Feeling guilty?
Did you fail to publish a post last week?
Are you beating yourself up because that ebook, podcast, or product didn't get launched?
I understand how you feel. As a content marketer, I understand the need to constantly publish useful stuff that readers adore but it isn't easy. Plus, publishing content probably isn't your only job. I get it. This isn't simple or convenient.
However, my friend, you need to suck it up.
Marketing isn't an option and it has to get done. It's your business and vision on the line and we have to make it happen. You need new content to attract new readers, cultivate new prospects, and convince customers to trust you. Creating content is the 2nd most important thing to do in your business after creating an amazing product.
So, let's go ahead and hit the "PANIC" button and see what we need to kickstart your content creation.
Here's a radical, crazy, and effective suggestion.
Create a Public Deadline.
This is a deadline strapped to the back of a rocket engine. Public Deadlines are so effective that I regularly use them to produce high quality content . Public Deadlines work because it uses three important behavioral hacks to keep us on track.
Humiliation
A public deadline puts you on the hook to deliver or be exposed as a "flake".
I've discovered that most people would rather lose a finger than be humiliated (or feel stupid).
A public deadline uses this motivation hack to spur you to take action. The more public the deadline the more effective it is.
Think about it. I'm sure you have a bunch of "private" or "internal" deadlines. I'm willing to bet that most of these deadlines are toothless tigers that you regularly push back when it suits you. Yep...I thought so.
Procrastination Assassin
Also, a time-based deadline is a guaranteed procrastination buster. Think back to the last time you had to produce on a deadline. Didn't it get easier to prioritize your day as the deadline approached?
I find that my coaching clients become ruthless time management ninjas when facing a deadline. They kill and bury low priority, non-urgent, non-important tasks that previously dominated their day as they focus on the task at hand.
Nothing forces this type of focus like a real and pressing deadline.
Done Trumps Perfect
I hear this often:
"Stan, I'm willing to take the time to get this done right. I don't want to publish crap."
Hogwash. This is an excuse with lethal intent. Perfection is a moving target that the perfectionist never catches.
Perfectionists confuse activity with achievement and are rewarded with bankrupt businesses, empty bank accounts, and disappointed readers.
Sure there are famous perfectionists that achieved incredible success. Steve Jobs comes to mind. But what Jobs disciples overlook is that Jobs was a ruthless deadline enforcer. Perfection had a deadline.
When faced with a deadline done is better than perfect. Michael Hyatt says that shifting his mindset from product as final to product as software squashed his anxiety about perfectionism. Software is a work in progress. It gets updated and refined over time. Your content works the same way. Finish, publish, and revisit your content to make it better.
Let's Get It Done
Ready to get serious?
Do this.
Publish your Editorial Schedule
- Login to your blog's admin dashboard.
- Create a new sidebar text widget.
- Title the Widget: "Upcoming Posts"
- List the titles of the next 5 blog posts on your editorial calendar.
- Under each title include the date when the post will be published.
Now write an email to your email list: Here's an email script:
Hello,
I'm committed to giving you the best information I can. I know you rely on me and I want to honor that.
Our blog posts are a big part of our commitment to giving you our very best. We thought it would be helpful for you to see our editorial calendar for the next 30 days:
Here it is:
- Blog Post Title | Publishing Data
- Blog Post Title | Publishing Data
- Blog Post Title | Publishing Data
- Blog Post Title | Publishing Data
You'll receive these articles in your inbox at 9AM on the day they are published.
Let us know if you don't receive them.
Thank you for trusting us with your time.
You
- Click Send.
Now you are on the hook. Make creating content a priority or keep making excuses. It's up to you but at least you have a little accountability.
Can You Do This?
procrastination / shutterstock