Finding a Content Workflow That Works for You

Content is everywhere. As a creative business owner, you already know the value of staying visible and showing your work, yet finding the time and headspace to create regular content can feel impossible. Between client work, new business, admin and the demands of trying to manage everything, social media posts often slip to the bottom of the list.

If you are not naturally drawn to LinkedIn, Instagram or TikTok, the pressure to show up consistently can quickly lead to to-do list overwhelm. Add in the promise that AI tools will magically do everything for you and it is no wonder many busy business owners end up feeling stuck.

The good news is that your content workflow doesn’t have to be complicated or chaotic. With a simple strategy, a realistic plan and a small toolkit you actually feel comfortable using, you can streamline how you create and share content, without it taking over your week.

As a creative virtual assistant working with time-poor business owners in the creative and advertising industry, I support clients to create calm, sustainable content routines. Here is how I encourage them to approach it.

Start with a clear direction, not just more content

Before you worry about posting three times a week, it helps to know why you are creating content in the first place. A simple marketing strategy gives you that direction. Think of it as the destination that everything else points towards.

Your strategy can be very lightweight and still be powerful. At a minimum, it should answer three questions:

• What are you aiming to achieve with your marketing?
• Who are you trying to reach and serve?
• How do you want your brand to feel to people who encounter it?

Once you are clear on these foundations, you can create a practical marketing plan. This is where you decide how you will bring that strategy to life.

Your plan might outline:

• The channels you will use to reach your audience, for example your website, LinkedIn, Instagram or email
• The types of content you want to create, such as blog posts, case studies, carousels or short videos
• How often you will realistically show up on each channel
• The basic numbers you will track to see what is working, such as website visits, enquiries or engagement
• Rough timings for key activities across the month or quarter

This doesn’t need to be an all-singing and all-dancing document - a simple spreadsheet is often enough. The point is to give your content a purpose, so that every post is pulling in the same direction.

Choose tools that genuinely make life easier

There are countless tools for content creation, scheduling, marketing, engagement and moderation. The trick is not to use all of them. It is to pick a small, sensible set that fits the way you like to work.

If you are starting out, there are two platforms I regularly recommend to clients.

Canva

Canva is ideal for creative businesses that want on-brand content without spending hours in design software. You can:

• Set up a brand kit with your colours, fonts and logo
• Create templates for social posts, carousels, stories and simple promotional pieces
• Design branding, graphics, collateral and other promotional pieces such as flyers, proposals and one-page service overviews
• Reuse and adapt designs so you are not reinventing the wheel every time

If you use Canva Pro, you can also schedule posts directly from the platform. For many busy business owners, this is a simple solution that keeps everything in one place.

ChatGPT

I am not a social media manager, but as a creative VA I often support clients by using AI tools like ChatGPT to speed up content creation. AI can help you to:

• Turn loose ideas into outlines for blog posts
• Brainstorm content ideas that align with your services and audience
• Repurpose one piece of content into several shorter posts

However, AI still needs your experience and judgement. The quality of your prompts and the care you take to edit and refine the output will make the difference between thoughtful content and generic noise. AI should support your thinking rather than replace it.

Start with one core piece of content

If regular content feels overwhelming, start small and start simply. One of the most effective approaches is to create a single, substantial piece of content each month and repurpose it.

For many of my clients, that core piece is a blog post or LinkedIn article of around 800 to 1,000 words, just like this one. You can use ChatGPT to help you draft it, then bring in your expertise, examples and tone of voice so it feels genuinely yours.

From that one piece, you can then create multiple shorter pieces of content, such as carousel posts or standalone posts that highlight the key ideas featured in the article. It can also be repurposed into an email to your mailing list, which summarises the article and invites people to read more.

Approaching content this way, you’re not having to start from scratch every time you post. You are simply reusing and reshaping ideas you have already thought through.

Schedule in a way that works for you

Once you have a handful of posts, the next step is to decide how and when they will go out. You don’t need an elaborate scheduling system to achieve this.

Some options that work well for busy creative businesses include:

• Using Canva’s content planner to schedule posts to your main platforms
• Scheduling directly within LinkedIn or Instagram
• Keeping a simple spreadsheet or calendar that shows what you are posting, where and when

The aim is to create a rhythm you can keep up with. Two consistent posts a week over several months will serve your business far better than an intense burst of content that quickly fizzles out.

Partnering with a creative VA to keep things moving

Even with a streamlined workflow, many busy business owners are still pulled in too many directions to keep on top of content. This is where partnering with a creative virtual assistant can make a real difference.

A dedicated and experienced VA can help you to:

• Plan themes and topics that align with your strategy
• Handle content creation, scheduling, marketing, engagement and moderation at a level that suits your business
• Set up and maintain Canva templates so your branding, graphics, collateral and promotional pieces feel cohesive
• Repurpose blogs and case studies and into social content

For some clients I am just like another member of the team, quietly keeping the content wheels turning in the background so they can focus on client work. For others, I work alongside specialist marketing experts and social media managers, providing the practical, competent, flexible, efficient support that keeps everything moving forward.

Consistent content doesn’t have to mean stress

You don’t need endless tools or a complicated system to streamline your content workflow. With a clear strategy, a realistic plan, a couple of well-chosen platforms and the right support, you can create time for content without having to drop the ball on anything else.



If you are a busy creative or agency owner who is feeling bogged down by content tasks, but you know you want to stay visible, partnering with a creative VA could be the answer – you’ll be surprised how much calmer and more sustainable content feels once you have a simple framework and a safe pair of hands to help you get stuff done.