WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.620 Robby: The Brand ED podcast with Robby Fowler, Episode 1 0 1 , conquer Your 00:00:04.620 --> 00:00:10.100 Content Planning Six Key Challenges and How to Overcome Them part four 00:00:24.329 --> 00:00:28.379 . We're continuing our series on these six challenges that stand 00:00:28.379 --> 00:00:32.459 in the way of our content planning and our content marketing. 00:00:32.859 --> 00:00:35.619 I wanna recap real quick where we've been, and then we'll 00:00:35.619 --> 00:00:37.839 dive into today's challenge. 00:00:38.199 --> 00:00:42.039 We started with the first real challenge, which is how you and 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:46.419 I often feel about our content marketing over the past six months. 00:00:46.929 --> 00:00:49.329 Most of us feel like we're falling short. 00:00:49.509 --> 00:00:51.189 We don't feel like we're doing enough. 00:00:51.189 --> 00:00:53.049 We don't feel like the quality's enough. 00:00:53.049 --> 00:00:55.809 We don't feel like the results are coming in that we're wanting. 00:00:56.209 --> 00:00:57.439 We're hit and miss. 00:00:57.739 --> 00:01:01.069 And so that's the initial challenge is we just don't feel great 00:01:01.069 --> 00:01:02.959 about how things have been going. 00:01:03.529 --> 00:01:06.499 What we said is something is missing. 00:01:06.499 --> 00:01:10.099 And I think what's missing for many of us is a simple plan. 00:01:10.339 --> 00:01:14.659 Something that's very doable, connected to a sexy goal, that's something that's 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:19.639 very desirable, and then someone who cares, and that's accountability. 00:01:19.909 --> 00:01:23.239 So we need something that's doable that we can actually pull off. 00:01:23.639 --> 00:01:28.409 We need something that's connected to something that we actually want or desire. 00:01:28.414 --> 00:01:32.309 So it's not just content creation for the sake of content creation. 00:01:32.369 --> 00:01:33.689 Which feels terrible. 00:01:33.689 --> 00:01:35.549 And then we need somebody who cares. 00:01:35.549 --> 00:01:37.979 We need some sense of accountability. 00:01:38.349 --> 00:01:42.879 The action step for that first challenge is this, if your content marketing 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:49.569 was a success, what big audacious goal could it help you reach in two years? 00:01:49.779 --> 00:01:53.319 That's really the action step I wanted us to start with. 00:01:53.349 --> 00:01:56.559 If your content marketing was actually a success. 00:01:56.959 --> 00:02:00.679 What big audacious goal could it help you reach two years from now? 00:02:00.709 --> 00:02:03.469 That's that kind of sexy goal. 00:02:03.469 --> 00:02:07.689 The very desirable goal that's going to accompany your very simple plan. 00:02:07.689 --> 00:02:10.489 Something you can pull off, and then you're gonna tell somebody 00:02:10.494 --> 00:02:13.459 about it so that you can stay account accountable to it. 00:02:13.859 --> 00:02:17.489 Next, we talked about the chart the course challenge. 00:02:17.879 --> 00:02:21.599 That's where you wanna decide where are you headed in the next quarter? 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:23.399 Are you launching something big? 00:02:23.399 --> 00:02:25.529 We call that a big rocks quarter. 00:02:25.529 --> 00:02:29.849 Like you're launching a big rock into a lake and it's going to create a huge 00:02:30.089 --> 00:02:32.909 splash, or is the next quarter for you. 00:02:33.239 --> 00:02:35.554 You're in normal operation mode. 00:02:35.554 --> 00:02:38.704 No huge new launches of anything. 00:02:38.704 --> 00:02:40.624 So that's a tiny pebbles quarter. 00:02:41.014 --> 00:02:44.284 So your action step was to decide your course or your 00:02:44.284 --> 00:02:45.664 direction for the next quarter. 00:02:45.844 --> 00:02:48.714 Is this going to be a big Rocks quarter where you launch something 00:02:48.714 --> 00:02:53.184 big, or is this going to be a tiny Pebbles quarter where you continue 00:02:53.184 --> 00:02:57.324 offering the same sorts of products or services that you're offering? 00:02:57.724 --> 00:03:01.744 Third, we looked at the content challenge, and that's the challenge 00:03:01.744 --> 00:03:03.604 of coming up with content. 00:03:03.604 --> 00:03:08.014 The action step there was to determine your three to five content pillars, 00:03:08.344 --> 00:03:12.274 the three to five buckets or topics or subject matters that you're 00:03:12.274 --> 00:03:16.654 going to talk about regularly to establish yourself as an expert. 00:03:16.954 --> 00:03:20.554 And that helps take away the pressure of, what should I say? 00:03:20.914 --> 00:03:24.699 And then that brings us to this episode where, We're gonna talk 00:03:24.699 --> 00:03:26.439 about the channel challenge. 00:03:26.439 --> 00:03:30.459 This one's pretty quick, but a lot of us face this now that we've 00:03:30.669 --> 00:03:34.519 decided the content pillars, the kind of content we want to talk about. 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:39.359 A lot of us still struggle to actually come up or create the content. 00:03:39.629 --> 00:03:42.539 And I say that what a lot of us are rubbing up against 00:03:42.539 --> 00:03:44.039 is the channel challenge. 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:48.719 And I want you to think in terms of either the mode or the medium 00:03:49.049 --> 00:03:51.479 that comes most natural to you. 00:03:51.899 --> 00:03:55.979 So the first question I want you to ask when it comes to the channel challenge 00:03:55.979 --> 00:03:58.709 is what comes most natural to you? 00:03:58.709 --> 00:04:03.119 If you've got to create content, even if it's not social media content 00:04:03.119 --> 00:04:07.859 or even marketing content, just any content around your business, 00:04:08.309 --> 00:04:09.989 what comes most natural to you? 00:04:10.289 --> 00:04:13.049 If given the choice, would you prefer to write things out? 00:04:13.054 --> 00:04:18.359 A lot of times people that enjoy writing things out, like the ability to process 00:04:18.364 --> 00:04:22.529 ahead of time to scribble and scratch some things, to move ideas around and 00:04:22.947 --> 00:04:24.567 that's what comes most natural to you. 00:04:25.137 --> 00:04:25.707 Others? 00:04:25.767 --> 00:04:27.837 Video actually comes most natural. 00:04:27.867 --> 00:04:30.327 You could come from a video background. 00:04:30.987 --> 00:04:35.947 Age can play a difference in your ability to do that. 00:04:35.947 --> 00:04:39.547 I grew up in an age where I didn't have a phone that shot video, but 00:04:39.547 --> 00:04:42.997 there's lots of folks that run business and they've always had. 00:04:43.297 --> 00:04:46.567 Video's just been a part of their life, the ability to shoot video. 00:04:46.567 --> 00:04:49.027 So for some people that comes very natural. 00:04:49.027 --> 00:04:54.097 Just let me stick a camera and let me start getting ideas out just on video. 00:04:54.217 --> 00:04:56.917 And then there are some that prefer audio. 00:04:57.037 --> 00:05:01.807 Maybe you come from an audio background or you study that in college, or you 00:05:01.807 --> 00:05:06.127 just like to take a walk, grab your phone and start dictating things 00:05:06.127 --> 00:05:11.072 into your phone and recording audio, it allows you to get your ideas out 00:05:11.072 --> 00:05:13.022 and capture those ideas initially. 00:05:13.322 --> 00:05:17.492 So the channel challenge is really first determining what 00:05:17.492 --> 00:05:19.442 comes most natural to you. 00:05:19.842 --> 00:05:24.537 It's easy to look at others that are trying to help you create 00:05:24.542 --> 00:05:26.187 content or content marketing. 00:05:26.457 --> 00:05:29.187 Most of them will have a lane that they prefer. 00:05:29.657 --> 00:05:34.457 Whether that's written or video or audio, and like I've heard someone 00:05:34.577 --> 00:05:38.087 say most advice is autobiographical. 00:05:38.177 --> 00:05:43.037 So someone that enjoys writing and that's how they've built their business or done 00:05:43.037 --> 00:05:47.652 their content marketing well naturally they're going to encourage you, or even 00:05:47.652 --> 00:05:52.702 dictate that you have to do this starting in writing, or you have to do this on 00:05:52.702 --> 00:05:54.894 video, or you have to do this on audio. 00:05:55.204 --> 00:05:58.504 That usually is gonna line up with whoever's, whatever expert 00:05:58.504 --> 00:05:59.734 is giving you that advice. 00:05:59.794 --> 00:06:02.044 That's what comes most natural to them. 00:06:02.404 --> 00:06:07.894 So that's how they've answered the channel challenge or the mode or the medium. 00:06:08.164 --> 00:06:09.844 I'm saying let that go. 00:06:10.219 --> 00:06:13.519 If you want to actually create content and make this doable, you need to 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:15.679 start with what is most natural to you. 00:06:15.684 --> 00:06:17.989 So decide, are you best at writing? 00:06:17.989 --> 00:06:20.839 Are you best at just flipping on a video camera and talking, 00:06:20.894 --> 00:06:22.484 or are you best at audio? 00:06:22.884 --> 00:06:27.724 Recording your thoughts on audio and just getting them recorded somewhere. 00:06:28.024 --> 00:06:31.984 The second question, when it comes to the channel challenge, now that we've 00:06:32.024 --> 00:06:36.429 can relax and exhale and go, oh, so I have the freedom to do it my way and 00:06:36.429 --> 00:06:40.959 to start with a form or a mode or a medium that comes most natural to me. 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:41.559 Yes. 00:06:41.769 --> 00:06:45.909 Secondly, what channels do you want to connect with your audience on? 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:50.609 You need to start thinking when it comes to the final form of this content that 00:06:50.609 --> 00:06:54.929 you're creating, what channels do you want to connect with your audience on? 00:06:55.049 --> 00:07:00.969 Now, those words are important in that question because if you pick a channel 00:07:01.119 --> 00:07:05.409 just because either an expert tells you to pick it, or perhaps right now it 00:07:05.409 --> 00:07:10.289 seems to be the hot channel or social media platform or whatever the case may 00:07:10.289 --> 00:07:16.739 be, that honeymoon phase is going to eventually dissolve or disappear, and 00:07:16.739 --> 00:07:19.859 you're gonna be stuck doing something that you don't really enjoy doing. 00:07:19.859 --> 00:07:25.409 So you need to choose a channel or channels that are meaningful to you. 00:07:25.409 --> 00:07:28.987 So if you can't stand video, you don't ever want to think about video. 00:07:29.387 --> 00:07:33.197 Keep that in mind before you choose YouTube or something as your primary way 00:07:33.437 --> 00:07:35.597 that you're going to deliver this content. 00:07:35.927 --> 00:07:40.997 But we, when we start thinking about what comes most natural to us to start 00:07:40.997 --> 00:07:45.827 generating the content, and I'm thinking more along the lines of ideas or first 00:07:45.832 --> 00:07:47.897 drafts, that's the channel challenge. 00:07:47.897 --> 00:07:52.547 Hey, I just need to get something out there to get a, to vomit up a first draft. 00:07:53.177 --> 00:07:56.777 We'll pick written video or audio, what comes most natural to you, but you 00:07:56.777 --> 00:08:00.977 need to keep in mind what channels you want to connect with your audience on. 00:08:00.977 --> 00:08:05.777 And the two key factors there are picking a channel that resonates 00:08:05.777 --> 00:08:10.317 with you or channels, and you need to match that up with your audience. 00:08:10.587 --> 00:08:15.417 So if you love writing long form blog content, But your audience 00:08:15.417 --> 00:08:19.147 doesn't read that kind of content for whatever reason either they're busy 00:08:19.327 --> 00:08:23.287 or generationally they don't read long form content or whatever that is. 00:08:23.287 --> 00:08:24.637 You need to be aware of that. 00:08:24.727 --> 00:08:28.747 So when you're thinking in terms of the final output of this, you know 00:08:28.747 --> 00:08:30.907 what channels this is going to be on. 00:08:31.477 --> 00:08:35.887 So if you start most naturally writing, but you, the channel you 00:08:35.887 --> 00:08:37.357 want to connect on is YouTube. 00:08:37.357 --> 00:08:41.077 Then obviously, somewhere down the line, you're gonna have to go from written form. 00:08:41.477 --> 00:08:43.097 To video form, and that's fine. 00:08:43.097 --> 00:08:46.367 You just want to be aware of that, and you want to be where your 00:08:46.397 --> 00:08:49.427 audience is to a certain degree. 00:08:49.427 --> 00:08:52.867 You have the ability to connect with an audience and tell them 00:08:52.867 --> 00:08:54.667 like, this is where you find me. 00:08:55.027 --> 00:08:59.977 So there, I don't know that there's a hard and fast rule that you absolutely 00:09:00.007 --> 00:09:05.107 have to bow down to your audience or vice versa, that you demand that 00:09:05.107 --> 00:09:09.154 they come find you on some channel that they just don't Hang out on. 00:09:09.604 --> 00:09:12.184 So you wanna match that and marry that in the middle. 00:09:12.184 --> 00:09:15.737 But those are the two questions . What comes most natural to you? 00:09:15.737 --> 00:09:18.587 That's how you overcome the channel challenge. 00:09:18.987 --> 00:09:22.947 Start with writing video or audio, whatever comes most natural to you. 00:09:23.397 --> 00:09:26.390 Question two , determine the channels you're going to want to 00:09:26.390 --> 00:09:28.340 connect with your audience on. 00:09:28.640 --> 00:09:31.460 And then here's your very simple action step, which you 00:09:31.460 --> 00:09:32.810 probably already saw coming. 00:09:33.050 --> 00:09:36.110 Choose your starting mode for content creation. 00:09:36.140 --> 00:09:37.220 Just pick the one. 00:09:37.620 --> 00:09:40.410 I'm gonna write things out first, however you do that. 00:09:40.770 --> 00:09:43.590 I'm gonna shoot some video first, however you do that. 00:09:43.860 --> 00:09:46.770 I'm gonna record some audio first, however you do that. 00:09:47.070 --> 00:09:51.480 Right now, I want you to just choose your starting mode for content creation 00:09:51.750 --> 00:09:56.580 to make starting and getting going as easy as possible for you, and that 00:09:56.580 --> 00:10:00.870 will help you move past the channel challenge of, I've gotta start some other 00:10:00.870 --> 00:10:03.084 form that does not come natural to me. 00:10:03.084 --> 00:10:05.034 That's it for this week's episode. 00:10:05.184 --> 00:10:09.444 Next, we're gonna look at the, what I call the creator challenge. 00:10:09.444 --> 00:10:11.124 hope you enjoyed this episode. 00:10:11.124 --> 00:10:15.624 If so, hit the share button on your phone or your podcast player. 00:10:15.624 --> 00:10:17.604 Share this episode with someone else. 00:10:17.604 --> 00:10:18.984 I'd love for you to do that. 00:10:19.508 --> 00:10:23.943 Join me on the next episode if you've ever found yourself wondering, how 00:10:23.943 --> 00:10:26.343 do I get that first draft going? 00:10:26.793 --> 00:10:30.783 Not only do you need to pick the channel, we're gonna take a look at that creator 00:10:30.783 --> 00:10:32.913 challenge because all of us are different. 00:10:32.973 --> 00:10:36.603 And again, most of the advice comes at us as if we're all one 00:10:36.603 --> 00:10:38.793 kind of person or one kind of. 00:10:38.793 --> 00:10:40.108 Content creator. 00:10:40.288 --> 00:10:41.068 So show up. 00:10:41.068 --> 00:10:44.218 Join me on that Next episode, we'll talk about the creator challenge. 00:10:44.338 --> 00:10:47.398 Until next time, go and build a life-giving brand.