Stop Looking For Advanced Content Creation Techniques, Start Getting the Basics Right

Don't become an insight junkie

I got this comment today from someone who watched one of my YouTube videos explaining how to make money writing on Medium.

"This is just introductory. I would have appreciated it if you would have given more insight."

For a person like this, it wouldn’t matter if I created a seven-hour-long video explaining every single aspect of writing.

They wouldn’t have followed the advice because they’re not looking for advice. They’re looking for an excuse.

If you’re not willing to do the basics, it shows you’re not willing to do what it takes to create content for a living.

Most would-be content creators sit on the sidelines.

They watch video after video, listen to podcast after podcast, and read blog post after blog post looking for that perfect insight that’s going to give them the end all be all answer for what it takes to succeed.

There is no end-all-be-all answer. You learn the nuances of creating content by creating content. Your process should be simple and repeatable. The key to success is repetition. And repetition is the last thing most content creators want to go through, which is why they fail.

Before You Move to Advanced Tactics, Do This First

Do you even post consistently?

Just stop there.

If the answer to that is no, then you have zero need to worry about strategy.

The most simple and obvious path to content creation is posting, but almost no one does it for longer than, say, 90 days.

Stop looking for the perfect hook to use for threads on Twitter.

Stop trying to come up with the perfect idea for a blog post before you write anything.

You don’t need to have an SEO-optimized title for your YouTube video, nor does it need to be shot in HD quality video.

It does make sense to study how platforms work.

It does make sense to observe other creators and have a loose plan of action before you start creating stuff.

I’ve made the mistake of just blindly posting content without any strategy before. But at least I’ve made fixable mistakes.

Putting your head down and just making shit, only to find it doesn’t work, and pivoting, is better than coming up with the perfect plan that you never execute.

If you want to make a content creation plan, do it, but it shouldn’t be something that takes longer than a few weeks, tops. No one is waiting for your big elaborate content launch. You need a loose plan to start and then you can figure out the rest along the way.

Create Your Content Ritual

I’ve done the same exact writing routine for eight years:

• I write 10 headline ideas every day

• I pick an idea to work on

• I make a mind map with the ideas I want to use for the post

• I turn the mind map into a formal outline

• I write the first draft non-stop

• I edit my posts no more than three times

• I hit publish

I’ve exponentially increased the quality of my writing by doing the same things over and over again.

I have learned new writing techniques and formulas over the years, sure, but I still weave them into this simple process.

I teach this process to others and some will reach out and say:

“Ok Ayo, but where’s the advanced stuff? I want to get really good at writing.”

The advanced technique is doing the basic techniques over and over and over and over and over and over again.

The entire point of this newsletter is simply to remind you that you’re really not doing the work.

Take the amount of time you need to practice to get good and multiply it by 10. Then spend that amount of time putting in the work. If you do that, you’ll be good at your craft. If you don’t, you won’t.

The choice is yours.

Links to other cool stuff

• Watch this webinar replay I co-hosted with Self-Publishing School to learn how to write a best-selling book

• Take my free 5-day course that teaches you how to make a living writing on Medium

• Buy my best-selling book - Real Help: An Honest Guide to Self-Improvement

• Follow me on Twitter and Instagram because I create unique content on each platform