10 Tips for Creating Killer Content That Sells
My Top 10 Tips for Creating Resonant Content That Sells
Did you know that 61% of consumer buying decisions are influenced by custom content? Content marketing generates triple the amount of leads that traditional marketing practices do on average, at a fraction of the cost. That’s why, today, I’m sharing my top ten tips for creating authentic, resonant content that sells. If you’re ready to get real about your creative process and do the work it takes to be a true content leader, read on…
1. Stop comparing your voice to others.
There’s this thing called ‘social comparison’ and it happens when we start comparing ourselves with the abilities and characteristics of others. When we combine social comparison with creative expression we get, well, not much. This is because social comparison perpetuates tendencies which cultivate low self-esteem, creating an endless cycle of false validation.
Pro Tip: Instead of starting your next project off the way someone else might do it, try something different. Do what feels right for you.
Quit scrolling. Put down the cell phone. You don’t need another Youtube video or Instagram how-to to get things started. Remember, you’re not here to replicate someone else’s creative process. You’re here to cultivate your own.
2. Become one with your craft.
You can’t satisfy a creative idea simply by doing some mundane research. You must first immerse yourself in the topic. Dive deep into the resources at your fingertips and let them lead you to new libraries of information. Give your ideas space to evolve without rushing them or injecting unrealistic expectations. When you feel you’ve done enough research, do more research. Experiential or otherwise.
Keep your eyes open for anything and everything that could help you along. Engage in conversation. Expose yourself to new practices and perspectives, perspectives that challenge you, as often as possible. Most importantly, treat your creative process as if it is sacred and watch as the maker in you unfurls.
3. Start with the objective.
Pretty straightforward, right? The thing about stellar innovations is that they require a great deal of organization and self-management in order to succeed. This isn’t because organization is what makes an idea great. It’s because some process is necessary in order to build an idea that will last, regardless of how creative you are. In a world where we are constantly distracted, it helps to keep your ‘why’ in-mind at all times.
4. Be your own boss.
There’s a reason why startups have embraced autonomous work environments as of late, and it has more to do with creativity than you’d think. More freedom in the workplace leads to higher job satisfaction and increased productivity. This is directly linked to autonomy providing employees with a heightened sense of responsibility for the quality of work they’re putting out.
Instead of shrugging off deadlines you’ve put in place for yourself, or worse, having no deadlines at all, hold yourself accountable. Create a schedule, content calendar, or idea bucket. Try, even if only for this one project, treating each step in the process as if you would if doing so for an employer. One you greatly respect and admire. Creativity may be innovation having fun, but innovation is damn hard work.
5. You can’t skip day two.
“Day two, or whatever that middle space is for your own process, is when you’re ‘in the dark’ — the door has closed behind you. You’re too far in to turn around and not close enough to the end to see the light.” — Brené Brown in Rising Strong
What would Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey be without tests, allies, and enemies? The tough stuff, what makes you uncomfortable, is often the catalyst we need to seize the sword. All this is to say, you cannot skip the middle. There will be times of uncertainty or feeling like you’ve failed, but the only real failure is giving up.
“The middle is messy, but it’s also where the magic happens.”
6. Choose patience over perfection.
Creative success isn’t a product of going viral or achieving the perfect outcome. Creative success is a product of patience and diligence. The idea that great success requires explosive linear growth without rough patches or notable obstacles is in direct conflict with much of what we know about the creative process.
There’s a reason why Einstein was able to publish his essays on Brownian motion, the theory of special relativity, the photoelectic effect, and E — mc2 all within the same year. It’s something economist, Tim Hartford refers to as “slow-motion multitasking” which suggests that by chipping away at several projects over time, you are more likely to reach a creative breakthrough.
“So, tell me again how you shouldn’t do several things at once,” Hartford jokes during his TED talk. “The pattern of behavior that Einstein was distributing, that’s not unique at all. It’s very common among highly creative people, both artists, and scientists.”
7. Toss-out the “starving artist” narrative.
The myth of the starving artist somehow mutated into this nonsense idea that you must struggle for your art for it to mean something. This is linked to another false notion that obscurity somehow makes art (or innovation) more meaningful. This translates into a number of creative stereotypes which ultimately impose useless pressures on makers to sabotage their mainstream success in the name of credibility.
There’s nothing wrong with being compensated for your time and effort, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with your work delivering nothing in return other than pure joy. Sure, suffering has helped produce some of the world’s greatest masterpieces — but so has love, celebration, and happiness.
Real creativity has no blueprint. The real art is in you.
8. Keep the best. Ditch the rest.
Editors will sometimes call this “trimming the fat.” Take a moment to analyze the nutritional value of your content. What exactly are you bringing to the table, here? What of this information is extra or “fluff”? Which ingredients should be saved for a different meal entirely?
Simplify where you can. Save only what is most needed in order to exemplify the objective you put in place. If there’s something you feel compelled to explore but doesn’t quite fit with this idea, consider pursuing it as a stand-alone endeavor. Before you know it, you’ll have your next two big projects mapped-out.
9. Self-promotion isn’t selfish.
Sure, your friends might cringe at the first sight of your self-promo on social media, but that’s just because Linda posted one-too-many times about her multi-level marketing business (selling organic, gluten-free, essential oil-infused water filters) on Facebook. But you can win them over, or at the very least, make a great impression by bringing something truly unique to the table. The only way to do that, however, is to be authentically you.
People are going to think what they want to think regardless of what you post about. Your work deserves to be seen. After all, you’ve made it this far. Why wouldn’t you want to share what you’ve created with those you care about most? It seems scary at the moment, but you’ll be surprised in the end just how many people out there need exactly what it is you’re “bringing to the table”.
10. Stay Hungry.
During her Stanford Alumni talk in 2014 professor Carol Dweck, who introduced the growth mindset, described a study in which she analyzed the way children cope with challenges. After posing a series of advanced questions to her group of ten-year-old participants, Dweck said some of the children’s reactions were extremely positive whereas other children saw their inability to answer these questions as “tragic” or “catastrophic”. This is a real-world example of the growth mindset versus a fixed mindset in action.
I wrote an article a couple of weeks back with a section about developing and maintaining a “growth mindset” which you can read in full here. This, I believe is key to continuing to produce new innovations in light of failure. We must learn, grow, and keep moving. If we let our inability to succeed in-the-moment obstruct our linear progress, we lose momentum altogether.
In the words of Steve Jobs, “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
Did you enjoy this article? Read more like this:
Continue the conversation by joining me on Instagram here.
