There is a really simple answer to why I’ve decided to create so much content lately.
I like creating content.
This is the second of two blog posts I’ll create today. I didn’t get started on the first one until late in the afternoon when I was almost done working for the day. Normally, I write best in the morning; but that just didn’t work out today.
A funny thing happened when I started writing.
On December 23, I made a commitment to myself to create 12 pieces of content in 12 days. I didn’t necessarily have to write one a day; but write 12 over 12 days. I missed yesterday; so needed to get two done this afternoon to catch up and make this race winnable. (Note: I didn’t manage to create 12 pieces of content in 12 days and here’s a blog post that talks about why that’s okay.)
When I started I was tired and didn’t want to write. But as I found myself about halfway through this post my brain wasn’t as fuzzy anymore. I was feeling energized. Writing is mental stimulation for me. It forces me to isolate and focus on the task at hand. There are no phone or other distractions if I can help it.
The more I write, the better I get at it.
Earlier this year my editor, business partner and friend, Shelby Sapusek pointed out that when I don’t write as frequently (she’s talking about the last five years) my writing suffers. When we met in the early 2010s, I was writing almost daily and it became second nature and easier.
The same goes for the podcast series we are working to get off the ground. We’ve recorded the first episode (that counts as content by the way) and it’s rough around the edges. That’s okay, we’ll record another one soon with a guest to try that format. Over time,. we’ll get 4-5 episodes recorded and ready to go before we launch. Who knows? The first episode might end up on the cutting room floor. Without that first episode though, we wouldn’t have started.
Sometimes quantity matters.
I’m all for quality over quantity; but in the world of content marketing the challenge is to create a volume of quality content. A single stellar blog post a year won’t do it. Maybe one great post a month could generate the number of eyeballs necessary; but for now I’m just going to crank out the best content I can as often as I can.
Thanks for joining me on this journey back to being a content creator in 2021.