MY LIFE IS PRETTY BORING.

Most days I sit at a computer for 10+ hours clacking away at emails, doing coaching sessions, & editing images.

On the rare occasion I’m out and about shooting or meeting with clients in person.

And even rarer I’m adventuring somewhere amazing.

THOSE DAYS: CONTENT CREATION IS EASY.

But what about the days where the most exciting thing that happens is Inbox Zero? (although… that IS pretty exciting.)

On those days, I’m lucky if I eat lunch before 3pm because I’m so focused on checking off that to do list. Yet… content creation continues to loom over our heads.

It can be so hard, right? Sometimes it just feels like one more thing to manage… and what I hear from my coaching clients time and time again is that they just don’t know what to share about.

Let me get a praise hands emoji 🙌🏻 if you’ve ever said this before:

“I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING INTERESTING TO SHARE SO JUST WON’T SHARE AT ALL.”

Well, friend, let me just debunk that myth right here and now with a quote from my best friend I’ve never met:

“Your life, right now, today, is exploding with energy and power and detail and dimension, better than the best movie you have ever seen. You and your family and your friends and your house and your dinner table and your garage have all the makings of a life of epic proportions, a story for the ages. Because they all are. Every life is.”- Shauna Niequist

You hear that? Your story is worth sharing… and I’ll tell you something else:

YOUR STORY IS A CONTENT GOLD MINE.

I know you may not believe me… but your day-to-day is full of more content than you can ever imagine.

And with a few key habits, you’ll be curating and cultivating a content focused mind in no time!

HERE ARE 3 TIPS FOR KEEPING CONTENT CREATION FRONT OF MIND & USING YOUR STORY AS A CONTENT GOLD MINE

1. Know Your Brand Buckets

What do YOU talk about? If you haven’t worked through my brand voice guide, begin there to determine what your content categories are. Once you find your ~5 categories, brainstorm a list of anything and everything you do on a day-to-day basis that falls in each of those categories. This can be the most mundane of task or the most fun activity on your list. Write it all down.

For example – my recent newsletter on 5 things that the barre challenge taught me about business & goal setting fell into two of my content categories:

1. Community building, education, & encouragement – There’s so much amazing community & encouragement at my gym!

2. My life outside of work (Chip, Sophie, the day-to-day) – Going to the gym isn’t necessarily super glam, but it’s certainly an important part of my current season of life!

To the untrained eye, the barre challenge would look like just another series of workout classes. But to the content curation mind, the barre challenge turned into lessons that could apply for any business but fell directly in line with my brand voice. When I started noticing that goal setting & accountability were helping me finish the challenge, I knew I needed to share with you all! Via this little newsletter, via IG, via Stories, you name it.

So instead of just letting the barre challenge be the barre challenge, it became one of my most engaging newsletters yet and a point of connection for so many of you all in person! Plus, I’ve heard from many of you that it inspired you to get back on the workout train… so YOU GO GLEN COCO!

That’s what content should do: it should align with your brand, educate/encourage/entertain/inform, and give a CTA for next steps! When it can accomplish those goals AND get someone to yoga class, I’d call that a win.

2. Take All the Notes

My phone is literally an extension of my hand (for better or for worse) but it means that I have easy access to content create at the drop of a hat! I use the app TeuxDeux & the Notes function to jot down reminders & to do’s all day long. I’ve been known to voice text myself, as well! Anything to get the content documented when inspiration strikes!

Take notes on:

Things that inspire you // The steps you’re taking to create or accomplish something in your business // Great & terrible examples of the type work you do // Things that challenge your previous way of thinking // Ways to apply what you’re learning in books, courses, etc. // Quotes/comments/conversations that particularly strike you as useful or valuable // On-brand things in your Google queue

If it relates to your buckets in any way, jot down notes before you forget!

In fact, this newsletter was inspired by a conversation I had with two separate friends about how I note take for content while working with every client, as well as while participating in courses/watching webinars. (fun fact: working through the CopyHackers Email Marketing & Launches Course and geeking out every step of the way with my 98723487 pens.)

Once you have the notes written down, block time to flesh out the details. Then, you’ll have notes full of inspiration & details on each topic ready to rock when you need it. Which leads me to tip number 3!

3. The 5 W’s & the H

Good content thrives on good stories. We connect with a story… and every story has an exposition that needs descriptors related to the who, what, when, where, why, & how. When you note take, be sure to jot down those elements as well!

They will be key in taking your content storytelling from bland to bam!

Some examples of questions to get your brain going:

• What were you doing when the inspiration struck?
• How did you feel in that moment?
• What stopped you in your tracks & why?
• Who were you talking to when you had the idea?

Get specific! You may not use the details, but you’d rather have them than have to rack your brain to remember what you meant by “goal setting barre content.”

These kinds of questions are full of storytelling elements, descriptors, and triggers for our 5 senses that help your audience time travel right back to where the content all began!

So there you have it, friends!

What is one piece of inspiration you’ve gained recently in your daily life that could be converted to content?

I can’t wait to hear what you have to say!