Ooooo boy!
"Hot damn!" Brooklyn 99
Have I been busy! Of course, this is a very good problem to have, but it does
tend to put a damper on making these videos.
Now this inspired me think about my many clients, who, bless them, also get super busy, so we
sometimes have to get really creative about
how we feed the content beast.
So, today, I’m going to help you with some tips on how to keep up with your content when
things get busy or even just when you run out of your creative juices.
"I've lost my mojo!" Austin Powers
My name is Tara and this is ...Truly Social
First off, the content beast is a hungry one.
"Roar!"
You may recall that I’ve talked about consistency
quite a bit. Consistency is about showing up. You can’t ask people to commit to you
and your content unless you’ve committed to it yourself.
"All those things that you feel for that team? I feel them, too....for you." Fever Pitch
I find that regular, quality content is the
surest way to build a subscriber base. When I miss weeks - like I did last
week - my subscriber count slows.
"You're crazy. I like you, but you're crazy. I'm so tired." Old School (said in slow-motion)
Now, you don’t *have* to post the same day on the same time every week, but it HAS become
pretty much standard for content creators - both amateur and professional - to do this.
Why? Well, because human beings like routine.
(American Psycho) "Then I apply an herb mint facial mask, which I leave on
...for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine." American Psycho
If I know that my favourite show is coming
out at a certain date and time, I’m more likely to go look for it in and around that
time.
Television, even though it’s going the way of the dodo, got us into certain habits and,
well, a habit is something that is hard to break.
(Bob Newhart Show) "Well, I have self-destructive relationships with men."
"STOP IT!!!" (Bob Newhart Show)
It also helps you as a content creator to make a habit for yourself.
If you know that you are going to shoot on Thursday mornings, then you can
adjust your schedule around that. Habit-making is a terrific way to stay on track.
Now, I also know that there are times of the year for everyone when things just get so
busy that schedules go all to sh*t. The way I prepare for this is to record videos in
batches when I can. I know, shocking...my content just seems so fresh, right?
In general, I do try to create videos on the fly, but sometimes that’s just not possible.
If you are anything like me, you work in creative bursts. When I have those creative bursts,
I sit down and record several videos inspired by those bursts. This way, when I go through
the slump - which is inevitable, we all get creative fatigue - I have content.
So, let’s see...get into the habit of scheduling regular times when you will write, record,
edit...and two, pre-record a bunch when you have a creative burst. Let’s see...number
three…? Yeah, when you just can’t even.
"Who can even? It's literally impossible to can. I can't." (Saturday Night Live)
You know what I’m talking about. Those times when nothing is firing and you are squeezed for
time. But when you just can’t even, that’s a good time to revisit your greatest hits.
"Wyld Stallyns!" Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Podcasters do this all of the time - they pull older episodes from the archives to revisit
and record an updated summary at the beginning. Newspapers and magazines even do this.
And TV? How many Simpsons episodes have you watched over and over?
"What a time to be alive!" (The Simpsons)
You'll want to repackage and repurpose in some way - don’t just repost the same thing - but
often you’ll have new followers that have never heard your earlier stuff. And some of
those gems will even be a welcome revisit to your long time listeners and/or viewers.
"So this one time at band camp..." "What's your name?" (American Pie)
Some other tips if you aren’t finding inspiration readily? Number one...
Get out of your daily routine - I know I said we like routines, so this will be difficult,
but sometimes doing something very different - like watching a genre of movie you don’t
usually watch or going to an event that is out of your industry - may jump start some
ideas. Number two... Talk to people who aren’t in the know - this
is one of my favourites. It puts things in perspective. Lots of times I think I’ve
run out of ideas, but it’s just because I’m too close to the topic. Number three...
Give yourself a break - do something physical. Run. Go for a long walk. Meditate. It really
helps. I’ve been in the middle of a run and had to pull out my phone and write down
several ideas. They just started flowing when I got into that space.
(Rocky Theme Music)
Whether you get too busy to see straight or you hit a creative wall, there are times when
you won’t be able to feed the content beast. I get it. I’ve been there a lot. That’s
okay. I hope these tips will help. Make a routine, write several in creative bursts
that you can keep in your back pocket for a busy time, resurface the good throwbacks,
change your scenery, talk to people who aren’t in the know and, of course, give yourself
a break.
"Have a break. Have a Kit Kat." (Kit Kat Panda commercial)
Also...what are your tips? What do you do? Please leave them in the comments and share
with everyone. And, if you are new to my videos, please subscribe and click the bell so you’ll
be updated when they come out. Which is usually every Sunday...
I’m Tara and this has been ...Truly Social.