Tracking block configuration with editable content in Drupal 7

Building Drupal sites, I often want to create a placeholder for a small bit of content -- and track that placeholder in code (e.g. with Context, Panels, Features, etc) -- while still allowing the actual content to be edited freely by site editors. If I just create the block via the UI, I'm not tracking the "configuration" of the block (as opposed to its "content") in our version control system, but if I implement a "normal" block in my module, the Block body is not available for editing.