Creating content worth publishing
Novel content angles
Counter-intuitive – “Oh, I never realized the world worked that way.”
Counter-narrative – “Wow, that’s not how I was told the world worked!”
Shock and awe – “That’s crazy. I would have never believed it.”
Elegant articulations – “Beautiful. I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Make someone feel seen – “Yes! That’s exactly how I
Ideas become insights when they meet the following criteria:
Novel—is this idea new or is it at least a fresh take on an existing idea
Actionable—can my audience immediately act on the idea?
High-leverage—when my audience acts on the idea, can it meaningfully change their work or their lives?
[Julian Shapiro]
Content adds strategic value when it equips the reader with a new conceptual framework, a new first principle, or a new perspective.
Cassie (former VP Operations at Animalz) • The Content Value Curve - Animalz
tell an audience a story about themselves.
That is, to tell a story about an aspirational topic that exists between you and your audience and is born of mutual interest.
That is, to tell a story about an aspirational topic that exists between you and your audience and is born of mutual interest.
Steve Bryant • “There are only two ways to tell your story.” | by Steve Bryant | Medium
Creativity isn’t the manufacturing of brilliance. It’s the pursuit of curiosity.
Want to be more creative? Start with an idea, then interrogate it. Make an assertion -- aka your premise -- then ask lots of simple, obvious next questions about it. Then do it again and again and again.
Want to be more creative? Start with an idea, then interrogate it. Make an assertion -- aka your premise -- then ask lots of simple, obvious next questions about it. Then do it again and again and again.
Jay Acunzo • A Prompt from John Mulaney: How to Come Up with Better Ideas for Content in Less Time
His point was that there’s always a bigger story to be told that we alone cannot observe. Great reporting, or a great point-of-view, often requires the thoughts, experiences, and insights of others.
John Bonini • How to Create Content With Your Audience — Content Marketing Education & Consulting | Some Good Content
I’m trying to achieve narrative-market fit, which I see as deeply understanding your market of readers to figure out what questions they have that you can answer, and finding what fits.
In building a media platform, that’s one of the most important things: knowing what questions you are responsible for answering, and which ones you are credible... See more
In building a media platform, that’s one of the most important things: knowing what questions you are responsible for answering, and which ones you are credible... See more
Chris Gillespie • The Path to Narrative-Market Fit—A Conversation with Christine Deakers of Bessemer — Fenwick
Why do we want to speak to people?
Who are the people we want to speak to?
What do they need?
How is what they need connected to what we sell?
How can we help them see our value by helping them realize theirs?
Who are the people we want to speak to?
What do they need?
How is what they need connected to what we sell?
How can we help them see our value by helping them realize theirs?