Authors are finding themselves in competition with so many and mired down with the obligation to not only keep up their social media sites, but to also blog and find original, entertaining, informative and relevant content. Without it, other content steals our readers' attention (these days, we are cultured to have short attention-spans) and our creative flow is being divided between writing great stories and social media content.Too many of us spend too much time racking our brains for the next piece of content that will resonate with our readers. Granted, we need to stay on topic and within the expectation of the tone or theme of the brand we have set for ourselves, but that doesn't mean we can't expand the horizons of what we do and how we do it.
Your daily experiences, revelations, photo opportunities, and interactions from others are all usable content--an extension of you since these are YOUR experiences. You don't always have to dig deep inside yourself, using your own reservoir of energy to generate original content. Instead, redefine your idea of what content is.
Sometimes a photo can generate more comments and discussions than the most thought provocative quotation, statement or question. This is why Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube have been so successful and made such an impact on our social media culture.
Aaron Dun, VP of Marketing & Strategy for Percussion Software said it best in his guest post The New Marketing Machine on Duct Tape Marketing.
"Everything is Content: Stop looking for discrete pieces of content. Start by reshaping your definition of content and you will begin to see all of the content that is around you today. Customer support calls are content, blog comments are content, photos from an event are content…and on it goes. Once you realize that all of these daily moments are in fact discrete pieces of content, you will never worry about having enough content again."
What are your thoughts? Is your blog zapping your energy and time?
5 comments:
Interesting post, Jennifer. I like the fact that you are mentioning other types of content that may resonate with readers. I am blessed with wonderful contributors on both blogs. It is tricky staying on top of everything but I pray our readers are being blessed by our content. Thanks, Jennifer!
VERY cool post. I always find that the most personal and honest posts I do garner the most comments. Nice to know we don't have to rake our brains every time for something spectacularly pithy!
Carrie, You are one of those bloggers that has clearly defined your theme, mission and goals for each of your blogs. I think this is what has made your blogs so successful. The fact that you have other contributors, shows your willingness to delegate and it keeps you from shouldering all the burden. Great job!
Heather, I agree. More people comment and interact with me when I take a leap of faith and write about our family's struggles with my daughter's Epilepsy. When we are real with others, they feel like we aren't putting on a facade and they are getting to know us on a more intimate level. I would never reveal too much personal info, but I give a glimpse into my life. When we allow our life to be seen as an example, a testimony, we are letting God do with it as He wills. Great point.
My blog is travel related but I've found lots of ways to pull topics into the theme. Books For The Road is one where I review books people might tuck into a suitcase or an e-reader. Recipes from foreign countries, travel in your own backyard. . .as you said, you just have to be open to what's around you.
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