Content creation becomes painful when approached the wrong way. And this is all as a result of other factors than the ones we’re told daily. The moment I figured it out I was left amazed, and I hope it hits you the same.
What Is It Not About
Do you know what schools have been doing so far? They have been conditioning you to create. We’ve been punished whenever we did something wrong, or whenever what we produced didn’t match the standards. So, this led us to follow the standards each time we created a piece of writing, drawing, solved a mathematical problem another way, or invented our own equations to deal with chemical problems.
We have been led into thinking in patterns that doom our creativity. We have created concepts such as “failure” when something doesn’t match the standards, and “successful” when it does. These strongly determine the way we create. But, when you think about it: aren’t both these so-called “failures” and “successes” pieces of creation? Isn’t it wonderful that everyone creates in his/her own way!?
I know what you’re thinking: Sometimes people create ineffective solutions because they’re driven simply by the magical and selfish desire to be called creators. They are not entirely aware of what they are bringing into existence.
Here’s how to fix it: mix your creativity with a big cup of conscience. Stay aware throughout the journey of creation, and judge yourself with the absolute truth in mind: “Is what I created truly useful?”
Now, what do chemical formulas and writing rules have to do with your business and especially your content? Simple. You are content. (And you are a business.)
You communicate through content, and without creating good content you cannot deliver value, get clients and get the money flowing.
At some point all creators get stuck. We all get stuck, and now I tell you this secret that works wonders once you implement it in your creative process:
Change the Way You Create
Creating content, whether designing, writing or recording, requires you to have some kind of detailed plan in advance, right? And for this, you must spend hours of research to ensure you’ve gathered data from various resources, and not missed a single detail, right?
Wrong!
Creation has little to do with research, competition studying, and technical aspects of the process. It all starts with your mental state.
You must put yourself into that state of creation and start doing it. Along the way, you will understand what is missing and you’ll know what to exactly search for.
For example, I had to write an article about the roadblocks that keep your email conversation rates down. The article was around 2000 words. And I had the outline, but I needed to link to credible resources and research/reports.
When you think about 2000 words it seems frightening, but that’s when the real work of putting the above-mentioned rule into work starts.
Instead of thinking about what resources I would link to, and what images I’d include how, and where, facts to mention, and keywords to use, I simply started to write.
During the process, keywords popped up “sending re-engagement emails”, “open rates”, “poor CTA” etc. Linking to internal and external resources came naturally.
Bonus Tip: If you want to search through articles posted on a site do this: nameofsite.com/sitemap.xml. It will show you all pages on the site and you could easily search with CTRL+F what’s useful to you.
The entire process of creation is a reflection of your inner state. If you really want to create something of value, don’t overwhelm yourself with gathering the best tools, pieces of software, books, research papers, and then sit exhausted with that sad expression in your face trying to force something out.
Creation is all into your mental state: Shift your inner emotional state and then immerse yourself in the process.
How you’re feeling portrays into what you create, and when you try to create materials that don’t match your inner state, things come out fake and artificial.
This is the only secret that will get you started into a process of creation that’s going to be endless! Then, you’ll start laughing and this realization will hit you: “Damn! This is so easy and beautiful! I could go on like this forever!”
And that was indeed the way I felt while writing that article when I had this realization. It was 4 am in the morning, and I felt as if I had unlocked the secret to life.
This is the way I am feeling while writing this article now. As if I could go on like this forever!
What About Feedback and Standards?
Now, I see some veteran creators frowning at my words: “Huh, young chump. You’ll go elsewhere without mastering the rules set by the ones before you.”
It’s true that when you create a piece of content you should match the style or voice of the person/brand you’re creating for. You must immerse yourself into it, but you shouldn’t let the “creator’s block” hit you.
Are you marketing wine on Instagram? You don’t have to go learn all types of wines before creating your first post. Just pick one wine. Start researching on that one, and you’ll figure out along the way what you need to add.
How could you know if what you create works? By posting it, or showing it to as many people as possible you have the time luxury to do so and then process each piece of feedback you get with an impartial and selfless point of view.
The takeaway
Even though I want to go on forever with this article, I won’t take more of your time because you must go and create. All I wish to achieve with this article is this: To help you unlock your creativity and the boldness to atomize each second with the excitement creation brings.