The Brand ED Podcast

Robby: The Brand ED podcast with Robby
Fowler, Episode 1 0 1 , conquer Your

Content Planning Six Key Challenges
and How to Overcome Them part four

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We're continuing our series on
these six challenges that stand

in the way of our content planning
and our content marketing.

I wanna recap real quick where
we've been, and then we'll

dive into today's challenge.

We started with the first real
challenge, which is how you and

I often feel about our content
marketing over the past six months.

Most of us feel like we're falling short.

We don't feel like we're doing enough.

We don't feel like the quality's enough.

We don't feel like the results
are coming in that we're wanting.

We're hit and miss.

And so that's the initial challenge
is we just don't feel great

about how things have been going.

What we said is something is missing.

And I think what's missing for
many of us is a simple plan.

Something that's very doable, connected
to a sexy goal, that's something that's

very desirable, and then someone who
cares, and that's accountability.

So we need something that's doable
that we can actually pull off.

We need something that's connected to
something that we actually want or desire.

So it's not just content creation
for the sake of content creation.

Which feels terrible.

And then we need somebody who cares.

We need some sense of accountability.

The action step for that first challenge
is this, if your content marketing

was a success, what big audacious goal
could it help you reach in two years?

That's really the action step
I wanted us to start with.

If your content marketing
was actually a success.

What big audacious goal could it
help you reach two years from now?

That's that kind of sexy goal.

The very desirable goal that's going
to accompany your very simple plan.

Something you can pull off, and
then you're gonna tell somebody

about it so that you can stay
account accountable to it.

Next, we talked about the
chart the course challenge.

That's where you wanna decide where
are you headed in the next quarter?

Are you launching something big?

We call that a big rocks quarter.

Like you're launching a big rock into
a lake and it's going to create a huge

splash, or is the next quarter for you.

You're in normal operation mode.

No huge new launches of anything.

So that's a tiny pebbles quarter.

So your action step was to
decide your course or your

direction for the next quarter.

Is this going to be a big Rocks
quarter where you launch something

big, or is this going to be a tiny
Pebbles quarter where you continue

offering the same sorts of products
or services that you're offering?

Third, we looked at the content
challenge, and that's the challenge

of coming up with content.

The action step there was to determine
your three to five content pillars,

the three to five buckets or topics
or subject matters that you're

going to talk about regularly to
establish yourself as an expert.

And that helps take away the
pressure of, what should I say?

And then that brings us to this
episode where, We're gonna talk

about the channel challenge.

This one's pretty quick, but a
lot of us face this now that we've

decided the content pillars, the kind
of content we want to talk about.

A lot of us still struggle to actually
come up or create the content.

And I say that what a lot
of us are rubbing up against

is the channel challenge.

And I want you to think in terms
of either the mode or the medium

that comes most natural to you.

So the first question I want you to ask
when it comes to the channel challenge

is what comes most natural to you?

If you've got to create content,
even if it's not social media content

or even marketing content, just
any content around your business,

what comes most natural to you?

If given the choice, would you
prefer to write things out?

A lot of times people that enjoy writing
things out, like the ability to process

ahead of time to scribble and scratch
some things, to move ideas around and

that's what comes most natural to you.

Others?

Video actually comes most natural.

You could come from a video background.

Age can play a difference
in your ability to do that.

I grew up in an age where I didn't
have a phone that shot video, but

there's lots of folks that run
business and they've always had.

Video's just been a part of their
life, the ability to shoot video.

So for some people that
comes very natural.

Just let me stick a camera and let me
start getting ideas out just on video.

And then there are some that prefer audio.

Maybe you come from an audio background
or you study that in college, or you

just like to take a walk, grab your
phone and start dictating things

into your phone and recording audio,
it allows you to get your ideas out

and capture those ideas initially.

So the channel challenge is
really first determining what

comes most natural to you.

It's easy to look at others that
are trying to help you create

content or content marketing.

Most of them will have
a lane that they prefer.

Whether that's written or video or
audio, and like I've heard someone

say most advice is autobiographical.

So someone that enjoys writing and that's
how they've built their business or done

their content marketing well naturally
they're going to encourage you, or even

dictate that you have to do this starting
in writing, or you have to do this on

video, or you have to do this on audio.

That usually is gonna line up
with whoever's, whatever expert

is giving you that advice.

That's what comes most natural to them.

So that's how they've answered the channel
challenge or the mode or the medium.

I'm saying let that go.

If you want to actually create content
and make this doable, you need to

start with what is most natural to you.

So decide, are you best at writing?

Are you best at just flipping
on a video camera and talking,

or are you best at audio?

Recording your thoughts on audio and
just getting them recorded somewhere.

The second question, when it comes to
the channel challenge, now that we've

can relax and exhale and go, oh, so I
have the freedom to do it my way and

to start with a form or a mode or a
medium that comes most natural to me.

Yes.

Secondly, what channels do you want
to connect with your audience on?

You need to start thinking when it comes
to the final form of this content that

you're creating, what channels do you
want to connect with your audience on?

Now, those words are important in that
question because if you pick a channel

just because either an expert tells
you to pick it, or perhaps right now it

seems to be the hot channel or social
media platform or whatever the case may

be, that honeymoon phase is going to
eventually dissolve or disappear, and

you're gonna be stuck doing something
that you don't really enjoy doing.

So you need to choose a channel or
channels that are meaningful to you.

So if you can't stand video, you
don't ever want to think about video.

Keep that in mind before you choose
YouTube or something as your primary way

that you're going to deliver this content.

But we, when we start thinking about
what comes most natural to us to start

generating the content, and I'm thinking
more along the lines of ideas or first

drafts, that's the channel challenge.

Hey, I just need to get something out
there to get a, to vomit up a first draft.

We'll pick written video or audio,
what comes most natural to you, but you

need to keep in mind what channels you
want to connect with your audience on.

And the two key factors there are
picking a channel that resonates

with you or channels, and you need
to match that up with your audience.

So if you love writing long form
blog content, But your audience

doesn't read that kind of content for
whatever reason either they're busy

or generationally they don't read
long form content or whatever that is.

You need to be aware of that.

So when you're thinking in terms of
the final output of this, you know

what channels this is going to be on.

So if you start most naturally
writing, but you, the channel you

want to connect on is YouTube.

Then obviously, somewhere down the line,
you're gonna have to go from written form.

To video form, and that's fine.

You just want to be aware of that,
and you want to be where your

audience is to a certain degree.

You have the ability to connect
with an audience and tell them

like, this is where you find me.

So there, I don't know that there's a
hard and fast rule that you absolutely

have to bow down to your audience
or vice versa, that you demand that

they come find you on some channel
that they just don't Hang out on.

So you wanna match that and
marry that in the middle.

But those are the two questions
. What comes most natural to you?

That's how you overcome
the channel challenge.

Start with writing video or audio,
whatever comes most natural to you.

Question two , determine the
channels you're going to want to

connect with your audience on.

And then here's your very
simple action step, which you

probably already saw coming.

Choose your starting mode
for content creation.

Just pick the one.

I'm gonna write things out
first, however you do that.

I'm gonna shoot some video
first, however you do that.

I'm gonna record some audio
first, however you do that.

Right now, I want you to just choose
your starting mode for content creation

to make starting and getting going
as easy as possible for you, and that

will help you move past the channel
challenge of, I've gotta start some other

form that does not come natural to me.

That's it for this week's episode.

Next, we're gonna look at the,
what I call the creator challenge.

hope you enjoyed this episode.

If so, hit the share button on
your phone or your podcast player.

Share this episode with someone else.

I'd love for you to do that.

Join me on the next episode if you've
ever found yourself wondering, how

do I get that first draft going?

Not only do you need to pick the channel,
we're gonna take a look at that creator

challenge because all of us are different.

And again, most of the advice
comes at us as if we're all one

kind of person or one kind of.

Content creator.

So show up.

Join me on that Next episode, we'll
talk about the creator challenge.

Until next time, go and
build a life-giving brand.