Latest / The Daily Writer / Different Content Deserves Different Effort

Transcript

Different Content Deserves Different Effort · The Daily Writer

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hey my friend, welcome to the Daily Writer, where we help writers become authors of their own lives.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: A while back, one of my friends asked me for some advice on how they should think about their social media content.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: And it dawned on me that I approach that type of material differently than I do other types of content.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: And here's how I explained it to my friend.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Different types of writing deserve different levels of effort.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: And here's the basic principle: the more permanent the content is, the more effort it deserves.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: For example, a book is probably the most permanent type of material that you can create, and you'll likely have a print version that people can hold in their hands, which means that it has permanence and a seriousness that other types of content doesn't.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore, a book needs to be carefully structured, edited, and proofread before it's published.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Next, in my opinion, you have items like courses or email newsletters, and those need to be well crafted also, obviously, but they don't deserve the same level of attention and editing and proofreading that a book does.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then you have things like social media, which is more ephemeral.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's almost like a mist that is here one moment and then it vanishes into the wind the next moment, because the nature of social media is that people look at it and they scroll on to a thousand other things.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody expects Steinbeck level writing on social media.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm not saying social media is not important.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Rather, I'm saying that it doesn't deserve the same level of attention and energy as something like a book, at least according to my opinion and according to the way that I have my business structured.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's another way to look at it.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: As a writer, you're serving a meal to your audience.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: You have a main dish, side dishes, and a garnish.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: I think books are kind of like a main dish that deserve the most time and attention.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Courses are more like a side dish, and social media is kind of like a garnish.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Now, obviously, I'm not including every possible type of content here.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: This is just a little exercise in helping you think about different types of content in your business and what level of effort and attention that each one deserves.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I think there are two takeaways from this exploration overall.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is figure out what types of content are central to your business model and give those the most effort.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: And number two, don't stress out over creating quote unquote perfect content when it's not really warranted.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I hope this helps you figure out how to prioritize the different types of writing that you're doing.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I also hope that it helps you feel less stressed out about spending unnecessary time on the material that doesn't need to be perfectly polished.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: And by the way, as a side note, if you want to see my current best example of writing that has been polished and crafted to the best of my ability, you can get your free copy of my brand new book, which is called The Ghost Powered Author.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: And you can get it by visiting KentSanders.net slash free dashbook.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's Kent Sanders.net slash free dash book.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks so much for listening as always.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Keep writing and keep showing up, and I'll see you tomorrow.