the curse of shallow content
(and how to fix it)
If you're online for more than 37 seconds, you probably noticed something.
There's a whole lot of noise, wayyy too much repetition, and most people sound exactly the same. Scrolling for a little while can be a bit brain-numbing sometimes. But despite all that noise, nothing is really being said.
And we’re slowly becoming desensitized to it.
Gurus and big creators have sold people on the idea that more eyeballs/reach = more better. And so like eager ambitious children we race to copy them. Chasing tactics, strategies and hacks for how to go viral. Obsessing over every like. Reading into every drop in metrics.
But here's what I've found through this process (and from talking to others): this cycle feels shallow or hollow.
Because we aren't creating anything meaningful.
What I want to do is create impact, build connections, and bring together a community of people that see the world in the same way I do. That's where I want to be and make a difference.
Looking back at my writing journey, I've noticed a pattern in the content that really resonates with people. And this goes against a lot of the advice you're going to see online, but it's a big part of what's allowed me to create content that I not only like to create, but that also connects with people and grows my business.
The one principle I've learned is this:
You need to speak about what's true from your experience and not what is true for everyone else.
99% of Content is just Wallpaper
Most of the stuff you see online is easily copyable. Anybody can say it, because it's true for everyone, and that makes it incredibly accessible. Anyone can like it, anyone can share it, anyone can say it. And there is some power in that, but it's not unique, and it's not compelling.
When I say you need to speak about what's true from your experience, what I'm really saying is that you need to be telling more stories. And I don’t mean that in some cliché way where you squeeze some trivial insight from your coffee chat with your friend. I mean sharing real insights that bring people into your world so you can change how they see theirs.
This starts by sharing pivotal experiences that you've had, challenges and how you overcame them, and the realizations and insights that you've had through those things that you experienced. Because in the Internet Age, everyone has access to the exact same material.
The only thing that no one has access to are your mind and soul.
So if you're just starting out and don't really know where to begin, start by mapping out your journey and then working backwards to connect the dots. You have had experiences that have brought you to where you are right now. Some of those have been really hard. Some of those have been easy.
Revel in them. Don't glamorize any of it.
The biggest online tragedy is people feeling the need to put on this weird persona that has to be perfect and have everything figured out. It’s freeing to realize that you don’t. So start mapping out your journey.
Where has it taken you?
Where is it leading you?
What do you believe to be fundamentally true about the world that other people don't believe?
This is the bedrock of meaningful connection.
The Two E's That Can't Be Copied
The essence of content magic is what I call the two E's: experience and expertise. These cannot be copied or replicated, and are unique to you.
And it all comes from building skills, stacking exposure, and taking action.
Because when you do a lot of things, when you solve specific problems, that's when you have experiences that no one else has. You earn the ability to share niche insights on particular things that no one else can. You're able to cover real situations, things you've actually experienced, how it felt, what you did, and everything in between.
You can provide the unique context that you experienced it in.
I can already hear the gurus saying something like "you need to focus on your audience. You can't be talking about yourself. It's all about them not you." But here's the cool thing about sharing what's true from your experience: you make the reader feel seen.
People don't wake up wanting more information. They don't sit down and digest a whole dictionary or how-to manual (hour long Youtube videos are a whole different story). What they want is to not feeling completely alone in their struggles.
When you show that you have made a change or reached some outcome that they also want, that gives them hope. They see that it's not just them. You're breaking their four minute mile. They thought that they were alone and couldn't do this, you're showing them that it's possible.
Transmuting Ideas Into Action
Sharing your truth takes practice. It goes against the grain of 90% of the "growth content" that you see online. So here are a few things that I have been practicing recently that have been incredibly helpful for me:
Share what you're learning versus what you know. Obviously, when we talk about expertise, you also need to share about what you know. But the important thing is that you also want to be sharing what you're learning. Here's why:
It allows you to continue to learn something new. You're not just static robot teaching people things that worked five years ago. It keeps you lean, it keeps you focused. It keeps you alive.
But also you get off this guru pedestal where you think you need to know everything. You need to have that humility to realize that in the infinite scale of things, you're not that big of a deal, and you still have a lot to learn, and that's okay.
Because when you focus on what you're learning and sharing your growth journey, you're basically inviting people into your story. And if your story is compelling, people will want to be a part of that, and learn those lessons from you
The last thing they want is someone just lecturing them on what they should be doing.
Get specific. You want to be personal, not cringe. My personal razor: If it is cringe, it is either a) boring, or b) something everybody can say. You want to really zoom in on specific experiences, insights and challenges that you've had and make it so that it's not generalizable.
Like: "This is how I overcame my struggles around only having a couple hours a day to work my business" or "This is how I improved my mindset around failure."
That's a lot more engaging than "10 tips for living a happy life".
Make art for yourself. This is a hill that I will absolutely die on. A lot of the advice online is to create for your audience, create this persona and just write relentlessly for them. But especially when you are starting with creating things, you are your primary audience.
You want to create things that you wish existed.
You're writing to that past version of yourself, who is scared, who is uncertain, and is trying everything they can to figure it out. And the magic with this is, first of all, you know that person perfectly. You don't have to do hours of research to figure out what they need. You hold the keys to their problems in your head.
You would think that this makes it so specific that no one's going to be interested in reading it. You also probably think that your experience is totally unique and so not relevant for anyone else. I’m here to tell you: It really isn't. There are thousands of people who are going through pretty much the same thing that you are. Not exactly, but close enough to give them hope and make them feel seen.
Have a spiky point of view. You need to be showing up in a way that is consistent. As you're consistent, you create a world and a worldview that is uniquely yours. You are going to believe things to be true about the world based on your experience.
And not everyone is going to agree with that. That's okay. You need to have things that you just believe in to your core that form your identity. This is what people talk about when they talk about “branding”. By pushing away that 20% you are more powerfully attracting that 80%. Those 80% of people are the ones you actually want.
The other 20% can find what they need somewhere else.
Creating Your Un-Copyable Truth
The ultimate goal is to create an experience for your reader that is fundamentally unique, compelling, and powerful. What we want to be able to do by sharing our story is to lead the reader to new beliefs and not just new facts, by sharing the lens of your own transformation.
A lot of people online are just sharing information. They're copying, they're regurgitating. They don't know what they believe, because what they believe is just an amalgamation of what other people say.
When you're able to dig into who you are, what you're really trying to do, and how you can help people, you change how people see the world, and they get to buy into that or not. They get to be a part of your journey. You get to share the things that you learn in a way that you help people that are maybe 1 to 10 steps behind you.
It's a practice. It's an art. But it's not impossible.
Because when you speak from your heart about what's true for you, it reflects into what you put out in the world. You tap into your deepest humanity and conviction, and you leave an impact.
That is the way to really make compelling content rather than stuff that's easily copyable.
Remember, it all starts with you :)