I started content marketing professionally (we didn’t call it that yet) about 20 years ago, working for a very fancy travel company.
And even then, we worried that the environment of “information people are taking in” was depressingly overcrowded.
One of our frequent commenters on Copyblogger had an insightful term for it: “marketing is metastasizing.”
In 2024, that feels very apt.
There’s so much to wade through. Social, email in-boxes, premium things we pay for, YouTube, podcasts, Slack, Circle, Medium, Substack …
I don’t usually use military analogies, but I’ll make one exception for this:
We have to go to war on information overwhelm.
For ourselves and for our audience.
I know a (very nice) guy who’s launching a big content project right now.
He’s been sending out a lot of “101 ways to do This Thing You Want” and “97 proven models for This Other Thing You Want.”
And he’s doing it in a topic where people are already — demonstrably — having a hard time taking action.
He’s sharing so much good stuff! And it’s piling up on my “should definitely look at this” list, instead of getting implemented.
He did not ask for my advice, so I have not given it to him. But since it’s just you and me —
Don’t do this. Don’t drop an PhD-level amount of work on your audience — particularly with your free content.
Give your audience fewer things to act on.
To be more specific— get them on a well-defined path that goes somewhere they want to go. Then manage the distractions they’ll face as they travel it.
And give yourself this grace, too.
You can’t do the trillion things that are on your list right now. You just can’t.
Even (or especially) if that list is just in your head.
This is your (and my) brain right now:
Our human brains are already too full of stressors, to-dos, Things To Worry About, obligations, and competing priorities.
Your (easy) assignment:
Answer this question: What one thing would you like your audience to do?
This might be buying something, signing up for something, changing how they vote, taking a walk every day — whatever it is.
Remember that a content-built audience is a relationship, not a transaction. So you get to ask them for more things later.
It doesn’t have to be a perfect answer. It just has to be the next answer.
❓In a magically perfect world, what would you want your audience to do in the next 4-6 weeks?
➡️ Please write your answer down. Put it somewhere you’ll see it regularly.
Maybe just a post-it stuck to your laptop this week, to keep it on your mind.
If you’re on my email list (you should be, I send good stuff), tomorrow, I’ll be sending a note about Problem 2 of 2 — actually getting it written.
Liked this and want to read more?
If this resonated with you, you’ll probably like my post about building Walled Content Gardens.
If you’re vibing with the part about managing your own overwhelm, this one may offer some relief: To-Do list got you down? Try this checklist to troubleshoot your productivity
Note: The quote in the headline comes from the great Yankee philosopher, Yogi Berra.
Photo by Rob Curran on Unsplash
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