The Week of Learning and Reflections

Let me start by thanking you. As full time creators, sometimes we get in our heads. We believe how we are reaping the rewards of our hard work. That obviously isn’t the case. It is a lot of factors coming together at the right place, at the right time courtesy of the best people. A lot of my LinkedIn success is thanks to my network. The quality of authentic conversation that you create, you share, uplifts me and the content I create. I got featured on one of LinkedIn’s curated newsfeeds. It was because of you and your words - the conversation you created. Thank you.

As you have noticed by now, my posting cadence has shifted from chaotic good to one with some direction. I am talking about writing books. My project for the LinkedIn Creator accelerator program is going really well in my opinion. What sparked a lot of joy in my heart is the fact that a lot of you are thinking about writing books. You trusted me enough to share this openly, earnestly. Stay tuned for the upcoming content and reach out for anything, ya?

You can find the posting plan here:

On to what I’ve learned from the mentorship I’ve been receiving; it is notes time ??. Disclaimer: None of this is advice set in stone. It is based on creator experiences only.

1.

1.?Podcast.co?for podcast distribution. 
2. Promoting your work will lead to better quality of work. 
3. Consistency will build habits. 
4. Start conversations in DMs (90% won’t respond much; 10% would. These 10% are your people). 
5. Ask the Why. Why is what leads to stuff.        

2.

1. Edit ruthlessly. Out of 50 ideas, 47 should be rejected courtesy of your value proposition. Be selective with your published ideas. 
2. Post at least 2 videos per week and spend a minimum of 10 hours on each video. 
3. One follower on LinkedIn is an equivalent of 100 followers on Facebook. 
4. Identify your race (the one you are running). Index for monetisation. Run your own race. 
5. Content creation is self-driven. 
6. Be authentic. 
7. Manage time. 
8. Hire better and trust people. 
9. Focus on community development. 
10. Does your content have purpose? Does it give purpose? 11. Have fun and enjoy the process.        

3.

1. A Day-job and creating can go side by side. Creator Employees are on a rise. Stop worrying about your content’s impact on your organization.
2. Before you commit to creating actively, talk to your manager. Have open conversations with management.
? ? -Think individually
? ? -Think professionally
? ? -Talk to your boss and clarify boundaries
3. Hidden and unknown is a thing of the past.?
4. Limitations often exist in the head. Your bosses won’t stop you because you writing and sharing your stories and experiences is free marketing for the organization.
5. Be in the business of creating content and not breaking news. (don’t needlessly rant, opine, or vent)?
6. Tips for content creation
? ? -Time management (content takes time but then it doesn’t if you document things throughout the day).
? ? -Be consistent in creating (try scheduling)
? ? -Develop a focus (do you really need to talk about so many different things? Create based on a focus geared to your audience)
? ? -Resist an urge to share just facts.
? ? -Good writing comes from things that create an emotional reaction.
? ? -Good writing is always bold. It has feelings. It invokes feelings.
? ? -All stories written and told are somehow similar. Resist the urge to tell the common story. Instead tell your story.
? ? -Press Publish (gather feedback).
7. A voice of the Minority
 - Milk your uniqueness. Use it to stand out. You don’t need to scream for attention
 - just exist calmly.
8. Use the leader in you to feed the writer in you. Good writing and leadership are organic. Look for what influences you, jot it down, fine tune it, publish.
9. On planning content - it took me more time outlining than writing the book. Know what to write then just write.
10. Benefits of content creation
? ? -Reputation (it builds one for you)
? ? -Media (Social Media content creation leads to coverage and opportunities from traditional media)
? ? -Network (Have people read and connect with your work)
? ? -Opportunities (If you create within a niche with focus, something will show up)
11. Have a focused approach rather than a multi-platformed approach. Build credibility in one place and then use it to build elsewhere.
12. A high achieving person is not in the business of making everyone happy.
13. We write for an audience. Always think of this.
14. Live between the razor thin line between strong opinions and bold opinions.        

4.

1. Our projects are the content priority.
2. Create content relevant to you and your experience.
3. Maintain authenticity while delivering content in line with your content pillars.
4. Content pillars are:
? ? -Reactive
? ? -Personal
? ? -Business
5. Choose whatever posting format sparks most conversation by experimenting with the tools available.
6. Create with ‘user benefit’ in mind. Why will this content help my network?
7. Think long-term. Can this be a part of a series?
8. Newsletters:
? ? -Share your expertise
? ? -Grow your audience
? ? -Be inspirational
? ? -Build a story/narrative using creativity, data, stories and consistency
? ? -Posting cadence is paramount
9. Poll:
? ? -Engaging and Easy
? ? -Connect to your audience
? ? -Leave room for follow up questions
? ? -Post about results
10. What they look to feature?
? ? -High quality conversations (original, authentic, unique, productive)
? ? -Something in the poster’s niche
? ? -Fresh, timely content
? ? -Someone with something unique to say
11. Use 3-5 hashtags. Use a mixture of hashtags - common for broader reach, longtail for niching closer to the Target audience.
12. Your feed and engagement depends on the followers in your feed (and not the algorithm).?        

Hope this was as insightful for you as it was for me.

Find my posts for LiCAP by scrolling through (and following) my project hashtag #TheWritingCatalogue. If you are writing a book or planning to write a book, feel free to reach out regarding anything.

All the insightful creator accelerator content can be found under #LICreatorAccelerator.

Ending this one for now.

See you next week ????.

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