This is the nearest Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World. It’s in Grapevine, Texas. They do retail right! I speak as a retail expert, not an outdoorsman.
No, today’s show isn’t about hunting or fishing. If you’re a hunter or a fisherman you’ll be disappointed, but thankful. I’ve got nothing of value to share in those areas ’cause I’m an inexperienced idiot in both areas. But…
I have spent enough time inside Outdoor World to be impressed and to understand the lure (pun intended).
We’ve all got our own temptations. Things that draw us in and captivate us…sometimes for hours on end.
Distraction and focus are two very popular topics because they’re so universal. They’re also at the heart of this Outdoor World story.
There are many things I’d like to change about my schedule, work flow and efficiency.
And I’m a guy who is pretty bent toward such activities, but it’s hard to get on track and even harder to stay there.
I’ve got lots of books on productivity. I read lots of blogs on productivity. And yes, I listen to Erik J. Fisher‘s new podcast Beyond The To-Do List. By the way, it’s a terrific podcast and I enjoy listening to what other people do.
Lately, a few things have compelled me wrestle my schedule to the ground. Again. Seems like I no sooner pin it down…then it gets back up and kicks my butt. Schedules are tough to create and even tougher to keep.
Here are my current motivators:
One, I juggle way too many books at one time. It’s a life long habit, but one that I’d like to change.
Two, and this one is much more difficult…I’d like to figure out a way to schedule better sleep habits. That may not be possible, but I need to try!
Three, I need to produce the podcast and release it the same day (and time) each week. This one is probably the easiest of the three.
Ryan Drean is a Dallas-based radio imaging expert who podcasts at Ryan On The Radio. I’m not in his space, but I enjoy his podcasts. He admits that a sporadic schedule rules his podcasting. Since I use iTunes to catch the podcasts I listen to, it doesn’t much matter to me when folks produce their shows. But it would be nice to hear Ryan more often. Then again, there’s the power of keeping ’em coming back for more.
It brings to mind the two parts of a schedule: a) when we produce, create, build, etc. and b) when we consume, read, watch or listen.
How do YOU consume content? Blogs, podcasts, videos, magazines, books, music, TV…content happens in more formats today than ever before!
Do you use an RSS reader? Do you use a podcast catcher like iTunes or Stitcher?
Do you schedule consumption of stuff or do you just snag it when it arrives (many people do)?
Do you schedule social media?
If you’re in sales, do you schedule making sales calls? If you’re a designer, artist or other creative type – do you wait for inspiration or do you report to work?
So many questions that we all need to spend more time answering. And if you’re like me you need to revisit what you’re currently doing because deep down, you know you could do a better job of managing your schedule (your time, your calendar).
No matter how organized or efficient I may be, it never takes very long before the schedule or process I’ve established is thrown out the window. It’s the nature of entropy. Over time everything decays. Nothing improves over time on its own.
I’ve made up my mind that every 2 weeks I need to re-examine my schedule including when and how I get things done. For me, entropy can begin to rule that quickly so I want to keep knocking it down before it gets back up, fully on its feet and slays me.
I implemented content marketing back in the early 1970’s. I was among the first ever to use it. Yes, I was a pioneer in content marketing because I worked in independent retail.
Information used to be severely limited. We didn’t know it, but compared with today’s resources, it’s obvious!
Newspapers, magazines, books, radio or TV shows and human interaction pretty much summed up the total pool of resources. No matter what we were pursuing (buying a boat, building a deck or fixing a plumbing problem), we sought out information from all those places. And not all of those places had what were looking for. Books and magazines were once the most reliable sources of information no matter how narrow the interest.
My early passion was high fidelity sound. While still in high school I began to sell hi-fi stereo gear at a local shop. Presto! I was suddenly in content marketing (really, it was content selling – I was selling by sharing content or knowledge).
Three skills were required in the 1970’s to be a great content provider – and a person who used content to sell. Those same skills are necessary in this Internet era.
Aggregator
Good content sellers collect useful information to serve their market (customers). I used to read the major (and even minor) stereo magazines. I subscribed to Audio, Stereo Review and High Fidelity. I also subscribed to quite a few pricier “underground” publications aimed at real audiophiles. I invested time to read these magazines, priding myself in knowing all the latest, greatest, coolest, trickest things on the market.
Rolling Stone published a Guide To High Fidelity. I bought it. Others published books about how to select and design a good stereo system. I bought every one of them. And read them.
My customers – first, my prospects – gained from my collection of all this knowledge.
Editor
Information is only valuable if it’s useful. That means, it must be personal.
When a person entered the stereo shop looking for loudspeakers, it was pointless to drone on about the latest reel-to-reel machine or technology. He may not have ever owned an open reel machine. Maybe he had no interest in that. His interest was in speakers, but what kind of speakers? How about I whip him with all my knowledge of the latest, greatest corner horn technology…but he’s mostly interested in bookshelf speakers. No, I had to make full use of his time (and my own).
Like a good editor who distills the information into the most meaningful and concise format for the reader, viewer or listener…I had to do the same thing with hi-fi information. The information needed to fit the needs and interests of my shopper.
My vast knowledge was only valuable if I could apply the portions of it most interesting to my shopper.
Educator
As a stereo salesman I was a teacher. It’s the core duty of every successful content marketer.
I knew things my shopper didn’t. It was my duty to teach him what I knew so he’d know it, too. And he wouldn’t have to invest all the time I had because I could provide a major short cut for him. I had spent hours and hours reading, studying and listening. I could share what I knew with him by giving him great information free of charge with the goal of helping him make a wise choice to buy from me!
Teaching them about the merits of equipment, teaching them what to look for, teaching them how to buy, install and use the equipment…those were all part of my job as a content marketer in the 1970’s.
What’s different today?
Newspapers and magazines have given way to blogs.
Radio has given way to podcasts.
TV has given way to online video.
Websites and search engines have overtaken books.
Books have given way to Kindle.
It’s still about being the best person to answer questions, share useful information and teach people things they want to know. It’s content marketing 70’s style.
I no longer feel like a dinosaur. Well, I feel like a younger, hipper dinosaur.
This is the nearest Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World. It’s in Grapevine, Texas. They do retail right! I speak as a retail expert, not an outdoorsman.