Wha's stopping you from making content work for you?

Now that you know what content is, and what kind of content you can provide, what’s stopping you producing it?

Here, from my experience, are the four main roadblocks to getting going.

What do I have to offer?

You may think you couldn’t provide valuable content but that’s simply not true. Everybody has something they can produce which will add value to the audience.

Remember that your audience are not looking for a unique concept, they’re looking for new perspectives and new ways of explaining things. There are no new ideas, but there are always new viewpoints.

Your skill set is a valuable source of content, whether you’re a restaurant owner- sharing recipes, a carpenter with DIY advice, or a content alchemist- explaining how to develop content.

You wouldn’t be in business if you didn’t have value to offer. Content is all about explaining that.

I don’t have time!

Unfortunately there’s no easy solution to this, other than to simply make time. When considering my time limitations, I often think of this quote:

“If it is important, you will find time, if it isn’t you’ll make an excuse” (Anon.)

Assuming you get things done on time for clients, use this approach to get things done for yourself. When producing content, you’re effectively your own client.

Make sure to get help rather than battling with things, too. For instance, if you have a choice between spending several days producing a flier, or hiring a graphic designer who knows what they’re doing and can do it in an hour, seriously consider each approach. More than anything else, value your own time.

If you were working for a client, what could you be earning rather than struggling with content?

‘Perfectionitis’

It’s a common problem where someone spends a disproportionate amount of time trying to make their content perfect. True perfection is impossible.

Instead the level of perfection should directly relate to the lifetime of the content. For example, a flier needs to last longer than a single email. This means that you can afford to make that email less than perfect, but the flier might require more time.

Some things matter more than others but ultimately perfection is less important than whether or not you’re getting the message across, or the value is clear.

There’s a blog post on this in my last series entitled “Spoiling and Grammering” which should help you here.

I really hate….

If you hate producing a certain type of content, the quality of the content will probably suffer. Livestreaming, for example, is great and extremely powerful, but if you dread being in front of the camera, don’t start there.

It’s important to experiment with a range of content, but build your confidence by starting with content you’re already comfortable with. Remember, if you enjoy doing it, you’ll produce better content and it won’t even feel like work.

When you’re ready to use something else, consider re-purposing exisiting content. Take a blog, far example, and turn it into a livestream. This makes the new format less intimidating.

With these blockers out of your way, you should be well on your way to producing great content. And, if you feel there are other road-blocks in your way, comment below or contact us and we’ll be happy to see how we can help.