I Can’t Talk…Now What?

My daily content creation might be in jeopardy. Not being able to talk for 14 days has caused some pretty strange behaviors and some serious reflection.

First The Strange Behavior

I dreamed all night about the value of communication. Really that’s weird! I dream about all of the ways that I communicate over the course of the week. The process of taking a Live Feed on Facebook and turning it into a podcast. I thought about how I take the video content and turn it into worksheets, checklists, blog posts, and training programs. Then I woke and realized that too many things began with the live video. I almost shut down my daily content creation because it all began with me speaking on live video.

There was a time when I wrote first, then spoke what I wrote. But I learned that the live “interaction” allowed me to formulate thoughts from a place that made content more engaging. In other words, I learned to work from a strength. I coach people to do this all the time. In the Content Creation Marketing Machine we always start where you work best and build on that platform.

Now The Serious Reflection

Now I’m going through a temporary disruption of that process. I can’t talk. So what does that mean for my daily content creation? How will I continue to touch my audience in the absence of a voice?

This is what I’ve learned:

• Video can’t be the only thing I do. If video was my only method of creating content I would be in trouble, but it’s not. In addition to Live Feed videos I also do daily quotes, twitter posts, blog posts, share other people’s content, and offer insight from articles affecting the industry.

• Draw from my archives. I have a huge library of content from which I can draw. Creating “evergreen” content, the kind of content that’s relevant regardless of what is happening in the world, allows me to draw from that library. Yesterday I shared from the archives “Positive on the Offensive” – always a timely topic.

• Stay engaged. Just because I can’t talk doesn’t mean that I can’t touch. I have consistently done a video broadcast Monday – Thursday at 9:00am for almost 2 years. There is an expectation that I will be Live at 9:00. When I can’t fulfill that obligation I still need to communicate. I still need to share why. I don’t like to expose my life on FB, but sharing the struggle allows people to care. Allow them to engage with you even if the format changes.

• Have a plan to expand my footprint. Limitations always cause me to recognize I need to grow. I had become very comfortable with my content process then it got disrupted – time to reevaluate. Obviously there are some automations that would improve the process. However automations can only run what has already been created. Creating additional types of content takes on a new priority. Quizzes, personal messages, forums, Q&A platforms all look like very attractive ways to expand my presence.

So What About You?

Are you depending on a limited number of touch points with your audience? If for some reason that were to be put on hold do you have a plan?

I started the Content Creation Marketing Machine so you could maintain continuous contact with your audience. I was in the process of kicking that program off when this flu hit. Because of that delay I’m making a special offer to anyone who is ready to grow their audience. Use the button below to find out more. The offer changes as soon as I get my voice back.