Content filing is an important habit to get into, especially as a professional writer. Content filing is an easy way to organize your thoughts, save time locating old sources, and write high-quality cannabis content in a fraction of the time. Best of all, the sooner you start – and the longer you stick with it – the more manageable the whole writing process will be.

What is Content Filing?

Content filling is a way to organize note tracking to simplify and speed the writing process. It allows writers to save important information; valuable sources; even unique phrases, sentences, and paragraphs; in an easy-to-use filing system.

Not only does content filing reduce time spent during the writing process, but it also helps to organize thoughts, inspirational content, and document pitches. By using carefully-chosen folders, keywords, and other note sorting mechanisms, content filing can promote more effective writing and reduce the effort required to produce quality cannabis content.

Content filing works much like an internet search in that you can search for the information you want based on keywords and other search queries. However, unlike internet searches, a personal filing system consists solely of information you are familiar with and the information you find most valuable. It is a single source of any information you can gather that may be relevant later.

How to File Your Content Notes

There are many note-taking apps to help you file your content notes like OneNote or Evernote. I’ve personally had great luck with Evernote because of its desktop/mobile compatibility and note-taking versatility. For example, you can easily save text notes, attachments, photos, code. The Evernote Web Clipper plugin extends its functionality with the option to save articles, web pages, bookmarks, and more, and you can tag it all for later reference.

The next step to filling your content notes is setting up your notebook. You can set your notebook up however you choose but to get started, consider the following folders:

Research

Use this folder to save the most exciting, pertinent research you come across. Pay special attention to studies that use large sample sizes, those that confirm other studies, and those that offer in-depth discussions about the presented research.

In the research file, include pages sorted into topics. Each page will house research directly related to that topic. Use bullets or subheaders that include a link to the source, a summary of the study in your own words, and any relevant quotes that you might want to reference later. Also, include keywords as tags to help you quickly locate the content later.

News

This is a great folder to track developing news stories. In this content filing folder, include the most pertinent information of the news story including the topic and relevant tags. Also include the date of every article you save, ideally in chronological order.

Trends

This section is where you will include social listening statistics. List popular trends and buzzworthy articles, upcoming brands relevant to your niche, and hashtags that are growing in popularity. Your trends notebook can be an excellent reference for social media marketing strategies and other time-sensitive material.

Pitches

Your Pitches folder is often the most frequented. As you research other articles, scroll through social media, or notice unanswered (or ill-informed) questions on forums, add the topic to a list of pitches in this folder. Don’t worry about the official title of each pitch, yet. Just record the basic premise along with a few notes regarding which points the pitch will cover.

Keywords

Keywords are an essential part of any successful SEO strategy. Help your content stand out with the right keywords, especially those with a low competition score and an upward trend. Keyword research tools like SEM Ruch and Google Search Console can help track keywords to use while writing cannabis content.

Companies to Watch

Watching the companies in your niche is great for so many reasons. You can monitor trends and business developments, learn about the target demographic, and position yourself as an ideal content writing partner for companies within the niche. When listing companies to watch, include websites and social media platforms, and links to competitor platforms, as well.

Content Filing Makes Cannabis Copywriting So Much Easier

I’ve been writing about cannabis for more than five years now. In that time, I’ve come across countless articles and resources that I could reference in multiple articles. Unfortunately, a lack of content filing has caused me to waste time I will never get back. However, by filing content writing notes in a single location, I can improve my writing, speed my progress, and create quality cannabis content my clients will love.

Do you have tips to keep content notes organized?

Author

Abby Hash

Abby has been writing SEO-friendly cannabis content since 2014. She has a firm understanding of cannabis and hemp industry compliance and regularly covers topics like news and politics, cultivation, culture, CBD and hemp, health and wellness, and more.

Abby is passionate about cannabis and eager to share her expertise with businesses and consumers alike. As such, she has also developed a cannabis content writing and compliance certification course through which she trains and supports budding cannabis freelance writers.

Notably, Abby is the Founder of Cannabis Content and a regular contributor to the platform.

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