Have you ever wondered how some people create so much content and never seem to run out of ideas?
I too used to wonder that.
For years, I wanted to showcase my ideas… ideas that I believed would help others level up their lives. Ideas that, with time, would rise in value and turn into a profitable investment.
But, I procrastinated.
I avoided hitting the public button because I thought that I needed to be 100% original with everything I created. I thought that everything had to be NEW. I thought that originality was about promoting ideas that no one had ever thought about before.
Luckily, I realized that Originality is not only about giving birth to new ideas, new ways of being or new thoughts. It’s also about merging old ideas with new ones, telling my story, talking about my struggles, offering a solution to problems I know how to solve, and teaching others how to achieve personal freedom.
I also noticed that many people also struggle with creating content for the same reason I was. They’re stuck in the old thinking that their ideas should always be new, and 100% original.
These people are stranded in what I call the Originality Vortex. The Originality Vortex is a place of despair and massive stress where content creators dwell on their incapability of originating NEW, original content.
I’ve been there. And, if you’re reading this, I’ll assume you’ve also been stuck inside of it.
So, let me show the formulas I use for content creation.
These formulas helped me escape the Originality Vortex. Hopefully, they’ll help you to escape the vortex too.
Formula #1: Problem – Solution
Talk about your past struggles and how you solved them.
Write down:
- the exact steps you took to overcome your challenges
- your thought process
- the hardships you experienced
- the solutions you found
- the things that didn’t pan out
- and the results you got.
Yeah, I know… there’s “nothing original” about this.
But hear me out, the goal of this content is to teach people how to solve a particular issue by following the same steps you took.
The original part of this piece of content is showing off how YOU solved it. See, you’re an expert on living your life. And only you can tell your story. By telling your story, you’ll help others find the motivation they needed to overcome their struggles.
Formula #2: Using Stories As The Path To Teaching
You can manufacture originality by linking your experiences with old knowledge or new market trends.
Now, how do you actually do this?
First, think about something that really impressed you.
Then, write the story about your experience with that something.
Finally, provide value by teaching people how they can provoke these kinds of emotions on other people
To abstract? Here’s an example.
I remember when I bought my first iPhone. I bought it from a friend of my wife. It was not new, yet it felt new.
The silky feeling of sliding my fingers thru its glossy screen, the fast response of the software after each of the taps I made on it, and the colossal upgrade from a Blackberry to the iPhone made having this exquisite piece of human achievement for the first time in my hands a wonderful experience – even though the phone was not new.
Apple figured out that the user experience was a critical component of a successful product. And they exploited the hell out of this. From the unboxing experience to the sound the phone makes, and all the way to the ease-of-use of its software makes this product a fantastic study case for brand management and effective user experience.
So, how can you develop a great user experience that will turn your customers into forever fans? Let’s dissect Apple’s approach…
[Annnnnd, here’s where you start laying out your reasons and ideas]
Hopefully, you can see how powerful this formula is.
I started with a story about myself. This story then paved the way to the value part of the content (the how-to).
This is a simple, yet effective formula. You can never overuse it.
Formula #3: Merging The Old With The New
Disney has made millions using this formula.
They’ve remade several of their most acclaimed motion pictures.
Disney effectively weaponized nostalgia.
See, using nostalgia is a great marketing tool (Old-school actually never grows old).
Most people miss the old days. Not because they miss being young, but for all the beautiful experiences they lived back in the days.
By merging the old with the new, you can effectively appeal to the nostalgia center of your readers’ brains.
Imagine for a while that you’re a fitness coach. How would you use this formula to create content?
Well, talk about the golden era of bodybuilding.
Example: Top bodybuilding tricks used by 70’s bodybuilders that will massively increase your strength.
Another example: The untold secrets to building muscles used by Golden Era Bodybuilders.
One final example: Gwow your biceps by 6 inches in 6 months using these Golden Era Bodybuilding exercises.
The real trick to this formula is finding a way to transition your story to either an offer or a teaching opportunity (but that’s outside the scope of this article).
The Formula Of All Formulas: The Content Creation Topics Trifecta
Most people want to achieve personal freedom.
This freedom is different from person to person. But, at the end of the day, freedom is about having:
* Better Health
* More Wealth
* Better Relationships
Your role as a content creator is finding multiple ways to appeal to any of the topics I listed above.
People don’t read you because they like you or because they want to be you. Nope.
People read your stuff because of how you make them feel.
By linking your content to health, wealth and/or relationships you enhance the relatability and emotional weight of your content.
One More Thing
If none of the above worked, do this:
1. Write all the stupid things that come to your mind.
2. Then edit: fix grammar, beautify the content with appealing synonyms, move sentences around, add, remove, rewrite.
That’s all you have to do.
