Content Creation: The Struggle Is Real<\/strong><\/h2>\nHere\u2019s a question I\u2019ve been asked many times: “My content is boring. What should I do?”<\/p>\n
In fact, I recently got this question through Twitter DM from a follower who really enjoyed my content:<\/p>\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.singlegrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image1-25.png\")
<\/figure>\nWhether you’re a seasoned marketer or just starting out, creating content that’s interesting can be a daunting task. You can check all the boxes to make it SERPs worthy, but if it’s not actually a great read, it won’t perform well.<\/p>\n
If you’re looking to make your content stand out<\/a>, then read on! I\u2019m going to tell you here what I told this guy on Twitter.<\/p>\nThe Content Creation Problem: Lack of Experience<\/strong><\/h3>\nOne of the main reasons people fail at content production is a lack of experience. They want to create content like experts but the results are dry and uninteresting because, just like this guy said, they have fewer clients or experiences to talk about.<\/p>\n
This problem is not uncommon, and it’s something that many budding content creators face.<\/p>\n
Just like the individual who reached out with his concern, having fewer clients or experiences to talk about can be a significant barrier to creating content that’s interesting. Real-world stories and insights come from working with a variety of clients, facing different challenges, and finding unique solutions.<\/p>\n
Without these experiences, content can feel generic and lack the personal touch that makes it engaging. It comes across as something you read elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Also, another common pitfall is the attempt to imitate the style or content of well-established creators without adding a personal touch or your unique perspective. Imitation might seem like a shortcut to success, but that just makes your content feel forced and insincere.<\/p>\n
Creating better content requires finding your voice and expressing your unique insights.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nTip:<\/strong>\u00a0Check out our Google E-E-A-T<\/a> guide about being an experienced content creator.<\/p>\nThe Solution: Focus on Revenue First and Creating Content Second<\/strong><\/h3>\nIf you’re just starting out and struggling to make ends meet, focus on getting revenue first. Why? Because it’s pretty hard to feel creative when you’re worried about your finances.<\/p>\n
Remember:<\/p>\n
Content creation is a long-term game, often taking at least three years to see significant results.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nSo, take care of your day-to-day costs and expenses, which will naturally give you more experience, and then you can worry about creating content when you have some insightful stories to tell (like “What you can learn from my failures<\/a>!”).<\/p>\nHere’s a step-by-step guide to help you get that experience:<\/p>\n
\n- Focus on Revenue:<\/strong> As mentioned, first get more clients and focus on taking care of your daily costs and expenses. Creative burnout<\/a> can easily happen when you\u2019re struggling.<\/li>\n
- Start Small:<\/strong>\u00a0To get more clients when you\u2019re just starting out, offer free work initially. At the 30-day mark, negotiate a longer-term deal. This approach allows you to gain experience, build relationships, and eventually speak from a place of authority.<\/li>\n
- Embrace the Learning Curve:<\/strong> You’re going to make mistakes in the beginning. That’s guaranteed. But don’t let that discourage you. Keep track of your key learnings, mistakes, and successes. I turned mine into a podcast<\/a> where I chat with other entrepreneurs who share their own failures and how they got through them:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Leveling](\"https:\/\/www.singlegrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Leveling-Up-podcast-YouTube.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n- Share Your Journey:<\/strong> Speak from experience in your own words and from your own perspective, and people will follow you along the way.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Tip:<\/strong> Check out some innovative ideas for company growth<\/a>.<\/p>\nCreating the Most Interesting Content: Experience Is Key<\/strong><\/h2>\nExperience is the cornerstone of creating content that’s interesting. Wisdom comes from doing things, and your real-world knowledge will make your content stand out.<\/p>\n
Here are my tips on gaining experience and how to then leverage it:<\/p>\n
\n- Document Your Journey:<\/strong>\u00a0As you build your business, document your experiments, successes and failures. This will come in handy later when you want to write about this time in your professional journey.<\/li>\n
- Ask the Right Questions:<\/strong> Let\u2019s say your podcast or interview feels dry or uninteresting. Maybe you weren\u2019t asking the right questions. Are you asking the same things that everyone else is asking or that you\u2019re not even interested in? Then you should re-evaluate why you\u2019re actually producing that content. Are you doing it just for content’s sake, or do you have a clear objective? Are you just trying to be<\/em>\u00a0interesting or do you actually have some interesting things to say<\/em> or ask?<\/li>\n
- Learn from Others:<\/strong>\u00a0When I started my first podcast almost 10 years ago, my objective was to learn from top marketers and entrepreneurs. I didn\u2019t really get anything in the first couple of years. In the first year, I was getting like 9 downloads a day on my podcast. The second year it was only 30 downloads a day. It wasn\u2019t until the third year that it started to take off, and we were getting 90,000 downloads a month. Then I was eventually able to parlay that into the Marketing School podcast<\/a>, which is approaching 100M downloads now.<\/li>\n
- Share Your Stories:<\/strong>\u00a0Your content cannot be boring if you share stories from your experiences. Speak from the context of having been there, done that. Talk about your failures in magnificent detail! Make the listener or reader feel<\/em>\u00a0your pain! Share how you got better over time and how you built your audience to what it is now.<\/li>\n
- Be a Good Storyteller:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s not always enough to have something interesting to say; you must relate it in a way that is engaging and compelling. So learn to be a good storyteller. Content that performs well is often where you’re riffing off the cuff on stories that resonate with your audience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Learn more with these posts<\/b>:
\n* 10 Useful Types of Video Content Viewers Love<\/a>
\n* 5 Content Creation Tools to Help Scale Up Your Production<\/a>
\n* 30 Ways to Come Up with Great Ideas for Your Blog Posts<\/a>
\n<\/p>\nCreating Better Content: Lessons from Failure<\/strong><\/h2>\nFailure is a part of the journey. I\u2019ve had plenty of failures throughout my career. There are lots of projects that I’ve shut down in the past.<\/p>\n
I mean, let’s just look at one: the senior living business. That didn’t work out, but it was a good experience for me from a business standpoint, because it taught me a couple things:<\/p>\n
Partner with the Right People<\/strong><\/h3>\nI worked with two of my high school friends, who I still love. But I realized that partnering with people who share the same values is crucial.<\/p>\n
Just because they don’t want to work hard doesn’t mean they’re bad people. It means they have other priorities at the moment, like their kids or their spouse or whatever. Or some of the priorities might be that they want to work hard, but just on something else.<\/p>\n
Which leads me to…<\/p>\n
Passion Matters<\/strong><\/h3>\nWe started the senior living business to make money, not because we had a passion for the industry.<\/p>\n
Passion matters in content production.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nIt was, quite simply, because the senior living industry was growing and we wanted to make money. That wasn’t a good enough “why” to keep us going, so we had to shut it down.<\/p>\n
Keep Doing Interesting Things<\/strong><\/h3>\nHere’s one final thing I’ll say. If you can continue to do interesting things, you will tell interesting stories, which then automatically means that your content is not going to be boring. (Well, unless you’re a terrible writer.)<\/p>\n
And that’s what I’ve learned recently, looking at my content \u2013 YouTube shorts<\/a>, Reels, TikToks \u2013 the ones that perform really well are where I’m just riffing off the cuff on stories that I might have heard, or that I’ve learned about, or that are my own stories:<\/p>\n
<\/figure>\nWhether you’re a seasoned marketer or just starting out, creating content that’s interesting can be a daunting task. You can check all the boxes to make it SERPs worthy, but if it’s not actually a great read, it won’t perform well.<\/p>\n
If you’re looking to make your content stand out<\/a>, then read on! I\u2019m going to tell you here what I told this guy on Twitter.<\/p>\n One of the main reasons people fail at content production is a lack of experience. They want to create content like experts but the results are dry and uninteresting because, just like this guy said, they have fewer clients or experiences to talk about.<\/p>\n This problem is not uncommon, and it’s something that many budding content creators face.<\/p>\n Just like the individual who reached out with his concern, having fewer clients or experiences to talk about can be a significant barrier to creating content that’s interesting. Real-world stories and insights come from working with a variety of clients, facing different challenges, and finding unique solutions.<\/p>\n Without these experiences, content can feel generic and lack the personal touch that makes it engaging. It comes across as something you read elsewhere.<\/p>\n Also, another common pitfall is the attempt to imitate the style or content of well-established creators without adding a personal touch or your unique perspective. Imitation might seem like a shortcut to success, but that just makes your content feel forced and insincere.<\/p>\n Creating better content requires finding your voice and expressing your unique insights.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Tip:<\/strong>\u00a0Check out our Google E-E-A-T<\/a> guide about being an experienced content creator.<\/p>\n If you’re just starting out and struggling to make ends meet, focus on getting revenue first. Why? Because it’s pretty hard to feel creative when you’re worried about your finances.<\/p>\n Remember:<\/p>\n Content creation is a long-term game, often taking at least three years to see significant results.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n So, take care of your day-to-day costs and expenses, which will naturally give you more experience, and then you can worry about creating content when you have some insightful stories to tell (like “What you can learn from my failures<\/a>!”).<\/p>\n Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get that experience:<\/p>\n Tip:<\/strong> Check out some innovative ideas for company growth<\/a>.<\/p>\n Experience is the cornerstone of creating content that’s interesting. Wisdom comes from doing things, and your real-world knowledge will make your content stand out.<\/p>\n Here are my tips on gaining experience and how to then leverage it:<\/p>\n Learn more with these posts<\/b>: Failure is a part of the journey. I\u2019ve had plenty of failures throughout my career. There are lots of projects that I’ve shut down in the past.<\/p>\n I mean, let’s just look at one: the senior living business. That didn’t work out, but it was a good experience for me from a business standpoint, because it taught me a couple things:<\/p>\n I worked with two of my high school friends, who I still love. But I realized that partnering with people who share the same values is crucial.<\/p>\n Just because they don’t want to work hard doesn’t mean they’re bad people. It means they have other priorities at the moment, like their kids or their spouse or whatever. Or some of the priorities might be that they want to work hard, but just on something else.<\/p>\n Which leads me to…<\/p>\n We started the senior living business to make money, not because we had a passion for the industry.<\/p>\n Passion matters in content production.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n It was, quite simply, because the senior living industry was growing and we wanted to make money. That wasn’t a good enough “why” to keep us going, so we had to shut it down.<\/p>\n Here’s one final thing I’ll say. If you can continue to do interesting things, you will tell interesting stories, which then automatically means that your content is not going to be boring. (Well, unless you’re a terrible writer.)<\/p>\n And that’s what I’ve learned recently, looking at my content \u2013 YouTube shorts<\/a>, Reels, TikToks \u2013 the ones that perform really well are where I’m just riffing off the cuff on stories that I might have heard, or that I’ve learned about, or that are my own stories:<\/p>\nThe Content Creation Problem: Lack of Experience<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The Solution: Focus on Revenue First and Creating Content Second<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
<\/p>\n\n
Creating the Most Interesting Content: Experience Is Key<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
\n* 10 Useful Types of Video Content Viewers Love<\/a>
\n* 5 Content Creation Tools to Help Scale Up Your Production<\/a>
\n* 30 Ways to Come Up with Great Ideas for Your Blog Posts<\/a>
\n<\/p>\nCreating Better Content: Lessons from Failure<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Partner with the Right People<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Passion Matters<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Keep Doing Interesting Things<\/strong><\/h3>\n