10 Common Time Constraints Preventing Motorcycle Content Creation

10 Common Time Constraints Preventing Motorcycle Content Creation

As someone who operates a business in the motorcycle industry, I know firsthand about having limited time to create motorcycle content. I can go days without making a single piece of motorcycle content and then spend a single day creating several pieces. Over the years, I’ve noticed that there are common reasons for me experiencing time constraints. To better achieve my content creation goals, I’ve had to address these constraints and develop solutions to overcome them. Hopefully, my experience will help you make more time for your motorcycle content creation.

1. Operational Demands

Within the motorcycle industry, small business owners face a constant juggling act. Customer service, inventory management, and motorcycle content creation clamor for their undivided attention. Daily operation tasks tend to take priority, which is understandable. You don’t make money if you don’t sell your motorcycle product or service. It can be challenging for small motorcycle business owners to see the value in taking time away from these daily tasks to make content.

To tackle these challenges head-on by using actionable strategies. Delegate customer inquiries or routine inventory tasks to trained staff. Use inventory management software to streamline operations. For example, I manage my own business, so I do not have anyone to delegate tasks to. So, I use software platforms that streamline and/or automate my tasks. I use Grammarly to make editing significantly faster. I use Canva to create and schedule social media posts. I create templates for writing motorcycle blog posts, social media posts, and YouTube videos.

2. Limited Resources

All businesses, in the motorcycle industry or another, struggle with resource constraints. Sometimes, this means working with a shoestring budget. Sometimes, it means a lack of staffing. In both situations, people wear multiple hats to perform many roles, which leads to limited time and ability to create content. 

Look for ways to streamline your tasks within motorcycle content creation and other areas. You can also explore ways of sourcing free content. One option is to ask your customers. Request feedback and reviews. Reach out to your social media following and ask them for content. You could run a contest where they have to create content to enter. Or you could reach out to your most loyal or engaged followers and ask them to submit. This is called sourcing user-generated content.

Another option is to collaborate with another business. It could be one within the motorcycle industry. It could also be one motorcycle adjacent. For example, motorcycle insurance, a freestanding motorcycle garage builder, or a personal injury lawyer specializing in motorcycle accidents. 

3. Administrative Tasks

You can easily see hours slip away when immersed in administrative tasks. They are monotonous and boring but must be done. The best thing you can do is integrate your processes to eliminate many administrative tasks. You can connect your supply chain to your inventory management and sales to your accounting software. That way, you can see everything in one place. It also eliminates having to enter information from one system into another manually. For example, when someone orders something from me on my website, that information automatically connects with my inventory and accounting software. That way, I do not have to do anything manually to keep my records updated. 

4. Customer Interaction

Engaging with your customers is a must. Motorcycle owners and riders, especially, like to feel that they are a part of a close-knit community. Your business needs to feel like you are “one of them” and not fronting like you are. This means being responsive to inquiries and striving to deliver a personalized experience. Unfortunately, these efforts will quickly become extremely time-consuming.

Look for ways to optimize your efforts. One way to do this is to create standardized responses to frequently asked questions. Do not use a single standardized response; it won’t answer their question or feel personalized. Instead, create multiple templates that answer each commonly asked question or inquiry directly.

5. Product or Service Development

Obviously, your primary focus will be developing your product or service. This will take up a significant amount of your time. However, once you develop a new product or service, you need to tell people about it. Otherwise, it won’t do anyone any good, and it won’t make you money. This is why it’s essential to balance product development and content marketing.

If possible, combine these efforts into one. For example, the product development process can make for great behind-the-scenes (BTS) content. Take pictures or videos of the process. You don’t have to give away trade secrets. But you can provide a sneak peek that will build excitement and anticipation. 

6. Limited Access to Tools and Technology

We live in a subscription world, and it’s annoying. Throughout this article, I’ve suggested using software platforms to optimize your processes. The problem is, if you get a separate platform for everything, you will spend a fortune on subscriptions. I face this same struggle in my motorcycle content writing business. The trick is balancing the subscriptions you need with the ones you don’t. Many platforms offer free services that will be good enough, and you don’t need to pay for an upgraded service.

Let’s look at the subscriptions I pay for to help me with motorcycle content writing:

As you can see, I could potentially pay significantly more than I do in software platform subscriptions. If I upgraded all the platforms I use to a paid service, I would spend an additional $808.86 annually. This may not seem like a lot, but it matters to someone like me operating a small business. 

7. Lack of Dedicated Marketing Teams

I know I am supposed to tell you that you should have a dedicated marketing team. But this isn’t always possible for entrepreneurs and small motorcycle businesses. In most cases, they can afford a single person to do all marketing tasks. Realistically, one person cannot do it all. If they try, they won’t do it well.

There are two approaches to address this. One is to pick and choose the marketing efforts your business will focus on. While this works for some, it does leave gaps in your marketing efforts. This can potentially hurt your motorcycle business, as it leaves a lot of potential on the table. The other option is to outsource some of the tasks. This is where I come in. I work with small marketing teams consisting of one to three people. They outsource content creation efforts so that they can focus on core marketing efforts. This approach delegates many responsibilities so the marketing team can be more effective and targeted. 

8. External Challenges (e.g., Economic Conditions)

External challenges, like changes in the motorcycle industry or an overall economic downturn, can push small business owners into survival mode. This is a struggle that I know too well. As the economy struggles, so does my business. Companies tend to cut their marketing budgets first. The problem is by cutting marketing, they are also cutting off their reach to current and potential customers. So, they are working against their goal of protecting their business. 

9. Learning Curve

Let’s face it: technology is challenging to keep up with. Every time you look around, there are new social media platforms, phones, and cameras to learn how to operate. Then people like me tell you to learn a new software platform. All of this stuff has a learning curve that slows down your productivity while you figure it out.

There are a few options for overcoming a learning curve. One option is to find the technology and systems that work for you and stick with them. This only works for so long before your tools become antiquated.

Another option is to invest in a course that will teach you everything you need to know. These are okay, but also require a time and money commitment. Plus, the information is dumped at you, which can be overwhelming. You’ll need to take careful notes that you can reference later. Sometimes, you can find free YouTube tutorials from creators. I find that these are either incredibly helpful or a waste of time.

Another option is to hire someone who knows more than you. Leverage their expertise to your advantage. If you can retain someone full-time in-house, then work with a freelancer. You will find all kinds of experts working in the motorcycle industry, from writers to photographers and videographers. Their business is their niche, and they will know the technology better than you. 

10. Unpredictable Work Hours

As someone who runs their own business, I understand the struggle of having unpredictable work hours. It’s challenging to consistently create content when your work schedule unexpectedly changes. The best thing you can do is embrace the moments of high productivity and don’t sweat the moments of low content productivity.

When my schedule changes and I have some free time, I make as much content as possible. This is called batch motorcycle content creation. It helps that I keep a spreadsheet with a list of ideas. I add ideas to this spreadsheet whenever they come to me. That way, I immediately start creating content when I have free time. I don’t waste time coming up with several ideas at once or trying to get organized to create.

Overcome Your Motorcycle Content Creation Time Constraints

Struggling with time constraints is frustrating. You aren’t alone in your struggle, as almost everyone feels the time pinch when struggling to create motorcycle content consistently. The first step in overcoming time constraints is identifying why you have them. Once you determine the source, you can find a solution. 

As a motorcycle content writer, I can be a valuable source in helping you overcome your time constraints. By outsourcing your content writing needs, you can gain high-quality content at an affordable price, freeing you up to focus on your motorcycle business’ core competencies.