I remember quite clearly having too much to do in a day. Email outreach, communicating and managing clients , new prospective client calls. It was hard because there was barely any time to market my business, but I had to.
It’s crucial for every business owner in the sea of noise and competition. Even the most skilled practitioners will hear crickets if they aren’t known and noticed by anyone.
Trying to juggle it all I become frustrated going to bed late, putting in long hours without much reward. Social media being a chore and a pain.
I simply just hated design and I still do, maybe a bit less now. Lots of free and paid design courses followed to get decent at it, and even did it for a few clients but didn't enjoy it at all.
I tried Canva, Designbold and even Getstencil and a few others. But despite the nice templates there was still quite challenging to use and customise.
I know a lot of you are like this but I wanted this one-click trick solution. One that gave me professional level design results quickly without having a part-time / full time designer on payroll.
After lots of searching and asking friends, one afternoon while browsing on Appsumo. I found it. I think I found the one!
And it's called RelayThat.
RelayThat that works quite differently than other tools I've seen and used in the past. Instead of creating one post at a time, RelayThat provides you with templates and layouts that dynamically change as you put your content in. In order words, they all change at once if you change an element e.g. insert a different image.
That really helps you see how things would look on a layout even if you haven’t chosen it yet. I like to look at it like it’s doing the thinking and work for me.
You can also create and set your logos, unique fonts and branding colours in a project. The good thing is that they’re present and right there whenever you need them. And this for as many projects that you have to do. I remember having to upload logos manually each time that was quite a pain.
Now just to be clear, I already had my quotes selected and my spreadsheet of useful sources handy.
I also had my images selected and downloaded, some of them of myself and others from stock image sites. My call to actions and potential engagement questions listed in my planning spreadsheet were already written and ready to use. So you do have to do a little bit of planning.
My posting workflow consists of me filling that bucket with useful resources for use during the week whenever I need them.
So on post creation day which is Friday for me is way easier (and even more now!) when I sit down to do it.
I simply paste my quotes into RelayThat with my pre-selected photos (use can use their stock section as well) and I find a layout that works for me. What amazes me is the vast collection of amazing layout templates they already have which makes this dead easy.
For example for Instagram, I can put in my handle, image, text and quote and boom, done.
On LinkedIn for my email marketing client business Hardel Enterprise Solutions, I just add my text copy for one of my posts and use my saved template for my styled post. And boom, nice and sweet!
For Facebook, for my Passion & Purpose Mindset membership Facebook group and my personal Facebook page, I have theme days and I can saved specific templates and quickly create other upcoming weeks.
To Summarize, when publishing have your key post types either written out or recorded in advance. Also re-purpose previous content, whether it a blog content as a YouTube/ Facebook video or a YouTube video as a 60 second Instagram Story. You need to know what your main content categories are and always be looking out for relevant content to fill up those buckets.
Creating and scheduling content may seem to take a bit of time and effort. It’s only because I primarily manage more than one brand. Most of you don’t, so three hours may actually be a stretch and you can do it even quicker.
I really hope you’re as excited as I am because I was bouncing with joy when I actually really put RelayThat through its paces.
To help you even further, here’s a list of who it is and isn’t for
You can store your logos, brand colors, upload your brand fonts separately. It’s frustrating using a software that has no place to put those.
Creating and putting them in once is mentally relieving. Also if someone else is managing your marketing on your behalf via the Team function, you can be relaxed that their designs are on brand.
This results in lots of time savings, time to spend on other pertinent business goals, time with family, time with friends or even loved ones.
Rather than a folder based layout, it makes sorting photos and saved designs relatively easy.
There are several design types and sizes, such as Facebook Advertisements, YouTube headers, Instagram Stories , Pinterest pins and it’s easy to find and switch. It’s easy to switch projects (brands) and change your workspace assets (elements of a brand). It simple, intuitive and well-thought. They got that one down.
Things can get messy quickly especially if you’re working under a tight deadline or just have a lot of other things to do. Being able to organize and retrieve all your uploads, your saved designs really helps maintain that inner peace. We all know there is nothing worse than a last minute folder frenzy to find something we were sure was there!
Projects, workspaces, saved designs.
Depending on when you read this they may have changed their names once more but it can be confusing for someone new to their ecosystem. It wasn’t the biggest deal as i’m certain they have their reasons for naming them this way. It would be nice if that was made a bit clearer
Especially if you’re been designing one image at a time or new to the style of using layouts for design, but trust go through it. They have a wonderful onboarding tutorial which will be well worth your while. It will walk you through so you become comfortable quickly.
I racked my brain and honestly can’t think of any others.
Because my story and how it has helped me so much to systematically create quality content at I rate I actually want to rather than being lost and stuck on that content hamster wheel, I wholeheartedly recommend Relaythat to you.
Relaythat that compared to the other solutions on the market has been a game changer. Sure they are other decent applications but if you want quality and numerous options for professional designs and want to have really decent control over that process without feeling overwhelmed with managing your online presence and brand, relaythat is the ideal choice.
If you’re a beginner, I'd advise you look no further as it really helped my workflow and I really wish I had it starting out.
If you have some experience and have been designing your social media, give this a go! Trust me if will make you more efficient and cut your hours down by ½. It did for me.
It’s not everyday you find a single product that saved you so much mental bandwidth and stress the way Relaythat has. And personally I don’t recommend that many tools. In this age of digital distraction video, groups and stories on almost all platforms causing such a heightened competition for attention it’s a wonderful feeling knowing I have the tools, means and edge to keep up comfortably.
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Craige Hardel is an an email marketing expert, entrepreneur, mindset coach, community advocate & technology enthusiast who is passionate about helping people become their best selves and live lives to their full potential.
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I really appreciate you breaking this down. Bulk creating content is definitely both a focus and priority of mine.
You’re most welcome Hannah. Glad it was useful
This post will definitely be of great help to me, thanks!
Xoxo,
Laura || afinnontheloose.com
You’re most welcome Laura
Hi Craig, I had not heard of this one. It sure can take a lot of time scheduling posts on various social media sites. I love using Agorapulse and I used to use Buffer when I only had one or 2 accounts to post to. I’d love to know more about your Facebook group, did you set up it via your personal account or your business page? That is something I’ve been wanting to do but am afraid of the time factor to manage one. Thanks for sharing about this tool! I may have to just check it out!
You’re welcome Lisa. It has made my life easier and everyone should at least give it a shot.
a great post with a lot to think about. I just might have to try it out.
Fantastic Robert. Very happy to be of help
Great tips shared here, will bookmark these for future use for sure!
Fantastic. Glad you got value
I appreciate this post. As a homeschool/stay at home mom, I find it difficult to schedule social media/blog content. This was really helpful.
Very nice. Yes it can sometimes seem so much like a chore. I took me a while to come up with something that works fairly well for myself. Hope the template does for you too
This is an area I have been struggling with. I feel like I’m spending far to much time designing pins and other social media posts. Thanks for the info.
that’s fantastic Kimmy.
I have never been able to do this. Not even for a week, despite having a plan of what pictures need to be posted but then let me try these out.
It has worked for me quite a few others. Try and modify as needed.
Maybe further down the “blogging road” I can check this out.
what do you mean by “check this out”. I’m confused Florid
This software is so useful, especially when you don’t really have a lot of time on your hands. I like that you can create one design and from there you have all you need for each social platform.
Yes it is Joanna. Saved me quite a few minutes and stress since design isn’t my strongest point
Wow! I still can’t believe how useful this looks. Especially, how easy it makes to post on Instagram which takes me ages to perfect.
You’re most welcome.
I really like the fact that you did not just talk about the wonderful and productive abilities of this app. By giving the pros and cons and your reccomendations, it makes the decision easier and more inviting
yes it does. Clarity is key
This is great! I have to schedule a lot for most of September, therefore this will come in handy.
you bet. Let me know how it goes
This is a much-needed tool for all bloggers. I’m definitely going to check it out.
Yes even. It’s really cool
You bet Dan that it is. Saved me so much time
Great article! Having content written before hand can be such a huge help, taking a day to sit down and just write, edit photos and create is always enjoyable.
I’m glad I stumbled upon this post. I usually spend a few hours designing stuff and I have to switch between 2 programs. I’ll definitely check this out! Thank you for sharing this!
you’re welcome Polly. That’s great
This is a life saver. I usually work for hours for a post and this is such a great help.
Social media promotion takes more time than writing a blog post. That’s what I believed until I saw this post! Thank you! I’m definitely going to use them.
You’re welcome
This is great! Pinning for later
I always struggle with promoting my posts. This sounds really helpful.
That’s fantastic Danielle. Let me know how it goes
This is great information. Thank you. I struggle with social media content because it takes me so long. I will have to try this. Very useful.
That’s great Elizabeth. Let me know how it works for you
Hi Craig, I haven’t heard of RelayThat. Is it really easier to use than Canva? I have been using Canva for almost 2 years now and I can change some designs into other sizes though not always as easy as it appears! Hmm. I may have to check this one out. I do a lot with design for social media posts. (But I do enjoy it most of the time!) Thank you Craig for this one!