BY HEADSHOT PHOTOGRAPHY MENTORING COACH, Vanie Poyey

I was talking to my accountability group the other day and it turns out all four of us at one point or another have dreaded????‍♀️ the idea of social media. But we all agreed that once we are in it and creating, we actually really enjoy the process.

I get it. The idea of having to post every single day is painful and I would be lying if I didn’t admit that if I didn’t have to do it, I wouldn’t do it either. The truth is, none of us are immune to negative thoughts especially when it comes to social media.

But here’s the reality. We HAVE to promote our business, our brand on social media IF we want to stay relevant.

So how do we go from dreading the idea to loving it?

Technically as creators, we should be loving it. Think about it, we get to make videos and stitch them together and add cute things to them and have our photos taken and get really creative AND we’re in charge of how we express our creativity! What creative doesn’t love that? What creative doesn’t love creating?

So where is the disconnect? Why do we dread it?

The consensus is that it’s a time suck.

We don’t dread the process of creating the content, we dread how long it takes us to create.

There is a way to avoid all that dread and focus only on the fun.

Here’s how I changed my mindset and started to enjoy the process.

I changed my workweek to accommodate content creation. I now shoot headshots two days a week and I dedicate two other days for content creation. This has made ALL the difference in the world.

I write✍???? down all my post ideas as they come to me, in one place, on my notes app, so I don’t forget them. Then on film day, I go through my notes and bring each idea to life one at a time. I basically batch my content in a day and spend another half day putting it all together.

Every time I fail to stick to my schedule, I’m miserable. I’m late to post, I’m not motivated because it’s the end of the day and I still have to do this thing and I’m tired and I inevitably end up skipping a day or two.

I know creators who batch their content for the entire month in one day! I’m still working towards doing that myself so believe me, I understand if you’re thinking to yourself, “that’s crazy!” Here’s the thing, this shift is not only a scheduling shift but also a mindset shift. You have to be *all in* and think of the process of creating content as a part of your job. Just like shooting and just like post.

My only excuse for not batching monthly is that I’m too busy and I like creating when ideas are fresh in my head. The truth is, batching monthly will solve a lot of my “busy” problems. I just gotta make time for it. YOU just gotta make time for it.

So, as a creative, I invite you to try to experience the creativity and fulfillment in content creation rather than the dread.

I challenge you to change your calendar and shoot days. I challenge you to dedicate one day a week for creating content for the entire week or one day a month to create content for the entire month.

Change your clothes, your hair, your makeup and just create. Have fun! Then edit and save all your drafts to drip one day at a time. Side note, I don’t recommend using scheduling software for auto posting on social media because they don’t allow you to use native engagement tools that help the algorithm.

For now, see how you feel after taking action and let me know here. Will you be changing your schedule to accommodate the most crucial free marketing you can do for your business?