How to Create Exceptional Content Even If You Suck at Creating Content. Some of them started out with very few life skills. His business model didn’t work very well and the suit sales sagged, but people seemed to love the way he dispensed little fashion tips on his website. I forced myself to learn and improve.” This cycle of learning and continuous improvement was common to all the great people featured in the book, including my great friend Jeff Bullas. Jeff went through some really miserable times. But there are a lot of resources out there to help, and with some determination, I learned to be a better writer.” Today, Jeff has one of the top marketing blogs on the web and has built a loyal audience that’s enabled side projects in consulting, coaching, and online seminars. And if you don’t like creating content, you’re going to suck at creating content. In that case, it’s time to get help. In fact, they don’t write their own books. The best content and ideas that will be influencing people 10 years from now haven’t even been started yet.
One of the myths on the web today is that the people we look up to were mysteriously placed there by alien forces. They have some unknowable advantage over us that made them rise to the top.
But that’s not the case at all. Everybody starts at the bottom. Everybody can rise to the top. This post will prove it.
I just finished writing my sixth book, an epic tome called KNOWN: The Handbook for Building and Unleashing Your Personal Brand in the Digital Age.
The publication is the result of more than a year of research conducted to answer one burning question: Is it possible for anybody today to use the Internet to become known in their field?
First let me explain that being “known” is not the same as being famous. It’s not about having millions of fans and red carpet appearances. Being known is about approaching your web presence with an intent that creates the proper authority, reputation, and audience to realize your potential and achieve your goals… whatever they might be.
To answer this question “can anybody become known?” I interviewed about 100 people who are at the top of their field. I talked to people who are regarded as thought leaders in education, real estate, retail, construction, business, medicine, finance, fashion, music, art, and many more. I talked to people in Africa, Asia, Brazil, Canada, Australia, America, Mexico, Europe, and the Middle East.
And this is what I found. Every person, in every field, in every part of the world did exactly the same four things to become known:
- They found a distinctive, sustainable interest (which is different from a “passion”).
- They found an un-contested space to publish content.
- They created excellent content consistently, for years.
- They worked tirelessly to nurture an audience big enough to matter.
All of this seems doable for most people until they get to the words about creating excellent content. Perhaps even you are rolling your eyes right now and thinking “I don’t have time to blog!”
Stay with me for a moment. I want to dispense hope to you today.
I learned a great many things while writing this book and one of them (which seems obvious now) is that nobody is born an expert. For every successful person I interviewed, becoming known was an evolutionary process. Some of them started out with very few life skills. A few of them were near-homeless when they started on their path to become known.
My favorite case study in the book is about a fellow named Antonio Centeno. Antonio grew up in a dusty trailer park in West Texas. He was not a skilled writer. In fact, he couldn’t even type.
After he got out of a tour of duty with the U.S. Marine Corps, he started a website to sell men’s suits online. His business model didn’t work very well and the suit sales sagged, but people seemed to love the way he dispensed little fashion tips on his website. In fact, he was asked…
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