Let me be honest — I don’t have anything significant to say this evening. I usually don’t. But my thoughts don’t matter and certainly isn’t the reason why I blog every day. I show up because I love to (and I am the master of my own domain, literally and figuratively ;-)) and believe that documenting my thoughts or journey gives me a sense of perspective about life and my journey towards achieving excellence! That is it!
Not everyone has to do that. Certainly not every day. But I have to because I love it and I think it’s part of who I am now. So much so that I just might catch fever or get hives if I don’t get to publish any day.
Now, consider this advice with the ones that most noobs get when they step into their entrepreneurial journey. If you’ve been around it sounds something like this:
- Content is the king
- Blog every day/twice a day/thrice a day
- Tweet 5 times a day
- Be active on Facebook – post at least 3-5 times every day
- LinkedIn is where your audience is – build some authority content and promote it like crazy!
- You should definitely invest in Google AdWords
- Facebook Ads is the cheapest investment you could make
- Instagram – be there
- Create a new podcast and invite experts
- You need a morning (and evening routine)!
Now, I know these are great ideas! But I’m not sure if it’s possible for a newly minted entrepreneur to embrace all that and achieve success. Here’s why — time. It’s limited and precious. I’d rather focus on a couple of platforms (the one that I actually enjoy using – hence the blog and LinkedIn) and spend the rest of the time building relationships, talking to people and actually honing/practicing my craft.
And that’s something most of us when starting out miss out on big time! It’s easy to get swayed away from distractions (all the options that we’re exposed to are distractions if they’re getting in the way of what we want to do) instead of getting shit done. Another challenge is the illusion all this busyness creates — that we’re super busy and are “hustling.”
Want the truth?
You’re just being a moron for trying to do all the right things that people approve of than that core thing for which you started it all. Essentially, you just quit your job and to become a slave to the online world. Things haven’t really changed, only that your new boss (the social media) is good (and profits from it too!) at making a fool of you.
Focus, my friend. I think it’s okay to have nothing to say when you’re out there thinking about your blog post or an update on other media streams. What’s important is that you document your process. That could mean posting videos or pictures on Instagram if that’s relevant or perhaps just regular posts on LinkedIn or Facebook.
The minimum effective dose for staying online is this:
- Have a website (a blog is totally optional). This is your home base.
- Pick a social media platform. The one that you enjoy the most. This your outpost.
- Choose what you enjoy doing the most (while keeping in mind that your time is limited) on a daily/regular basis. It doesn’t have to be daily. Write, take pictures or create short (1-3 minute) videos but ensure that you do that at set times every week. Once a week is a great start.
- Upload your content to your website.
- Create a shorter blurb to be posted on your outpost (social media). The objective is to drive traffic to your website.
- Repeat for the next 6 months.
That’s it! It’s super simple. Yeah, I know purist won’t be happy with this plan because it lacks the sophistication and finesse that’ll make you stand out in the already crowded online world. And that’s exactly why it’s even more important that you follow a super simple plan.
If you do, you’ll have more content that you can imagine. You’ll have a steady pipeline of upcoming content that will get made and uploaded as scheduled. Why? Because you’ve built a habit of doing it over and over again during the past 6 months. And here’s the most important part — by the end of the 4/5 or 6th month, you’ll know exactly how to scale your operations further.
To make it easier, just remember that you don’t have to have something (important or unimportant) to say. You just need to show up and document. Not every day, not every other day but just once or twice a week. Do that for 6 months, you’ve just set yourself up for success. Because unlike your peers and other wantreprenuers out there, you’ve not spent the whole time trying out different things but honing your craft and mastering it further.
And that’s what sells.