Getting Stumped…
You know, everyone who’s ever sat down and decided they wanted to create a piece of content has at one point or another been stumped about what to write about, or what to film about, or what to record.
Some of that problem might be, you don’t know what you want to talk about, and hey, it happens. Sometimes we just feel like we don’t have anything to say.
However, there is something else that keeps up from creating sometimes. This one is a little more insidious because it exists outside of your brain…
And sometimes it feels like there is no way for sure to know if you are right. This thing I am talking about…it leads to second guessing, anxiety, sometimes even deleting content if the desired outcome is not achieved.
What am I talking about?
I’m talking about trying to figure out what OTHER people want to read, watch, or listen to.
What do they want to consume?
For Them Or For You?
Now, this is an interesting topic, and one with many different answers. On the one hand you have quotes from people like Cyril Connolly saying things like:
“Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." ― Cyril Connolly
Or this humdinger from Emerson:
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
These guys are basically saying, don’t worry about what other people think. Be yourself and write for yourself. Great in theory…
…but when you’re trying to build an empire as fast as possible, what you find out quickly is that most people wouldn’t give 2 drops of water in the desert about what you have to say… (lol)
…unless you have something to say that seems like it might be beneficial to them.
Such is the way of the world today. Maybe it’s the glut of online content. Maybe it’s the jaded nature of our society these days. Heck maybe it’s just plain boredom from having seen so much from a shrinking planet.
After all, most of us know what an Axolotl is these days. Thanks Youtube, lol.
Anyways…I have another quote for you. This one comes from me and several other random “advice givers” on the internet, in the trenches, trying to make a living off their content in the world today.
This quote (and I’m paraphrasing here, can you do that for yourself? lol) it goes a little something like this:
“Write for yourself and have fun getting ignored by everyone. Start writing for other people and enjoy the fruits of their attention, and attention is the currency of the internet.” ― Me (and a bunch of other people living it today)
All jokes aside, writing and creating content today…there has to be some marketing involved if your intention is to get people to consume your content.
First Rule of Marketing…
I always tell people that the first rule of marketing is that it’s never about YOU it’s always about your market. No matter how far you drag someone out to left field with what you want to talk about, you always need to circle…
…things back around to a payoff, a takeaway, a lesson, something for the people who showed up for your bizarre antics. Remember, your microphone is a privilege given on the condition that you give people what they want.
As soon as you stop doing that, it can easily be removed.
And I think that does make it a little more complicated.
Because now you have to find a way to not only be yourself. Talk about things you actually do care about, but you also have to find a way to tie that into what other people care about…
…and that’s the rub.
But today I want to give you a way to fastrack research on topics that other people care about. And I also want to teach you a little bit about how to make those topics unique unto yourself.
So what am I talking about?
What is this “Fast Track Topics” thing I’m talking about?
Let me tell you…
How to Fast Track Topics…
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