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I recently published a personal blog post about my successful weight loss journey. In it, I shared what I did to successfully hit my goal weight–and it included pictures showing my success. Once published, the post was emailed to everyone who signed up to get my blog updates, and I shared it on my Facebook page. That was it. The post resonated with tons of people. As of this writing, I’ve received 149 “Likes” and 41 comments on the Facebook post. Since the post was published I’ve had over 600 views on my website! It’s definitely brought in a lot of traffic (and calls, texts, messages, etc. from friends.) Apparently, I inspired lots of people, and that feels awesome!

Gwen and I were chatting about my blog post, and she identified an interesting correlation: that achieving success in weight loss is the same as achieving success in content strategy. Even though they are two entirely different things, both have the same requirements. Check it out —  for each, you have to have the following:

A goal

Weight loss: When I joined a gym back in August, my goal was to simply get fit. But as I started to actually do that, I began to lose weight too. So I decided that I wanted to achieve a 130-pound goal weight. Of course, I still planned to get fit, but the 130 mark was clear, measurable and achievable.

Content strategy: It’s highly inefficient to publish content without a goal in mind. Determine what it is that you truly want to achieve. Maybe your goal is to expand your audience by x amount, or to get x more visits to your web page or to get x more leads via social media. Whatever it is that you want to do, a clearly defined goal will provide a clear understanding of exactly what you’re aiming for.

A plan

Weight loss: In my effort to get fit, my initial strategy was to go to the gym as often as possible …ideally every day. That initiative started in August. It wasn’t until January that I changed my eating habits and started tracking everything I ate. That’s when the weight really started to fall off. The plan has morphed over time and continues to get tweaked and changed even today.

Content strategy: You’ve heard the saying, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Now that you have goals in mind for your content, you’ve got to come up with a plan to make it happen. What content will you post to your blog? How often? Which content will work best with which social accounts? A well-thought-out editorial calendar is a good start. Of course, you’ll likely have to adjust your plan as you go, just like I’ve had to do with my weight loss journey. Capitalize on what works and ditch what doesn’t.

A starting point

Weight loss: For years, I knew what I had to do. I knew how to eat right. I knew I had to exercise. I just had to start. Starting was one of the hardest parts! I had to think of the famous Nike slogan and tell myself to just do it.

Content strategy: Creating content, continuously, is hard, but the hardest part, really, is getting started. I had to stop procrastinating and you should too. But one big difference is that you don’t have to do all the heavy lifting yourself. For you, starting is easy. All you have to do is reach out to our expert team to get the ball rolling.

A commitment

Weight loss: We’ve all started and quit diets in our lives. For me, sustaining a restrictive eating regimen was nearly impossible. So I chose a way that didn’t seem too restrictive. Then I committed to my plan.

Content strategy: It’s nearly impossible to drop over 20 pounds in a few days–just like it’s nearly impossible to get major traction on your content in a few days. Both take time and long-term commitment. Even though baby steps may seem incredibly small, each and every one of those steps (blog posts, social media updates, case studies, etc.) is making progress. Keep your eye on the prize! I had to commit to consistently eating right and exercising every day. You have to commit to producing great content on a consistent basis. In either respect, positive results WILL happen.

Wear your patience pants

Weight loss: Everyone who wants to lose weight has wanted a magic pill; an amazing elixir; and instant, painless success. I knew that those hokey methods were never going to work. I knew I had to be patient and keep doing the right things to lose weight in a sane and healthy manner. Plus, losing the weight slowly would help ensure that I keep it off too!

Content strategy: Patience is imperative when it comes to your company’s content. Instant, viral success is very rare, so you have to think more long-term and avoid getting frustrated. Just keep going — keep producing excellent content that is in line with your goals, and you will hit those goals.

A maintenance plan

Weight loss: Now that I’ve hit my weight loss goal, I’m not going to stop what I’m doing. After all that work, regressing back to my heavier self would be awful! I want to ensure that I keep the weight off, and to do that, I need to stick to my plan. Even after a few “sin meals” I’ve been maintaining my weight — and I’m delighted.

Content strategy: Once you’ve hit your content strategy goals, you may want to sit back and take a breather. Don’t do it! Continue the momentum you’ve created and come up with newer, loftier goals. Use the success you felt from achieving your previous goals as fuel to hit the new ones. Gain more followers, expand your brand recognition, grow your sales — all are totally achievable as long as you continue to maintain and act on a smart content strategy.

So, if you’re looking to lose weight, check my blog post for pointers. I can’t guarantee it will be easy, but it works! And if you’re looking for a painless way to get a great content strategy in place, Endurance Marketing can do that with ease. It’s a lot easier than trying to lose weight, so let’s get started! Give us a shout today.