The 3 Stages of Content Creation

Business Tao with George Kao

A common mistake that I see from aspiring content creators. Maybe you have done this too:​

You have an idea that inspires you… so you think that it must also excite other people, too. Understandable!

Therefore you put lots of time (and maybe money) into packaging that idea into a book… or course… or you create an amazing video after a lot of hard work.

You share it with the world.

What usually happens?

Far less response than you hoped for…

You just fell for a core human bias — to be inside your own head. You’ve neglected to adequately test the idea to see if it really inspires other people — besides yourself — before you spent all that effort.

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Watch the video here:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=706941613233437

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Maybe you think it’s a visibility issue, so you try harder to promote it.

Still, the result is baffling: why is something that’s obviously so good (in your mind) not a game-changer for others?

Why aren’t people getting it?!

You might become resentful or cynical…

If you keep experiencing this, you might even decide to quit altogether, believing that it’s just “not your thing”.

I hope you will always remember this:

No matter what, your passion is a good idea… but how you share it will determine the response.

You need to experiment with different ways of sharing the idea, in the mindset of testing, until you discover a way that other people easily “get.”

In other words, I recommend the Three Stages of Content.

Stage 1: Casual Content

This is where it all starts.

For example, I casually make three short videos while on my long Saturday walks with my dog. In each video, I share an idea that I think might be helpful to some clients and audience members.

This very post you’re reading was inspired by one of those casual videos! See here: www.FB.com/GeorgeKao/posts/10106365973759363

Update: By 2018, I’ve created so much content that, since then, most of my content creation is Stage 2 (I’ll describe that later.) I still make a Stage 1 video each Friday, from my office, as it’s become much easier to do that than making my dog walk videos.

I have no expectations about how these casual videos turn out. At this stage, I spend as little effort as possible. Therefore, I am not concerned whether the content gets any likes or comments.

An important distinction to make here: I care about my audience. And I care about my own explorations too, to keep making Stage 1 Content. Yet I don’t care how people respond, because Stage 1 is meant to be exploratory and experimental.

The Principles of Stage 1 Content…

(1) Either explore a new idea. Or try a different way of saying an old idea.

(2) Test the idea with the market by sharing it on social media. Have zero expectations.

(3) Minimize your energy and time when making Stage 1 Content, since you don’t know if your audience will like it, no matter how important you believe the message to be. “Casual” is the word that helps me in this situation: relaxed and unconcerned; temporary or impermanent.

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