It is 2:28 am, the morning of Friday, December 13th. I’m up listening to Gary Vee. This dude is brilliant! I am extremely happy and grateful that he stuck to his truth and created the life he’s now living. He is such an inspiration to me!!!
In 2008/2009, I was creating photo, video and written content daily. Of myself, my family, the city, etc. I created content based on what I experienced daily. I was sharing and engaging with people all over the world. Some people told me I was “online too much” and that I needed to do some “real work” and get a “real job”. They said I was a young man (25 in 2009), and I needed to work a job and focus on making money. I listened to some of them. I got discouraged and went a different way……
However, in my heart I knew what I was doing was following the way. In a little over 1 year using Myspace (mostly) and Youtube (barely) I created over 300 videos and had 248 subscribers (youtube) and a couple thousand friends on Myspace. I was becoming known. I was beginning to generate consistent attention on these platforms. And being able to generate income based off attention only takes consistency and a bit of time. I was close. But I gave up…
Fast forward to modern day, 2019. People, children even, are becoming multimillionaires by simply “being online all day”.
Gary Vee speaks about it all the time. We live in the greatest time in human history. Massive opportunity is at our fingertips. And if you’re an entrepreneur, communication is the variable. It’s always been. In the past it was radio, TV, newspapers, billboards, and you had to know people, and you had to have a lot of money or access to a lot of money. But now, all you have to do is use your phone. Whether you’re making videos or writing articles, taking photos or recording audio. Do what you’re good at. Doing what you’re good at consistently will bring the attention you need for your brand to grow. Make people’s lives easier. Offer them convenience. Inspire them. Make them feel good about themselves and the world as a whole. As a content creator, if you’re comfortable enough, post on all platforms. Give your audience and potential audience options on how they want to consume your content. If they want to listen while they cook, the podcast will work. If they want to watch something quick while on line at the grocery store or waiting for their children to get ready, instagram or facebook may work. If they want to read your thoughts on a particular subject, linkedin could be good. Youtube definitely works if they want to sit with friends or family and watch something on their apple TV. The point is, it serves you better to cater to your customer. Their attention is what you want and it’s what you need in order to succeed. So the key to succeeding in any industry is creating content and marketing it effectively to your audience through their preferred platforms.
Content is golden. It’s been known for centuries. That is why in the old days people would spend tens of thousands of dollars on radio and TV commercials, newspaper ads, billboards and more. But today, we have the opportunity to potentially reach more people for a substantially less amount of money. And if you’re really good, have the energy and team behind you, you could become a big brand for no money. That’s the power of social media. That’s the power of having your friends share your content. That’s the opportunity we have at our fingertips. So the question to ask is, why aren’t we creating more content? Why are we still trying all these other ways to grow our brand? Why are we not going full in on content creation? I’m asking myself these questions. If you want to grow your brand and win moving into 2020 and beyond, you should ask yourself these same questions.
“If you know what you know, and the people advising you aren’t where you’re trying to go, then get them out of your head, when they offer their advice, simply tell them no.” Believe in yourself. Trust yourself. It may not happen when the world, or your situation says it should happen, but if you’re consistent and if you’re half good, it’ll happen when it absolutely needs to happen.
Document. Create. Write. Share. Content is golden! The key to that locked door you’ve been trying to enter is right within your smartphone. Rise!
