Nothing against Jim, but everyone quotes him. Because he’s so damn clear with his message.
"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems!”
Ugh! Sickening!
But true! 😞
As I embark on this journey, I want a system to promote consistency in what I produce and how I produce it. To be able to fall back on it when I’m out of sorts, lacking motivation or need a good kick up the pants.
I have created a free template to help you create your own system.
So, without any further ado!
10 Steps for Reliable, Engaging Content
Write every day! I have thoughts, often in the most inconvenient of places. But if I don’t get the thoughts down on something, I’ll be left knowing I had a thought and that is where it will end. It doesn’t matter if I meander at this point, just get the words onto the page.
Every morning, starting no later than 9am, my bum is in a seat and my hands join the keyboard.
Write. Every. Day!
Write positively! I don’t want to be a drama queen that vomits their unhinged thoughts on to the unsuspecting public. I want my audience to feel they have been given something they can use to improve something in their situation.
Write a solution to a problem. No random writing but an outcome to be achieved, a positive change in circumstances. I need to be disciplined to define the problem and then work through to the solution. In training terms this means something like, “By the end if this story or video, the audience will be able to …”
Always write to someone. Someone who I value and who I want to help - that’s you, my audience. When I’m writing to someone, I’m conveying my point of view from my experience. Imagine it is like getting a postcard from someone in the Greek Islands. “Hey, here’s me sunning myself on a rock. Wish you were here.”
Always write for someone. Writing for someone is to show how “coming to the Greek Islands” will help their situation. Or in this case, having a step-by-step process will help them in their creation process.
Separating the two helps me tell the story a little clearer which in turn will help the story unfold for the audience.
You will need your own personalised version, of course, my goal is to show you how a process will benefit you.
Edit no earlier than 24 hours later. I struggle with this once, hence why it’s here. Once I’ve delivered my magnum opus. It needs to sit, like a good curry! And editing is always better when I’ve had a chance for the emotion and investment to dissipate a little. I can review the content with fresh eyes.
Use AI to check my writing. That is to check, not write, the article. The article is mine not GPT’s or Claude’s. But I can struggle with writing good prose at times. So, it’s over to GPT for some guidance. Once I see the change I work on trying to understand so I can be a better writer.
Publish the piece. Time to take the risk and hit publish! Once I’ve done the work it needs to go public. Otherwise, what is the point? Is it helpful? Does it offer a different perspective?
It can be scary. What if the audience judges you to be ”wrong”?
Here’s a perspective I find helpful: Providing information online is like mentoring. In mentoring, the Mentor is positioned as the expert. They have the knowledge students look for. But good mentors are always learning too.
In fact, we never stop learning.
Watch the tape. I re-watch or re-read the material after it has gone public. Once it’s public, it seems more real, even though none of the words have changed. Sometimes I’m proud of the piece. Sometimes I’m embarrassed.
But it is what it is and as per #8, there is always something to learn and pity the person who refuses to learn.
Try to watch your material as a disinterested observer.
The 3- or 6-month review. Even after “watching the tape”, I watch the videos again anywhere from 3 to 6 months later. Sometimes it’s just morbid fascination, like slowing down to watch a car wreck. Most times, I learn something new, or be reminded of an important factor, a small jewel to note down to repeat. And sometimes, I see my progress. Not in terms of metrics perhaps, but the quality of the material, maybe how I appear on camera, if it’s a video, has improved.
And remember, when you are alone, you’re allowed to pat yourself on the back!
If you’ve read this far, thank you so much!
So here is a bonus
It may not seem like anything to do with the creation system, but from my point of view, it is almost the basis for the system.
Get a good night’s sleep! Tiredness will destroy your inspiration and energy more than anything else. It will allow me to find an excuse to fail at step one: write every day.
And once that is done, the system falls like dominoes.
There you have it. I hope you get something from it. It is my hope that by the end of this, you will take action to develop your own process or, if you have one, to review it and make improvements to increase your success rate.
I have created a free template to help you create your own system.
Great article!