e., Survivor), loves eating way too many sweets, and listens to podcasts while running or walking. To work with Dolly DeLong, fill out her contact form.

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