how many of you struggle with the idea of remarkable content?
what exactly is it that will travel the ether and connect meaningfully with your followers?
ipso facto, there is no way of knowing until you produce something!
and, therein, lies the conundrum.
a blog is by far the easiest way to place a stake in the ground but you could just as easily try sound (audioboo and soundcloud), video (vimeo and youtube) or slides (slideshare or scribd).
there is, of course, the risk, with too many platforms, that you dilute your message but, in reality, that only comes when you have saturated the market, and people tune out.
in my case, i am moving in the direction of wanting to cut back on the written form of blogging and try more mixed media. in addition, i want to create a number of long and short essays. in time, i will also be uploading a manifesto to kindle and a book.
in the case of most businesses, they constantly say that they haven’t got the time, but how long does it take to record your thoughts in audio or to use a smart-phone to record a short video? of course, it won’t sparkle like a professional copy, but as long as people can hear you they will be quite forgiving of your d.i.y. effort.
if you go back and look at the people who have made an impression in the digital space, they didn’t just arrive. they spent years (and years) cultivating their tribe. of course, most of these people are based in the USA but, nevertheless, their disciples didn’t read a single blog post and say: “i love this stuff.”
no one is saying that you should do this stuff for the sake of it – unless you just want to record publicly your thoughts; but if you start out with the idea if this then that then i fear you may be disappointed.
passion and patience should be your drivers.
indeed, blogging et al shouldn’t be the thing that you look to in and of itself: excellence in the delivery of your service should be your sine qua non. absent that it won’t matter a jot how good your content is let alone your penchant for the same.
if it helps you can enlist your creative muse or hire in help but ultimately if your ideas have no disposition to engage, then it won’t matter which platforms you use.
getting inspiration is not easy.
there will be moments where you feel completely alive;
and other times, you will have to drag your sorry self out of the stupor of self-doubt.
as you do more you get better but don’t sacrifice yourself at the altar of mediocrity for the sake of any content.
always try to produce the very best that you can.
my take away:
create more valuable content focused on your target market.
don’t sit on the fence waiting for another prompt.
time is too short.
have a goal – even one as simple as doubling your output.