There’s this thing I’ve been noticing a lot about reading habits that I’ve been calling reader’s fatigue.

If you’re a founder, you have all the pressure in the world to create on every platform. So imagine when we keep up with our communities, the amount. of. content. out. there. 

Social media, newsletters, podcasts.

We have to talk about the way that your readers perceive your content. There’s a lot more responsibility now when it comes to INTENT of content. When we look through a magnifying glass, then we’re looking at the effort put into it.

It looks like this…

Cold vs. Warm Content

I’ve seen people put out content regularly – social a few times a week, weekly newsletters, bi weekly podcasts – but it feels cold. They’re not connecting. Why? We can tell when it’s forced consistency (ahem, mediocre, basic, no passion, etc). There also needs to be a plan based on who’s seeing it:

Cold content – eye catching, more value upfront

Warm content – more storytelling, especially personal stories

Underwhelming Content

When we start out, any content seems better than none. While that’s true in a sense, standards are higher. People want quality content worth their time.

Watch out for the template trap. I’ve taken courses that give you layouts and frameworks. But if you follow them too closely, your content can sound generic and boring. I’ve seen these in action through newsletters and captions… and it’s giving dull listicles.

LinkedIn is the worst offender (but everyone knows that, right?). The posts are written the same way because they’ve learned from the same dudes. I know, I’ve learned from them and after taking some courses, it all made sense to me why things feel robotic and basic.

Same goes for the overly scheduled Canva templates where you can tell someone bought a template, planned it out based on how their grid looked, and hastily put in the content after.

Overwhelming Content

On the other side, some go overboard. They write long winded stories in every newsletter. Blocks and blocks of text. Sure, storytelling is good but please read the room.

I only have energy for one or two whimsical newsletters with a cute story 10 scrolls deep. The rest need clear sections I can skim. Imagine getting a dozen long-form newsletters every week when your inbox is already full of work stuff… (more on this in the next section)

CREATING A BRAND THAT WON’T BORE YOU

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The key is to base your content on your personality WHILE reading the room. There’s a way to tell stories and still have skimmable content. Make it clear what you’re talking about early on.

Remember, it takes time to build a relationship with your audience.

Be honest with yourself – if people don’t know you, they might not care about your story YET.

Keep going though! The more you write and understand your people, the better you’ll get at creating content that connects without overwhelming.

TLDR

• Make your content skimmable by adding sections
• Tell people what it’s about early on or teasers
• Remember: No one cares about your story until you give them a reason to care
• Listen to your audience
• Look at your data, are people opening, reading and clicking?

TALKING POINTS TO TRY THIS WEEK

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The video: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9QF7ZhyOx1/

The brand: CAKES

• She told you the main point in the beginning
• If you wanted more details, you can keep watching as she went through her whole day
• It solves a problem
• It answered a lot of questions
• It’s in an entertaining form and you don’t have to watch the whole thing to get value

Ready to try this out?

Paint a picture of how your customers can go through their day getting benefits from your offer.

When writing something ask – what’s the point of this? What will they learn?

Is it written with clear sections or headlines or a teaser so those who aren’t warmed up to my brand can get a quick taste?

IDEAS FOR YOUR CREATIVE SANITY

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Resist the entrepreneurial urge to monetize this

Bust out the rackets and paddles

• Classic: tennis/badminton
• Chill: table tennis
• Cool: pickleball
• European: padel

For my left brain friends, why is this good for you?

I’m not telling you to skip therapy, but hey, if you can’t afford it then this is a fun activity to reduce stress. 

If you’re familiar with EMDR then you know that rhythmic and repetitive eye movements from these racket sports (could be done in other activities like walking but we’re talking about this one) have a calming effect – good for stress. There are real studies done on this!

And since I’m in a journey of healing from burnout, I love this news 🙂

Get on the waitlist for Fan Favorite Founder

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Psst… are you looking to get your personal brand to be more personal? Sign up for the waitlist when my new offer opens up. I’ll help you take all of the things you used to hide in the name of professionalism to building a lasting brand beyond just the work you do.