Wow! Content, content, content. I published “How to Create a Never-Ending Stream of Content” on January 31st, 2021. I was just getting my feet wet in the daily content business. Now, eight months later, I can say everything I wrote was accurate.
I went back and read the original article to refresh myself on what I wrote. Today, I want to share my writing experience every day, creating artwork and publishing books (220+). It has been a wild ride, and I want to continue creating for the rest of my life. I love it that much.
First, I want to congratulate myself on a job well done. This article is my 600th blog post. Remember, I started this blog in June 2020 but really started creating good content in January 2021. The more I write, the more topics I want to cover.
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My experiences. The book “How to Take Smart Notes” was instrumental in helping document and form new ideas. Over time, I was able to begin creating new ideas on the fly. I take much fewer notes now.
You see, when you take smart notes, you are extracting an idea from something you read or come across. As you get more comfortable, you can extract an idea and just write down the name of the content you can create from the information.
That’s what I do nowadays. I can read a book, formulate ideas, and combine theories all in my head while I read. Then my brain spits out an article title that I can use. I can then document where I found the information, in case I need to reference it again.
This method essentially removes a step from my workflow. Instead of gathering information and putting it into a repository for later consumption, I can create the name of the content upfront. Again, it takes time to get to this level of content creation.
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It’s important to understand that I am not equally strong in all topics I cover. I recently wrote an article titled “Should You Manage Your Own Rental Properties?” I own properties that I self-manage and others that I use as a property manager. Plus, I read three books covering this subject as well. So I had a lot of information and experience to convey during the article.
Cryptocurrencies have been my weak spot. I am brand new to the world of crypto, so I have to read books, extract information, and write at a basic level. But that’s okay. My audience knows that I am learning the business of crypto; chances are they are also new to crypto. It’s okay to learn something WITH your audience.
Finding ideas. Now, let’s dig deeper into where to find ideas for your content. I find that there are two types of content I produce: research-style and free-flow style.
Research-style is information that has some form of context outside of your blog. Chances are, you will have to conduct research on the information to ensure your data is accurate. Your audience will walk away with factual information after consuming this content.
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A good example is my article “The Pros and Cons of Dividend ETFs.” Although I have an opinion about dividend ETFs, it is grounded in the reality of the investment world.
Free-Flow Style content is where I can just write my opinion and ideas in the context of the article’s title. These are the most fun to write; however, too many free-flow articles aren’t conducive to good content for your audience.
Some examples of free flow content are “Happy Cash Flow Retirement 2,” “Don’t Gamble Your Retirement Away 4,” and “Passive Income for Christmas.” These articles are fun because I am the master of the content, as they are 100%-based on my opinion. However, inside the pieces, I am referencing research-style content. That’s why it is vital to have a massive collection of research-style articles.
Reading. Now, we need to find ideas for our content. I am a massive fan of reading. In fact, the article “The Succeeding in Reading” will explain why reading is so vital to creating content. The book “Limitless” is a must-read for all content creators. To find ideas in the world, we need to expand brain functions such as critical thinking, memorization, and speed reading.
Experiences. Everyone has experiences, some good, some bad. You can pull from your experiences. Most times, an article with just your experiences will not be great content. The audience wants their WIIFM or What’s In It For Me.
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It’ll be better to combine your experience with research or free-flow style content to give the audience your point of reference. Instead of writing an article saying “My First Year in the Stock Market,” write something like “10 Things to Know Before Investing.” You have now given the audience a reason to consume your content.
Educate Yourself. As I mentioned above, you can create content as you learn or do something new. If I want to learn how to skateboard, that would be a great topic to write about on my blog. Let your audience know what you are doing and document the results with complete transparency. I consider this as a fantastic way to create.
Listen for questions. One of the entrepreneurial books I read said that if you hear the same question three times, then it is a problem you should try to solve (at a profit). When you are talking to people, listen to what they need assistance with within your field.
A friend of mine messaged me and asked me to start covering cryptocurrencies; that’s how I started my crypto journey. If you listen with intent, you will have more content than you can possibly create.
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Conversations. I get many articles from talking to my wife. Our view on life is different than most people’s, so we talk amongst ourselves a lot of the time. I will say something like, “Wow, everyone is always so busy in America.” Then I will jot down a note.
Some examples of articles I grabbed from a conversation are “The Business of Being Busy,” “What’s So Great About Being Independent?” and “I’m Too Serious.” Having deep conversations with others will yield you great results.
Stacking information. Once you have a lot of content, you can begin to pile it across your platform. You will become super-smart as you read, conversate, and educate yourself. You don’t want to leave your audience behind.
I find it helpful to reference my old articles in my new content—this gives the audience a chance to catch up with my voice (more page views for me). Content bundling is how I came up with creating “article bundles” for my pieces.
My articles bundles allow the reader to see the full context of my article, to “dig deeper,” if you will. You’ll be surprised at how fast your articles and content begin to stack. Always give your audience a chance to read or interact with more of your content.
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Creating series. Finally, I found starting a series as a powerful way to convey your message to your audience. I have developed many series, and working your way through the content is a great feeling.
You can only create an article one time. It is impossible to recreate the same article more than once and have the same meaning, purpose, words, or feelings. Each article or piece of content is a work of art.
This unique ability gives us the option to do follow-ups articles with a different context—like this article, for example. I have written 400+ articles since I released the original piece. I now have a deeper understanding of the process of creating content. In six months or a year, I will have even more experiences and background to share.
So your work is never done. Creating a series gives the audience the feeling of going on a journey with you. Every three months, I release a book in my “Don’t Gamble with Retirement” series. Each book has an accompanying article called “Don’t Gamble Your Retirement Away.”
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As I released “Don’t Gamble Your Retirement Away 4,” I felt an incredible sense of pride and accomplishment. I was creating something valuable to me. If no one ever read my book or article, I still can say I released four excellent books.
Your audience will feel this pride as well as you continue to give them consistent, quality content. The hardest part of growing an audience is doing your part of producing your content. If you can stay the course, you will become a highly successful content creator.
Conclusion. Creating content is all about filling your brain with ideas, information, and experiences. When your brain overflows, that is your content. If you take your brain seriously, then you will always (always!) have content to produce.
I have a backlog of over 100 articles to produce. I have new series to create and things to experiment with over time. I cannot stop creating content. The love of learning and sharing has taken over my life. Hopefully, you get the same bug as me.
I repeat, take content creation seriously. Stuffing your brain is the key to success. If you are struggling for ideas, then you aren’t consuming enough media in your niche. Almost everything you consume should feed the content you produce. Good Luck on your content creation journey.
- Build Passive Income: 21 Passive Income Ideas (book)
- Free PDF Downloads: Download FREE PDF books here
- Financial Mindset: Become CEO of Yourself (book)
- Retirement Planning: Don’t Gamble with Retirement 4 (Free PDF)
- Investing: The Pros and Cons of Dividend ETFs (Free PDF)
- Cryptocurrencies: The Magic of Cryptocurrencies (Free PDF)
- Real Estate: Real Estate is a Mindset (Intermediate) (Free PDF)
- Business: Retire Rich, Retire Comfortable with a Business 2 (Free PDF)
- Everything!: The Biggest Book on Passive Income Ever! (book)(Web Edition)(Art Edition)
- I bought a Kindle Oasis: Check it out Amazon
- Read My Books for Free: Free Kindle Books Schedule
- Sign up to Access our “Hidden” Free Kindle Book Schedule
- My first Children’s book: A Child’s First Book on Passive Income (book)
- Book Reviews: 54 Takeaways from 54 Books (book)
- Want to Build Passive Income from Books and Affiliate Marketing? (Learn here)
- Writing: Can Grammarly Make You a Better Writer? (direct)
- My Favorite Chromebook: The Ultimate Chromebook (direct)
- Follow us: On our Facebook Page and Join our Facebook Group
- Amazon Author Page: Check out my author page on Amazon
- Monthly Dividend Planner: Check it out on Etsy
Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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