Ep 27. Content Creation for Introverts: How to batch and stay spontaneous

A lot of people think content creation means either batching all of your content in advance, or you’ve gotta create in the moment to keep it fresh.

But what if I told you that there’s an in-between way that gives you the structure without losing that in the moment authenticity?

Today I’m gonna talk about exactly how I create content, and it’s a blend of both – batching and real time inspo. And honestly, I think this approach works best for introverts because it gives you that deep thought time that you need, but it also doesn’t force content when you’re not feeling it.

If you’re new here a very warm welcome to Quiet Confidence with myself, Anita Popat. It’s a podcast for introverts who want to market their thing without changing who you are.

In the last episode, I shared how to make content creation feel like something you look forward to, and today I thought it would make sense to share my actual content creation process.

I think a lot of people assume it’s either or. Either you batch everything weeks in advance and risk sounding robotic, or you create in the moment every single day and feel completely overwhelmed.

If I’m being honest, I do both and it really works well because it gives me structure without losing that spontaneity that makes content feel fresh and relevant.

So let me break it down for you. Let’s talk about batching first, because this is the foundation that keeps me consistent without burning out.

One thing that’s really important to clarify is that when I say batching, I don’t mean doing everything from start to finish in one session.

So I’m not saying go from brainstorming all your ideas to creating all the captions and filming everything or having the photos and having basically the polished content from start to finish. Because that would be overwhelming. I break it into separate sessions depending on what needs doing.

One batching session could be to map out ideas based on the offer I’m promoting that month. I’ll think about things like what do people need to understand before they’re ready to buy? What objections do I need to handle? and what kind of stories can I tell to support this?

Another session might be writing or repurposing captions for those ideas. Then I’ll have another batch session, whether it’s creating graphics or video or in the case of this podcast recording.

For this podcast, for example, I’ll normally have one session brainstorming ideas for titles. Then I’ll have another one on writing a loose script to make sure I hit all the points that I want to cover. Then I’ll batch record, then edit the episode, and then I’ll upload and write the show notes and share in another session.

So each of these things is a separate batch. I’m not going from idea to record, to edit, to publish in a couple of hours. That’s not batching because it’s using different parts of my brain. When I’m looking for content ideas, that’s a different part of my brain too when I’m editing the podcast, for example.

I guess what I’m trying to say is to work in focus chunks where you’re doing one type of task at a time, and that’s gonna be more efficient and way less draining than doing loads of different things at once, because your brain’s not trying to switch to different modes.

Like I said in the last episode, I’ll have specific times blocked out in my calendar to create content. For me, that’s usually afternoons because that’s when my energy is the highest and I want to create content in the high energy moments, because I’ll be more in flow, my ideas will come to me easier and the words will pour out me and they’ll feel right.

And I wanna infuse my content with that energy so that the people reading or listening can feel that.

That’s the reason I don’t force content creation in the morning. I’ll wait until the time where I know my brain is a bit more awake.

During these batching sessions, I’ll usually create the foundational, evergreen stuff, like the topics I know my audience needs to hear that’s not tied to what’s happening in a particular week. So things like the core principles I teach, the frameworks I use with clients, mindset shifts, um, content that would be just as relevant next month as it is today.

I’m not trying to write 10 perfect posts in one sitting. I’m just creating bones and key points of things I want to talk about.

Sometimes that could be just a headline.

Sometimes it’s a few bullet points of what I wanna say.

I don’t fully write everything in advance because then I’ll lose my natural voice and I don’t want it to sound too polished or planned. So I’ll structure the main points and the strategy and then leave room to add my voice when I’m actually ready to post.

And this works really well because if I know what I’m selling that month, I can make sure I’m creating content that leads to that offer, and I’ve got room to add my voice and the in the moment bits when I’m ready to post. But I’m not thinking about the, oh, what am I gonna post? because I’ve already mapped it out.

Now let’s talk about the real time inspiration, because this is where your content’s gonna get really good.

So throughout the week I’m capturing moments as they happen. I’ll often go through my diary from the previous week and think about the client calls, the DMs I’ve had, any observations I’ve made, things that I might be personally going through. And I’ll use these for analogies or stories that I can infuse into my content. These are the moments that make content feel alive and relevant and in the moment.

It could be a client says something in a call that was so perfectly worded that I’ll screenshot immediately or I’ll write it down. I do that a lot. I literally have a notepad in pen ready because I know I’ll forget it and I’m just like, oh my God, I need to write that down! 

It might not be words, it could be that I’ve noticed three different people ask the same question in my DMs, or maybe I’m scrolling Instagram and there’s a certain way that people are saying things, or there’s a trend I like I could use that as inspiration in my content.

When it’s time to post, I’ll look at what I’ve batched and I’ll look at what’s fresh and then decide which one feels right for the day.

Sometimes the batched content is perfect and I’ll just add a bit of the in the moment stuff to make it feel timely.

And sometimes the in the moment stuff is so good that I’ll scrap the batch post and just go with the fresh one instead. That flexibility means that I’m not really forcing content that doesn’t feel right.

And I’ve said this enough now. Energy infused content is important to me because your audience are gonna feel it.

I think this hybrid approach to content works really well for as introverts for a few reasons.

The first one is that batching gives you that deep work time. So you’re not trying to come up with ideas on the spot every single day, and it lets you take the time to do the thinking in advance, which is what we thrive in, right? That time and space to mull things over and really, really think about things.

But you’re also not locked into a rigid schedule. If something happens during the week that’s more relevant, you can pivot.

So you’ve got the structure with the freedom as well, and you’re not performing every single day you’re not on all the time.

You can batch the creative thinking and when it comes to sharing, it’s just a matter of choosing what to share and then adding your voice to it.

It takes the pressure off without sacrificing the consistency, which is really important.

Let me walk you through what this looks like in practice in case it helps you visualize it.

Every week, usually on a Friday, I’ll review what I’ve got batched and think, okay, which of these topics feel relevant right now? And then I’ll look at my calendar or even my camera roll for real time moments and think, okay, is there anything here that needs to be shared this week while it’s still fresh?

Then I’ll map out a rough plan, not a rigid schedule, just a sense of what I wanna share in the following week. And throughout the week I’ll have been capturing like new moments, screenshots, voice notes, quick observations, and when it comes to actually creating the post i’ll pull content from whichever area feels right.

Sometimes I’ll go back to the batch post with a fresh intro. Sometimes it’s a completely new post based on something that’s just happened. The key is that I’m never scrambling. I’ve always got something ready to go, but I’m also never posting something that feels stale or irrelevant. 

I’ll often use my intuition or my gut to draw me to what I feel like posting that day. I get that sounds very woo, but it works for me.

In terms of tools, I like to keep it really simple.

I use notes or voice notes on my phone for capturing ideas in the moment. That’s where all my raw thoughts go.

Then I have a simple notion board for capturing all of my client language and another calendar for all of my batch content. Nothing fancy, just a topic, the key points and maybe a few phrases I want to include.

Then I’ll use something like Meta Business Suite for scheduling, so I’m not logging on every single day to post, or the LinkedIn scheduler if I’m posting to LinkedIn.

I basically live on Canva to create all of my graphics. I literally have two types of fonts, a few brand colors, and a couple of templates, and I’ll just change the colors, but keep the templates the same. 

So it’s really simple. I don’t use complicated content calendars or project management tools really. Just somewhere to dump my ideas, sort them out a bit, paste them into a Canva template I’ve already created and schedule or post them. That’s it.

I know I’ve made that sound simple, and I get there’s all the mindset stuff that comes up as well. But I found that if you write stuff and schedule it, you’re taking the in the moment, emotion out and it doesn’t feel as bad as writing the thing and posting it straight away.

One, it helps you stay consistent. But two, it helps you overcome that, Oh my God, Is this good enough? and all of those impostery thoughts that come into your head that might stop you from sharing it.

So if you wanna use this approach, here’s what I’d recommend.

First, find your high energy window and block time for batching. Having that time blocked in your calendar creates discipline, and you’re not waiting to feel like it because that day might never come.

Trust me. I know! If you make it something that you look forward to, then you’ll commit to that time.

Secondly, start capturing real time moments. Keep a note on your phone, screenshot things, voice note ideas. Just capture the things before you forget because if you tell yourself you’re gonna remember that when it comes to creating content, you won’t.

When it comes to batching, batch the bones of the post, not the whole post. Outline your foundational content so that you leave room to add in your voice when it’s time to post and give yourself permission to pivot. If something more relevant comes up in the week, go with that instead.

The batch content will still be there and you can use it at another time. So don’t use that as a straight jacket to be like, no, I batched this. I need to use that. Give it some flex and keep it simple.

You don’t need fancy tools or complicated systems. Whichever way works for you is the right way if it gets you organizing your ideas and more importantly posting them consistently, then that’s more than enough.

So the goal here isn’t perfection.It’s consistency without the burnout, but also structure without losing that spontaneity. 

And I think this hybrid approach of batching plus space for real time inspiration is how you get both.

So if you want 90 days worth of content hooks to help you with your batching, then you can check out my Content Mixtape. It’s packed with introvert friendly content ideas, all mapped to my P Squared framework, which is designed to help your audience know, like, and trust.

And if you want help building a whole marketing rhythm that feels like you, not just the content, but the full strategy behind who you are and what makes you different, and how to really infuse that in your content, then Silent Storm might be the right next step for you and you can find more information in the show notes for that too.

As always, a huge thank you for listening. I would really appreciate if you could rate and review if you haven’t already done so, and also share this with your network so that we can help even more introverted business people build their quiet confidence and make that loud impact in the world. Speak soon.