Why do so many entrepreneurs or business owners fail to constantly show up in their business, connect to their audience and share their message? You might be surprised to know that the answer is because they lack ideas on what type of content to write about on a consistent basis. But why does this happen?
One of the main reasons people do not create much content is because they think that what they write needs to be perfect. They read it and read it over and over again and the more they read it the more they change it and consequently the more what they have written about will move away from the original message.
Another reason that totally freezes people is the lack of confidence in sharing their real message for fear of being judged and criticised by others. Others might say that they have nothing ‘new” to say that has not been explored by others before.
These are simply excuses as you can come up with so much content every day, which, yes, someone might have spoken about it before, but not through your very own eyes and your very own unique voice.
“Creating content that allows us to share our experiences, thoughts and ideas in real time is becoming an intrinsic part of life in the twenty-first century.” – Gary Vaynerchuk
Content creation is much simpler than you think.
Imagine you are going to meet a friend and have a cup of coffee with them. Would you feel stuck on what to say? Would you just remain silent and not speak at all? You probably wouldn’t. You will have plenty to say and plenty to talk about. And the good news is that you can do exactly the same thing with your content. Yes, creating content is as easy as creating conversation during a coffee chat with your friends. If you are still struggling with how to create content, I have listed 2 of my go-to methods below.
1. Be 100% present in your daily life and get inspiration from it
Everything that happens to you during the day can become a topic for content. Imagine the conversations you are having with your husband/wife, partner or children. Imagine the things you see at the grocery stores, the conversations you hear at work or in the streets. Imagine the articles you read and the news you watch.
You can create your entire content based on conversations you have with friends or with your close family. And you can create content based on your mind chatter, or ideas and thoughts that pop up in your mind daily.
Once you have the topic, you would simply need to mould it to your main message or the message that you want to deliver in that particular moment. For instance, let’s say your main message is related to selling. You could easily create posts from a stall of children you see in the street selling toys or handmade things for charity or from a particular behaviour you see someone having in reaction to a sale they have been exposed to.
You could even create content from Advertising posters you see while walking in the streets. I once created content based on an advert of a university, which I saw from a bus. The advert was talking about choosing the right university based on the students’ preferences and not those of their parents. Simply keep your eyes open when you walk around and see what adverts, catchy phrases or images can give you an inspiration.
The secret here is to remain open, to look outside the box and to not worry too much about the content being too perfect. Also remember that your content needs to be personal and express your point of view so that your readers can relate more to you and feel more connected. So sharing your “daily routine” and daily thoughts and conversations is a great way to do this.
2. Create contrast content
This means creating content by stating your opinion on something. It is very important that your audience sees that you have strong opinions and that you stick to them. Nobody likes to follow fluffy leaders that are all over the place, with no strong beliefs or values of their own.
But how would you generate “contrast content” ideas? Here’s how: Start scrolling through social media and look at what other people write, not to copy but to get your mind going. You might read an article or other peoples comments on an article that makes your blood boil and to which you strongly disagree with. Now, take that comment and start writing what you think about and express your opinion.
Being opinionated will help you not only generate this type of content but also to establish a rave of followers who agree with you and see you as a person worth following. The most important ingredient in all of this is to be real, present and notice what is happening around you and start becoming aware that any single word spoken or conversation taken can become an inspiration from which to create great content.
