Suzanne Chadwick 0:00
Hey, hey, welcome back. It is amazing to have you here, I hope that you are having a good week and everything is going well for you. Today, I wanted to share something that I am challenging myself to do. And that I think is important for you to challenge yourself to do as well. And that is getting out of content coma. Now I have been speaking with so many people recently, clients, my community colleagues as well, where the thing that I am constantly hearing is, I am consuming other people's content all the time. And I feel stuck in my own content. And I've been thinking about this. And I have created a number of phrases that I think really helped to explain what is going on. So that's what we're going to be talking about today is how you can get out of your content, coma, and out of a wishful comparison. So that you can create the content that you want that attracts the clients that you want, and that you feel like you are creating the best work of your life. So stick around. That's what we're going to be talking about. Now before I dive into this week's episode, I just want to remind you that yes, I am going to be running simple sales coaching week from the 30th of January 2023, through to the third of February. And you can come along, sign up, come and join me every day for around 3040 minutes where we're going to be talking about how you can learn to sell in a simple and fun way, in a way where you're excited to do it. And I'm going to share with you so many tips, tricks and ways of thinking about how you can love to sell, I have over 20 years of selling under my belt, it is something that I love to do. And I want to share that with you. So head to Suzanne chadwick.com forward slash simple sales. And come and join me and I can't wait to see you there. But listen, let's dive into this week's episode.

So let's talk about what is happening in the online space at the moment. I think that we are in the habit right now of just being in an endless scroll, whether you're watching TV, and I have found myself doing this, whether you're watching TV and scrolling through Tiktok and Instagram, whether you're out and about with friends, family, whatever it is, we have this tendency to constantly be checking our phones and scrolling through other people's content. And it's become a bit of a mindless habit that so many of us have created. But I tell you what else it's doing. I think that it is creating not only a content coma, where you're just in this habit of doing it, and then not creating your own great content. But I also think it is creating what I'm calling, I'm just sharing a whole lot of new terms with you today, the creative scramble. And what I mean by that is when we are constantly consuming podcasts, videos, whatever it is, reels, blogs, whatever you are consuming. It just fills our head with other people's content, other people's ideas, and it leaves our brain scrambled so that we can sift through and find out what we think what we believe, what are new things that we're creating that we can become known for. And as somebody who talks about building your personal brand all the time, one of the key things you have to do is be able to build your personal brand with your unique thought leadership. Now if you are constantly consuming other people's content, then at best you will be regurgitating what other people have said. And that's not what you want to become known for. You want to become known for the things that you've created that are unique, that are different that make people stop and think. And so my question to you is, what are you doing that can help you to see the wood from the trees clear out the creative scramble from your overloaded brain and start To create content that you love, that does what you need it to do that attracts the clients that you want, and helps you bring to life, the things that you really want to share. Now, I have given myself a bit of a challenge. As I'm recording this, I have decided that for the next a week, and it's so funny, I was like, I'll just give myself five days. And I'm like, maybe if I just did it for one day, which is a bit sad. But for five days, I am going to not consume other people's content, that means I'm not going to be listening to podcasts, I'm not going to be listening to reels, or scrolling through Tiktok and Instagram, I'm not going to be watching YouTube videos. And I'm just going to focus on what I want to create. So that's the challenge that I'm giving myself and I will come back onto the podcast and onto YouTube. And I will share what it is that I found and whether it was hard or not, and how I felt and what I created. So it's I'm kind of giving myself putting myself as the guinea pig to be able to experiment with doing this. Because even just not consuming for the Last Day has helped me to come up with a whole lot of new ways that I'm talking about this particular topic, which I feel like is evidence in itself. No. So what can you start to do, I want this to be really practical for you, if you find that you're really stuck in that content coma, I think the first thing is actually acknowledging it, that this is a habit that you want to break, if you don't want to break it, then you're not going to do what's required. In order to get yourself out of this coma, you'll just continue to be a Sleeping Beauty, where you'll just continue to progress to scroll, and constantly fill your mind with other people's content, and not give yourself the space to create. So I think that in life, especially in life and business, when it comes to what we're doing, just being fully aware of our mindset, being fully aware of our thoughts, being fully aware of our actions, and taking responsibility for them. So you might say Suze, I don't want to go on content consumption hiatus, I love it, and I'm gonna keep doing it. And I'll say, good for you do that, then, if that's what you want to do, then just be conscious of what you're not doing when you're doing that. So I'm almost gonna go back to my university days, my economics class of opportunity costs. If I decide to buy this or do this, it means that it's costing me that. And so as long as you know what the cost is to you, then that's fine. If you make a conscious and strategic and, you know, aware decision that you're going to continue to consume, and you know, what means you won't be creating as much, but you're like, that's fine with me, then that's all good. Now, if you're a business owner who wants to create, you want to give yourself the opportunity to be strategic in the content that you're making, and how you're distributing it, how you're putting it out there, how you're using it to attract the type of clients that you want, then obviously, that opportunity cost is going to be a whole lot bigger. Because if you decide to continue to stay in your content coma, it means that you're not going to be doing the strategic content creation that you really want. So you have to make that decision. The second thing is that if you decide that you are going to go on a bit of a content consumption hiatus, where you're going to take a bit of a break, I don't care if it's for a day, if it's for five days, if it's for a full week, whatever works for you. Just try and do things in little baby steps if you need to, in order to get the result that you want. But one of the things that you need to decide is, what am I going to focus on? What

is the content that I really want to create at the moment that maybe I've not been able to do? Because I've been in my content coma. And one of the elements of a content coma is what I'm calling wishful comparison. And the reason that I'm calling it wishful comparison is that sometimes we get stuck in the content scroll, because we're looking at other people, and we're wishing that we were like them. I wish I could create content like that. I wish I could be as prolific as that person. I wish I could be as consistent as that. Oh, that was such a great idea. I wish I had come up with that. And can I tell you that when you're in wish for comparison, the people that you're comparing yourself to, I'm gonna say they're probably spending a lot more time in their own content and in their own thinking than they are in other people's. They have a system in place. They have professional practices and It's something I talk about all the time I talk about it in bold Business Academy, I teach my clients it, what are the professional practices that you're creating for yourself in order to get the most out of the time that you have? Now, a lot of my clients are moms or they've got families, well, they've got jobs, or they've got other things that they're doing. And so, you know, so often I get the question, how do you get so much done? And the answer is professional practices, being really clear on when I'm doing things and how I'm doing them. And so if you want to get out of your content coma, then it's really taking a look at maybe reducing the amount of content that you're consuming. And then putting in some professional practices. That mean that on a Monday, or whatever day that you deem is your content day, on that day, you are going to record five reels and put them in your drafts or shed sheduled them to your scheduler, or on a Tuesday, you're gonna write a blog from a piece of content that you already have, that you've created. For me, one of the things that I'm doing is that I'm going to be doing a weekly YouTube video, we're going to be stripping it for the podcast, I'm going to be doing additional podcast episodes for the brandbuilders Lab podcast as well. And then we're going to be putting it in our subscriber email our CEO newsletter that you can sign up for on my website at CS chadwick.com. As well as sharing it across socials, and writing articles about it as well. So if you've got one idea that you feel is juicy enough, it's meaty enough, it's got legs, where you can get more out of it, then it's not about creating more, it's actually about creating really high quality, high value content that your customers and potential clients, you know, it'll really resonate with them. And then just squeezing as much juice out of it as you possibly can, you know, I love talking about squeezing the juice, squeeze as much out of it as you possibly can. So that you're not getting into content burnout, because you're just constantly creating, creating, creating, but that you're being really strategic with how you're creating as well. Because at the end of the day, the personal brand economy is getting bigger. You know, it's all about the quality of the content you share. There's so much content out there. And I don't want this to discourage anybody. But there's so much content out there, that you really do need to be thinking differently, you really do need to make sure that you're coming up with your own unique ideas and ways of talking about it. Because if you can do that, you're going to stand out from the crowd, you're going to have people that are like, I haven't heard somebody talk about it in that way. I haven't heard somebody talk about that particular topic, and really share the type of value that's going to help me to get the outcome that I want. And this person does it. So be that person be the person that is strategic with their content. And it will help you build your brand, it'll help you build your personal brand. So you become somebody who they know they love, they trust. And they come back to again and again, there are certain people in the industry. And I would say to you, there are a handful, like as I'm sitting here now there are probably three or four people whose content I consume on a regular basis. That's it. And it's because they talk about things differently. It's because the way in which they create their content, I can see is really smart. Like it's not just, they're not just talking about one thing in one way, they're talking about it in a much bigger way. And then I'm seeing it across all my platforms, which means that it just reinforces to me the value that they bring, it reinforces their authority in the space. And I also can see that they're just being a lot more strategic, which makes me want to follow them. Because we want to be around people who help us to become better at what we do help us to become more strategic in the way that we think and that we create. We want to follow people who we can learn from, because they're talking about and doing things differently, or in a way that we can see is not burning them out. And so what kind of content are you creating, that's really helping your audience to be able to see that as well. And so, one of the things that I'm looking to do in this little challenge of mine is making sure I've got the tools and the strategies behind me to be able to successfully just focus on my content or not other people's and so I use a scheduling tool called plan p l a double n. And so I can schedule all of my content in there and I can also reply to it comments in there. So I can still be connecting with my audience and my community and responding to them without actually being in the app. So I think you've got to give yourself the best chance for being able to be successful in whatever it is you're deciding to do. You know, for me, when I have been on my healthy eating focus, then I make sure that I put salmon in the oven so that I've got it for lunches. And I've got avocados and eggs and all the rest of it. So I've got all my healthy fats, like, I'm setting myself up for success. I baked myself some gorgeous, you know, low carb, almond, and banana muffins. So that's my little sweet treats that I got. And so just thinking about if you've got a goal, to create more, to eat healthy, to exercise to read more, whatever it is, you've got to set yourself up and think about how am I going to make this easy for me? How am I going to create the environment and the professional practices that are going to help me to achieve this goal. And so because we're talking about content today, and getting out of content, coma, getting out of your wishful comparison, then just think about what you need to do in order for that to happen. And so one of the other things that I'm doing is that I'm actually leaving my phone in my office, so that when I wake up in the morning, it's not the first thing I do, because that is such a habit. I wake up in the morning, my husband says goodbye, and he goes to work. And then I'll sit in bed, and I'll scroll. And so I'm leaving my phone charging in my office so that I get up and I get ready for the day, and I have breakfast with the kids. And then I come into my office. And then in the evening, I'm going to leave my phone in my office as well, so that I'm not sitting in front of the TV with the family and scrolling. So what are the things you're going to put in place that are going to help you to be more successful? Now when it comes to creating the content actually sitting down and asking yourself some questions? What are the things that my clients are talking about right now that I am hearing all the time? And how can you start to make a list of those things, so that you're being really current and relevant with what you're talking about. It's hitting the pain point that your clients are experiencing right now. And then you are creating the content around that that's really going to speak to them in that moment. I always talk about when you're a speaker, because I Miss Speaker I speak at a lot of events is relevance. So it's so important that when you are sharing anything sharing content online speaking at an event that you position, why this is relevant. So for example, even today's topic, I have just had so many conversations about it. I've seen people creating content on how stuck they are. And so I know that this is really relevant now. So if you're like Suze, I don't even know what content to create, then sit down and start exploring. What are your clients talking about? What are things that you want to be sharing about your business and what's happening? You know, one of the things I do love is story selling. So how can you share the journey that you're on and what's happening right now, once again, this is a perfect example, I've given myself a challenge to get out of the content, coma, and I'm sharing with you why it's important, why it's relevant, and then what I'm doing to be able to do this in a successful way. And so sit down and write down all of those things are what are you seeing, what

are you hearing? What are you experiencing personally? What's the journey that you're on so that you can take your audience and your community on that journey with you as well? And then obviously, how can you just squeeze more out of it? How can you get more out of it, and start to create processes in your business that allow this to become automatic. It'll never be completely automatic, because obviously, you'll need to be creating that. But if you can start to think about how you're doing it in a way that really works for you, then that's the best thing. I had a meeting with my VA this morning and we were talking about our new processes. So recording the video and the podcast giving the video to my video editor, them doing their magic with it. us doing the podcast normal process, and then my video editor creating loads of different vertical horizontal clips that we can then use across platforms and my VA we'll distribute that and then also taking a look at how we're stripping that for our newsletters for blogs, etc. So I just really want you to stop thinking small about the way that you create content and thinking about how am I creating this in a way that can also be evergreen. So I know that this can be a challenge for some people, if you don't, if you're not writing blogs for SEO, if you're not creating videos for YouTube, if you don't have a podcast that people can find and search on at any time of the day or night, everywhere around the world, you just got to think about what you're doing as far as the longevity of your business goes. So we create content. And a lot of times when it's on certain platforms, it's there, and then it's gone. And it's not searchable. It's not something that is going to live somewhere that you can be found. And so really thinking about is there a way for me to create content that allows me to share it and distributed across different platforms, but where it has vamos opportunity to live in an Evergreen State that gets the most out of it for me. And so if you're not doing that, then I would really encourage you to, it's really interesting, I actually was looking at somebody who I had followed on Instagram quite a while ago that talks a lot about videos. So she would talk a lot about video on Instagram, but she actually wasn't on YouTube. And this year, she's gone. And she's gotten on YouTube, because she's realized and recognized that building an audience on Instagram, as the only place that you're building, it is a tricky thing to do. And it may not be the most strategic thing to do in a long term way. Because at the end of the day, if you decide that you want to change what you're doing, how you're doing it, you want to focus on different things besides a particular platform, you could lose your account, they could change the way that the algorithm works, whatever it is, you want to really make sure that you're creating the content and still sharing it there. But creating a home for it, where it works for you all the time. So when somebody puts into Google, you know how to create better content than or whatever it is that you do, then they're finding you. So really think about am I being strategic in the way that I'm creating content? Am I giving myself enough space and time so that I don't have the creative scramble of everybody else's thoughts ideas in my head, and am I creating and distributing content in a way that's attracting the best clients that I could possibly be attracting by sharing high quality and valuable content for them as well. And so that's what I wanted to share with you, I can't wait to share how my little experiment goes. Not consuming content for the next five days. And having a very strong will to not do that because it's so easy to do that. And you know, also setting a vivid example I have to say I have said to my kids, you know, don't just sit and scroll, it's I need to be an example of that. And so breaking this habit of making sure that I am doing my best to create great value content without sitting and consuming it all the time is what it's all about. So that is what we're doing. That's what I wanted to share with you today. If you've got any questions let me know if you're jumping in on my on this challenge with me. Let me know I can't wait to hear

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