It’s usually through my own personal interests that I stumble into something else that I might want to share with you that could be helpful. This very thought, if you pause and read no further, is useful. I start most every post from this perspective: “I’ve just thought about something or learned something. How can I impart this information on others?” The big point I want to make with you is that it’s up to us (and by “us,” I mean YOU) to make useful media.
Think About Goals
It’s easy if you’re a company. When I think about our client, Citrix Online, the folks who make GoToMeeting, I know that they’d like more customers. That’s a goal. You might not always have that cut and dry of a goal. You might want to inform. You might want to make money somehow. You might just want to talk about the city where you live.
If you don’t start at the goal, how will you know what kind of product to make? For instance, a few years back, I produced a podcast for moms called Career Mom Radio. My idea was simple: there are tons of mommy bloggers, but not all moms can sit still to read. I reasoned that I’d get a show together that a busy mom could listen to via an iPod. (Easier to have 1 earbud in while the kid watches Barney than it is to crack open the laptop and read through a post, was my logic).
The goal was: reach busy moms in a medium where the marketplace wasn’t over crowded. (For the record, there are still way more blogs for moms than podcasts, despite the fact that I still believe it’s easier or a mom to keep a Shuffle clipped to her shirt and an earbud in. (Anyone?)
After the Goal, some Research
Once you have the idea for your project, you might look into the space around it. For instance, if you’re thinking you want to start a tech blog today and hope to live off it, good luck. Ditto general opinion blogs. Ditto general review blogs. At this point, you’ve really got to figure out a unique angle for pretty much any product.
Some quick ideas for research:
- Search for terms that you’d use to find this new project’s URL using Google Blogsearch. Do the same on Technorati.
- Check out Alltop and see if there’s a category for your idea. If so, read a few example blogs in the space (even if you’re doing a podcast, a book, a whatever).
- Now, depending on the goals of your project, you might also want to see whether there is a market for the information. For instance, if you’re hoping to monetize and sell ads, you might check out platforms like Commission Junction, or LinkShare or Share a Sale and see if there’s anyone selling affiliate opportunities in your project’s space. (Again, if you’re thinking of making money.)
Format, Function, and Your “Customer”
Here’s a thought: what if your project isn’t best suited to be a blog? Or, what if a blog is just one format, and there could be others? Take a site like Instructables. I could see them making a killing on selling little $1.99 downloads, either as a PDF or maybe to your iPhone for their various DIY projects.
What’s the best format for what you do? Is it text? Think about Gary Vaynerchuk. Would he come off as interesting if all you did was read him? Should J.C. Hutchins stop making books and podcasts? Hell no.
Think hard about the format you intend to use for your project, and then think about function.
By function, think about this: how will someone use this work? For instance, look at this very same blog post. I’m writing something that you will read, and then hopefully, you’ll take it to heart, and consider for your next projects. However, this post, as a reference piece, is very much poorly designed. It’s an informational piece.
Thus, if I went further with this, what would be the right function to build in, would be an attached PDF file with the ideas bulleted out, that you could refer to when starting a new project. Now that would add some functionality. Make sense?
Think of your readers/consumers/audience/participants as your customers in this case. This piece is getting long, and I’m not really done writing it. Should I go back and add pictures? Should I do something to break it up? Should it be in three parts? That’s what I think when I think of you as my customer, and consider this post. What do you believe your “customers” want from your media product?
Go back and answer that truthfully, not with what YOU wish they’d want.
Do What You Like
Technically, you can do whatever you want. Never let others tell you you’re doing it wrong. Not even me.
My dad, Steve Brogan, is writing Dad’s Poker Blog, about his experiences as a semi-professional poker player. I read him every day as a completely amateur (and bad at it) poker player. He and I didn’t do any research before making the site. We didn’t see if the world needed another poker blog. We did look at http://poker.alltop.com, but we didn’t think much about whether or not we should do it.
Sometimes, you might just want to blog about something or make a project of another kind just because that’s what you want to do. We’re doing the Media Hacks podcast in audio form on a phone dial in, which means it’s not top audio quality, nor is it the more popular video format. Who cares? We just want it out there, and this is the best no-fuss way to get us all together.
Useful Matters
Attention is the new distribution. I’ll talk about this more at some other point, but just know this: the choices you make to better equip your would be audience of participants, the more you’ll benefit from that (in whatever form you’re seeking via your goals and strategy). It’s not good enough any more to just put something up without thinking.
So, what does this all make you think about your media? And if you’re not in the mood to pick apart what you’re doing, feel free to pick apart mine? What should I do differently? How can I help you even more?
Let’s talk about useful media, shall we?
Special side note. A new issue of my newsletter launches in a few days. Are you already newslettersubscribed for free? Hint: it’s not the same content as my blog.
Photo credit indyplanets
Chris Brogan is President of New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency. He works with large and mid-sized companies to improve online business communications like marketing and PR.
Excellent post Chris.
Attention is easy to get; but harder to keep.
:)
phenomenal thoughts here.
you call it as you see it.
by phenonmenal i’m writing this post that’s well into 2,000 characters and all day ‘tre, you speak better than you write. you need to podcast. you need to vlog. why are you stuck in this rutt of 1 post per day must go out and must be blogged’. its an honest wake up call. i’m resisting the very form that was natch to me 6 mos ago. cool. done. i gotta change. and i have to risk the time / investment it’ll take to teach myself those tools which i’m giddy to learn so be it. fun. simple. important tweak. you ask questions that only the truly being honest with ourselves will answer. but if you’re not honest w/ yourself you ought not be boring the rest of us. there’s only one tre, one chris, one anyone. we gots to be unique else we get lost in the crowd ….so cool to have a heart to heart w/ me and then come to your blogpost at 3am and walla. right in my face. well done. thank you for the nudge. hasta. (oh, duh. podcasts. mommy bloggers. phenom. the only thing preventing them doing it more..they need to learn. they need to teach themselves. i have 3 friends who want to. time/ invest it/ they need to. that’s worth a post..investing and risking when the long haul out come is better for all. not just moms. i think — raise hands anyone–i’m a little burned out of r E a D i N g T e X t S dig? kay. be well. cool post. thanks much.
Hi Chris,
Just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed this article very much. Gave me lots of points to ponder as to how I can/should proceed with my fledgling site. Thank you!
Signed-up for your newsletter as well, looking forward to that special content now! *winks*
Wow, terrific content. I really liked your part how you focused on research, as with anything we have the most magnificent tools for research online.
Couldn’t agree more. Assist the call to action. Why post if there’s no action required/nothing in it for the user. Always go back to your goals, every day assess if what your doing is working, if not work out why and use another route.
Came across this via twitter so thanks for tweeting.
http://www.twitter.com/peterjabraham
I’d love to think I could send you a useful link at some point…. something that might be of interest. Let me go do more ‘research’ so hopefully I can leave an impression.
always while reading the posts at ChrisBrogan.com is somethign interesting, and what I like more is what we learn more in the users interaction through comments.
Also what I liked in this post, is the way chris think about building a blog or online media. You always consider it as a full business that needs reasearch and development than execution/production.
Interesting and might be sharing it on my blog as well.
Cheers!
Jean
Hi Chris
Thanks for the post. I am just starting a brand new project and your post has clarified some issues that I really have to think a lot harder about.
Cheers
Neat structure. I like the research part. I still consider myself a newbie blogger having started my site ricardojc.wordpress.com last month. Will take a quick search about viral marketing on google, technorati and alltop.
You are a crazy, CRAZY man. Everything you just wrote is enough material for someone to work for an entire year!
Should have put an emoticon by the end of my comment. Just clarifying: I loved today’s piece!
Good stuff. I’m starting two blogs in the next few weeks, two different subjects, one for our website (www.petswelcome.com) and one on another topic entirely. This was good information, and I’ve looked at 100s of different blogs. Keep it up.
I’m already a victim of paralysis of analysis. Considering the fact that everybody, their Mom & their poker Dad are content producers vying for attention it only makes sense to consider what you are putting out there carefully. Also I couldn’t agree more with the part about making sure it’s something that your audience actually wants to consume. That’s important.
Could not be more timely though I’m sure even if someone reads this 10 years from now it will still be relevant as there will always be start-ups. It’s taken me a good 4 months to realize what it is I want to focus on despite the fact that my blog is all over the place. Research never stops, figuring out the purpose definitely takes time, and putting that into action takes even more time. I also had to realize that nothing will happen over night but it’s good to be putting things in place.So, goal: check. Doing what I like: check. Format: half-check. Audience/Customer: getting there. Useful Media: hmmm, depends on who you ask.
This comment falls under the “Do What You Like” section of Chris’ post.
It’s true that we did not do an analysis before Chris helped me to get a poker blog. But, poker is something I have wanted to become more active at and the blog seemed to be a good way to keep up the focus, to report my successes and failures. It is meant to be fun, informative, and yes, commercial. Perhaps a little beer money(the root kind) from my sponsors. I try to use different ideas from my “poker life”. Some of you twitter users might be surprised to find out that a group of tweeple (twitter users) have formed a group using the tag #TPT and also have a website, http://twitterpokertour.com. If I had not started blogging, I probably would not have found this group of fun loving poker players. And I am enjoying every minute of it.
Chris, thanks for the help, the advice and the mentoring. This is truly role reversal at its best. A son teaching a dad new tricks. Thanks goodness I have the ability to learn. lol.
“Attention is the new distribution.” <== Wowsa!
I was following down your post, coasting along. Then I read “Attention is the new distribution.” Suddenly, I was in a completely different place and now can’t wait to see you expound on that premise.
So: if it’s true that attention is now distribution, how do we (we’re all marketers, right?) market in a world that is increasingly suffering from Attention Obesity? Ah, there’s a question.
Great Post Chris. So many people ignore the simple things and then wonder why they do not get results. They do not want to do the work it takes to be successful.
Chris: One of the chapters of my upcoming book: <a href=”http://www.happyabout.info/community-engagement.php”18 Rules of Community Engagement is “Provide Useful information.” The thing that I’ve found when talking to people about getting involved with some form of social media is that they underestimate the value of their expertise. We get so caught up “talking shop” with like-minded folks that we forget how valuable our knowledge is to those outside of our circle. I just hosted a one-hour chat for my online community yesterday, with two local financial advisors who offered free advice to anyone who asked questions. You see, I’ve been watching the community discuss job loss and money woes and I wanted to do something to help. So, I went to the people who possess the most useful information about finances and got them to provide it for free. Heck, they may even get some clients out of the deal. But when I met with them to discuss this opportunity, I was amazed that they weren’t capitalizing on their knowledge during one of the worst economic times since the Great Depression. It’s all about leveraging your own knowledge base. Too many people don’t do it.
Chris, I’m new to your blog, but boy, do you dish up some really helpful advice! Many thanks! This piece is just wonderful. I’m actually new to the world of blogging (and posting comments on other blogger sites). I’ve had my site up just about three months, and well, there’s a lot to learn. Your tutelage is very helpful.
Partly because of what I do for a living, I was inspired by your recent post to offer a few suggestions for those readers making goals. However, I’m also a bit concerned this is not appropriate etiquette. If so, please accept my apologies, and let me know. I’m really new at this and am totally open to feedback on the appropriate etiquette of blogging and commenting.
Anyway, I hope the following is helpful for everyone:
1. Make your goals measurable. Specific. For example, I want to create a successful blog in ‘09 isn’t specific enough. The goal needs a number (e.g., the number used depends on the goal, but in essence would be a time, distance, frequency, date, number of subscribers, etc.). Writing down I will write “x” number of posts/week is measurable.
2. Make sure your goals are desirable. This seems obvious enough, but it isn’t enough to simply ‘want’ to accomplish a goal. It must be a burning desire. It is the fuel that enables you to overcome any barriers that inevitably pop up–particularly if it’s a big goal. Know ‘WHY’ you’re going after the goal you’ve set up. The bigger the goal, the bigger the ‘why.’ Think of the ‘why’ as fuel–it ties into your purpose.
3. The goal has to be “I” centered. This also seems obvious, but too often, we think we’re engaging in a goal that is ours, when in reality, it’s for reasons other then our own.
4. Is your goal action oriented? What that means is the goal you choose to focus on must include specific behaviors–actions–that you will do to achieve your goal. It’s not enough to ‘know’ what you need to do; it has to be written down. In other words, is your goal observable? If for example, you said you wanted to go to the gym and workout regularly, could someone walking by the window at the gym see you working on your goal and videotape it?
5. Lastly, you goals have to be realistic. This is where most people skid off the road. They have great, inspiring goals, but they end up not being realistic. One of the ways to be sure your goals are realistic is to follow the steps outlined in this series of articles on achieving goals and success. Additionally, it’s also important to take a really, really good look at your goals and step back and ask “can I really accomplish this? How do I know?” How do you know? Have you accomplished something similar before–do you have a history of achieving similar goals? Do you need to learn something before you can work on the main part of the goal?
The more specific you can be, the higher the probability you will achieve your goals and achieve success. Don’t forget to create balance in your life. Take care of your health (without which, you won’t likely be accomplishing to many goals), pay attention to your family, friends, etc. Oh, and don’t forget to have fun! Just because achieving your goals take time and energy doesn’t mean achieving goals can’t be fun. The more fun you build into accomplishing your goals, the more energy and joy you’ll experience in the process (and the less stressed you’ll be).
Again, I hope this is helpful.
Take good care….
Really interesting article! I’m a communication student from Brazil and I’m researching material on Social Media for my paper. I’ve just started a new blog trying to focus on this kind of topic. I even linked an article of yours (the one with 50 steps do stabilshing a consistent social media practice). Keep up with the good work man!
Great post Chris. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head once again. Its a great primer for those of us (like myself) who participate in this space, but don’t quite know how to carve out a niche.
A lot of time its hard because we are all interested in so many different things that as a content producer it becomes hard to put yourself in a box that’s small enough to be unique, relevant, and a source for original content while still having the box big enough to represent who you are. A challenge indeed.
I feel inspired to keep trying, so thank you.
@ryancmiller
Brilliant post, Chris!
This is the sort of post I leave open in my browser because it’s loaded with take-aways. I have a number of projects I want to apply parts and pieces to, and wish there was a better way to harvest them. I don’t see a “print this article” link anywhere. How about that for a little extra “something”?
By the way, if you haven’t already, how about expanding on those research ideas. And how about doing that routinely, from time to time, since resources will change and evolve. (If you have and I missed it, sorry!)
This is great Chris. it truly made me pause and reflect on my online “beingness.” Although I read somewhere that we often make the mistake of thinking that everything that is posted online and available to us is meant to be FOR us I still think that we should make sure that whatever we put out there is of some value to someone, even if that someone IS just ourselves.
Thanks again!
What a great way to start the weekend. Lots to think about. Truly, clients don’t hear this often enough: think it through, know who you are, know who your audience is, before you choose and adopt new media. Now I have the great Chris Brogan to back me up in writing.
Chris,
Wow, you just have amazing information to share. I need to implement these ideas today!
Respectfully,
Nicholas Chase
http://www.twitter.com/nachase
Thanks for the great information. I will share this with my org. to help shape future blog content and goals. And this is extremely useful for me to implement personally.
It’s funny, everyone thinks they are interesting, relevant, and have an original take on many things, and why not, it’s their take, right? Unless you’re doing it just for fun, it really boils down to the old adage of finding a need and filling it. Sometimes it just needs to be worded differently to be clear.
Thanks for the insight.
Excelent post Chris ! .
You really know how to invite people to keep caming back.
Cheers ! .
MAR.D.MOR
I like your idea about reaching moms in a unique and different way because they don’t have a lot of free time to be in front of the computer reading, but I’m not sold on Podcasts…yet. I don’t think technology has caught up to the potential for them because most iPods still rely on syncing to iTunes or listening on a computer in order to hear the content. Only recently have iPhones been able to directly download content from iTunes with a wireless connection. Even then, there isn’t a good rss function that alerts you to the new episode. That extra step of needing to plug in your mp3 player is what gets in the way. I love using an rss reader from my mobile web browser and feel that it is a stronger way to communicate for now until technology allows us to cut the cord from our computers and truly be on the go. My other hangup on the idea of podcasts is that not everyone has a good connection from their mp3 players to their cars yet. Granted, vehicles aren’t the only place busy moms might listen to a program, but it’s got to be the top 2 or 3.
Love your dad’s blog.
Thanks Chris for giving such an insightful peek into building media. I stumbled upon your site when researching on how to make use of social media tools and SEO to improve my site. It's difficult, but thanks to tips like yours, I'm really thinking over what my actual goal is, and what I'm hoping to achieve.
Thanks Chris for giving such an insightful peek into building media. I stumbled upon your site when researching on how to make use of social media tools and SEO to improve my site. It's difficult, but thanks to tips like yours, I'm really thinking over what my actual goal is, and what I'm hoping to achieve.
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