I’m very passionate about the idea that one great piece of content has the potential to change your life.
The evidence is all around us. Let me explain. For music artists, all it took was that one song to help launch them into the spotlight. A single YouTube video was all Scooter Braun needed to recognize Justin Bieber’s talent. For investors, it was that one big deal that put them on the map in the VC game. Think Twitter for Chris Sacca and myself. You too have the capability to produce this kind of content. The million-dollar question is, “What will that one piece of life-changing content be?”
CREATING GOOD CONTENT FOR A PERSONAL BRAND
If you’re not sure where to begin, don’t worry. It’s actually pretty simple: Whatever you love, talk about that. Even if one person listens and finds it interesting, you’ve got something. Remember that even the most successful people in business started off as nobodies. Take it from me: I said nothing on the Internet for years until I started Wine Library TV at the age of 30. Whatever it is that you love, speak to the world about it.
The truth is that most of you are just not good enough to make the content that you want to be making.
I know. It’s tough to hear…but it’s true.
The problem is that talent and skills matter and a lot of you focus too much on your flaws and not enough on your strengths to maximize your potential to win.
Think about all the Japanese baseball players who have come over to the U.S. in recent years to play in the MLB. They didn’t just magically get discovered. They were good enough to earn the necessary attention. They invested in their strengths and created opportunities. As long as you have the self-awareness to do the same, you can position yourself to succeed.
The quality of your content is equally important. You can’t just say something like “Museums are nice” and expect to be a museum curator someday. Your content needs to have depth. It needs to deliver value and resonate with a specific audience as opposed to being fluffy and tailored to the masses. It’s about depth, not width. The way you get depth is by paying attention and actively sharing your POV on things that are happening in your area of interest. What’s going on in the world you’re trying to be a part of? How can you insert yourself into the conversation?
PICKING YOUR CONTENT’S PLATFORM
Put out content through the medium that best plays to your strengths. Whatever you skillset is, put out good content and share it on the relevant platform that’s winning the attention of the people you want to reach. If you’re great in front of the camera, start a YouTube show. Are you a great writer? Start a blog.
The beauty of making content on the Internet and social media is that if a single piece is that good, it has the ability to go viral. If the one person who’s listening shares it, others might too, and it can spread like wildfire. That’s how you get discovered.
For example, that’s why I love Medium as a publishing platform for potential professional writers. Medium will handpick and feature good content from anyone, regardless of his or her follower count. The post just needs to be good. This makes it possible to transform writers from nobodies into somebodies overnight. The same can be true for YouTube and videographers. Or Instagram for photographers and artists.
BUT WHAT IF PEOPLE DON’T LIKE YOUR CONTENT?
Something to keep in mind is that you’re not going to hit a home run every time you’re up at bat. Sometimes your content or POV will be wrong, and other times it will be right. When you’re wrong, it’ll set you back. For instance, back in 2012, I was hyping Social Cam as the next big social video platform and had many of my clients jump on it. It never really took off, and I lost out on that prediction. I swung and I missed.
But, when you’re right and you continue to be right, people will start looking to you as a thought leader. When I put out content about how Snapchat is going to explode, and then everyone sees that it does, I earn that attention. When you’re right, the opportunities will follow, and before you know it, you’ll find yourself at the next level.
If you take anything away from this article, it’s this: recognize that you have the opportunity to win the content game. Just focus on your strengths and the quality of what you produce, how you produce it, and where you’re sharing it. Know your strengths and keep swinging. That’s how you dominate.
Image credit: CC by iloveJB123