It was a ton of work, but a worthwhile experience that taught me several great lessons about how to create compelling content.

I’ve been taking note of the lessons learned along the way and in this episode I share them with you.

Download the MP3

Download the Outline (PDF)

Watch the Video version

In this episode of Mastering New Media…

• The most powerful way to influence someone in your content
• How to stay motivated when continually creating content
• How to finally finish a project that you never seem to get around to completing

Take Action

1. Choose one lesson that you learned in this episode and make a plan to apply it to your content/business this week

What Do You Think?

• What lessons have you learned from a creative project that apply to creating online content?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Choosing the right target market will greatly improve how well you content connects with and influences your audience. It will also save you a lot of time and energy, making your content marketing efforts more rewarding.

Download the MP3

Download the Outline (PDF)

Watch the Video version

In this episode of Mastering New Media…

• How to determine if your market is hunngry enough to buy what you offer
• The one thing that will get your market to trust you (even more than your resume of skills and accomplishments)

Take Action

1. Take time to write outanswers to the eight steps for defining your target market

What Do You Think?

• What other factors do you, or would you, find helpful for defining your target market?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Here’s the deal…

Over the last several weeks I’ve been filming a documentary for a festival taking place on Dec 11. The film is about a local dance company, Polaris.

The first time I saw them perform, it connected with me in a way that no other dance has. It was surprisingly accessible — raw and emotional.

Then I found out the dancers, despite their level of skill, didn’t get paid. I knew I had to film their story to find out what could inspire such commitment to art and each other.

So naturally I filmed interviews with them. The lighting was great, the video turned out really nice and I got some wonderful sound bites.

It seemed I had everything I needed to tell a beautiful

But then I realized a glaring problem.
After watching the rough cut, it was clear to me that the film was TELLING the audience what I wanted them to learn rather than SHOWING.

There was one piece of my footage that stuck out in people’s minds during test screenings.

Everyone loved and remembered the story one of the dancers told about getting pregnant while being in the company. She was so worried that she would get kicked out.

Instead, the head directors turned out to be her most valuable resource for information about having a baby and becoming pregnant.

This short anecdote made clear one of the main themes statements of my film — these dancers have found a family in the company. They persevere because of the connection they have to each other.

I knew right then that I needed more stories. As hard as it was to have to backtrack, I decided to get the lights, crew, location and dancers together to film interviews for a second time.

I’m so glad I did. This time I asked questions like to get stories.

“Tell me about a time when…”

“Describe to me an experience where…”

I wish I’d remembered this important content creation principle the first time around. Now I have only four days to go from a blank canvas to a final cut of the film.  But I’m confident because I have stories to paint my picture with.

Stories are the most powerful tool at your disposal for building influence and teaching principles. Time spent gathering, telling and refining stories will make your content exponentially more powerful.

I highly recommend a book called The Story Factor by Annette Simmons. Her book does an amazing job of teaching how to influence people
through storytelling.

Every time you outline a blog post or episode, try to find a story to illustrate the main point of your content.

Tell me about a time when you used a story to influence someone in the comments below.

The answer finally came in this statement, “I’m just not sure which direction to take it. There are so many ways I can go, so many things I could talk about. Who exactly am I trying to reach with my show?”

Bingo! That’s a question that every should ask when starting a new show or business — and then revisit regularly.

So I walked her through a few questions and helped her define the target audience for her show.

By the end of the call, she was thrilled and couldn’t wait to outline her first episodes.

In this episode we discuss how you can carefully define your target market in order to more effectively get their attention and create content that will keep them coming back again and again.

Download the MP3

Download the Outline (PDF)

Watch the Video version

In this episode of Mastering New Media…

• The one that that most content creators and businesses do completely backwards, costing them precious time and money
• How to give your market what they really want
• Two questions that will immediately help you find the best audience for you

Items Mentioned in This Episode

• Survey Monkey
• Audience Amplifier Series

Take Action

1. Set up a system of capturing content ideas
2. Do the 5×5 exercise outlined in this episode
3. Pick one of the ten ideas shared in this episode and add it to your current strategy for finding content ideas

What Do You Think?

• What other ideas do you have for generating content ideas?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

1. What should I blog/podcast about?
2. Where do I find new content ideas so that I don’t run out?

After this episode you’ll have several tools at your fingertips for generating endless content ideas, whether for blogging, audio or video.

Download the MP3

Watch the Video version

In this episode of Mastering New Media…

• How to make sure that you never lose and amazing content idea
• The first content that you should create for a brand new blog or podcast to turn prospects into ideal customers
• How to create a year’s worth of content ideas in just two hours

Items Mentioned in This Episode

• Google Adwords Keyword Tool
• Google Alerts
• Google Reader
• Technorati
• Delicious
• Digg
• Survey Monkey
• 10 Ways to Find Continuous Content Ideas (PDF)

Take Action

1. Set up a system of capturing content ideas
2. Do the 5×5 exercise outlined in this episode
3. Pick one of the ten ideas shared in this episode and add it to your current strategy for finding content ideas

What Do You Think?

• What other ideas do you have for generating content ideas?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

This led us to the following five New Media Marketing Maxims.

1. Create content that will attract the attention of your target market
2. Get permission from your prospect interact with them regularly
3. Engage followers frequently to build influence
4. Leverage your influence to get followers to take action
5. Use the most time- and cost-efficient methods to produce, publish and syndicate content (streamline, automate, outsource)

In this episode we talk about how to put these maxims into action with an effective content marketing strategy.

Download the MP3

Watch the Video version

In this episode of Mastering New Media…

• How to choose the right type of content and which social media tools are best for your business
• The most important criteria to consider before starting and content creation strategy

Items Mentioned in This Episode

• Twitter

Take Action

BEGINNER

1. Choose one primary channel (blogging, podcasting or video) to begin with
2. Create a Twitter account. Start getting familiar with the basics of how to use it

ADVANCED

1. Add an additional primary channel (blogging, audio or video) to your content creation strategy

What Do You Think?

• Which primary channel are you going to (or did you) start with and why?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

It’s something that people talk about occasionally, often in a joking manner, usually with a bit of a negative connotation. As it turns out, it’s a very real obstacle for some people and that includes me.

I’m talking about perfectionism. I’ve been fighting with it all morning (and really most of my life) just trying to decide what to post about today. You see, I just realized it has been over a month since I last posted to my blog.

The immediate reaction was to think, “Bad Jason!” This was followed by the feeling that not only did I need to post something ASAP, it had to be completely amazing and perfect to make up for the hiatus. This leads to overwhelming pressure which is by no means conducive to creativity…and so a vicious cycle begins.

On the one hand, perfectionism can drive someone to be very productive and accomplish quite a bit. On the other hand, it can be paralyzing. Because online content creation is very public and the output lives on forever in binary stone, it seemingly raises the stakes and the pressure. You’re so intent on making things “just right” that you don’t ever get around to actually doing it or finishing it.

You spend more time on a blog post than is really needed. You get lost in the details. You tweak and tweak and tweak something to the point that the life is squeezed out of it. All of this is so you can feel like your blog post or podcast episode is beyond reproach and you can rest easy in the feeling that your ideas will have just the impact you hoped for.

Of course, when I say “you” maybe I’m just talking to myself. But I have a feeling I’m not the only one. And so, I’m wondering if you’ve dealt with this kind of thing. If so, how do you overcome perfectionistic pressure when creating your content?

Here are a few things that I’m trying to see how they help.

• Set a cooking timer to a predetermined amount. When it goes off, it’s done. Good enough is good enough.
• Realize that leaving something out of or even making a mistake in your content is conducive to conversation. It gives people a chance to chime in and share their point-of-view.
• Don’t be afraid to show your “human” side. People connect with that and in the end connecting with your audience is more important than impressing them.

Now, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please share in the comments below.

NOTE: I spent 45 minutes writing this post. I’d say that’s not too bad. I thought it would be ironic to let the post on perfectionism take all morning to write.

Sure, I could just post a new technique, tool or tutorial (and I plan to continue doing so), but every time I sat down to write there was a mental block. I finally found the source of the problem.

The Problem

I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on myself to take things to a new level with my content and, as a result, help you do the same. I couldn’t just publish another tip without wrapping it in a more meaningful purpose for both you and me.

I needed to be sure I was helping you accomplish what you want most from your podcast while at the same time accomplishing what I want most.

This meant first reviewing my own objectives as a business owner and content creator.

That is where I got stuck. As important as it is to review your focus on a regular basis, it take time and energy and, frankly, can be a scary for two reasons:

1. Will I be able to come up with good ideas (and often I feel like it has to be the BEST idea)
2. If I do come up with good ideas, will I be able/willing to implement them if I do

The Start of a Solution

I finally sat down with my preferred mind mapping tool and a playlist of my favorite pump-me-up music and started brainstorming.

After several hours I came up a several ideas to bring renewed focus to my business as well as several powerful ideas to improve the quality of my content and better serve you. I could feel the block starting to lift, but not entirely.

While I’m thrilled with the new ideas, it opened a floodgate of things that I want to put into action and offer to my community. I’m left wondering whether I can make it all happen.

Like I said, I can put too much pressure on myself, like we all do, at times.

What’s Next?

I’ve been sorting through all my outlines and mindmaps and gradually making a plan. I’ll have more details soon on how much of it I plan to implement and what I plan to bring to you in the coming weeks and months.

In any case, I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted content so I wanted to give you an update.

I’m very close to finishing the first in a series of posts that discuss the very basis of everything I do. These are the fundamentals that guide how I do business, how I teach and how a live my life.

Watch for the new post and important announcements on Thursday.

So what do you do when you’re stuck? How do you get past the (often self-induced) pressure?

The only time I plan to present in-person this year is at New Media Expo 2008 in Las Vegas (if my proposal is accepted). I’ll save my reasons for cutting down on speaking until another time, but here are the reasons why I DO want to speak at this event.

1. The People

I’ve met a lot of fabulous people at the past expos. Like Karin Hoegh, Leesa Barnes and I like to say, the first year we shook hands and exchanged cards but now it’s like a reunion and everyone is hugging. I always enjoy meeting people after my presentations (don’t worry…you I won’t give you a hug unless you want one ;). There are tons of extrememly interesting people who attend this event.

This is also the event that tends to attract the most people from my podcast audiences. It’s great to have the opportunity to meet face to face with listeners and people I have interacted with online. It’s a unique experience presenting to people who “know you” and have developed a certain connection with you. I haven’t found that in any other presenting environment outside my own events/courses.

2. The Passion

The excitement, energy and passion can be felt throughout the event. I thrive on that kind of energy and it makes for a great environment to teach/present in.

3. The Live Audience

The performer in me still loves that live presentation and interaction. As much as I enjoy doing my online coaching courses, I still have to have the live element from time to time. So I can’t go 100% away from speaking in person. I would miss it to much.

4. Personal Investment in the New Media Expo

I feel invested in the (Podcast and) New Media Expo. I’ve attended every one of them. I showed up at the first one in 2005 a brand new, hopeful podcasting consultant and left with connections and opportunities that have changed the course of my life. Since then I feel an attachment to the event and enjoy taking part in and contributing to it.

The Bourquins don’t need me by any means and would do fine without my help, but I still like to think contribute to a great event however I can.

My Proposed Presentation for 2008

So, after some very helpful input here on this blog, on Twitter and by email, I’ve chosen a topic and submitted it for New Media Expo 2008. It’s a topic that I have thought about, developed and taught for a long time now. It’s something I feel very strongly about since I’ve seen it work extremely well for myself and other online content creators.

We’ll see if Tim and Emile find it a good fit for their event. I know there are a lot of very talented and intelligent people who submit to speak and the Bourquins have over ten times as many submissions than they have room to accept. In any case, I wanted to share the proposed presentation with you and get your feedback. First, here are the title and description.

The Magic Triad: 3 Key Ingredients for Creating Effective Content and a Loyal Audience

In order to get your message heard online it