I’m not much for the mushy stuff, but i’m a glowing ball of joy underneath this macho facade, and I just love getting on the phone or getting an email from amazing people like you, from all over the world and hearing how this stuff is helping, learning more about you and your journey, and letting you know that someone is here for you, that has your back, and is cooking you up some more incredibly tasty, secret weapon content served up on a weekly basis.

The goods, for those with the goods. (That’s you!)

It makes my day to hear from you, even in short little thank you for the article tweets, i’m serious-the pay is crap, but the relationship I continue to get to develop with you are what it’s all about for me.

Today we’re back in action with another M.C.C. Roundup, it’s short and sweet today, as I know you’re brain is already good and overloaded with DATA flow, (one of the main reasons I started the Roundup in the first place) and there are some real gems in this one.

The MusicPreneur Manifesto

Startups and big brands make all the streaming revenue. Theres no money in the music industry. The real solution is going to come FROM and WHEN artists and musicians CREATE new value, and learn how to use the tools to do what they love for those that love what they do.

I don’t think the solution is going to be from the TOP down… I think the real solutions are going to come from the bottom UP. Starting with YOU, the MusicPreneur. It all starts with the proper mindset and understanding what you need to know as well as how to begin.

What started as a white paper, turned into a full blown MANIFESTO, and if you’re a MusicPreneur, or you want to fully understand what that really means, then this is just what the doctor ordered. I’d put away your reading list for a night or two and really consume this content, i’ve put my heart and soul into it for you.

Here is the open letter to our DIY community called The MusicPreneur Manifesto. This may turn into a paid report or book at some point, but for now it’s your GRATIS! http://www.jamieleger.com/the-musicpreneur-manifesto/

1 Open Consulting Slot Available

Interested in working directly with me, as a trusted and long-term extension of your own board of directors?

Well, you best snatch me up now.

As of this writing, I actually have a one-on-one consulting opportunity available. If you’re interested in at least doubling the profit of your business, better head here now.

Long Term Coaching Clients – Several Seats Now Open!

Now Selecting Applicants for an Elite Coaching Program available for only a handful of members in our community, and will run the entire course of a year. For those that are ready for it, this course is going to take your brand and your lifestyle to the next level through the most personal, customized, and detail oriented guidance you could get anywhere.

It’s not OUTLANDISHly expensive either, but it WILL require the lions share of my time, is not particularly cheap, but this is the program that pays all the bills so that I can continue to deliver you the most Leading Edge Content for Creators, for you, for free… Thus it requires that you are already running a profitable business.

CREATE Your Heaven On Earth in 12 Months… Bam. This material is no joke. If it’s time for YOU to retire early and experience endless freedom and fulfillment doing what you love and choose to do for the rest of your life, then go here.

From One of Our Very Own

Brian Dean, one of your fellow MCC’s has put together some EPIC posts, including his most recent
Googles 200 Ranking Factors – http://backlinko.com/google-ranking-factors
Additionally, check out his Definitive Guide To Guest Blogging.

Good on ya Brian, way to go! Look out for this emerging writer folks.

5 Services to Boost E-mail Productivity
http://mashable.com/2013/04/10/5-services-to-boost-email-productivity/
Holy crap – 2 hours and 14 minutes. That’s how long on average it takes to get through the stacks of e-mail you get every single day.
That’s insa

SaneBox’s 100 E-mail Hacks
http://www.sanebox.com/l/100-email-hacks
Continuing on the e-mail bandwagon… This 59-page eBook from SaneBox doesn’t require an opt-in and is full of really cool little tips and hacks. If you’re a Gmail user, Chapter 5 is especially worth a read.

5 Steps to Increase Your Business Productivity
http://ebenpagan.com/accelerate/video-1-fb/?orid=105023&opid=23
Eben Pagan has just released a new report and video teaching the 5 steps to increase your productivity as an entrepreneur. I registered and took a look yesterday, and it covers some really good points worth considering on your journey, especially the hidden obstacles that get in the way of business productivity and profit (many of these are actually emotional, so we don’t even notice them).

Honorable Mentions

The Key to Creating Content that Resonates with Your Audience

Self Publishing is the Future for Writers (Must Read)

That’s it for this week folks, little sloppy on the formatting-got some things in the works behind the scenes taking all my time! See you soon with a fresh new training served hot and ready!

Be Your Best,
Jamie

Follow me on Twitter

*PSSST.

Only a Few 1-1 Breakthrough Sessions Available (This is your opportunity to put your business into high growth mode.)

Book a session while you can - https://www.timetrade.com/book/T5G6M

WELL WELL WELL. Coming right along, you are. Don’t have much time to dilly dally here cause i’m serving up another CRITICAL piece of training that’s going to help you better TRANSLATE the unique characteristics and professional value that are all YOURS.

You’re second function as a Modern Creator is to identify, define, and align, your Unique Value Position. Period. Now you’re going to learn all about this today, and even start developing it-but let’s lay the groundwork first…

What Is a Unique Value Position?

It’s one of those X factors that’s going to make or break your success. period. See… as society and global commerce evolves, people who are creating strong foundations for long-term future success are zooming all the way in, narrowing down, and locking in their Unique Value Positioning.

They are doing this because now almost HALF the population works on some sort of a “freelance” basis… Meaning, people everywhere are taking their destiny into their own hands and going into business for themselves! And why wouldn’t they? Their is no such thing as “job security” anymore, and all the traditional education and training we’ve been taught is becoming less and less relevant to CAREER success anyway.

I mean, why wouldn’t we try to find our TRUE purpose and path and spend our lives doing the things we love? More and more, people are finding ways to bridge a “best of both worlds” approach to their professional career and I think at the HEART of why those who succeed in doing this vs. those who don’t-is an identified, defined, and congruent U.V.P.

NOW, in order to get to a “cellular” level for understanding this concept let me say it like this…

Your experiences, talents, skills, aspirations, interests, values… Etc. They are all like illuminated little beacons of signal that point to your U.V.P.

Basically, those who are going to be successful in the near future, and those who are already there now, have in some capacity (whether conscious, or unconscious) HONED IN on their unique strengths and abilities and somehow bridged the gap to meet their market with a product or service that is needed enough-that people will pay them for it.

It’s not easy. I’m not saying that it is… and people who will tell you that it’s as simple as just “following your passion” and blogging about daffodils-because you love them more than anything else in the world…. etc. probably don’t have a realistic or experienced enough perspective…

But, you are a CREATOR, you can CREATE a way. Right? You’re Damn right!

Bottom line, at the center of building your personal brand, the thing that is going to distinguish you and underscore your success-isn’t a “fill in the blank” answer…

It takes you following something strategically and sticking it out for a long period of time… Usually without much initial evidence that it’s “working…” Which can be tough. But it’s about being prepared, knowing how to use the tools, building a solid foundation and platform, keeping your eyes open, and utilizing your creativity to both solve existing problems, and create genuine connection through adding value to peoples lives.

What I’m really saying here is that, the new “path,” in the NEW economy, is NO LONGER a cut and dry set of options-like doctor, lawyer, accountant, butcher, baker, candlestick maker…

The points of distinction aren’t vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry like they used to be… Now we can CREATE our own flavors, red velvet supreme mixed with raspberry sherbet. You tracking?

It’s more precise tuning, more-so part of an internal narrative and core understanding of who you are.

It’s about finding a way to do what you love, serving those that love what you do. However you can make that happen.

It takes work to find out how to make that work, I don’t think theres any way around that whether you’re a musicpreneur, an expert, a contentpreneur… or anyone else for that matter.

But you are a CREATOR… It’s your job to look at your life, your experiences, your interests, your content, your goals, your areas of passion, the few key things you most love to do, and allow yourself the time to develop that, follow some things, try and fail, and eventually figure out what that all amounts to for you.

Balancing the practical aspects of being a CREATOR (creative, intuitive, highly talented, multi-capable solutions oriented individual) and an ENTREPRENEUR, (running a profitable business) are the requirements of building a successful personal brand as a MODERN Content Creator who gets to experience endless freedom and fulfillment doing what you love, for those that love what you do.

You’ve gotta get granular, and you gotta zero in on this thing I call your Unique Value Position. It’s ALL yours, you gotta FIND it-which may take some time… but disciplining yourself to do this now is what can make you an INDESPENSABLE asset to your audience, your market, and everyone around you. Forever.

Again, this is something that ultimately rests at the center of YOUR core. It will probably take some time, some trial and error, and likely some persistence to unlock, but it’s THERE, you just have to commit to finding it.

Neither I nor anyone else can tell you what it is for you… but, I CAN SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the complexity and time it might otherwise have taken you to clarify, define, and align with your U.V.P….

And that’s what I’m going to equip you with today.

Are you ready to get started?

GREAT!

Let’s Review Our Progress

So first a quick recap… YOU are a CREATOR, and It’s ALL content marketing. Hopefully you’re obtaining a very clear understanding that Marketing is not a dirty word, (except when people aren’t deeply proud of their CONTENT and what they created in the first place.) and is the SECOND half of your job as a Modern Content Creator.

Content Marketing.

Turning your content into currency is the magical moment when you’re content CONNECTS with your audience on an emotional level, that provides value to them in a unique way. Being a MODERN Creator requires a balanced integration of both the Artist and the Entrepreneur in you.

• To be successful in the GLOBAL conversation as such, you need to think and operate like a MODERN Creator. We must embrace the tools and technologies available to compete today and for the rest of history. We must not only create content with A.D.D. in mind, but we must shape the EXPERIENCE to deliver unique value that builds brand loyalty.

• It’s not NEW tools, apps, tactics, or ideas we need… It’s the creativity, clarity and focus to use the ones we have-BETTER.

• The Modern Creator builds a 3 Dimensional Brand that communicates in high definition and creates a transparent, congruent experience for their loyal audience.

Again, it’s not only your ability to create valuable CONTENT, but your effectiveness in building a sustainable long-term career, your success in delivering your message to the people who need it; all heavily relies upon your ability to get that content in front of the people that are looking for it.

Part of your responsibilities IS translating and promoting your content, because relying on people to “discover you” is a sure-fire way to kill your career.

Leading Edge Creators rise to the occasion and embrace the opportunities of the New Economy. They understand that they have the innate power, creativity, capability, and responsibility to CREATE their OWN Economy.

• You are a CREATOR of value. Content creators are the Gold-miners of the Modern world.

• You’ve learned that Content Marketing is a process, and that you are a Multimedia StoryTeller.

• You have now gained basic comprehension for the lingo, and know the difference between a Content Strategy, and all that the term Content Marketing really encompasses.

All of this nicely leads us into your next lesson, your second function as a Modern Creator:

To identify, define, and align your Unique Value Position.

It’s a term that encompasses a few concepts, and simplifies the process of you translating your professional value and unique points of distinction.

Your U.V.P combines three key terms you’ve probably heard before… Value Proposition, Unique Selling Points, and Branding Position.

This lesson will not only explain how to define your key distinctions as a business or for each of your brands, but it will take you through an exercise for how to actually do it yourself.

It is my aim to simplify and clarify this as much as possible for you so that you never have to think about or get confused about what a USP, a Core Value Proposition, or what your Branding Position is.

We’ll be clarifying-through real life examples-what exactly those terms mean in a moment… But I want to take a step back and make sure you get the bigger picture first, before we start getting more granular.

Your Unique Value Position is merely the external translation of the CORE value and service you offer to your market.

Since we can’t read minds, we have to be able to clearly communicate what it is we do, and as always, clarity is key.

Thus, nailing your U.V.P really starts with connecting, defining, and focusing on the starting point.

Everything begins with purpose, vision, mission, goals. From there; core values, skills, talents, and background are key factors in your business development as an Expert or Creator.

Your U.V.P is not something that’s necessarily set in stone, nor is it’s definition a “fill in the blank” exercise.
There are many variables. Nothing is a one size fits all, but it’s a beneficial exercise in gaining more clarity and focusing your core marketing message.

In an infinitely more narrow and competitive world of commerce, distinguishing your points of distinction is a highly valuable pursuit.

Don’t Be THAT GUY.

Big enough to serve ALL your needs, yet SMALL enough to still care…

Or

Great customer service at a bargain dollar price…

…Small businesses are notorious for these vague, practically worthless points of distinction… Don’t be that guy!

Let’s Get Some Terms Squared Away

Since there is often some confusion around a few foundational terms and their many slight variations, as well as in how to accurately define this stuff for YOUR brand… I’ve taken all the hard work out of it, and clarified everything you need to know to help you define YOUR value and distinction as a Modern Creator or Expert.

First let’s understand the differences between your VALUE Proposition, and Your Unique Selling Proposition/Points.

Core Value Proposition: A customer Value Proposition is the Core Benefits of what you are offering. Whether that is for a single product or the total service you offer.

It needs to be…

Short
Specific
In Customers Language
Tangible

This is the brief, category level, or type of business/brand you are, which generically explains what you do.

It’s something that you’d informally tell someone in a loud place-to someone whom you didn’t fully have the attention of… I.E. In a loud bar or club…

For example, Pizza Parlor, Business Coach/Consultant, Website Developer, etc.

Lots of options. Competitors. Non-specific. Informal.

Now, for CONTENT Creators, or Knowledge Workers of any kind, it’s best to define your Core Value Prop by completing the following sentence:

You help “X=whom,”do/have/be “y=what,” so that/to accomplish “Z=why.”

For Example, I help Experts & Creators Turn their Content into Currency, Master their A.B.C.’s, (Audience, Brand, Cashflow) and Experience Endless Freedom and Fulfillment doing What They Love for those that Love What they Do.

This is much more specific, and is a better strategy for talking to people about what you do. It’s clear, it’s interesting, and not only is it a great conversation starter, it’s also something that will stick out in someones mind-and could potentially send you referral traffic of some sort somewhere down the line.

So make it interesting, specific, and tell people exactly what you do.

*Now, for Artists and Bands… I can hear you saying, but what does that look like for me?

Your core value prop would be something like this:

I’m an “X” —- I’m a Singer Songwriter Producer. Or, I’m a Cellist and Midi Guitarist. We’re a Rock/Soul/R&B/Pop/Country band, Etc.

The more specific version would include something like this:

My music is like John Legend mixed with Jason Mraz, and a little bit of Sublime.

A soulful storyteller driven by rhythm whose songs will make you cry.

Get creative, your a musician and/or a songwriter…illustrate with words.

A USP, or Unique Selling Proposition, or Unique Selling Points, are just that, a short little summary that defines what separates you from your competitors, and answers the question why they should buy from you.

For example, I’m The Master Content Strategist for Modern Creators.

I wrote the Definitive Guide To Content Marketing Strategy for Creators.

Author of The MusicPreneur Manifesto

I show Leading Edge Experts How to Create Their Heaven On Earth.

Empowering Modern CREATORS with the tools and tactics to lead in the NEW Economy.

Bestselling Author.

You get the point… Any distinguishing accomplishments, achievements, awards, or any further distinctions that more specifically differentiates you from others, as well as capsulates your unique value.

Your USP answers the question: Why should I buy from YOU?

Classic USP’s

Fedex – When it absolutely has to be there overnight.

Dominos – Fresh pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less or it’s free.

Nyquil - “The nighttime, coughing, achy, sniffling, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine.”

ABC Trimmers – Will trim and maintain your trees and shrubs six times a year, once every other month, for $16/month.

USP = Amongst others who have the same Value Prop. how are you better or what makes your product or service unique?

It has to be clear and unique. NOT – save money, save time, great service, great price….

Something specific like:

A simple golf swing methodology that won’t aggravate your hip or lower back and will teach you to hit the ball further with less effort!

This can be a distinction in WHO you CATER to, such as-you teach WOMEN entrepreneurs, or even more specific-such as you teach Empty Nest MomPreneurs to leverage the internet and build a business…

So it’s really a process of further definition and distinction, as their are varied levels of needed clarification that you should be able to communicate very precisely.

The USP goes a bit further than the Core Value Prop. by explaining the key differentials that make your product/service better or unique to your competitors, and the FINAL piece is your POSITIONING strategy.

Branding Position

Positioning encompasses both the STANCE you have in your market, (i.e. what you stand for, how or why you do what you do) as well as your story. At least the parts of your personal and professional journey that got you where you are, or made you who you are, or tells people where you’ve come from and what you’re about.

Branding should be a transparently projected image of what you represent, what role you play in society, and what role you play to your audience.

For most Creators, the core of your branding position should come from an authentic place, and get to the root of your core values, purpose, mission, and personality.

The focus is on the type of client/customer you are trying to attract, although it encompasses your specific points of distinction that highlight your strengths among the many competing options.

Yes, there can be a little overlap between your Core Value Prop, your USP and your Branding Position… Nothing is set in stone. This isn’t mathematics. Again, all of this is simply a way to bring some much needed clarity-to an inherently hard to clarify subject matter.

When I work with 1-1 with Thought Leaders in my premium program, we’re typically focused on turning dedicated experts into the Market Leader and the Highest Authority on their topic, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you are have to be the GO-TO authority in your market…

The Enthusiast, or the Researcher, are both very valued resources that can be the basis of your initial positioning.

I don’t recommend anyone position themselves as something that they cannot backup…

For newer Artists, you can talk about your influences, your aspirations, your life story, the message behind what you’re doing. Etc.

Essentially you want to position yourself authentically, AND you want to use social proof and any credentials you have to raise the PERCEIVED VALUE of what you offer; OR you want to cater your Branding position to speak DIRECTLY to the prospect you are specifically trying to attract.

I.E. Your Affordable Family Chiropractor.

My Branding Position:

I am Jamie Leger, The Business Coach and Consultant for Experts and Creators by day, and DIY Singer Songwriter Producer by night.

I have been apart of the blogosphere since it began, and have watched SEO evolve into the Content Marketing Process. I have spent the last 10 years-running a business online, publishing and marketing content, and writing and producing my own music in my home studio.

As a teacher, content creator, and independent artist in the NEW music industry, I’m a multimedia storyteller. A Modern Content Creator that’s doing what he loves, for those who love what he does.

I’ve built a lifestyle business that allows me to enjoy serving my clients and audience during the day, and create my own music and content as well-at night.

After 3 years of specialized coaching and consulting for Experts and CREATORS of every type, I’ve had the privilege of working with 100’s of clients and students at every level and have a very organic footing on the current state of our community and the surrounding artist and creative marketplaces.

I basically get to test, learn, apply and share what works at the ground level across a range of interrelated communities and all forms of CREATORS-doing amazing stuff in the modern world.

I’ve artistically designed a lifestyle that allows me to run a sustainable business, as well get to share the insights, concepts, tactics, and strategies that are working in our digital economy with YOU, for FREE.

The experts and thought leaders that I’m blessed to coach and consult pay the bills-so I can further explore, share, and help artists and other DIY’ers like myself as a hobby… For free. The majority of the principles and strategies I teach can be applied just as effectively for artists and musicians, as they can be for experts, authors, comedians, consultants… etc.

I am in a unique position to be able to be completely immersed in this stuff from all angles, all the time. The amount of input, feedback and insight I get through being in direct conversation with my audience, clients, and students-from first, second and third hand experience-is incredible.

In addition to the 10 years on my own and well over the 10,000 hour limit in learning, applying, and studying the greatest in the world at each particular skill I wanted to develop, I test and try each new idea on my own as well (i’m not just teaching people, I practice what I preach.) In result, it’s my honor to be able to share the most cutting edge, advanced, and PROVEN strategies, tactics, tips, and insights with CREATORS like you!

Here are three questions you need to answer:

1. Complete the following sentence… “I help x, do x, so that/to achieve x.”

2. I do it better or differently from everyone else who does something similar by/because…

3. The perspective, story, and position I speak and deliver my message from is…

Alright, let’s take my CORE training program, for another example…

Content Academy: The Content Marketing, Audience Building, and Traffic Transformation Bootcamp for Modern Creators.

12 Weeks To Traffic Transformation – Double your traffic and learn how to create and communicate your content in High Def!

CAPTURE your audiences attention, and CONNECT with them through your content.

You need to build an audience to build a brand. It doesn’t work the other way around. YOUR audience exists all over the world, and are already participating in the global conversation.

The technologies already exist. They are out here, and you ALREADY have all you need right now… You are a CONTENT creator, and it’s your JOB to get your message, your stories, your knowledge and expertise out into the world.

You don’t need more resources, you need more RESOURCEFULNESS. You don’t need more tools, you need to learn how to use the ones you already have access to BETTER. You need both the PRACTICAL training to turn your Content into Currency, AND the mindset adjustments that will empower you to CREATE anything you want as a LEADER in the NEW economy.

Content Academy will officially indoctrinate you as MODERN Creator, guide you through the often overwhelming chaos that is the world wide web and teach you how to more effectively harness the tools at your disposal.

I’ll be telling you what you need to know as a content creator, and pointing out the key lessons and insights I’ve gained over the last 10 years.

You will be equipped with a full palette of tactics, techniques, and strategies, to build your audience, get more traffic, and grow your brand online.

You will be provided with a FULL arsenal of tactics to communicate WORLD CLASS content, gain targeted traffic, and the learn the biggest secret that will leverage ALL your efforts, as well as help you create a respected and AUTHORITATIVE presence within your community.

You will understand the cause and solution for how to break through your mental and socio-economic limitations, AND live the life you’ve dreamt of.

You will learn how to turn your content into currency, and maximize your greatest asset.

How to use your content to generate targeted traffic, and build a loyal audience that loves you for life.

Learn how to Drive Targeted Leads to a Targeted Message and Convert Visitors into Loyal Subscribers and Customers.

It’s the only program like it, and it’s created for you specifically. You’re welcome!

USP:

The Comprehensive-Content, Audience, and Traffic Training course FOR Experts and Modern Creators.

How to build a Tribe and Perpetual Lead-Flow for your Brand using the Internet.

The only Online Lead Generation course you’ll ever need.

It’s all broken down into a simple 5 step framework that you can refer to for the rest of your life, to keep things as uncomplicated and clear as possible.

Production = content creation
Positioning = branding
Promotion = marketing
Performance = sales and testing
Platform = Infrastructure, network, audience

These FIVE core functions, are skills and key areas of focus-that you will develop, get good at, and ultimately master if that’s something you desire to do.

1. To Be Able to Develop, Create and Communicate High Value Content (Production)

2. To Define, align, and communicate your brands message and Unique Value Positioning (Positioning)

3. To Drive Targeted Traffic To a Sales Funnel That Works (Promotion)

4. To Profit, Test, Measure, and Improve all results through effective performance analysis. (Performance)

=

5. To build and maintain a loyal audience that loves what, why, and how you do what you do. (Platform) The Master Function and the KEY to success in the NEW Economy. You need to build a solid foundation for your network and audience.

Positioning:

Official Bootcamp for Content Creators by THE Business Coach and Consultant for Content Creators!

After a decade of focusing on just this business model, working with Expert/Artist/and Personal Brands of every level, making virtually every mistake, and having been fortunate to learn from some of the best masters and mentors on the planet, I’ve created the ultimate training course for content creators in the modern world.

Content Academy is a sophisticated, FOCUSED plan of action that will actually TEACH you HOW to use the tools of the Modern Content Creator to create and communicate your content, drive targeted leads online, CONNECT WITH THEM authentically, and Build a Loyal Audience that Loves You For Life.

To signup and/or reserve your seat, go here and nab a spot before they’re all gone.

In Conclusion

You now have a solid foundation with some practical examples of what you need to do, why it’s important, and some simple frameworks for HOW to do it.

Again, begin by answering these questions and if you have any other questions or points of confusion, either reread the article, or see me in the comments and we’ll get you squared away.

1. Complete the following sentence… “I help x, do x, so that/to achieve x.”

2. I do it better or differently from everyone else who does something similar by/because…

3. The perspective, story, and position I speak and deliver my message from is…

Until next time.

Be Your Best,

Jamie

Follow me on Twitter

Get your free spot in Content Academy!

What’s all this talk about the social brand?

what does it mean?

how does-or did brands and business actually evolve?

when people say that brands needs to adapt or die, what does that actually mean? adapt to what, exactly?

I believe this article will answer that question.

But first, let me tell you a little story about the death of the One Dimensional Brand.

Old jack, frustrated with his business and the way things were going in his town which seemed to be much different than the city he once knew, the city he grew up in, decided to pack up his operation and venture off into a fresh new territory where he could execute his one and only function… to sell enough of his products and services to eat and sleep in comfort so he could wake up and do it again.

Sure enough Jack met the same problem in the proceeding three towns.

What started out as a mild inconvenience had turned into a glaring problem he was now forced to confront.

Mentally backtracking each encounter to identify the cause for what suddenly felt like business obsolescence, he was able to pinpoint the problem.

Jack simply lost his ability to compete, because several people were now selling the same thing Jack was, but they were selling it for cheaper than jack could even produce it.

Unfortunately, jack built his whole business on providing his product at the cheapest price.

If you say that business and the internet haven’t changed commerce forever, i’d say, you don’t know Jack!

Jack was what we could call a ONE Dimensional Brand. His business model was being the low cost leader. Therefore, Jacks Unique Value Positioning was built with only one pillar of support, thus a very unstable platform for success in ANY economy.

What’s the lesson?

Insane levels of global Competition, openly accessible resources for everyone, the long-tail; has created more choices, and requires a greater level of distinction, a greater level of value-to be successful in the modern world.

Best buy is now amazon’s showroom.

It’s a perfect example when you can sympathetically point to a big box superstore as the underdog business model.

What’s needed is a deeper level of value, of connection, a multi-dimensional experience, what’s needed for thriving success in the new economy is brand loyalty.

What businesses who adapt and survive will do-is embrace the new economy and the 3 Dimensional Brand.

The 3 Dimensional Brand.

The 3 Dimensional Brand synergizes the other two dimensions into a congruent brand experience.

Stories and messages are how we are biologically wired up. It’s how we relate, it’s how we communicate. I think, although it’s the reference point, the industrial age only existed for a very brief moment and only existed out of a primitive evolutionary process that was needed to get us to today. To the modern world.

I believe the stage is set for the next couple hundred of years or more. For the rest of our lifetime anyway.

Their’s not really that much NEW stuff that’s going to change everything. Sure their will be incredible advancements in science and technology, but we’re not talking about anything radical like say, the INTERNET, or FLYING cars…

The infrastructure is in place, and the evolutionary process has quite naturally evolved the world of business as well.

The economy has evolved.

The Brand has evolved.

I don’t think it’s any coincidence, like a random and non-related set of events… I think it’s been sequential, progressive, logical, and beautiful.

I don’t think their’s anything hard to comprehend about what that means, and I think that people who are voraciously searching for the next “thing,” are missing the boat.

I think that the next big “THING,” is that we all actually figure out how to use the tools… The tools of the Modern Content Creator.

This starts with embracing and developing the other dimensions of our brands.

What this requires is clarity, and focus.

Everyone has the capacity, but it’s hard work.

Those who invest their attention in becoming a 3 dimensional brand, will inevitably find success in attracting and keeping the ATTENTION of their audience.

When I talk about being 3 dimensional, that simply means that in addition to the WHAT, it is you do/produce/provide, we need to also zero in on the WHY, and the HOW. It’s a congruent story.

Here’s what you need, a loyal audience that loves what, why, and how you do what you do.

This brings our attention squarely on 3 fundamental questions brands will need to become decidedly more focused on. The Purpose, The Vision, and The Mission.

The Why, What, How.

3 Dimensional Brands mean things to people. They have an emotional connection with their audience, products and services are proactively built FOR and around a congruent customer experience, and most important of all they illicit that all important factor, brand loyalty.

The 3 Dimensional Brand.

Why exactly you are doing what you are doing, and why you are driven and committed to your purpose and living your mission.

What your actual job is, and actually what it takes to be successful doing what you love in 2013 and beyond.

How to actually do that.

3 dimensional Brands = Attention, and Impact.

Meaning and connection are what count today. As Modern Content Creators that means that you’re now in control. You have the power to discover, shape, design, and drive your unique message and purpose anywhere you want to take it, with virtually nothing more than you already have in this moment.

MODERN Content Creators Communicate In Technicolor!

The 3 dimensional brand not only pertains to the complete 3 dimensions of your business… but it also pertains to the communication of your content, of your message, in a 3 dimensional format… I.E. In technicolor! On and offline, there is ALL kinds of ways to sell a product or service.

But, unless you are trying to compete on price, by relying on being the low cost leader in your market, then it’s important to understand the completely game-changing shift that has taken place in the world of commerce at a global level.

In the new economy, what Seth Godin would call the connection economy, the key to building a successful brand is to create meaningful value and relationships with your audience and within your marketplace.

Sparing an indulgent dissertation on the catalysts for it’s development, the new economy belongs to those who understand that their brand IS a story, and their job is to express and communicate it congruently through everything they create, say, and do.

We aren’t 50 pixel avatars that “may or may not be” who we say we are…

We aren’t sterile, generic, voices that drift off into the expansive sea of noise…

As Expert/Artist/Personal Brands, WE are the MODERN Content Creators.

We are the storytellers, the thought leaders, the teachers, the voices for our deepest values, the global perspectives on OUR topics, causes, beliefs…

We are the ones who inspire, heal, motivate, transform lives and businesses, and on a greater level than has ever been even CLOSE to practical-ever before in history.

I know we say, hear, read this in some form rather frequently thus it doesn’t strike us on the level of absolute incredible-it truly is, so you cannot be reminded of it enough.

This means everything. Words couldn’t begin to accurately describe the power of the opportunity we have at our fingertips. The future is now. The world has changed and business has changed forever.

As Modern Content Creators WE are at the forefront of the 3 Dimensional Brand. We lead the way to the life, the careers, the uncompromising equation of freedom and fulfillment doing what we love, illuminating our audiences, and making a dent in the universe at the same time.

This is the promised land. This is what creatives have been dreaming about since, forever.

I hate to sound dramatic, Im no motivational speaker, I used to be a grunt, an infantryman…

But I’ve always been a content creator, and I’ve progressed along with the web since the turn of the century. I am simply awestruck with the magnitude of the opportunity that exists right now, and am continually seeing that illusive barrier that separates modern content creators from embracing it-is hard to put into words.

Are you ready for more in depth training content? I have created CONTENT ACADEMY: the audience development, content marketing, and traffic transformation course which you can sign up for here, once you are ready and have completed this multipart training series.

Follow me on twitter @JamieLeger

Be Your Best,

Jamie

One of the primary problems with all the advice out there-is that theres no included instructions for how to implement it. Up until this point I’ve largely laid out the foundation and the story of-how content and the SEO industry evolved into the content marketing process.

By now you should have a fundamental grasp on the concepts, the tools, the SEO factors and i’ve hopefully kept you engaged throughout the journey. You should also begin to see how the whole picture we’re painting, the entire purpose of all of this is to step up your game and put the power in your hands to connect and communicate in TECHNICOLOR!

The future, or the “next big thing” is already here… It’s not about something new, it’s about really learning how to use the tools to build a fully matured THREE DIMENSIONAL 3D Brand experience!

You are CREATORS, you are MULTIMEDIA STORY-TELLERS, and your “JOB” is to create content that transforms your audience.

It is your CONTENT, your positioning, (UVP) your promotion, and your performance analysis that is going to produce profits and build your platform.

This series is the training that will teach you how to build a MODERN Content Strategy to get the most out of your high value content.

I have created CONTENT ACADEMY, the BOOTCAMP course for CREATORS Academy! which you can sign up for below, once you are ready and have completed this multipart training series.

So again, I’ve dedicated my life to this and am proud to serve you with the most relevant, targeted, world class content to connect all the dots, eliminate overwhelm, and equip you with the tools to go illuminate the planet!

I not only teach, coach, consult, train clients and students on this stuff, I ACTUALLY USE it myself… too.

God bless all the bloggers who blog about blogging for other bloggers who blog about blogging… But you need the practical, tactical, tested techniques that are specific to YOUR particular business model.

SO. With that out of the way, let’s get on with it.

Jamie, all this stuff sounds good so far, but what about some practical tips and methods for how to actually CREATE high value content?

Great question… Oddly enough thats exactly what we’re going to dive into today!

There are YEARS of ground level techniques-and some of my BEST “secrets” disclosed in this fluff-free lesson.

Would you expect any less?

In fact, from here on out it’s all practical, focused, actionable training and exercises that you’ll want to implement immediately.

Today, I’m going to teach you how to create high value content – with A.D.D. in mind. After you’ve learned all the techniques here, you will without a doubt NEVER struggle to come up with ways, or FORMATS to create and produce content that gets results ever again.

Always Work Your Way Backwards

As we’ve discussed, your strategies and goals will lead you to the point of actually creating content, and this leads us to what and how to create it so that it is effective, and works us back up the chain to realizing our goals.

Aside from the Business Development, Market Research, Keyword Research and advanced Competitive Research, it is paramount to realize that the most effective and valuable use of your time as an expert, artist, or passionate content creator is HABITUALLY creating COMPLETE pieces of content every day.

You just gotta build the right habits.

So important. So simple. Extremely difficult…

But It is through developing this ability, which can only come through routinely doing it, that you will learn how to master the art of communicating value and solutions to your prospects and customers.

Whether it’s a blog, podcast, newsletter, video, email… This is single handedly the most effective use of your time throughout the program and beyond.

This means, that you are going to be building into HABIT throughout this course the HABIT of creating a COMPLETE, fully fleshed out concept and/or piece of content, EVERY single DAY.

The other “less tangible“ focal point of this HABIT is that you are WRITING to a SINGULAR person, and communicating so CLEARLY, in THEIR language, what their problem is, or what they are feeling, or what the story you are communicating is-better than they could even describe it themselves. Then you are delivering the answer or solution or message that HELPS THEM get to where they want to go, get the result THEY want, feel the feeling they want.

You can use all of your insight and perspective to do this, and at times this is going to be HIGHLY valuable, but the FOCUS is on training yourself to speak TO THEM, about THEM, and GIVING THEM the solution in THEIR language.

Doing this everyday, will without a doubt soon make you the most prolific, respected, and effective creator in your market. Hands down.

It will also make you a world class copywriter, and make you highly paid and highly in demand as you will be on the pulse of what your market actually wants and is looking for, and now you’ll be able to easily serve your audience with the exact content they want.

Audience Directed Delivery (A.D.D.)

Audience directed delivery or A.D.D. simply means that you are accounting for the practical engagement and story telling formats that are going to be best for both the kind of content you are creating, and the needs of your audience.

It requires you to think through the process and examine the content you are creating through the LENS of your audience. This is simple, yet it is profound. Write this concept down. Remember to create content with A.D.D. in mind.

Do you have a reason for the fact that you are only doing talking head interview videos?

Is that the best way to deliver the specific content every single time?

Would the information you presented in a text article be more effectively consumed through a more visual format such as an infographic or a slideshow?

Create your content with A.D.D. in mind, and your audience will love you for it.

How To Create High Value Content

High value = valuable to other people.

Valuable Content = Connecting a problem, fear, or frustration with a solution. Communicating valuable solutions or stories through your content.

It doesn’t really matter if it’s a training program, a book, a blog, a standup routine, an album, a seminar, or a painting…

It’s a balance between your content, the art you make, and your audience… Ya know?

Their is typically a way to not have to compromise in order to find the right balance, but it often requires some flexibility in how you think about and approach doing that.

It doesn’t need to be complicated, it just needs to be valued by them, for any reason-as long as it’s some reason, really…

But the key thing to remember is that you have to focus on the EXPERIENCE or the SOLUTION for THEM.

That’s where the connection happens, and that’s how things start and take off.

1. MODERN Content Creators are Multimedia Story Tellers.

You are utilizing the tools, the communication formats, and the distribution channels to best deliver your message and content to those you’ve created it for.

Try to visually imagine yourself as a content wizard… A caped beacon of wisdom and insight wielding a crystal ball that pushes the stories and content and message “from on high” down to it’s intended audience on a burst of light that morphs from a brilliant beaming ball into the most effectively capsulated experience to consume and utilize that packet of content.

Are you getting the picture!?

Be creative AND practical, use your imagination.

2. Use the Content Marketing Process. (Like we’ve been talking about)

Most experts write about what people should do, most storytellers tell the stories that THEY want to tell… Which is fine, some of the time, in some cases, but MODERN content creators are actively listening, paying attention to their audience and customers, participating and communicating through an interactive dialog to find out what kind of content to create, what kind of stories to tell, or what they like about the content they already create. (As long as they demonstrate that they are valuing it)

Again, i’m not going to tell you it’s super easy, but it’s not that complicated-you CAN do this.

3. The 4 Learning Styles:

There are four WAYs that an individual prefers to be taught, the learning styles may differ from person to person, as well depending upon the content you are delivering… So in order to best meet the needs of your audience try to include all FOUR of these learning styles into your approach and communication formats.

What – is it that you are delivering to them?
Why – is it valuable or important to them?
How – is it done.
What If – you took the information and did something with it, what results could someone get?

4. Content Creation Types and Top Techniques: Your Content Creation Starter-Kit:

You can read, write, sing, speak, or perform your content.

The formats as well as the marketing vehicles you choose, should be artistically and consciously selected from your arsenal to most effectively deliver the message and communicate the content to your audience.

Whether that’s through a status update, an email, an article, a book, a video, a podcast, presentation, infographic, report, e-course, or comprehensive training program…

You need to get familiar with these tools and you need to test which tools and techniques work best for you and your audience.

Regardless of format and channel, here are some universal and proven templates that you can use to NEVER run out of ideas for creating content… EVER again.

The easiest & fastest way to create high value content:

Probably the most effective one, for a lot of reasons…

Think about questions, objections, sales, and follow up. These are so valuable because they can be utilized in so many valuable ways. To position you, to generate traffic, leads, subscribers, and sales, by very quickly creating high value content.

PLUS you can leverage the heck out of these unique and informative pieces of content…

• One Problem, One Solution, One Sitting

Pretty self-explanatory right? This is the standard q&a format and is something you can ALWAYS sit down and do. This is a great one to practice regularly and it’s an extremely easy way to create highly valuable content very quickly.

The reason why this is powerful is because this is how human beings think. They have a problem, or they are seeking a solution, and this all starts with forming the right question.

The next natural path is of course – to seek an answer.

The great thing about being the person that has that answer, is that you are positioning yourself as an authority and automatically build a credible connection, because you have already helped them out at least ONCE. For free.

It is GREAT when you are the one with the answer/best answer to someone’s question. Try to do that.

Having these FAQ’s gives you something you can LEVERAGE the heck out of them to create highly valuable and attractive content to your audience by creating a full article on each one, creating a video out of it, and then syndicating all of it. Repurposing, etc.

Answers can be pre-written and outlined and repurposed for all kinds of traffic, sales, and client getting uses.

Build up a list of questions and answers by hand, and then even break these articles down into headlines and Short “status-update” Style Descriptions.

Forums, yahoo answers, linked in answers, social bookmarking = short desciption/review + title and link-
same for most news feed sites, as well as in the search engines… hint hint. google alerts to find more!

*AND you DON’T have to wait for a question… you can pose the question and then answer them in forums.

Now, here’s the EASIEST WAY TO CREATE HIGH Value Content that keeps you busy for the next couple of weeks.

10 F.A.Q’s – Create 10 FREQUENTLY asked questions.

10 S.A.Q’s – Create 10 SHOULD ask questions… Or the questions that if your audience knew what the right question to ask was, what would it be.

10 B.A.P’s – Create answers to your markets top 10 Big-Ass-Problems.

Here are some other extremely popular and proven techniques and templates…

• Articles & Blog Posts

Primary on site content that we want RANKED and FOUND in the SERPS.

• Tutorials & How To’s

these are the step by step with pictures
tutorials are easy to find
tutorials are easy to write, read, and get a lot of button pushes…
can be videos, screencas articles, slideshows, audio, podcast,

• Lists

top 10 things that…
7 amazing…
8 little known…
lists are really easy and work well.
“Curated resource list” as link bait (top 10 italian cooking recipes) you regularly promote.

• Polls and surveys

• Weekly, monthly, annual “EVENT”

Final Tips

READ FICTION

This is a powerful way to develop your vocab, sentence structure, and storytelling abilities.
First person experience vs. third person retelling and reporting. Conversational stories. Etc.

1-2 anchor text links – in the resource box (keyword link to specific page, and 1 link on homepage or contact page for “more articles,” for ezinearticles for example) but dont try to abuse this.

Write 5-10 different resource box variations.

Final Questions for You To Answer

What are the topics and categories you are going to be writing about?

Do you need to be Topic Bridging? Expand your thinking and range of topics and interests that may be able to connect to certain audiences.

What can you do that and what content can you produce that is uniquely valuable?

Where are your listening posts? Try to a structured monitoring process for listening to the conversations that are going on. I.E. Google Alerts, and Twitter.

Be Your Best,

Jamie

Follow me on twitter

Circle me on Google+

—-

For those of you who want to get their Phd in Content Creation and Content Marketing, great news… I have created CONTENT ACADEMY, the BOOTCAMP course for CREATORS Academy! which you can sign up for below, once you are ready and have completed this multipart training series.

Sign up for free, here. 

No, it’s not my podcast… Sorry to disappoint, however mine will be coming out to a earbud near you later this year.

Although much of the focus of the content is high level, and around the future for big brands and marketing, I want you to read between the lines a bit and recognize some very key insights…

They are talking about YOU.

BIG BRANDS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LEARNING from the originators, the storytellers, the CREATORS.

In this episode you will see why it all starts with the CONTENT.

It’s why you need to realize that you are the goldminers and creators of value.

It’s up to YOU to lead in the NEW Economy!

This is not just hyperbole, nor am I trying to project something on to you like some of the “motivational guru’s…”

This is a clear illustration of the fact that the WHOLE WORLD changed… Dramatically, for ever.

Traditional Advertising evolved into content marketing, into HUMAN CONNECTION and TRUE VALUE CREATION…

O ya… That thing YOU are best at!

NOT marketers who’ve abused the tools and communication channels… But MODERN Content Creators… YOU!

Again, it’s not MY podcast but there is some VALUABLE insights and inspiration that you’ll get from this piece of content. Please share your thoughts with me and tell me what you’ve learned, or what AHA’s you had.

Go and Get Your REAL DOSE OF INSPIRATION.

Be Your BEST,

Jamie

In this lesson you will learn: How to research, analyze, and classify your competitors in terms of SEO strategy, and their business’ USP.

1) First we’ll look at how to determine your competitors via keywords and SERPS

2) Second, you’ll learn how to research, assess and reverse engineer your competitors SEO

3) Third, you’ll learn how to analyze the offering, content, and understand the USP

4) and finally, you’ll learn how to classify and label your competitors for future reference and potential coordination.

The intent of Competitive Research is to identify competition, the SEO and page authority for the leading web-pages, analysis of their business offering and content quality, and then focusing on-how, as a business, we’d position ourselves in front of our market so that we’d outrank them, establish a unique selling proposition and cater to a certain market segment, rather than looking like a generic“me-too” site which are so abundant online…

Whereas market research is much broader strokes, competitive research is where we really zoom the lens in on our key competitors, and gather much more specific data.

This week we are going to be narrowing down our market research a little further, by defining, classifying and analyzing some of our competitors with a bit more thorough research methods.

-Research is where we are collecting and charting SEO data to reverse engineer strategy and level of difficulty to compete for.

Research, = SERP pagerank + backlinks, home page rank + backlinks, keywords in title/url/on page + pages on site = authority of listing and indication of how stiff the competition is for top 3. (Do this for top 3.)

-Analyze is where we are assessing other factors to deeper understand their business, model,  the content quality, and other “less statistical” data.

Analyze, = What is their offer, do they get social media, does it meet the needs of what someone searching with those words is looking for? in what ways could you do better/improve upon? (Do this for top 3.)

-Classify is where we are labeling and categorizing the type of competitor for future reference and potential collaboration.

Classify = direct competitor, partial competitor, potential partner. (Do this for top 3.)

Competitors in terms of search results, are the people who rank. we only have to check out the links for everyone on page 1 and 2… and no further.

Really though, the top 3 are who we’re most concerned with, so in this exercise that’s where we are going to focus.

So how do we determine who those competitors are?

In short, Keyword phrases, and Search Engine Results Pages. (aka SERPS)

You see, if we can identify the top keyword phrases that people who are looking for your product and services type into the search engines, then we can identify which keywords to target, as well as who is already ranking, or showing up on top. Thus, our search engine competitors.

This week, you are going to identify two keyword phrases, ideally relevant ones you’d like to “rank for,” and then learn how to analyze the top three competitors for each keyword phrase.

What it really takes to earn the spot in the SERPs we want-is something you will learn more extensively when we cover SEO, the keyword research lesson, and will be something you no doubt understand by the time you graduate; but at THIS time we are only concerned with the 4 points we are focusing on as we outlined in the beginning of the lesson. Just stick with the plan, and you won’t be confused or get overwhelmed with complexity.

Just store in your memory that to compete online for competitive keywords you need to have 3 main things, Solid On page Optimization, Links, and Pagerank.

Briefly, what does it take to win in the SERPS?

More links, more traffic, more authority…

It usually takes more anchor text to win

Larger sites tend to win

Possibly more authority/pagerank

In many sites the #1 listing has an overwhelming edge (for now)

If you see sitelinks then it is going to be a dogfight – approach with stealth

Remember, there are right ways, and wrong ways to do this stuff, but just DO the research FIRST, and trust that there is a PLAN.

Advanced Competitive Research Online

Again, to do competitive research, there are two things you need to know how to do well:

A) First, determine what (keywords/ranking position) you are competing for? Thus, who are your competitors…?

and

B) Second, how to research, analyze, and classify your competitors.

Within Part B, their are two sides to understanding our competitors:

1. The SEO research and analysis

2. The Businesses USP and Content Analysis

Knowing these two things, we can THEN understand how to classify them as competitors.

—–

{—–> First, to make sure we are on the same page, do you understand both terms- SERPS, and Keywords? If not, explain.}

Now, let’s talk about Pagerank, and the importance of links.

—Explain how Pagerank works, and the importance of having lots of links pointing to your site and individual pages. Understand that each PAGE is ranked.. PAGES are ranked… The web is all just pages and links.

—-Explain authority and rankings.

—-Explain the concept of a Link Profile. The biggest factor for ranking is links, also known as backlinks.

——

1) So, how do we determine keywords we are trying to rank for? Well there is a full lesson dedicated to keyword research because it is so ultra-critical to SEO results, but since we are really just introducing you to keyword research, we should be able to identify two prime keywords with a few simple questions… REMEMBER. We are focusing on COMPETITIVE RESEARCH to analyze the competing businesses, using the SERPS; we are NOT focusing on in-depth SEO or KEYWORD Research.

The keywords are not of importance here, rather, the process for analysis of the top three resulting businesses and web pages. HOWEVER, it only makes practical sense to choose niche-relevant keywords that you may potentially compete for.

So here is the first exercise.

Take out a sheet of paper, or open up a blank document on your computer, and write down 10 keywords and phrases that would be used to describe or look for your products and services.

Now, read them to me.

{From there, we will determine what are the primary two phrases.}

Now, put a little check mark, or draw a circle around the two you’ve selected, and save that for later.

——–

 2) Here is What You Will Be Researching: 

Instructions: Chart the following data using the SEO quake toolbar, and opensiteexplorer.org

SEO Analysis: Links, Pages, Pagerank, Keywords in title and in body text

The 3 main factors to determine how difficult it will be to rank are – Links, Pagerank, and Indexed Pages.

Keyword: Exact match search volume

Pagerank – SEOquake toolbar

#pages in site (yahoo)

#of internal links to page (yahoo)

#of external links to page (yahoo)

#of external links to site (yahoo)

#of domains linking (majestic SEO)

*All of this can be done with the browser extension you installed, (for pagerank) and a site called open site explorer. opensiteexplorer.org

*To Determine Exact match search volume (type in adwords keyword tool external in google, then click on link to the tool. Type in keyword and check the box in the top left that says “exact match”)

———

3) Here is what you will be Analyzing:

What is the page type: sales/landing/blog/home page

Content Quality: poor/fair/good/great

Additional Questions: Is there online presence comprehensive?

Social media (Do they get it? Check to see if they are utilizing social media, and if they are doing it well, follow/like them. Do they have social buttons on their site? are they on facebook, twitter, youtube, google+?)

What stands out good/or bad?

What is the USP of your competitors, can you identify any key strategies for why they are successful in achieving top rankings?

4)  Let’s go over the classification categories…

Classification: Direct competitor, Partial Competitor, Potential Partner

One of our key objectives in doing our competitor research is to determine our Competition vs. coopetition.

To determine who is and who is not competing we can break down the competition with 3 classifications…

Direct Competitors – same market, same SERPs, same/competing offer

Partial Competitors – same market, some SERPs, some competing offers

Potential Partners – same market, some SERPs, different offers

——-

Getting Competitors Links:

Run backlink tool and sort by pagerank

Go through each link one by one (find out where link is on the page, anchor text?)

-this will show you their strategy

Try and get as many links as you can

———-

The biggest thing about learning how to do market research and competitive research, once you understand how specific algorythyms work, how each data set is researched, and what they mean, IS THE INTUITIVE INSIGHT you’ll begin to develop over time and continued practice.

Trends and patterns start to emerge and you will develop instinct.

Once you know the tools, and what to look for, if you continue to engrain these thought processes through continuously looking out for and analyzing certain things, you’ll instantly be able to notice what areas of a site you need to research, and be able to “take the temperature” of any site and online business VERY VERY quickly.

THIS is what we are shooting for. This is how online professionals know so much. THEY SEE AND DIGEST SOOOO MUCH. ALL THE TIME.

It’s kind of like a full time poker player who plays online all day. They play several games silmultaneuously and see thousands of hands a day… The connections from seeing so many scenarios, gives a tremendous insight and deeper level of understanding for patterns and their intuitive development.

I’m by no means saying you need to be spending all day doing research and analyzing websites, but when you have a question, or you go to ANY website, it will only behoove you to LOOK AND BE AWARE of what you see. Ask questions, explore, and practice this…  You’ll gain tremendous insight, and a certain advantage over your competition.

Mission Notes:

So what we did first is created a list of the top 10 words/phrases/questions that people would use to search for your upcoming/existing product or service.

Then we narrowed that down to 2.

Next, you will be doing competitive research for the top 3 results in the SERPs = 6 websites/pages/link profiles.

Create an excel spreadsheet, document with columns, or just answer the questions for each of the 6 competitors you will be researching, analyzing, and classifying.

——

 In Conclusion:

What you should end up with by the end of this week…

20-30+ identified players in your market. You now have a perspective on your marketplace.

A list of competitors and competitive analysis, you now know how to research and you know the process of what it will take to get the rankings for any SERP/keyword you want to target.

A list of potential partners that you’ll contact later as Potential JV/promo partners.

——-

Tools: 

Yahoo backlink search is free (SearchStatus) or SEO quake

Open site explorer.org

Software tools

-backlink research  www.advancedlinkmanager.com/download.html

-rank tracker    www.advancedwebranking.com

P.S.

If you need some help with direction, focusing, or have some questions, you’ve still got your phone call, and i’m here to help support you.

We can have a loose conversation about it. The trick is to learn from someone who knows what they are talking about and wants to help.

I am giving away the farm here, and I don’t need the business… So if you got questions, or need a little more guidance, we can chat directly, I’m here to help. 734.417.0227

Be Your Best,

Jamie

Follow me on Twitter

Circle me on Google+

You have to know WHERE they are active and HOW to communicate with them effectively.

Almost every client and student i’ve ever had has been either slightly unsure of, or completely clueless about how to do market research properly, as well as understanding the REASONS they should do it in the first place.

In this lesson you are going to learn: How to map out a picture of your market to gain tremendous insight, gain the advantage of awareness, and identify key websites and businesses online that you can work with to catapult your brand exposure, audience development, and online growth.

Whether you are an established brand, or a passionate content creator, market research is important because you want to know who’s out there, what they’re doing, and then use that data for all kinds of purposes.

From reaching out to others in your space or niche, starting relationships with other people who are also doing cool stuff, to learning where your audience spends most of their time, figuring out what questions and solutions they are seeking answers to, how they are behaving, what they are interested in, etc.

Market Research is high leverage stuff, and crazy-important to know how to do.

So many people and businesses miss the power of this.

You’re not going to be one of those people.

The great news is that everything is here, nicely consolidated, and easily found if we know how and where to look… We can gather intel and analysis to our hearts content…

=================================

Effective Market Research Online

=============================

No other form of market research can really compare to online market research because there is so much freely available data.

Market research is where we are going to start to identify key players, customers, communities, potential JV partners, research buying patterns, etc. It is the foundation that will help us gain a perspective, and obtain valuable consumer insight to begin to establish our brand and USP.

Before we dive into more specific and detailed competitive research, let’s look at our market from a bird’s eye view.

Now, understand that you’re not going to construct the whole picture in one day… Over time you will gain a more comprehensive and focused perspective, we’re just going to start by doing the most important stuff first, so don’t get overwhelmed or freaked out.

Most of the stuff you are going to be doing… even the basics, is a lot better than most of your competitors are doing… So keep that in mind.

Incremental, progressive steps is how you’ll win… Just follow the plan, and follow through with the work.

So this week we are going to start mapping out the marketplace.

What are you looking for?

Is there a Market?

What is the Industry?

Who are your Competitors?

What Communities exist, and why?

Who are your Customers?

Who are your Prospects?

Who are the Influencers/Guru’s/Experts?

How are you going to keep track of, and organize all this stuff?

Bookmarks and Tags

You are going to simply search in the search engines for sites relative to your product, service, or offering… You are going to learn how to assess each site, label/categorize it effectively, and then save it – to construct a market profile consisting of the following…

Websites/Content: What is this website all about, and what do you need to tag/remember about them? (i.e. competitor, content, feed, forum, industry, market, news, profile, prospect, question, publication.)

People: who is this person and what do you need to remember about them? (i.e. blogger, competitor, industry, market, JV partner, writer.)

You want to label a site that is descriptive and so that you or someone else can come back later and take action on… You are building a profile of your market. Which gives you a perspective… But more importantly, you are building the habit of doing this. So that you will do this from now on. For every site you go to.

For example… 

Authoritative content site, active forum attached, potential JV partner, high page rank.

The Goal is not for you to “follow my system,” the goal is for you to LEARN how to do this, and find a method that works for you to identify and begin to build a perspective on your market.

You are tagging and categorizing them by anything that is helpful for you to remember. Over time you will know what is relevant, and what you’ll want to tag sites with.

This is less about what classification of competitor they may be, (i.e. direct, partial, or potential collaborator) which we’ll be focusing on in competitive research, and more about gaining as much insight and perspective on your marketplace as possible.

Start by searching google for main authority sites on your topic by searching for big, competitive (shorter) keywords/terms, such as “dog training,“ for example, and then go check out some of the sites that it links to, and just SURF your way as you follow your train of thought and get to know who’s out there, and what they’re doing.

Research Books/Programs/Podcasts:

Check amazon for published books, programs. Follow back to author’s site, or use name and search on google for what comes up.

Search itunes for podcasts.

Research Blogs:

You can search for relevant blogs through google blog search.

blogsearch.google.com

find blogs-check blogroll, for people using exact keywords… tag them and tag the people for further research/to build a relationship with.

Bloggers can give links easily, may want guest posts/content.

Research Forums:

find forums (keyword) forums

jump over to quantcast.com

research sites, find similar/related sites

use google trends (trends.google.com)

find other sites that people who visited one site are going to, and check them out.

Research Writers: FInd and tag other writers in market by searching for keywords.

find where their content gets published. get their name and author links in the about box and google search on where they are showing up around the web.

ezinearticles.com

goarticles.com

buzzle.com

hubpages.com

squidoo.com

Todays mission is may not so surprisingly an exercise in applying what you’ve just learned.

Makes sense don’t it?

So go through this one, make sure you understand and implement it, and then be on the look out for the next lesson where you are going to learn the little tweaks you can make to your website to that can have a MASSIVE impact.

It’s a short one full of actionable tips and a lot of experienced improvements you’d generally pay someone a lot of money to do for you, or tell you over the phone.

———————————————————————————-

Mission Brief

It’s important to understand that it is my job to get you results… Now, i’m going to be bringing this up any time i think it’s necessary, so you might as well get used to it.

Anyway, the name of the game here, with success online, as i’m sure you’ve found in other areas of your life, is commitment and follow through.

You don’t have to be doing 10 hours a day on this stuff, but you need to be doing something substantial every single day. This is a real investment, and the more tuned in and present you are with me through this, the better your future will be… and YOUR TRIBE will thank you later.

This is ALL the stuff you need to know. Nothing you don’t.

You should be able to cruise through this mission in two nights.

=============================================

Your mission for this week, is as follows:

• Install SEOquake browser extension. (type in SEOquake into google and follow directions to install into your internet browser.. i.e. Chrome, Firefox, Internet explorer, Safari, etc.)

• Create a ”new bookmarks folder“ in your browser tab, and name it “My Market.” Search, Identify, bookmark and tag 10-20 players in your market. (Objective = understand the offerings, your marketplace, and potential JV (joint venture) opportunities/promo partners, and form habit of doing this for every site you come across from now on.)

• Identify 3-5 potential guest blogs, 1-3 forums/communities, and 3-5 industry hubs (any place that you could possibly publish your content on that would be beneficial to you)

• Create promo partner list of 10-30 (companies, experts, affiliates, non-profits)

• Sign up to newsletter and email lists

And, as usual, if and when you generate questions or problems you cannot solve on your own, write them down, and i can answer them via email, or next session.

——————————————————————————————-

——>The purpose of the browser extension is to display a bar of useful data across the top of each web page you visit, and across the bottom of the search engine results page. This will show you a few things like page rank in the far left, the age of the page, and a few other statistics. The point is for you to start to see and correlate the trends of the sites and pages with high page rank, and those without any rank. It is also important to understand that the ones with higher page rank, are generally more valuable for you to partner with, write a guest blog for, etc.

You will start to understand more about this, and will inevitably become curious enough to ask more questions and form deeper understandings.

—-> Guest blogs are sites that allow other people to submit and publish content on their site. It is one of the best things you can do online to gain more exposure, build high quality Links, and develop high value relationships with key players and bloggers in your niche. It is beneficial to the site owner of course because they get free content to share with their audience, and most of the time, as long as it’s relevant and of high value to their visitors, they love it.

It is VERY SMART for us to be identifying them now, because it will save you time, and will give you the opportunity to subscribe via email and rss to some of the best ones and see the kinds of content they publish, and how often.

—–>Promo partners are other experts and businesses who have a similar audience you want to reach, and could strategically work with to compliment/promote each other to increase exposure and build a list, and then joint venture with for future product launches and offerings. Having a big, healthy list of potential promo partners, is INVALUABLE. These are critical to the success of your list building and your product launch campaigns. IDENTIFY ALL POTENTIAL PROMO PARTNERS DURING MARKET RESEARCH, NOW, AND FOREVER.

Use quantcast.com to gather more in depth research data like traffic volume and audience statistics.

*If in Doubt… Refer to This:

There is nothing crazy or overwhelming involved here. Just step-by-step actions. Overwhelm is a personal choice… Do not ALLOW yourself to be overwhelmed. Everything you need to know and do is right here on this sheet.

P.S.

If you need some help with direction, focusing, or have some questions, you’ve still got your phone call, and i’m here to help support you.

We can have a loose conversation about it. The trick is to learn from someone who knows what they are talking about and wants to help.

I am giving away the farm here, and I don’t need the business… So if you got questions, or need a little more guidance, we can chat directly, I’m here to help. 734.417.0227

Be Your Best,

Jamie

Follow me on Twitter

Circle me on Google+

The Evolution of Content Creation

Now its time to raise the bar of what quality content means in our global conversation. You are the Modern Content Creator. It’s time to act the part.

Actually, I don’t mean to say quality, because we aren’t actually all that interested with any old “well written” piece of content, as grammatically perfect as it may be.

What we are actually talking about is high VALUE content.

In contrast to quality, high value means that the content is “valuable” to a niche or sub niche of “other” people.

As Modern Content Creators, We’ve got to be an example for the rest of the floundering fluff-feeders and glossy eyed content readers.

We’ve got to step our game up, and we’ve got to create BETTER content.

Tell the story better.

Utilize the tools of the Modern Content Creator and produce better, more engaging, more effective content.

Does it NEED to be a talking head video? Is there a reason for that?

Isn’t powerpoint sometimes sorta… Well. boring…?

We Got The Tools…

Text, video, audio, image, slideshow, pdf, screencast… we got the tools.

They are accessible to all of us.

But it’s time to learn how to use them better.

A little more creativity designed with care and that takes into account A.D.D. (Audience Directed Delivery) is what we’re talking about here.

Content created with A.D.D. in mind means that you are shaping all aspects of the experience from the AUDIENCES perspective.

It means that you are taking into account both the message of the content and the presentation of the materials to most effectively tell your story.

Ultimately, that’s all any of us are doing. Storytelling.

Creating better content doesn’t only mean an improvement in the quality, the research, the relevance and therefore the inherent value of free web content… It also means the creative selection of tools used to convey and communicate content through an improved user experience.

Form HAS to follow function, which for many creative people, CAN be a pitfall.

The primary reason for integrating this multi-media method of thought into your content creation, which will require more effort and probably learning how to use some new formats, is the enhanced ability to tell and illustrate more meaningful stories.

Create more value, more opportunity, more unique messages.

Valuable connection and meaningful communication are what EVERYONE is truly looking for these days.

People CRAVE IT.

Your ability to shape the experience and deliver the most valuable CONTENT, in the most valuable format, just the way they like it will skyrocket your ability to cut through the clutter and standout. Period.

End of story.

The benefits of this positioning and credibility is worth its weight in gold, as ATTENTION is the scarce resource.

High Value Content Is Currency

As we’ve gone over a few times by now, content is currency… Those who tell the stories, who can communicate and touch their audience all over the globe, hold the keys.

The manufacturing costs to share the most valuable commodity (valuable content) with a global audience suddenly dropped to almost nothing, so imagination is our only limiter.

Again we’re all publishers, we all create the media. We are the media. …but competition increased, as well as the requirements to rise above the noise.

By placing the focus on creating multimedia content and allowing the ideal user experience to shape the design, you’ll separate yourself from the crowd.

You need to communicate in TECHNICOLOR. Think of your content and your message as your assets, because they are!

Now, think about the difference between a drab uninspiring banner ad that you tune out, and someone showing up to your house with balloons, their favorite cake, and a personally packaged box of JUST the content they were looking for, already IN the format they prefer.

A box of DVD videos with printout worksheets. A thumb drive with your new album, behind the scenes, bloopers and candid out-takes all on there.

That manipulative junkmail salesletter that tries to to advantage of my grandma each and every single day, is TOAST.

That boring banner that’s trying to attract eyeballs and perhaps even a few clicks-simply cannot compete with the high value content that those EYEBALLS are actually on the page for-in the first place.

Communicate in Technicolor!

Think of the difference between an old black and white silent film on an old 17” screen, compared to a 50” HD Flatscreen.

Communicate to all the learning styles, and in all the formats you can. Figure out what ones are best for your audience and for certain kinds of content.

Choose the topics and skills you love and are interested in, take these considerations into account and really MINE your content, develop it, and you’ll find an engaged audience ready for you to lead them, to find solutions and help them solve their problems, resonate with your stories, all while doing what you love.

Writing/Creating Better Content

The NEXT LEVEL OF Web Content = Give me the chunk that MATTERS

That is how you provide value to people. YOU do the work to creatively and intelligently design the framework and the material of educational or training content that is DESIGNED for the end USER.

The problem is that this requires you to know a little bit about exactly what your audience wants, and then tailor a specific action plan around progressing them to that specific objective.

ENGAGEMENT IS KING.

Whether you are simply entertaining, educating, or both.

If you are training people, give them the ALREADY HAND-PANNED CHUNK of KNOWLEDGE and SPECIFIC action steps to help them do whatever the hell it is they are trying to do!

Repeat yourself in various ways to reinforce the knowledge you are trying to impart on your readers.

If you don’t know how to do that, you’ll want to go and learn about the content marketing process. It’s an active conversation between you and your audience through the content you produce and distribute through your platform.

The Evolution of Content Creation

Now its time to raise the bar of what quality content means in our global conversation. You are the Modern Content Creator.

Actually, I don’t mean to say quality, because we aren’t actually all that interested with any old “well written” piece of content, as grammatically perfect as it may be.

What we are actually talking about is high VALUE content.

In contrast to quality, high value means that the content is “valuable” to a niche or sub niche of “other” people.

As Modern Content Creators, We’ve got to be an example for the rest of the floundering fluff-feeders and glossy eyed content readers.

We’ve got to step our game up, and we’ve got to create BETTER content.

Tell the story better.

Utilize the tools of the Modern Content Creator and produce better, more engaging, more effective content.

Does it NEED to be a talking head video? Is there a reason for that?

Isn’t powerpoint sometimes sorta… Well. boring…?

We Got The Tools…

Text, video, audio, image, slideshow, pdf, screencast… we got the tools.

They are accessible to all of us.

But it’s time to learn how to use them better.

A little more creativity designed with care and that takes into account A.D.D. (Audience Directed Delivery) is what we’re talking about here.

Content created with A.D.D. in mind means that you are shaping all aspects of the experience from the AUDIENCES perspective.

It means that you are taking into account both the message content and the presentation of the materials to most effectively tell your story.

Creating better content doesn’t only mean an improvement in the quality, the research, the relevance and therefore the inherent value of free web content… It also means the creative selection of tools used to convey and communicate content through an improved user experience.

Form HAS to follow function, which for many creative people, CAN be a pitfall.

The primary reason for integrating this multi-media method of thought into your content creation, which will require more effort and probably learning how to use some new formats, is the enhanced ability to tell and illustrate more meaningful stories.

Create more value, more opportunity, more unique messages.

Valuable connection and meaningful communication are what EVERYONE is truly looking for these days.

People CRAVE IT.

Your ability to shape the experience and deliver the most valuable CONTENT, in the most valuable format, just the way they like it will skyrocket your ability to cut through the clutter and standout. Period.

End of story.

The benefits of this positioning and credibility is worth its weight in gold, as ATTENTION is the scarce resource.

High Value Content Is Currency

As we’ve gone over a few times by now, content is currency… Those who tell the stories, who can communicate and touch their audience all over the globe, hold the keys.

The manufacturing costs to share the most valuable commodity (valuable content) with a global audience suddenly dropped to almost nothing, so imagination is our only limiter.

Again we’re all publishers, we all create the media. We are the media. …but competition increased, as well as the requirements to rise above the noise.

By placing the focus on creating multimedia content and allowing the ideal user experience to shape the design, you’ll separate yourself from the crowd.

You need to communicate in TECHNICOLOR. Think of your content and your message as your assets, because they are!

Now, think about the difference between a drab uninspiring banner ad that you tune out, and someone showing up to your house with balloons, their favorite cake, and a personally packaged box of JUST the content they were looking for, already IN the format they prefer.

A box of DVD videos with printout worksheets. A thumb drive with your new album, behind the scenes, bloopers and candid out-takes all on there.

That manipulative junkmail salesletter that tries to to advantage of my grandma each and every single day, is TOAST.

That boring banner that’s trying to attract eyeballs and perhaps even a few clicks-simply cannot compete with the high value content that those EYEBALLS are actually on the page for-in the first place.

Communicate in Technicolor.

Think of the difference between an old black and white silent film on an old 17” screen, compared to a 50” HD Flatscreen.

Communicate to all the learning styles, and in all the formats you can. Figure out what ones are best for your audience and for certain kinds of content.

Choose the topics and skills you love and are interested in, take these considerations into account and really MINE your content, develop it, and you’ll find an engaged audience ready for you to lead them, to find solutions and help them solve their problems, resonate with your stories, all while doing what you love.

Writing Better Content

The NEXT LEVEL OF Web Content = Give me the chunk that MATTERS

That is how you provide value to people. YOU do the work to creatively and intelligently design the framework and the material of educational or training content that is DESIGNED for the end USER.

The problem is that this requires you to know a little bit about exactly what your audience wants, and then tailor a specific action plan around progressing them to that specific objective.

ENGAGEMENT IS KING.

Whether you are simply entertaining, educating, or both.

If you are training people, give them the ALREADY HAND-PANNED CHUNK of KNOWLEDGE and SPECIFIC action steps to help them do whatever the hell it is they are trying to do!

Repeat yourself in various ways to reinforce the knowledge you are trying to impart on your readers.

If you don’t know how to do that, you’ll want to go and learn about the content marketing process. It’s an active conversation between you and your audience through the content you produce and distribute through your platform.

…You may not know it yet, but there is a CORE set of tools, a CORE set of principles, and a simple yet sophisticated framework for building your brand, your audience, and your assets as a Modern Content Creator. Today you are going to be introduced, or re-familiarized with the Content Marketing Tools. These are the tools you will be mastering through practical application for the rest of your career as a content creator.

Your Content Production Toolbox in the Modern World

This core set of tools, when combined with your high value content, skills, and progressive mastery over your 5 functions-culminate to equip you with the mission essential equipment and the ability to achieve everything you want, live the lifestyle you want, and most importantly experience unending freedom and fulfillment doing what you love, for those that love what you do.

Stop Looking Outside for Gold When You Can Create It

Currency collapse has ushered in the era of TRUE VALUE, and intangible assets such as content, knowledge, skills, and relationships have become the most valuable form of TRUE currency in the world we live in.

Although we’ve evolved into the New Economy-and a completely connected planet with open access to worldwide marketing and distribution channels, for in some cases less than pennies per prospective new visitor… We all have a long way to go before we actually master the USE of these tools as Modern Content Creators.

For the last three years, (since I transitioned into coaching and consulting) I have gotten addicted to that show on the discovery channel, GOLD Rush. (One of the two TV shows I turn that thing on for)

Anyway I’ve watched it since the very beginning and i’ve been able to see the progression of these regular blue collar cats, each with their own specialized skills and expertise, work together to put all of the pieces together and learn how to dig, process, and filter dirt from the gold rich ground of Alaska.

The thing is, theres an awful lot of similarities between what you and I do, and what THEY do.

As Modern Content Creators, artists, experts, bloggers, comedians, thought leaders in the modern world… We are essentially going through a strangely similar process to this physical act of digging, sorting, sifting, extracting, measuring, and getting paid; when you think about it.

We are simply working with intangible assets, and mining intangible things. Although, arguably the most valuable asset on earth…

We are Idea Miners.

We are storytellers, we are solution finders, and value creators…

We tear up the seemingly ordinary – everyday ground around us and meticulously sift and drill down to harvest those golden nuggets.

I mean, the process is just, well to me infinitely more fun, exciting, gratifying…

Only because THIS is what I love to do! Create stuff. Music. Content. Training. Ideas.

I imagine physical gold minors harbor and enjoy similar feelings.

I get to create my own music, choose my own projects, work when I feel like it, coach, consult, serve some of the most amazing people in the world…

Then after I do all that creating… I get to learn EXACTLY the things I want and am interested in learning, sequencing my path to mastery in specifically chosen areas, and then create some more value to share with YOU…

All by doing what I love, for those that love what I do, by simply sharing what is working and what’s not, and  then delivering you the gold nugget insights from someone who has the advantageous perspective of both doing AND teaching.

So then YOU can get the best information through my blog and email newsletters and if ever we work together on a project or I take you on as a client, you can rest assured you are getting the best.

As Modern Content Creators this is what it’s all about!

We Can Have The Best of Both Worlds

We aren’t about scamming or manipulating, or overcharging, we are about doing the stuff we are HERE to do, fully integrating BOTH sides of our brilliant little minds to progress and actually REALIZE the potential we have as creators in the 21st century and beyond!

We embrace the entrepreneurial aspects, develop the business savvy, and get to know the TOOLS of the modern content creator so we can live our purpose, make NO compromises, and experience unending freedom and fulfilment doing EXACTLY what we love.

Just as our gold minor friends have mastered their respective crafts, and understand the tools in their toolbox and can effectively leverage, optimize, and improvise with the resources they have to work with, we MUST fully accept the added responsibilities, make no more excuses about the technology, and NOT give in to states of overwhelm or other byproducts of digital frustration.

Just as becoming exceptionally skilled and capable in anything requires a committed apprenticeship of some sort, even if it is self directed… We must as Modern Content Creators, very carefully layout a sequential development of our talents and skills, and then regiment ourselves to build the knowledge and a full picture of understanding for all the relevant aspects of and surrounding what-exactly we are trying to do.

Today, you are going to learn and understand the basic set of tools you have to work with as a Modern Content Creator.

Whether you are creating content for a new product, a full scale content strategy, or for a content marketing campaign targeting some specified objective, there are tools we have available to us… It’s actually pretty sweet, but the problem is that most of us aren’t quite sure how to use them effectively.

Its NOT “what the next new thing,” it’s how can we more effectively use what we already have to create better more meaningful content utilizing the tools and technologies we have at our disposal.

Now, I understand the whole “lean startup” idea, as well as the whole fail fast mindset, but I think we can get carried away and that seems to translate in us NOT learning how to FULLY utilize the tools and resources in our toolbox.

Modern Content Creators carry around a toolbox with them, and In todays lesson, we’ll be looking at what’s inside when they open it up!

And again, just for you, I’ve condensed them all down to a simplified framework.

Take out your pen and paper and prepare to jot this down.

Consider this your first official tour, I hope you’ll begin to see how it doesn’t need to be technical or complicated, because I’ve sorted that issue out for you already through many many years…

Alright, here we go.

 Your Practical Functions and Required Skills:

*A Quick Recap Of Earlier Concepts

Remember. It’s all just a mindset. The discovery of purpose. ..and effective use of the tools at your disposal. There’s no need to complicate the responsibilities and core functions. Here they are again.

1) Platform + Audience = To build a loyal audience that loves what, why, and how you do what you do.

2) Production + Process = To utilize the tools and resources available to develop, perform, and produce high value content through targeted projects and processes.

3) Positioning + Branding = To identify, define, and align your Unique Value Positioning.

4) Promotion + Partnerships = To plan and execute successful promotional campaigns, and build an effective marketing funnel.

5) Performance + Profits = The knowledge and ability to test, convert, measure, and profit from the business operations cycle and create value for the shareholders. YOU.

As a Modern Content Creator, you’re core SKILLs are also very simple.

Content Marketing = Content Creation & Marketing (secondary skills involved: Market research, Listening, Keyword research, Copywriting)

Project Management = Ability to plan, coordinate, and achieve targeted objectives through increasingly well executed projects.

Business Management = Ability to develop your assets, to manage operations, the value creation cycle, and effectively turn a profit that is greater than your expenses.

Your ability to build a business that works FOR you, without compromise.

 Winning The Game

As a Modern Content Creator your job is to use the tools to build your assets, and master your skills, craft, and functions – by providing exceptional value to your audience through an effective content marketing process and targeted focus on your areas of management.

The key to success, and the one constant factor that will always be-in regards to those who are successful and those who are not-is having a loyal audience that loves what, why, and how you do what you do. You need a Platform. You need to know how to use the tools effectively.

Your Tools: The Tools of the Modern Content Creator

Let’s take a tour through everything you need to know. Keep on coming back to these, trust me, it’ll save you years.

Communication Formats: 

First up we got the communication formats… These are the modalities of packaging and presenting the message and material you are trying to communicate.

Understanding the various formats you have at your disposal, and then ultimately being able to choose which one and why to best deliver a specific type of content, may seem like a daunting endeavor, but remember that it’s not like a text-book, there is no right or wrong answer, creativity is the boss, the primary purpose is to make you aware of the options right now, and for you to understand the positive effects that CONSCIOUSLY being aware of exploring and choosing the way you are going to present a message can have on expanding your effectiveness in delivering information, training, creating your art, etc.

Tweet – syndication of short snippets of valuable information such as recommended content, resources, or updates.

Facebook and Google +:  who the hell knows anymore! (curating content and syndication on relevant and interesting topics)

Blog posts – Formal or informal – Initial stage ideas and concepts

Articles – Formal – Further developed concepts and ideas

Slideshows -  Nice compact visual presentation great for reference, can be consumed at ones own pace and is a great format to repurpose existing content to make more accessible to more of your audience.

White papers – Make it an 8-10 pages Document. State that stuff with a white paper!

Videos – Choose from several visual format styles (D-2-Camera, screencast, animation, etc) to enhance the effectiveness of delivery for the content. Video is the most engaging medium and most effective format for social connection on a one to many level.

Newsletter – Intimate communication and delivery of value in a conversational often short-hand way. like the way you’d talk to a friend over the phone.

Podcasts – 10-60 minute deep dive interviews or trainings on a topic.

eBooks – Make a whole BOOK out of it.

Teleseminars/webinars – LIVE audio and/or visual presentation, performance or training on a topic, with an element of audience Q+A and an offering/short pitch at the end.

Online course/membership site – create an interactive environment to most effectively deliver content within a scalable online community and 24-7 access to resources, discussion, support, etc.

Physical products and home study courses – a whole different equation, thats effective for some audiences, and not necessary or appreciated for others.

Traffic/Distribution Channels: 

As you’re probably aware by now, I highly value focused simplicity, so in typical fashion I’ve broken these down into 6 channels. Grab a pen and pad and write this down.

Modern Content Creators are fortunate to enjoy the beauty of low or NO cost manufacturing and distribution.

At a purely “Traffic generation” level, there are only 3 forms of traffic and 3 ways to get it. Head to Bootcamp to go in depth with understanding how to use them all.

Traffic Generation – The Traffic Avenues

Create: Content Marketing/SEO Traffic

Relate: Relationship/Social Traffic

Pay: Paid Traffic

1) Your Channels: Your Platform - The first is the one you control, and your primary marketing & distribution channel, it includes all properties and lists you control directly (email list) or indirectly (twitter following).

2) Niche Channels: Niche Partners/Market Segment/Network Distribution – This is everyone in your global “neighborhood.” The other relevant organizations, influencers, blogs, and platforms that serve overlapping audiences.

3) Global Search Channels - The search engines.

4) Social Channels – All social channels such as social networks, social bookmarking sites, and the larger ecosystem of social web 2 properties.

5) Traditional Media Channels – PR, publicity, news, radio, tv, magazine

6) Directories – Blog, RSS, Niche, Directories etc.

Leverage & Systems:

*These are your core systems, concepts, exercises, and specific processes you use to amplify what you are already doing, optimize your productivity, and maximize your results while you get to focus on doing the fun stuff. The stuff you love!

Market research – you have to know how to quickly and effectively find data, assess data, get answers, interpret information, and analyze knowledge using that amazing tool the world now instantly has available to them. The internet. You have to not only be able to build a working knowledge of the right tools, and the right services to setup your own ideal workflows, but also to be able to assess the perspectives and the meaning/vet the quality of the data you find as you sift through the noise.

Computer/Operating System – the hardware tools and processors that make up that portable business and life management machine.

Your Platform – Your infrastructure that facilities the global connection between you and your audience.

Marketing funnel – the defined and refined lead generation process – content designed with ADD in mind.

Sales funnel – the refined customer acquisition, upsell/cross-sell and retention process designed from a customers experience.

Three core systems – self, project, and business management

The Modern Project Studio – the workstation and project management concept for modern content creators.

Management System – Functional systems in place to operate your business from any computer, any where in the world, with access to an internet connection.

Some ways to get leverage:

High value activity definition exercise – your list of high value activities

Strong habits – High value consciously refined habits for effortless success.

Process creation – system for creating, refining, and documenting effective processes.

Your leverage list – all the activities that you need to do in your business, and all the activities that someone else could/needs/should do.

Exponential Content Production – In addition to using content marketing as a way to continuously do your marketing and pre-sales for you, exponential production is leveraging high value content by having it rewritten and repurposed to generate unique and original pieces of content out of the hard earned knowledge communicated in a particular concept or piece of material.

1) Maximize High Value Content with Format Syndication

You create multiple formats of that content such as video, audio, text, documents, infographics, etc. to reach more of, and better serve your audiences and accommodate their consumption preferences. This also means more links and more ways to share your content.

2) Repurpose high value content through modifying and reshaping it for different target audiences.

Services & software:

So these are the core services, and pretty much the basic suite of tools you’ll need. Many of which are pretty much the gold standard. All of which, I use personally.

• Domain registrar
• Hosting service
• Fantastico deluxe
• WordPress.org
• Email Service Provider
• Project/Task/File management System
• Shopping cart/paygate/merchant account
• Google Doc’s
• Skype
• Writing software
• Music library
• Calendar
• Backup system

Once you’ve gotten familiar with these tools, you’ll be ready to advance to the next lesson in this series where we will be diving into exactly how you actually use these tools to create better content.

Are you a Content Creator that hasn’t yet signed up for Creators Academy?

If you are ready to apply these tools and take your content creation and traffic generation game to the next level, then I want to give you the complete ROADMAP for learning how to use those tools, the tools of the modern content creator, and guide you through how to create and market high value content for the audience that needs to hear YOUR message, YOUR story, YOUR unique expertise/material that you’ve already mastered or are committed to developing at a very sincere level of depth and contribute to your audience, and to us all.

I want to give you this focused plan of action that has taken me quite literally YEARS of daily progress to create for you. For free, as my gift to you!

Welcome to the New Economy, here is your free access to the Official Bootcamp for Modern Content Creators.

Be Your Best,

Jamie