The Idea Mill
Insights + Observations About the Power of Content
If you are producing a podcast to grow your business—and not be the next internet celebrity—you don’t need to appeal to everybody. You only need to serve a very distinct and defined core audience. Unless you’re the next Joe Rogan or Howard Stern, you’re not going to amass an audience of millions. But that’s not the point.
Here’s how business owners and professional service providers can take advantage of the fastest-growing form of media out there today…and have a little fun doing it.
I am so very humbled by the early reviews for my most recent novel, The Fatal Flaw. Thank you to all who have read and reacted so far. For those who haven’t, and for whom a suspense novel might be of interest, I offer the first chapter as a “sneak peek” as to what’s inside…
IF I LIVE TO BE 100, I’ll never forget that look…
Effective marketing programs should employ both bullhorns and bullseyes. I am extremely excited to announce my latest collaboration with Curtis Hays and his Collideascope teamlance: a podcast devoted to bridging the chasm between marketing and sales, called “Bullhorns and Bullseyes.
Find it wherever you get your podcasts. Or stream it now, read the transcript, and even watch the video cast of all three episodes, with more on the way soon!
Everything's a notification these days.
Are you finding it annoying?
Check in on virtually any social media platform, and you'll be bombarded with notifications, badges and prompts. About...well, just about anything.
It used to be that you'd only receive timely, important and relevant notifications, specific to your own behaviors and actions on any given platform. Now, if some random connection posts something, comments on something, or so much as bats an eyelash emoji online, rest assured, you'll get a notification.
Here’s how you can start taking some of your time and attention back…
I am proud to share the news that my second fiction novel, The Fatal Flaw, has been released and is now available on Amazon.com.
Very few content creators go into a piece of writing with the notion, “I hope readers skim this piece!” But, in fact, that’s exactly what you want them to do.
The binary isn’t between whether readers will skim your article or read it in its entirety; it’s whether they will skim it or skip it altogether.
And thus becomes one of the primary purposes of developing effective content for marketing purposes: the skim. Facilitate that, and you will earn the readers’ trust, interest and engagement. That initial skim, therefore, becomes the introduction to you, your expertise and the subject matter of the discrete piece of thought leadership. It is the portal into a deeper relationship between the author and reader.
The skim is the invitation to delve deeper. Without it, you’re risking the dreaded skip.
Mere “content” for content’s sake is generally not enough to fully allow an individual to differentiate, to establish a credible expert reputation, and to separate oneself from the competitive field of peers and rivals in the increasingly crowded marketplace of ideas. Sure, if you would’ve asked me ten years ago, “Is any content better than no content?” the answer would’ve been a reluctant “sure.” But today, the media are noisier, the voices are more plentiful, and our audiences have never been more distractible.
The good news? Most of the content out there is considered by decision makers to be subpar. There’s your opportunity: to elevate your subject matter expertise into thought leadership, and your thought leadership into new business opportunities. But you likely won’t achieve your aspirations by adding to the content tsunami. You must engage in thought leadership, not just content creation.
