I’ve been getting my new office space ready and trying to feel more comfortable in my WFH setup after our move across the country. Living partially out of boxes doesn’t make for a effective workspace, so in between Zoom calls and copywriting I’ve been figuring out how to get everything situated. About halfway through the week I realized I’m making this waaaay more complicated then it needs to be.
Which got me thinking: how many other little things in my life am artificially increasing the complexity just cause there’s no one to stop me?
A real life scenario is my TV setup. In our new place we actually have a space for a TV in the living room. I spent a week researching the right streaming box and was constantly frustrated in how impossible it is to get all the features I want in a single device. I even made a spreadsheet with weighted averages!
When I reached the peak of my insanity, a thought hit me like a ton of bricks. Why don’t I just do what comes natural to me? Why am I climbing the wrong mountain?
So, I built my own streaming box with Linux and Kodi and all the geek stuff I really enjoy.
What are you making more complex? What are you doing that goes against your natural reactions?
Maybe stop doing that.
Onto this weeks newsletter:
– Figuring out our content problem in the middle of… gestures widely all this.
– Pruning old content to fit with current times.
– Upgrading content for profit!
– A ridiculous amount of hot links.
– Finally, a personal note.
Our tricky content problem
For the last three months we’ve been dealing with this conundrum. Given everything that is happening in the world, how do we effectively create content that people actually need in this moment? Plus, how do we make sure it isn’t poorly timed or tone deaf.
Aside from creating valuable content, this piece covers extra insights I appreciated. Prune your content, narrow its focus, stop with the clickbait and deliver what people are expecting. They sound like simple steps, but it will take a whole bunch of work to get there.
The easiest way to get started is to take a look at your existing content. How can you optimize it? Any edits? Anything that is not applicable any longer?
Work with what you have instead of always creating new.
6 Ways To Attract Customer Attention & Hold It Firmly
Get pruning
Speaking of audits…
Is all of your content pointing to the right goals? Driving the next stage of the customer journey? Shareable? Whatever your goals are, is this content doing it?
The Complete Guide to Content Pruning (+3 Step Pruning Process)
Get upgrading
Alright, so you audited your content, pruned as necessary. Now its time to get busy with the existing content.
This is an excellent guide to doing just that. If people are already finding your content valuable, how can you expand on that? You don’t just create content and chuck it over the wall to whoever is on the otherside. How are they using it? What else do they need?
17 Types of Content Upgrades to Increase Lead Generation With Your Blog | Leadfeeder
More on content
- Why Marketing Flywheels Work | SparkToro This one is well worth your time and fits with the next hot link perfectly. Automate your processes so that the system drives itself. Then you can focus on creating specfically for the people you can help the most.
I think we get lost thinking there’s an end. We do things “this way” and then at some point I’ll be at the end. Yet, there is no end. Marketing is forever, a cycle that we continuously work on making the circuit more effective. If you’re mindset is, “I’m just gonna hurry up and get this done” you’re in the wrong place. You’re not racing to a finish line.
- Matt Barnett Says “Automate Processes, Not Relationships”
- How to Promote an Article: 76 Content Promotion Strategies for Blog Content
- How to do a Content Audit in 15 Minutes
Hot links
- New Google My Business features aim to help SMBs pivot and survive COVID-19
- Experts Talk About Building A Brand On Social Media – Kontentino – Kontentino Blog – Simplifying Social Media Approval Workflow
- Google My Business Lets You Set Custom Hours By Category
- Increase conversion with personalized lifecycle campaigns
The correct response | Get Better Friday
It is never my intention to bring politics into this newsletter. We have to acknowledge that politics are a part of everything in the world, especially for us as marketers.
But, there is nothing political about saying Black Lives Matter.
I don’t have much to say here, other than I support the BLM cause and agree that we need to break down all the barriers society has created that systematically destroy black and brown people’s lives. As many people have said, its not enough to not be racist, we need to be anti-racist. I know I’ve let comments slide from coworkers or friends, brushing them off because either they are someone in power or because no one who would get offended were around.
No more. We can’t let even passive racism slide. All forms of racism are horrible and need to stop and what we’re witnessing on social media, TV and in the real world on our streets are examples of how poorly black and brown people are treated in this country.
I don’t care if you are upset this note appears in this newsletter. I don’t care if you disagree. The correct response is racists and racism are wrong and we do whatever it takes to stop it.