One of the biggest complaints I get from small business owners is how much time it takes to create content. I think it’s also one of the biggest hurdles that stops people from putting out more.

Yes, writing takes time, but then we are quickly reminded that the writing we do needs to come in a format that’s pleasing to the eye, or no one will read it. Whether it’s a newsletter, an email, or a social media post, how something looks is very important. And graphic design can be time consuming and expensive. So what is a small business owner to do?

For writing, I’ve already touched on this in a previous newsletter and blog: ​5 Ways to Use 1 Piece of Content​. But when it comes to the visual aspect of your content, here are some time saving tips that have been a game changer for me as a small business owner!

Program in your brand colors. Once you have your brand colors identified, they should each come with a 6 character hex code. Take 15 minutes and go everywhere: your email service provider, your canva or graphic design program account, your presentation and document creators, and figure out how to save your brand colors, by their hex code, into the program. Your brand colors will then come up as default options whenever you want to change a color, making it so much faster to utilize the colors that will make your brand look cohesive.

Repeatable formats are your friend. When I decided to do a newsletter, I decided on how I wanted it laid out and what I wanted it to look like. I created that one time, and then every time since I’ve simply copied my previous newsletter and changed the necessary content. Creating that initial format took some time, but it has been a BREEZE since then. Graphically, I only need to change one header per issue, and even then it will always look very similar to the last one, just with different words. It saves me so much time not to have to redesign a newsletter every single week.

Templates are gold. When it comes to social posts and graphic design, I’m a huge fan of Canva for a number of reasons. First off, it is incredibly user-friendly and easy to figure out. But it’s also incredibly useful for people who aren’t graphic designers but want to create something that looks amazing. In Canva they have templates – designs that other people have created that you can use. It can have something to do with your niche or not, but that doesn’t matter. If you generally like the way it looks, you can use it as a starting point. Change the words to match what you need, change the colors to match your brand, move things around as you see fit. You can even use elements from multiple templates that you find interesting. Personally, I hate looking at a blank canvas. But if I have somewhere to start, the world is full of possibilities! And the best part – once you make it your own, you can use it as a repeatable format like I mentioned above. I’m sure there are other programs that have templates other than Canva – email platforms have them as well! That’s just where I use them the most.

How do you save time when creating content?

I’d love to hear from you! What are some tips that have saved you time when it comes to content creation?