straight away<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nI’m only allowed to consume content if I turn that content into a blog post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I call this strategy Content Consumption to Content Creation<\/strong> (CC2CC<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\nThere are 2 main reasons why I have this rule:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- I find it much harder to create content “after the fact”. I find it way easier<\/strong> and more rewarding to share things “as I do them”, right in the heat of the moment. I prefer to right down things in a “stream of consciousness” manner, then wait and write down an outline, a draft and finally publish. The more I wait, the more new ideas and curiosities distract me from actually creating content. The only way for me is to document everything<\/strong> I do or think as I do it<\/span>. This doesn’t mean I just write and hit publish. This only means that I write as I do\/read and save as a draft. I then publish it as soon as I review it and as a general rule “as soon as possible”. Which means that when I publish, I know the article is far from “perfect”, and there are surely a lot of things I’d like to add to it. But I prefer to publish nevertheless and “move on”.<\/li>
- This forces me to be selective<\/strong> with the content I consume, while paying more attention to what I read (since I have to turn it into content – which also forces me to condense it into a “digestible”, shorter and applicable form).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
This content creation strategy aligns with the concept of content recycling (see Gary Vee here<\/a> and here<\/a>) or content repurposing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSo, if I read something I then try to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- write about it<\/li>
- turn the post into a visual to share on social media<\/li>
- turn the post into audio and\/or video<\/li>
- use the content in the post for a future book and\/or course<\/li>
- …<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Another benefit of the CC2CC rule is that it “cures” me from another problem I often face, which is the following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I read a very good piece on something (as Gary Vee’s example above) and then I feel like there’s no point for me to repeat the same stuff on my blog, that I should just link to the original source. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this thinking is faulty in more than one way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Re-writing a concept in my own words helps me better understand<\/strong> and learn the concept;<\/li>
- Telling the message in my own words helps the readers absorbing the concept from a different angle<\/strong>, a different point of view, perhaps better resonating with them;<\/li>
- As Austin Kleon wrote (Steal Like An Artist<\/a>), we all “steal” from each other, meaning no one every hardly creates something completely new, but our contribution to the evolution and progress lies in re-elaborating what others have created, and adding our own personal touch<\/strong> to it;<\/li>
- Curation <\/strong>consists in collecting and collating the best content on a topic, presenting it to the reader in the most effective way;<\/li>
- A blog needs content, good content, but most of all a lot of content<\/strong> (again, see Gary V on quantity<\/a>).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n