I’m a podcast junkie. And my habit has only deepened as more and more companies begin to invest in content marketing and create their own podcast channels. Freakonomics Radio, Marketplace Tech, How I Built This, Make Me Smart, The Marketing Book Podcast, the list goes on. I listen to them on 1.5x speed and preferably with coffee in hand.
Image: Copyblogger.com
I love to discover and sample niche marketing podcasts and one I’ve been geeking out on lately is by CopyBlogger. Their topics and discussions are not only engaging and insightful, but practical and tactical for anyone who writes as part of their job. I’ve listened to several over the past week and found myself typing tidbits into my Notes app on my phone. I even created some action items for a current client, inspired by the podcast’s discussion.
I listened to one yesterday “Consistency Will Take Your Further” featuring Matt Ragland, Director of Customer Success for Podia. After fast-forwarding or as I like to think of as skimming the first 15 minutes, Matt got into some quality storytelling and some great advice. I’ve recapped a few below. I love a good bulleted take-away list.
Have a system for content production that works for you. This means realistic and specific (“I will post to my blog weekly,” “I will do an email newsletter monthly,” “I will upload a video to my YouTube channel weekly,” etc.) and then STICK TO IT!
Try different mediums to see where your audience engages with you the most. (And adding in my advice here, don’t be afraid to ask your customers what types of media they consume. “Do you use Instagram more, or are you more of a Pinterest person? Are you on YouTube or Facebook more during your day?” Meet your audience where they already are.)
Don’t get caught in the comparison trap. There will also be creators, companies, brands with more followers than you, and usually there will be plenty with less. Comparison only inhibits creativity. Again, my interjection here: You should occasionally research what the competition is doing for best practices—or not so great practices—but then move on. Be your own voice and your own idea-generator. Be original because there is only one you.
Finally, don’t be paralyzed by perfection. Don’t wait until that blog post is proofed by three other teammates and critiqued by your sister. Don’t hold back on getting something up on your website’s blog because you don’t feel like it’s earth-shatteringly good. Flex your consistency muscle over perfection. Idealism can hurt progress. Just get it out there, share that thought and continue to optimize for engagement.