Think you don’t have anything to share? Maybe you don’t think you are enough of an expert to help other people learn. Think again. Your life experiences along with what you are presently learning can make great content. All you need to do is take notice of it, seize it before you lose it, and transform it into an article, blog post or video.
My business model is, “Learn it. Do it. Teach it.” What that means is that I have built a successful business on learning things that I wanted or needed to know, doing them myself, then teaching others what I did right and what I did wrong, and how they can do it right. You can do the same. What attracts your interest and makes you want to learn about it? Learn it, do it yourself, then share what you learned with your audience.
Looking for a quick idea? What mistake did you, one of your clients or one of your colleagues recently make that others can learn from? Everyone likes to hear about other people’s boo-boo’s, and it’s always cheaper and less painful to learn from others’ mistakes rather than our own. So keep your eyes and ears open and you’ll find a ton of content with this idea alone. You may want to change some of the details to protect client confidentiality, but you can easily change a few pieces of identifying information without losing the lesson.
While you’re looking for mistakes, keep your eyes open for success stories. What did they accomplish and how did they do it? By learning of the success of others we can find vital clues on how to create our own successes.
Sometimes the real story isn’t in the success but in the challenge they overcame to reach that success. If you or someone else discovered a new way to break through an obstacle, it’s guaranteed that other people will want to hear about it, too.
Has someone given you a terrific piece of advice? Maybe it was about taking or not taking an action, or maybe it was inspirational. How did you use the advice and what happened? Or have you discovered a new tool with a benefit too good not to share with others? Then you’ve got great content in the making.
Maybe you’ve got a unique solution to a problem your audience is experiencing. This kind of content is so good you can sell it. Or perhaps you’ve got a story about something that didn’t work at all – others will want to know to steer clear of it.
The real trick to creating great content is simple – watch for it. As you read, work, interact with others and go about your day, always keep a lookout for things to share on social media. Keep a notebook in your pocket and jot the ideas down and you’ll find they rapidly multiply into more than you can even use. You’ll never be stuck for great content again because you’ll see it truly is all around you.
