I've been writing, recording and creating content online for 14+ years.
From videos, podcasts, social media posts, email newsletters, blog articles, ebooks and more, I'm not a newbie to content creation. I've built several successful online businesses, produced millions of words and thousands of hours of online content, and made enough money to travel freely and live overseas for over a decade.
However, I lack consistency, I'm currently struggling to engage with my audience, and everything I do is too bloody long!
My blog articles are 5000+ words each (and that's a short one). My quick tip Monday videos, scripted for 3 minutes used to be 7 - 10 minutes each, and my email newsletters are a weekly version of war and peace.
Brevity has never been my strong point.
What was once a strength (long form content was all the rage back in the day), has become an obstacle to progress.
So, I've signed up to Dickie Bush & Nicolas Cole's cohort-based course, Ship 30 for 30, to learn how to write shorter and sharper pieces of content, consistently every day for 30 days.
Here's why:
1. To Practice Consistency
In his book High Performance Habits, Brendon Burchard talks about your PQO's - prolific quality outputs.
He says 'Figuring out what you are supposed to produce, and learning the priorities in the creation, quality, and frequency of that output, is one of the greatest breakthroughs you can have in your career.'
In other words, your success is based on what you consistently focus on producing.
For example, Amy Porterfields PQO's are podcasts, for Seth Godin it's daily blog posts and a plethora of books, for the creators of this course it's Quora and Twitter (X). It doesn't matter what your PQO is, as long as you pick one and stick to it consistently.
Only then can your rolling stone gather moss.
2. To Better Understand My Audience
I write for 50+ nomads. My content includes three fairly broad topics;
Online Business
Travel
Nomadic Life
By writing shorter posts more often about a variety of topics within those sub niches, I'll experience what Dickie and Nicolas call 'Rapid Fire Feedback.'
Rather than asking my audience what they want more of, I simply publish and listen. They'll soon tell me via the engagement on each piece of content.
3. To Practice Brevity
This article is a prime example of how bad I am at making my point quickly!
I'm already at 400 words and my goal was 250.
Practice makes perfect. Let's see where I am at the end of 30 days.
4. To Create Clarity
Hosts Shaan Puri and Sam Parr, from the popular podcast 'My First Million', are both excellent copywriters.
Shaan Puri believes that good writing comes from clarity of thought.
As a 50+ woman hurtling through menopause, a clear thought process is not the first thing I notice about myself on a daily basis. In fact a heavily wooded jungle, with many intertwining branches, a mass of animal noises, rushing rivers, and very little daylight is roughly how I'd describe the current inner workings of my brain.
I'm hoping sorting my thoughts via the written word will help to clear a path, and maybe even lead to a sunshine filled meadow!
Come Along For the Ride!
Over the next 30 days, I'll be writing daily about how to generate an income while travelling the world, and living a nomadic lifestyle in your 50's and beyond.
If that resonates with you then please join me on this adventure. Look out for posts on Medium, LinkedIn, Facebook or on my social blog and let me know if you have any questions along the way!
I'm excited to share the process!