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Everything Is content

The Framework that Changed Everything

It was about 5 years ago when I first came up with this framework…

And it was a game-changer.

For 10 years, I had been creating content under my previous brand, The WordPress Chick. My podcast was ‘The WordPress Chick’ podcast (now ‘The Kim Doyal Show’). I wrote about WordPress, talked to friends in the space, and shared what was happening.

In many ways, I held myself back.

Not because I didn’t enjoy what I was doing but because I always felt like an imposter.

Cue the song from Sesame Street “One of these things just doesn’t belong here.”

I wasn’t (and obviously still am not) a developer.

My love of WordPress came from the fact that I fell in love with the tool and simply shared what I was doing and learning.

5 years into that brand is when I launched my podcast, and things really started shifting (I’ve always said it was one of the best things I’ve done for my business). I started podcasting because I wanted to have more fun… I had zero attachments to what it looked like.

The biggest benefit of starting my podcast was that I started showing up as myself.

I started writing and talking in a natural, conversational tone, and it worked.

Somewhere along that journey, I realized I wanted to focus on the intersection of marketing + WordPress… which removed massive pressure from everything I was doing.

I was way more interested in creating content and marketing a business than what that business was built on (obviously, my heart will always belong to WordPress, but it’s not where my strengths lie).

In 2016 I decided I was going to focus on mastery and get better at the basics (something I would highly recommend to anyone getting started… I certainly wish I had done that when I started, but we all have a unique journey).

I had been following a few people that were in the practice of doing daily emails. I called mine my “almost daily emails” because I didn’t always write on the weekends.

It took about a month to start seeing results from what I was doing, but I didn’t care. I was more excited that I had honored my commitment to myself to show up every day and focus on improving what I was doing. Once the habit was created, the rest was easy.

Something magical happens when you let go of expectations and focus on the craft and process.

This is where I came up with the framework.

The Framework that Changed Everything

As I was in the process of figuring out this “almost daily email” thing, I had a leak in my pool (bear with me, this will make sense).

I called a company to figure out where the leak was.

$450 later, the water level continued to drop (a LOT… and I was living in California, which with the exception of a couple of years ago, is pretty much in some sort of drought most of the time).

Having to add water to the pool daily was getting pricey.

I called the company back out, and it turned out there was a leak in a pipe… in the grass.

They told me for another $450, they’d dig it up and fix the leak.

I said, “No thanks, I can dig a hole myself.”

I figured my brother was pretty handy, and he could fix the pipe.

After 3 days of digging in the 100-degree heat, we found the leak. By day two, I had at least brought an umbrella onto the lawn so I could get a little shade. Once I found the leak, though, I had to keep digging so we could get under the pipe to fix it (and there was a cluster of pipes and a gas line I had run for an in-ground barbecue).

I ended up laying on my stomach, scooping the mud out from under the pipes so the water that continued to leak was below the pipes and we could repair it.

During this 3-day adventure, I had a lot of time to think.

It was like a light switch went off in my head, and I could see all these parallels to my business (hiring the wrong help, doing things yourself, the value in understanding little intricacies…).

Because I had been writing my emails consistently (which were and are story-style emails with one call to action), I had already understood the value of storytelling.

Now all of a sudden, I could see stories everywhere.

Enter the hashtag(and framework) “Everything Is Content.”

Everything is Content

I’ve seen way too many people struggle with content.

When people join our Facebook Group, Content Creators, we ask them what their biggest challenge with content is.

The number 1 answer is “coming up with new ideas.”

Disclaimer: Before I go into what I mean by #EverythingIsContent, I want to be crystal clear that I know there is massive value in keyword research, SEO, and creating quality content.

That’s not the point of this post.

All of that is invaluable, but it’s a really hard place to start.

If you’re not currently creating content, your comfort level in writing (or recording) probably isn’t very strong. Just like physical exercise, your creation muscle gets stronger the more you use it.

If you’re not familiar with it, read the book “They Ask You Answer” by Marcus Sheridan.

Marcus basically saved his fiberglass pool company in 2008, when the economy was tanking, by writing blog posts that answered questions from customers and potential customers (I’m paraphrasing, but his story is amazingly powerful).

What if you did that?

What if you just started creating content that answered questions people had about your product, service, or industry?

Forget all the SEO, copywriting, clever tips, and hacks you’ve been told.

Just give your audience what they’re already telling you they want to know.

The more you do this, the better you’re going to get at creating content (not to mention the value of “search intent”… answering questions people are literally typing into Google looking for answers).

This will also give you a clear indicator of what works and what doesn’t.

Tying this into #EverythingIsContent

I have one primary rule when it comes to any content I create.

I want people to feel better for having consumed my content. My goal is to do one of the following with everything I create:

  • People learn something
  • They’re entertained
  • I’ve connected on a deeper, more personal level

Not everything I create is going to resonate with people, but that’s O.K. If I enjoyed creating it then that’s enough.

What you’re doing, what you’ve learned, how you’ve learned it… it’s ALL content.

The more you do this, the easier it’s going to get.

Kim Doyal

Kim Doyal

Hi, I'm Kim Doyal: Entrepreneur, Podcaster, ContentCreator, Optimist. Over 13 years into this online business journey, I believe that #EverythingIsContent and we can all #JustShowUP. Creator of #FtheHustle movement and Co-founder of the Content Creators Planner.

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