So I asked the kind and smart people on LinkedIn to share their ideas on content creation. I’m going to start with this response, because it deals with a priority issue, which I call “psyching yourself out before you even begin”. Many people let their fear of failure, or fear of being less than perfect, paralyze them into not doing anything.

TIP #5

“If you think you can’t, you’re right. If you think you can, you’re right.” Pithy, but so true. Your negativity can kill your projects before you even begin. Here’s what Sid Smith shares:

“I’ve found that the problem isn’t that there isn’t enough content, but that they think THEY can’t continuously write killer content. In other words, they don’t want to be embarrassed by what they write.

It’s a very similar experience as stage fright or fear of public speaking. The fear is that their blog posts, articles, podcasts, videos, or whatever

• won’t be read;
• will receive negative comments;
• will make them look stupid or illiterate;
• will be taken the wrong way; or
• any one of a hundred different fears.

The key to success is this: simplicity. The best approach is to simply brainstorm a long list of topics related to their niche market. The easiest way to do this is

• to do a search and find other blogs in that niche.
• Make a note of all the CATEGORIES.
• Then, for each category, note 5 to 10 questions people are asking related to that category.
• For example, take the category “Homemade Dog Treats” for a dog or pet owner niche. What are recipes you can cite or questions people are asking?
• Then, and here comes the hard part, just make ONE major point or statement that summarizes what you want to say to answer the question.
• Make it simple. Example: Homemade dog treats are less expensive than store-bought treats.
• Next, just write about 400-600 words expanding on that one statement.
• Forget about grammar and spelling (use Word). Write like you’re having a conversation with the person. Don’t worry about how it sounds. You’re not writing a novel. Just write. Writers know that the first draft will be garbage. That’s OK.
• Do a second pass at it, then post. Get it done.

The ONLY way to get past the fear is to dive into the fear. You and I know that once they get past the fear of putting themselves out there – virtually naked for all the world to see – and that they don’t die or get hung by their thumbs, the writing will come much easier. So, address the fear of public exposure first. The rest of it is easy.”

– Sid Smith Web Copywriting, B2B and B2C internet marketing, social media and SEO strategist

So start with a positive, can-do attitude. Once you remove that obstacle, you will be surprised how much you can think of. Stay tuned to the next tips in this series for even more ideas on how to create a continual stream of content for your blog, podcast, magazine or ebook series.

Penny Haynes, http://www.RSSzine.com

Colette Ellis of Competent Advantage (http://www.gcast.com/u/competentadvtg/main) uses her show as an extension of her professional development program, which helps clients identify their strengths and position themselves for new opportunities. The show explores real life challenges that her clients have experienced. She shares how she started her podcast, why she does it, issues she had to face and her plans for the future.

We had TONS of questions and comments from listeners, and it was a fabulous time had by all. Subjects included:

1. What is a widget?
2. What is an RSS feed?
3. What is the difference between a blog and a podcast?
4. What is a mashup?

One of our guests mentioned a new tool/widget that he has added to his sites which I promised to share the link with everyone else – http://www.sliderocket.com/. I took a quick look at it, and it definitely bears some more investigation. Looks cool!

As always, this show is brought to you by Penny Haynes and the http://www.CommercialCreationCenter.com – simple software and personal assistance to help you create and post audio and video to the internet.

If you want to learn more about how to market with audio and video, I encourage you to check out “101 Things To Do With Audio And Video (To Promote Your Business)”. Get your free 30-page excerpt at http://101ThingsAudioVideo.com.

So I got Audiozines.com and named my audiozine Your Voice, in the hopes that others would join me in doing audio articles that people could listen to online or download. And join me they did, on many different subjects. It was fun and exciting. I just wished it was easier for people to download everything all at once, instead of one by one or via zipped files.

I tried hiring people to create some program that would download all of the mp3 files at once, but no one would touch the project. Then, Adam Curry developed podcasting and a podcatcher using RSS, and all of my problems were solved. And everything in my world changed. I officially became a podcaster, although that’s what I had basically been doing for a while already.

So now, 2.5 years down the road from starting my original business, I’m basically all about Podcasting. Podcasting stuff is my life and my livelihood. I think about it non-stop, I dream about it, I design for it, I program for it…it’s not really a passion. Maybe it is best described as an obsession. I see things that I think could be done that have never been done before, and it keeps me up at night (it’s 1:35am EST right now – that is proof enough I would think).

So this blog will be about podcast stuff. I will not add audio to this feed. I will be pure. At least I will try not to podcast here – just blog. Plus, truth be told, I’m testing Blogger out for a new project to see if it is easy enough for my future clients to use easily. So even here, I still have an underlying podcasting motive. Oh well, I’m not going to try and change myself. I will accept this wonderful obsession and make the most of it while I can, even at 1:36am EST.

I don’t know if anyone will read this, but it’s here for the reading. Here’s to 2007 – I’m expecting the best from it from the very start!

Penny Haynes, That Podcasting Site