😩What to do when you're tired of making content

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Good looking Monday outside. We ought to get out and cuddle with it later. 

For now, though, we better get into the Main Thing. The weariness of content marketing. No matter how much you like writing or talking about your core topics, you’re gonna get tired of doing it. 

But a quick story about the highest-paid sports broadcaster’s favorite band will help you keep going. Monday Marketing News will follow that story.

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The Main Thing

Your Content Matters (even when you think it doesn’t)

Around 2005, I was a daily listener of Jim Rome’s sports talk show. 

Dude was the highest-paid sports commentator at the time. #2 now, I believe.

His style was unlike anything I’d heard on any type of radio talk show or podcast. 

More on being unique in a minute. First, let me tell you about the content Mr. Rome loved.

His favorite band. The Replacements.

He talked about them on his show every few months. Recounted a story of him getting backstage passes to one of their shows.

Think about your favorite music artist or band. Producing songs you’ve loved for a couple of decades. Getting backstage with them would be epic, right? Because music’s the pinnacle of content creation, I’d say.

Well, Mr. Rome had a big letdown.

“It’s just another show, dude.”

The lead singer said that to Jim Rome after the show. The best concert of Rome’s life!

Why would the singer, Paul Westerberg, say that to a huge fan? Besides being a known jerk (rock stars gonna rock star), he was being honest. 

Rome had a few too many beers and was feeling good. So, he asked the band’s front man…

Tell me this isn’t just another show? This is one of the best nights of my life. You guys crushed it.

Westerberg told him, “It’s just another show, dude.”

Did Rome get his feelings hurt? No. Dude’s a professional. Understands how things work.

It was a wake-up call for him, though. But there’s a huge lesson here for any content creator (writer, video producer, editor, podcaster, graphic designer, singer, etc.)

The lesson → You never know when your content will hit a home run.

• It won’t happen for every audience member at the same time

• Only a small percentage of your audience will become super-fans

• What you see as “just another article” can fire a reader up and change her life

See, it’s easy to get weary from making content. Frustrated that you’re not making a visible difference. Burned out even.

You have to remember — it’s unlikely you’ll see every moment of impact you’re making. Some content producers never get the full credit they deserve. (How many authors sold tons of books… after their deaths? Lots.)

This concept is plain as day when you look at music artists.

They play hundreds of shows a year. 

Sing the same words over and over. And over.

It has to get old. Even though those highly requested songs are what produce success.

These music acts and bands have to keep playing. 

The content they’re producing isn’t meant to inspire them. 

It’s for the audience. 

And the band can’t control when and where the audience will go ga-ga over certain songs.

All they can do is put the music (content) out there.

Let what happens happen.

Singing their top song might feel routine to them on a Friday night.

But be the highlight of a young man’s year sitting in the back row.

That’s the lesson here. 

If you’ve got something to say, say it.

Over and over.

In as many creative ways as you can.

It’s not on you to make the audience love it.

That’s up to them. Can’t force it.

You can force yourself to keep going when you’re exhausted, though.

Be a professional. Show up. Consistently.

If your content is worthy, it’ll make a positive difference in people’s lives.

Back to Jim Rome’s content.

How I found this guy, I don’t recall.

I’m in Georgia. His show was based in Los Angeles. 

The sports talk I grew up with sounded nothing like what he did.

No co-host for fake arguments. No stat-heavy segments.

Just one guy and a mic. Talking about something he loved. Sports. All the sports.

Pretty unlikely that I’d become a super-fan.

I did, though. 

Not at the beginning of Rome’s career. He’d been on the air over a decade at that point.

He had no idea a super fan near Athens, Georgia was gonna tune into his radio show one day.

It was just another show, dude. Day after day he kept pumping out content. In his own style. 

Had zero control over how popular that content would become. Did his best. Let the chips fall wherever.

Same principle Steven Pressfield advises. 

“Do your best. Don’t worry about outcomes. Just create.”

What’s just another podcast or video for you, might turn into your most popular piece of content. 

Or it might be the best thing ever heard by “only” five people. Either way. It has the potential to matter.

So. Rest your mind and body. Keep showing up with new content. Even when it doesn’t feel new to you. 

It’ll be fresh to someone out there. Guaranteed.

Alrighty. On to Monday’s Marketing News just below…

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Shane McLendon - Copy Kingpin

“Don’t be distracted by those people who are always demanding something new. The strategy of making most of your content evergreen is powerful. It allows you to build an asset bank of content that can be constantly shared.” ~Jeff Bullas