Quick announcement
Before I dive into the email today, I wanted to share a quick update that I'm not taking on any more projects for the rest of the year.
I'm making plans for 2025 and so if you're considering partnering with me on any kind of project next year, just reply to this email and we'll send some emails back and forth to talk about your plans coming up.
You don't have to write content
With everything going on in today's digital age, it's hard to ignore the content phenomenon going on. People are building wealth and breaking generational financial curses by producing content and building audiences.
I have friends all over the world who have done amazing projects with content that have changed how their life would have gone if they didn't dabble in this content ecosystem. Whether that was starting a podcast that went on to become their full time job or sharing their work online to reach audiences beyond their geographical boundaries.
But like everything, there are two sides of the coin. There are so many ways to succeed and content doesn't have to be the one you pick. Let me explain.
I met a guy over the last few weeks who runs a very successful security company here in Toronto. He's scaled this new business of his to multiple 7 figures in revenue and has a very well-put-together team.
And I found out he did all this growth and scaling without creating a single piece of content anywhere on the internet. Not even a whiff. I was completely shocked.
How did he get attention? How did he make sales? Where did he get his leads from? I had so many questions for him. But ultimately, meeting him reminded me of the fact that just because it's trendy now doesn't mean it's the only way to succeed.
So if you’re looking to make strides in your own branding and distribution, you need to make a choice. You know what side I'm on already (it's the content marketing side if you're not sure lol). But don't let the internet and/or me make you feel like that's the only way to thrive in today's economy.
Content marketing is hard, but it's hard for a reason.
I love the way Seth Godin describes adversity. He says the harder it gets, the better chance you have of insulating yourself from the competition.
The battle of branding is a battle of the mind of the prospect. In any field you're working in, you need to understand that there are other people fighting for that same slice of the pie.
There's always going to be another YouTube channel fighting for the attention of your audience. There's always going to be some TikToker stealing the attention of your audience.
You write, you share, you analyse data, you share, you tweak your content, you share, and it's all for very incremental improvements. Content is hard for a reason.
Only the creators that stay in the pocket long enough to see growth will experience this success. If you're looking for a quick win in your business or life, content is definitely not the best way to go about that because it takes way too long to see anything substantial.
Keep in mind that the harder it is, the harder it is for competition to steal, replicate, or even compete with you. I know people struggle to understand how I'm able to keep this newsletter running, producing content at scale in different regards, while still servicing clients and at some points having a 9-5 job.
When to brand and when to sell
A tale as old as time. A lot of people say to me, "Mike, I've been making so much content. It's expensive to make, and I'm not making any money in return." The truth is, there is a science behind this. You have to know when and how often to switch between building a brand and making sure you're hitting business goals.
I have struggled with this in the past and frankly still struggle with this mainly because I'm a people pleaser. It was more pronounced in my younger years, but even now, I genuinely want to help and make other people comfortable.
Even at the cost of my own health and goals sometimes. But over the years, I have learned that there's a time and place for all that. There's a time and place to be building a brand and a time and place to be selling.
Too much of both are bad, especially if you're someone like me who still has to pay rent and take care of things at the end of every month.
I have to end this here, but I'll be continuing on this in the next email.
Hit reply and let me know if you have any questions so I can add them into my writing next week.
I appreciate all the support!
See you on social
-Love, Mike.