Q4, the last quarter of the year, is made up of some of the busiest three months for content creators, and surviving it usually requires quite a bit of planning while also leaving enough room in your schedule for the unpredictable to happen.
Between brands wanting to make the most of Black Friday and Christmas, and there being just so much potential content you can create around some of the most unique, specific, and aesthetic times of the year, (think Thanksgiving and Christmas), it’s easy to find yourself so overwhelmed by Q4 and behind before it’s even started.
If that’s you, it’s okay because it’s usually me too.
I’m notorious for posting Halloween content an entire year late because I can never seem to shoot it, edit it, and post it in time for it to still be relevant.
But this time around we’re moving ahead with some foresight. And this post will help you identify what to consider when planning an effective Q4 content strategy.
6 Things Content Creators Should be Planning for Q4
Let’s break down the 6 things content creators and influencers should be thinking about as the build their strategy for the final quarter of the year.
If you want to *plan alongside me*, check out the below video. Keep scrolling for the highlights and action-plan!
Brand Deals
First, let’s talk about brand deals because that’s usually what people are thinking of when we talk about busy Q4s for content creators and influencers.
But here’s the thing, if you are only starting to prepare for brand deals at the start of Q4, you’re a little bit behind. That being said, let’s look at our controllables:
Are you planning on pitching brands?
If so, the moment you’re done reading this post, I need you to go and get started.
- Get your list together of ideal brands
- Put together a pitching template (ChatGPT is honestly great help for this)
- Send out hyper-focused pitches that detail exactly what you have in mind and what you’re hoping to help the brand capitalize on.
- Is it for Black Friday? The holidays? Apple-picking season?
Get this done as quickly as you can, but it’s important to temper your expectations because marketing budgets are usually planned out well before each quarter, especially if you’re planning to pitch large brands or corporations.
If you are just starting to pitch in Q4, I recommend you shift your focus towards smaller or medium-sized brands because for smaller operations often work on a tighter time frame.
These brands might not have as big of a budget, but pitching local businesses will likely give you a higher success rate.
PR Products
Ask yourself how you’re going to manage PR packages as you begin your Q4 planning.
This is something that I ask myself all year round, but in Q4 there is a big increase in the PR being sent out as it costs brands so much less to send influencers a bunch of packages than it does to pay them to create content.
If you’re expecting to get a lot of PR over the holidays, figure out how you’re going to attack it.
- Will you just be doing story shout outs as you receive them?
- Will you do one big round-up unboxing?
- Will you try to turn any of them into paid partnerships?
- Will you just do your best to create organic content with everything?
- Or…will they sit in a corner piling up as your guilt deepens as you wait for the perfect opportunity to create content that does these gifts justice? And then that day never comes, and suddenly it’s halfway through Q1 and absolutely nobody wants to see your holiday gift boxes (that one has unfortunately been me the past few years). 🫣
Not on any PR lists yet? Read this post next!
Identify Q4 Themes
Arguably the most important part of a Q4 content strategy is your organic content; content designed to serve your audience and grow your business without any hashtag ad or sponsored tag attached to it.
So it’s important to make a list of different themes, holidays, etc., that you want to capitalize on/make content around so that you can batch-create it in advance.
When you do this, you don’t just want to consider the mainstream themes and holidays.
Look up different public holidays or celebrations to help you find some of those quirky National “blank” days that might align with your niche.
Speaking of niche, make sure you account for anything truly unique happening in your industry. For example, tech and gear creators have Techetember and Techtober. Writers have NaNoWriMo—National Novel Writing Month.
So as you plan for Q4, make a list of themes that feel relevant to you. Here are some thought starters that might help you:
- October 7th is Frugal Fun Day
- Could be great for finance creators or even lifestyle creators who are looking to share some fun frugal date ideas with their audience.
- November 1st is National Cinnamon Day
- You could make or go pick up a fun cinnamon-themed drink, or beauty or fashion creators can step outside of the box and do cinnamon-themed makeup looks or cinnamon-inspired outfits.
Income Generators
The next part of the content strategy is planning how you are going to create content that will generate income.
Q4 is the shopping season, so there is so much opportunity to create organic content that can still be leveraged as a way to make money.
Look at leveraging affiliate marketing or selling your own products, i.e., putting together shopping guides, lists, recommendations, and tying them back to the themes that you outlined for yourself earlier.
Some ideas include:
- Best gifts for *insert your target audience*
- Stocking stuffers *insert your target audience*
- Shopping guides for *insert your target audience*
- Items from Black-owned/Women-owned/X-owned businesses (that appeal to your niche)
When thinking about content in this monetization mindset, they don’t all have to be about Christmas gifts or Black Friday steals.
You can do a roundup post for anything in your Q4 themes, just make sure they’re targeted towards an audience with a shopping mindset. For example:
- Best fall skincare products
- Thanksgiving decor must-haves
- Fall-colored tech accessories
Just play around and you’ll find something that fits your niche.
Related Post: Income Streams for Content Creators
Your Capacity
Finally, my fellow-influencers, you need to figure out what you can handle during Q4.
Determine a posting and content creation schedule that takes all of the above content into account and consider what format is the most realistic to create while leaving room for events and family time.
Remember, part of why Q4 is so busy is because we’re also doing so much more life on top of content creating. We’ve got holiday parties, families visiting, and so many fun activities to get out and do.
Be reasonable with your expectations and figure out if you’re going to have the time and bandwidth to create full-length YouTube videos or blogs for all of these concepts, or if you need to lean more into short form because that takes you less time to execute.
You might prioritize social media content during this season with a few strategic blog posts and YouTube videos. Consider posting your monetization-focused content in those formats so they can benefit you years down the line, while more of your community-building and serving content can exist on Instagram and TikTok.
Final Thoughts on Q4 Planning for Content Creators
I hope this all helps you a lot more in control of your Q4 content calendar, it helps keep the stress at bay when you have a framework to refer back to versus feeling like you’re flying by the seat of my pants.
As always, planning is great, but the proof of success really lies in the execution.
So, let’s hold each other accountable on that. Happy Q4, my friends!