Do YOU really want to consume more content? That's a question I've been asking myself a lot lately.
Our time is precious. And, I don’t want to be another person, simply fire hosing you with information for “consistency’s sake.”
I think as business owners and as creatives, it's an important question for us all to stop and ask ourselves. To be very intentional with our content, with our creation, with our consumption and with how we're asking others to spend their time.
I feel like it's a very noisy, overwhelming and overstimulating world right now.
You get on any type of platform (TV, social, magazines, stores etc.) and you're constantly being sold to.
It's almost like you're at this street market and people are in your face telling you, you need this thing. It can be really overstimulating and overwhelming.
So as a business owner and a creative myself, I'm trying to really think about, how do I want to show up? How do I want people to feel when they're in my world? When I come across? And I'm starting to recognize that there’s another way.
I've talked about this a lot in my growing my business without social series, where I've really been uncovering: What it looks like to grow my business without relying on that medium.
And in that process I’ve asked myself: There’s got to be a gentler way? A way to rely more on meeting people where they're at when they have a question. To show up through discoverability and SEO because they’re looking for an answer and I have a solution. A way to mindfully give people content that's deep and meaningful, but doesn't have to be constant.
Because, as a consumer, I'm just tired.
I'm tired of feeling overwhelmed and of constantly spending on all of the things. And I really have leaning into slow living to thank for this awareness.
Why are we creating?
It reminds me of our family motto: We're never in a rush.
I love our motto. I truly do.
And sometimes it's really confronting because there are times in my creative life where I have idea after idea and it's pouring out of me- which is great.
But I also wonder, is it because we've been told to produce, produce, produce? To stay top of mind?
Does that need to produce come from something I really want to share and that’s needed to be shared? Or does the rush come from scarcity?
Does the rush come from that narrative of: “If I don't produce, if I don't keep creating, then I'll be forgotten? Then I won't reach my goals?”
Because “creating constant content is how we sell in our business”- right?
I think the lack of rush is confronting because that means I have to trust. And I think that's something that I'm still working on is the trust versus the push and do and manhandle your way into something.
Creating Content vs. Marketing Your Business
I also think this part of the conversation begs the question: what is content for? Are you creating to market your business or is creating content your business?
And in all honesty (since I recorded this) it’s also brought up some conflicting feelings for me. I’ve found myself asking: Why am I creating in the first place? (more on the direction I’m going in future posts.)
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And then I came across this LinkedIn post that, from a business perspective, says it all to me:
The author Mark Jung goes on to say:
Content marketing is not just for "leads."
Content is how you earn trust at scale.
Only 3% of your B2B audience is ready to buy.
The other 97%? They don't know you.
You need to create for the 97% too.
So when they are ready to buy?
→ They trust your brand
Content = trust ✌️
So I'm really working on balancing those two things of:
Showing up when I have something to say.
Not from the shoulds but from service.
How do YOU want to consume?
In this thought process, I've also been reflecting on my own consumption, and I've noticed: two different relationships with the creators I've fallen in love with.
Some creators had that bingeability factor (that we hear is so important in the marketing space.) It became a habit to continually check in and see the next thing they’re sharing because I really enjoyed them.
But I also realized that became a space I quickly burned out of. That creator that I was loving and obsessed with, soon after consuming so much of their content, I quickly became over- I fizzled out. I engorged.
There are other creators that I've fallen in love with recently, and while they had some content I could binge, they had a lot less but it was more potent. It was either exactly what I needed to make my buying decision or kept me coming back for more (if it was more of the entertainment type.)
At first I was like, Oh, there's nothing left for me to consume. And I went on my merry way, but then I noticed I kept going back to check if they’ve created something new because it's deeper. There's less of it. It's so good and I was able to savor it.
This relationship had longevity and is elevated. It means so much more to me when that creator creates because it's concentrated. It's almost a finite thing.
And that's something that I want to bring. I want to create with intentionality and purpose. I think there's a way to show up for your customer that feels good to them and good to me as the creator.
And of course, you know, I'm not here to be an expert. I'm here figuring stuff out with you, bringing out that perspective of how to tune into what feels good to you.
Creating a Gentle Funnel
In recent client work, I've started to uncover, what I’ve been calling: a gentle funnel. Not your typical churn somebody through and constantly spam them with a lot of information.
But instead, a piece of content that walks through a main point of your philosophy and softly offers them next steps in the forms of both free resources and deeper paid content too.
Allowing them to self-select what they want next, providing abundant value that also offers you a return, and all-in-all “feels really good.”
Take a look at our client Melissa’s post we’ve been building, where you can start to see this in action:
I don't have the answer yet, and when I do, I'm going to create content around this, but we've been playing with some ways where you can give people so much value and give them the next steps to walk through your world, but do it on one page, in one place where they can consume it at their own pace and when they're looking for it.
That might not fully make sense now, and I'm going to have more examples, but the point that I wanted to come in here and share is:
I've noticed that I don't want to be fire hosed with information, that I want to create intentionally, and that I want to come from a place of flow and slow and leave you wanting more instead of constantly bombarding you and taking your precious time away from other things. I want to give you things of meaning.
Questions to ask yourself
And maybe when you think of:
How you're consuming, this will shift your perspective and allow you to be very intentional and intuitive with how you're spending your time.
And maybe from a business owner or creative standpoint, it'll help you tune into how do you want your viewers, followers, consumers to consume too.
What do you want to offer them?
And where do you want to fall on this scale?
So I'm curious on your thoughts: on consumption, on creation. And if this prompt was supportive for you? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
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Do YOU really want to consume more content?