The Elixir of Initiation: Crafting Your Content Formula
The focal point of our discussion today revolves around the intricate process of creating what I term the "Elixir of Initiation," a transformative approach designed to facilitate the act of content creation, particularly in moments of self-doubt. We delve into the psychological barriers that hinder individuals from producing content, emphasizing the necessity of a fundamental mindset shift that empowers one to commence the creative journey, even amidst feelings of unpreparedness. Throughout this episode, I will elucidate the significance of understanding one's intrinsic motivations and fears, as well as the importance of establishing a structured framework to navigate these challenges. By employing a methodical approach, we will explore five essential steps that serve as a blueprint for overcoming obstacles and fostering a sustainable content creation practice. Ultimately, we aim to instill a renewed sense of confidence that propels you forward in your marketing endeavors, transforming chaos into a coherent narrative that resonates with your audience.
This episode serves as a comprehensive guide for content creators seeking to overcome their creative barriers through a structured approach known as the 'Elixir of Initiation.' Alex Haynes, the host, articulates the critical need for a mental shift that empowers individuals to produce content even in the face of uncertainty and fear. He categorizes listeners into four archetypes—Blueprint, Action, Nurturer, and Knowledge type—each representing a unique set of challenges and fears that hamper the creative process. By identifying these archetypes, individuals can better understand their personal obstacles and the psychological factors that contribute to their reluctance to create.
The discussion transitions into a pragmatic five-step methodology aimed at facilitating content generation. The steps include reconnecting to the personal 'why' behind content creation, resetting the nervous system to alleviate anxiety, remapping the intended message for clarity, anchoring oneself in newfound confidence, and finally, taking the decisive action of recording and sharing content. Haynes underscores the necessity of habitual practice, suggesting that creators should establish a regular schedule for content production to foster creativity and reduce the likelihood of procrastination. The episode culminates by addressing the crucial role of accountability in sustaining creative efforts, urging listeners to engage with peers and audiences to create a supportive network that encourages ongoing participation and resilience against negative feedback.
Takeaways:
- The Elixir of Initiation is essential for overcoming the fear of content creation, enabling marketers to produce content consistently.
- Understanding one's personality type according to the B.A.N.K. method can provide crucial insights into the barriers to content creation.
- The five-step formula, which includes reconnecting to one's 'why', is instrumental in fostering confidence and clarity in content production.
- Regularly producing content transforms the process into a habit, enhancing skill and reducing the anxiety associated with creation.
- Accountability plays a vital role in content creation, as sharing one's work encourages feedback and motivates ongoing efforts.
- Celebrating engagement, regardless of its nature, is critical as it contributes positively to algorithms and enhances visibility.
Transcript
Welcome to Marketing Alchemist and I'm your alchemist, Alex Haynes, here to help you turn that noise and chaos into pure marketing gold.
Speaker A:And today we're talking about creating the elixir of initiation.
Speaker A:It's that mind shift change that helps you finally start creating that content you need even when you don't feel ready.
Speaker A:You know, as a marketer myself, it is sometimes really hard to sit down and create content, especially when you feel stuck.
Speaker A:And I've been told over and over and over again by tons and tons of people we've helped.
Speaker A:Alex, I don't even know where to start.
Speaker A:So today we're rolling out the Elixir of initiation.
Speaker A:We're going to help you understand how to mix this for yourself and how to make sure you can make content anytime you sit down.
Speaker A:First, we need to actually create the elixir.
Speaker A:To do that, we need to identify who you are and how you think.
Speaker A:Are you a blueprint who needs structure and you fear chaos?
Speaker A:Are you an action who needs payoff and and you fear wasted of wasting efforts.
Speaker A:Are you a nurturer who needs to connect with people but feel like there's a coldness when it comes to working with a camera?
Speaker A:Are you super smart and knowledgeable?
Speaker A:You knowledge type who already has all the mastery of the things you want to talk about, but you're feared of being not perfect or you're not sure how to communicate to everybody else?
Speaker A:Most of the times those are the four things that usually are the issues when it comes to creating content.
Speaker A:Usually your personality is stopping you from making that content because we are afraid of something.
Speaker A:First, we need to identify who you are.
Speaker A:I like to use something called the bank method B A N K Blueprint, action, nurtures and knowledge.
Speaker A:This really helps identify who you are and how you naturally think and will actually lead us to what's keeping you from making content.
Speaker A:If you're blueprint, you probably want structure and you fear chaos.
Speaker A:So you don't know where to start and you don't want to start before you have a solid blueprint.
Speaker A:That's proven.
Speaker A:I get it.
Speaker A:Actions, we need payoff, right?
Speaker A:You fear wasted effort.
Speaker A:You feel like you don't want to do a bunch of stuff without knowing that it's going to be a slam dunk and knock it out of the park every time and instantly become viral.
Speaker A:Nurturers want to connect.
Speaker A:They fear that the camera's cold and they're not actually really connecting with the people behind those videos.
Speaker A:Knowledge types, we need to reframe the issue you're not afraid of the camera.
Speaker A:You're not.
Speaker A:You're afraid of being unclear.
Speaker A:You're not afraid of not having the right structure.
Speaker A:You're afraid of chaos and not saying the right thing in the right order.
Speaker A:You're not afraid of making content.
Speaker A:You're afraid that no one's going to watch it and people won't understand the effort you put into it.
Speaker A:It's not that you're afraid of not having the information.
Speaker A:You're afraid that people won't understand you.
Speaker A:These are the four main fears I run into all the time.
Speaker A:And we're going to tell you how to get over that today.
Speaker A:So let's talk about the formula.
Speaker A:This is going to be a repeatable blueprint to help you get over these issues.
Speaker A:There are five steps.
Speaker A:Step one, reconnect to why.
Speaker A:Why did you want to do this?
Speaker A:That's always going to reignite the purpose and be stronger than the fear.
Speaker A:Remind yourself why you got in front of the camera, why you hired an actors to do this video.
Speaker A:Whatever the content you're trying to make, whatever is the reason behind the why is always going to be stronger than the fear.
Speaker A:And it could be simply, you need to make more money as a business.
Speaker A:There's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker A:It could be you're trying to educate people, build a community.
Speaker A:It could be you want to save the world from hunger and you have the best way to do that and you're just trying to share that information with the world.
Speaker A:Whatever the reason is, there's a why behind what you're doing.
Speaker A:That why has to be bigger than the fear that you have.
Speaker A:Two, you need to reset your nervous system.
Speaker A:Like I said previously, we use a guided meditation tour to help calm our minds, get us into a steady breathing rhythm, to help us flesh out that fear, that push out that fear.
Speaker A:This really does help us get ready for our content and help us remind what we do.
Speaker A:Now, you could do something as simple as look it up on YouTube or other places you could listen to, like a podcast.
Speaker A:It could even be a regimen of you designing something that always puts you in a state of relaxation.
Speaker A:I know people that said, hey, before they come and do a video shoot, they will wear a certain piece of clothing or they will eat a certain meal, or they'll do something that is something repeatable that'll help relax their mind and put them in a state of calm.
Speaker A:You have to discover what that is for you.
Speaker A:That is your one thing you have to do.
Speaker A:What helps calm you down could be a Cup of tea could be a cup of coffee.
Speaker A:It could be a saying you say, a mantra, something that's going to help reset your nervous system and bring you back to center.
Speaker A:And then we want to remap the message.
Speaker A:Remapping the message means you want to clarify what you want to say and who it's for.
Speaker A:Remember, at the end of the day, you're trying to communicate a message to other people, not just yourself.
Speaker A:You want to remember why you're doing it and who you're speaking to.
Speaker A:So remap that message.
Speaker A:From fear to Strength four is hold on to that new you.
Speaker A:Once you've gotten rid of the fear and you breathed in that confidence and you built yourself to feel like you can do your stuff.
Speaker A:You got to hold onto it.
Speaker A:Don't let it go.
Speaker A:Anchor that confidence and clarity.
Speaker A:And then five, go into record and share that message.
Speaker A:I've seen so many people get up to step five and then they quit.
Speaker A:They're like, I'll do it tomorrow.
Speaker A:No, you're already in that mind frame.
Speaker A:You're already there.
Speaker A:Don't stop.
Speaker A:Finish it out.
Speaker A:Record that video, create that piece of content, create that artwork.
Speaker A:Whatever it is that you're putting out there that you're afraid that people are going to reject, you need to do it.
Speaker A:Those are the five easy steps reconnect to why?
Speaker A:Reset your nervous system, remap your message, hold onto that new you, and then record and share.
Speaker A:Do those five things every time, and you'll be well on your way of making content when you're stuck.
Speaker A:Now, let's talk about the operation.
Speaker A:Once you actually do these things, you can actually build upon those five simple steps.
Speaker A:You can build a rhythm.
Speaker A:I tell people who make video content or make content for themselves, like a podcast that said, hey, don't just stop at one.
Speaker A:Can you record two or three pieces of content at a time?
Speaker A:Can you get into a flow where you're doing this regularly?
Speaker A:Then I tell them, don't just do this once a month.
Speaker A:Do this every week.
Speaker A:Schedule it out whether you feel like it or not.
Speaker A:Create on purpose.
Speaker A:Same day, same time.
Speaker A:Make it a habit.
Speaker A:If you make something a habit and you do it long enough, what happens is your body starts craving things.
Speaker A:We, as a human society, as people, we crave patterns.
Speaker A:When you do something over and over and over again, what happens is your body and your mind aligns and it wants to and expects to do that thing.
Speaker A:And when you don't do that one thing that you've trained it to do, it feels off, right?
Speaker A:This is why we struggle so hard with some of our addictions.
Speaker A:Whether it's coffee or smoking, we've trained that body to want or expect to do that thing, but you can actually use that desire for good.
Speaker A:This is the same people who might used to struggle with coffee or getting up in the morning are now exercising every day for an hour because they got up and they started doing it religiously without breaking a habit.
Speaker A:They just kept doing it and doing it and doing it until it became second nature.
Speaker A:You have to do the same thing.
Speaker A:Recreates video content.
Speaker A:In six months from now, if you're doing this on a regular schedule, people are gonna go, how did you become so good at this?
Speaker A:And it's simple.
Speaker A:You just did it more than everybody else.
Speaker A:Okay, accountability.
Speaker A:Accountability is huge when it comes to content because a lot of times people will make content and they'll never go out anywhere they're afraid to share it.
Speaker A:Accountability is inviting peers to help keep you doing that thing.
Speaker A:Tell a friend, tell people, tell your business partner, hey, we're gonna do this.
Speaker A:And have them hold you accountable.
Speaker A:The second level accountability is once you put it out there to the world, ask your audience to comment and share.
Speaker A:This is going to encourage you and create a feedback loop.
Speaker A:The more people say, oh, my goodness, I got so much out of this.
Speaker A:It really helps you.
Speaker A:And I know this from a personal point of view.
Speaker A:There are times when it's been too long between my last video and maybe like this video.
Speaker A:It's been a month.
Speaker A:We got busy.
Speaker A:We run a marketing consulting company.
Speaker A:I get busy and I didn't make time to make these videos like I should.
Speaker A:Recently, someone reached out in a text message and said, oh, my goodness, I just watched your last video from last month.
Speaker A:It helped me so much.
Speaker A:I'm going to go make content right now.
Speaker A:I got excited.
Speaker A:It reminded me of why I do this content.
Speaker A:To help people just like you create content.
Speaker A:One of the things I want to remind you with your feedback loop is in this feedback loop, you're going to have noise, and I want you to ignore it.
Speaker A:Ignore the noise.
Speaker A:Criticism means reach.
Speaker A:I know this is weird when somebody's going to come online or someone's going to say something in the comment that's just going to say, blah, it's not good enough.
Speaker A:I don't like it.
Speaker A:You're wrong.
Speaker A:A bunch of other things can be said that are mean and hurtful, and they'll do that just because I've had people come into our content and say stuff that's totally untrue.
Speaker A:Anything from technical issues that aren't the issue to just straight up lies because they're unhappy with life, they're just noise.
Speaker A:But instead of worrying about that and even hiding it, celebrate it.
Speaker A:Celebrate the engagement, not the approval.
Speaker A:Because anytime someone goes out of the way to dislike something or to leave an angry face or to say something mean, well, the algorithm doesn't see what they said.
Speaker A:The algorithm only sees that they commented or interacted with you.
Speaker A:Even though they're trying to be mean, they've actually helped you.
Speaker A:You should thank them for that.
Speaker A:That means one more person interacted with you and the algorithm says, oh, this content is getting traction.
Speaker A:It's a big win for you, even though it may not feel like it in the moment.
Speaker A:This whole set of things I've talked about this is the alchemy of habit.
Speaker A:Creating this habit and doing it over and over again will lead to the final point, which is the catalyst in the alchemy world.
Speaker A:We turn lead into gold or chaos and imperfection into marketing genius.
Speaker A:Don't wait.
Speaker A:Starting today gets you started on the journey, and it's a long journey and it takes many steps.
Speaker A:You're not going to be perfect starting right out the gate.
Speaker A:Hardly anyone is.
Speaker A:And if you are somehow perfect starting out the great gate, amazing.
Speaker A:I'm so happy for you.
Speaker A:You're one in a billion, and that's great for you.
Speaker A:But for the rest of us normal people, we're not going to be good starting out the gate.
Speaker A:It's going to take time and effort and energy.
Speaker A:But here's the thing.
Speaker A:If you have stepped up to the plate, so to speak, and started putting out content, you are part of the few.
Speaker A:Only, like 5% of the world actually creates content for everyone else to consume.
Speaker A:You are part of the elite.
Speaker A:Even if you're not good.
Speaker A:Even if you're just starting out today, you're.
Speaker A:You have entered into the world of content creation.
Speaker A:Whether it's for your business and you're making content to help sell a product, whether it's a podcast to educate like I'm doing here, or if it's just because you want to make people laugh, whatever that is, you have done something that no one else does or very few people do, and that's create instead of consume.
Speaker A:Understand.
Speaker A:It takes time to hone that craft, and over time you're going to get better and better and you're going to meet people along that journey who will help you get to that next level.
Speaker A:So don't stop.
Speaker A:Even when you're like, ugh, this is awful.
Speaker A:Trust me.
Speaker A:I've looked back at old videos we've created and said, oh, my God, that was so bad.
Speaker A:How do we get here now to where we were?
Speaker A:Well, it took a long time.
Speaker A:I've been doing this for over 15 years, and I have a team now that helps me produce amazing content.
Speaker A:You're not going to get there overnight.
Speaker A:Every creator you admire has stood where you're standing right now, staring at some blank screen with a blinking cursor, not showing where to start.
Speaker A:And with the introduction of AI to help you map out your ideas and plan out podcasts and the huge network that is YouTube and other creators, there is no excuse that you really have to not start creating other than your own fear.
Speaker A:And you can slay that fear by just doing it.
Speaker A:Because the minute you step out and do that scary thing, you realize that fear is all in your head.
Speaker A:The only difference between you and those creators that have succeeded is they lit the fire and they kept feeding it.
Speaker A:And you can do that, too.
Speaker A:What's going to be your first piece of gold?
Speaker A:What's that?
Speaker A:One message or one video, one story that's going to ignite your world on fire and help with whatever you're trying to do?
Speaker A:Well, I don't know, and neither do you until you actually do it and create it.
Speaker A:And you'll be surprised at what that piece of content is going to be.
Speaker A:And then once you find that perfect rhythm, just keep doing it over and over and over again.
Speaker A:Remember the five things I told you to do in the formula.
Speaker A:Reconnect to your why?
Speaker A:Reset the nervous system, remap the message, hold onto the new, and record and share that message.
Speaker A:Which lastly means you can then build an operation around it that means it can be repeatable and you can do it over and over and over again.
Speaker A:If you remember those things, it's going to help you tremendously.
Speaker A:I hope some of this grimoire knowledge I'm laying on you is helpful.
Speaker A:If it was, of course, hit that like button, Share with another content creator you know or someone you know who's trying to create content, struggling just like you, because they might need that encouragement.
Speaker A:And of course, tag me on your first video.
Speaker A:I want to celebrate your initiation.
Speaker A:I want to celebrate when you make something.
Speaker A:I want to see what I inspired you to do.
Speaker A:It's going to blow me away that you did something because I encouraged you to do.
Speaker A:It's going to be a huge feedback loop for me.
Speaker A:It's going to help me be more accountable and make even more content.
Speaker A:So help me in my accountability by hitting that tag button and letting me know.
Speaker A:Hey, we made a video.
Speaker A:Thanks to you.
Speaker A:Well, until next time, I'm Alex Haynes, your marketing alchemist.
