Creating Great Content is King

By Joel Block

People frequently ask me how I'm able to create so much content for my blog. My readers know that my content is unique and it takes a lot of energy to create it. Everywhere that I go, every time that I have a meeting, every person who I talk to, every idea that we kick around, becomes potential fodder for the blog. I take notes and I write down ideas on little scraps of paper. These ideas frequently come from situations that I am exposed to as I go through my days. It takes a lot of energy to create brand new material.

But there are many people who want to put out blogs who don't necessarily have the discipline to capture all the great ideas they hear from other people or that they personally come up with. I had breakfast yesterday with my good friend Hal. He wants to create a blog, but doesn't have the time or the energy to write brand new material. As I prodded further, I found out, though, that he gets up at 5:00am every morning and is a prolific reader of the newspaper and of trade journals in his industry.

I suggested to him that rather than create brand new material, why not put together a newsletter pulling together references to the best of the material that he researches every day? If he sends just the headlines out to people who he's targeting in his industry, information that they probably don't have the discipline to research the way that he does, then he will be providing them with a great service.

The concept is that of being a "reporter." Being a reporter of information is just as important as creating brand new ideas for people to absorb. If you can provide people with links, or if you can provide people with other assets and places where they can go to learn more, then you will be providing them with material that will be of great value.

Interestingly enough, Hal told me that he actually has done this in the past, and after just a couple of weeks of sending out e-mails to friends and colleagues who are in the industry, they became somewhat addicted to his material. He sent a digest out three weeks in a row. The fourth week, he went on vacation and received several e-mails from people asking where the summary document was and why he hadn't sent it.

So, as you are working hard every day to build your company, or as you're building your career, focus on being in touch with people on a regular basis. Be aware of providing them value in a variety of different ways. If the value that you want to provide is in the form of a blog, an e-mail newsletter, or otherwise, it doesn't all have to be created originally the way that I create most of mine. Instead, you can create as much value by aggregating content and helping people to find lots of good information in one place as you can if you simply sit down and work on it from scratch.

About Joel G. Block

Often dubbed a "Growth Architect" by his clients, Joel Block advises companies on explosive growth strategies by driving revenue and sales. Well known in the capital markets, Joel is a successful entrepreneur, speaker and advisor. To bring Joel into your company, please visit www.joelblock.com or www.growth-logic.com.

   _   _