I ran a poll and there were no surprises about what type of content is your favourite to create.
Of the 4 types in the Content Matrix, “TEACH” is our fave!
I get it.
It’s where we feel most safe and comfortable!
I am the same and gravitate to this TEACH quadrant too.
Just remember, if we only publish “teach” content, people might think we know what we’re talking about but we are leaving a lot on the table…
we don’t give them a chance to get to know us
we deprive them of a chance to like us!
and we inadvertantly position ourselves in the “free education” category which isn’t exactly great for revenue — especially when there are literally millions of other free education options on YouTube and Google.
For a well-rounded content plan, we need more than just “TEACH”
We need “SHARE” content so people can build a personal connection with us (and like us).
We need “SHOW” content so people know our stuff works and get results.
We need “OFFERS” so people can take the next step with us.
Each year I write a post reflecting on the major milestones, things I’m proud of and things that could’ve gone better. Following the lead of Noah Kagan and Seth Godin I take an annual look at what ‘I have shipped’.
I do this activity as a reference for myself, and if other people find it interesting or useful, even better.
In 2023, I’ve decided to look at what has had the most impact in terms of my family, business and life in general.
Family:
It was a year of lows and highs. In March, we lost a baby girl at 20 weeks of the pregnancy. My wife, Lou, still had to give birth to her and we got to spend a few hours with her before saying goodbye. We gave her an angel name; Elita – meaning chosen one. It was an emotional experience and one I was determined would make me stronger.
It was a catalyst for us to fast track our move to the Sunshine Coast and begin a new chapter up here with Lola and Poppi our cavoodle.
The silver lining is that we’ve now fallen pregnant again and we’re expecting a baby boy this year. Our 2yo Lola is a treat and has kept us smiling and on our toes this whole time.
We’re also making sure to appreciate that this is the ‘last time’ we’ll have just Lola around before her brother arrives and completes the family. I’m very grateful and have nothing but admiration for my wife’s strength through all this.
Personal:
The main win here was the identity shift from ‘getting fit’ to ‘being fit’. This very small change in mindset made a massive difference. Instead of fluctuating and yo-yo’ing once ‘I got fit’, I’ve been able to simply ‘be fit.’
The biggest single milestone was going alcohol-free for 12 months. It began as an open-ended experiment on Christmas Day and it ended up going beyond a full year. Who knows if I’ll take it further but life has certainly been easier, more fun and more energising going AF.
2023 also marked the second full year of consistent weights training. I’ve got progressively stronger in all areas, and hit PBs in most testing weeks. Body fat has remained fairly consistent in the 15%-20% range.
A huge benefit of moving to the Sunshine Coast has been the proximity to the surf. I’ve got a group of surfing mates here, and life is great when I start the day with a surf.
I also ticked off a bucket list item which was doing the run leg of the Noosa Tri. I did 49:40min for the 10km run. During the year I also did the Noosa 1000 and Noosa 5km swims.
Health:
My mate Greg Cassar recommended a book called Lifespan by Aussie scientist and Harvard researcher, Dr David Sinclair. His book and research focuses on increasing the number of ‘good years’ in your life where you have enough health and vitality to enjoy it.
My takeaways from his book are that the Big 3 (sleep, nutrition/food and exercise) will have ~90% of the impact on your health now, and into the future.
1. Sleep: ie how you rest your body – I try to get 7-8 hours sleep.
2. Nutrition/Food: ie. what you put into your body (and when) – eat less and less often. I typically do intermittent fasting (or time restricted eating) each day (18:6) with a 3-5 day fast each quarter to reset.
3. Exercise: ie. how you move your body. I try to move everyday and do resistance training to maintain muscle. I’ve been going to the gym 5-6x a week, with a rest day on Sunday.
The fact that these 3 things will move the needle the most, is encouraging as it makes sense.
My interpretation is the extra ~10% seem to come from additional things like supplements and stressors like cold and heat exposure.
I take a combo of supplements that include MNM, resveratrol and spermidine.
I also have a chest freezer/ ice bath set up at home and do about 3-5 ice baths a week for 2-5 mins duration. Where possible I’ll went for an infrared sauna although it was only a handful of times.
I like to geek out on these things and I choose to believe they work.
However for the record, I’ve noticed that for every expert who advocates for one thing whether it’s a supplement, fasting, ice baths, or whatever there will be another health guru who will tell you it does nothing or is bad for you.
Have you noticed the same?
Work:
My business, Bluewire Media, was in its 18th year. It’s had many iterations since my friend and cofounder Toby and I were pounding the pavement in 2005 selling websites. My focus now is marketing coaching and I continue to love every minute of what I do at Bluewire. Whilst I enjoy travelling for the odd keynote presentation, I really like being at the home studio with the family.
Whilst Toby has officially left the company, I have a great team of people around me who help behind the scenes.
ChatGPT and AI was the major game-changer this year, both for me and my coaching clients. What used to take clients 3-6 months, we can now get done in a matter of hours. AI will continue to be a focus of mine.
I started working with a new business coach in 2023. I’ve always admired Troy Dean for what he’s done with his own business and also how he markets and conducts himself personally. He’s already helped me take Bluewire to a new level, and this year will continue to see breakthroughs.
In my volunteer role with the BGSOBA, I was excited to help deliver a sold-out BGS Sportsman’s Lunch in Brisbane, as well as helping on the comms side of things, by managing the private Facebook group of 3,200 members and writing the OBA newsletter to 7,000 Old Boys.
There you have it. It’s a more thorough report that I’ve done in the past.
“One of the concepts I covered in this week’s AI Content Blueprint workshop was the 4 types of content to win the hearts and minds of your clients.
It’s important to have the right mix of Share, Show, Teach and Offer content.
‘Share’ content gives people an insight into you as a person, ie. the real you. It might be your personal story, a glimpse behind the scenes or your philosophy, beliefs or values. It is designed to build a strong personal connection with you. Most business owners neglect this type of content because ‘who wants to know about me?’, but the reality is clients buy from people they like and whose values are aligned to theirs.
‘Show’ content demonstrates that you can actually deliver results. You could show case studies, testimonials, awards, accolades, press or praise. It proves you can walk the talk. Many business owners who err on the humble side neglect to showcase their own accomplishments or their clients’ wins. However the reality is clients will only engage you if they believe you’ll achieve results.
‘Teach’ content adds genuine value and demonstrates your expertise. This usually takes the form of helpful tips, essays, insights, lessons, and tutorials. You’d typically teach the why, the what and some of the how. The majority of business owners are most comfortable with this type of content. However if you overdo it, and neglect the other types, you run the risk of being just another knowledgable person, without any real point of difference.
‘Offer’ content is about inviting people to take action and take the next step. It can be an invite to join a workshop or download some flagship content, or an offer to book a conversation or make a purchase. Many business owners become timid here because they fear it is ‘salesy’ but the reality is you need to make offers to help your clients. I like to frame it as ‘inviting’ people as opposed to ‘asking’ or ‘selling’. Here is a Content Matrix diagram that shows you mix of 4 types of content.
This was just one of the areas we covered.
If you’d like to purchase the recording of the AI Content Blueprint workshop, it’s available now for $97 USD.
You’ll learn:
the 4 types of content you need to publish to win the hearts and minds of your ideal clients.
a practical Content Matrix Template that will allow you to brainstorm enough content ideas for 6 months.
how to uncover the perfect Content Cadence for your business.
the process to map out your ideas into a Content Marketing Calendar — that is both structured and flexible.
how to leverage ChatGPT as your first port of call for your content marketing activities.
the best AI tools to accelerate your output.
Here’s what clients and guests had to say: “Adam has expert-level knowledge and delivers it in an engaging and practical way. Highly recommend.” ~ Richard T
“Incredibly helpful information shared in an easy to digest presentation. Excited to see the impact to my business in following the insights and tools!” ~Stacie
“Just participated in a webinar with Adam, very clear and concise and practical. Gave ideas and structure for content for next 6 months to 12 months, that you can start on straight away!” ~Noelle
PS. When you’re ready, here are 5 ways help consultants & advisors grow:
This week, I had the chance to deliver a 5-minute talk at a Peer Mastermind on the Gold Coast.
The topic: “What’s been working well for me this year?”.
The Peer Mastermind crew
Here’s the 5 things I shared.
A Shift in Identity
A small change in my identity has had a significant impact in the last year.I shifted my long-held mindset of “getting fit” simply to “being fit”.
That subtle change has had a significant impact when it comes to maintaining a regular habit of training, resting and eating well.
Whereas I used to fluctuate and yo-yo after I ‘got fit’, now I just do it consistently because that’s ‘who I am’.
It’s a non-negotiable part of my life and it’s easy and enjoyable.
It’s definitely had a positive impact on nearly every aspect of my life and business, and the effects of these ‘1% habits’ seem to be compounding.
Designing my Day
One exercise that has been useful for me is designing my ideal day.
This is a work in progress and will naturally evolve, but for me right now, it looks like this:
A dawn surf
Unstructured play with my daughter in the morning.
Start work at 9:30 am.
Have a swim with my daughter after her sleep
Finish work by 4 pm, and go for a gym session.
And finally, unwind with some quality family time before an early night.
My 5 minute talk
Recognising Constraints and Prioritising
By recognising the constraints of my day, I’ve been forced to decide what’s most important with work, what can be delegated and what can be cut out entirely.
I feel it’s made my business simpler, and it forces me to focus.
Eliminating Habits On the flip side of the ‘1% habits’ coin, I’ve also asked: “What can I try cutting from my life that doesn’t serve me anymore or just isn’t as important as the rest?”
One standout was alcohol.
It was something I could easily do without, and its absence would no doubt make me feel and perform better.
I’m now 10 months into an alcohol-free experiment, and I’m stress-free, calm and have much more energy. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything.
One final mindset shift
“Living in the Gain, not the Gap” is a concept from Dan Sullivan. It has been a game-changer.
It’s about appreciating the progress rather than dwelling on where you feel you could or should be.
Again it’s very simple, but high-impact.
Two Books Two reads that have changed my perspective this year are:
“10X is Easier than 2X” by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy. It challenges conventional thinking and pushes for exponential growth.
“Atomic Habits” by James Clear. It’s deep dive into the power of habits and how tiny changes can lead to remarkable results.
This year has been about intentional living, focusing on my priorities, and aligning actions with my identity.
So far it seems to be working.
Does any of that resonate with you?
Let me know.
Cheers, Ads
PS. When you’re ready, here are 5 ways help consultants & advisors grow:
“I don’t want to disturb people”…. Can you relate?
A lot of the conversations that I’ve been having with clients in my coaching program have revolved around this notion when it comes to marketing, that “I don’t want to disturb people.”
I’m sure that many of us can relate to this because why would we want to disturb people? Right?
But it’s quite a limiting belief if you view it that way.
And what I want to talk to you about now is just reframing that concept of “I don’t want to disturb people” to… “people actually want to follow somebody who they know, like, and trust.”
When you are that person, you’re not disturbing them at all.
You are showing up at the right time. You are often showing up before they need you, and you are helping guide them on the journey.
Whatever that outcome is that you and your business can help them achieve, you are wanting to find people who are going on that journey and who want to get to that outcome because those are the people that are crying out for someone to lead the way and guide them through it.
When you think about it, you don’t need a lot of people.
Most people, if they had a dozen new clients, then that’s a complete game changer for their business.
Now I’m talking typically professional services and high-value engagements, but a dozen new clients is a game changer for most people.
You don’t need a lot of people to achieve this.
There are a certain number of people that need to know who we are.
Currently, they might be strangers, so we need to introduce ourselves to them so that they know us.
Then we just need to nurture them through this know, like, and trust process.
Of course, some of the people that you introduce yourself to aren’t necessarily going gel with you or they’re not going to like you, or they’re not going to be aligned to your core values.
That’s okay.
But there are going to be a lot of people who are.
They will move into this ‘like’ phase, and then some of them over time are going to ‘trust’ you because you’ve been there holding their hand through the journey.
Then of course, some of them are going to want your actual help and will engage you at the end of the day.
To get the Dream Dozen clients, we’re not talking about having tens of thousands of connections.
We’re not talking about being an influencer and putting your face all, all over social media and running all these ads and all this kind of stuff.
We’re looking to find people that are going on this journey, who want the outcome that you can help them achieve. We just need to find a few hundred people like that because as they go through this journey, they’re going to get to know, like, and trust you and they’ll become your clients.
I’m talking about this more and more in terms of the process to get your Dream Dozen clients.
If a dozen new clients would be a game changer for your business, pay attention to the material that I’ll be putting out.
Recently, I asked a question of readers of this newsletter & my LinkedIn connections:
“Have you ever received a negative comment on social media?”
The results are in.
Negative comments happen a lot.
And if you’re in the “It’s Not Happened Yet” category it’s probably just a matter of time until it does. In my own experience, I’ve seen a negative comment land someone in jail for a night (true story!)
And on a separate occasion I saw the removal of an inappropriate comment get the group administrator named in the local newspaper (…this happened to me)!
Luckily there were plans in place before these events unfolded. The worst time to be formulating a plan to respond to a crisis is in the heat of the moment.
The best time to plan is before anything happens and you have a calm mind! So to the people who voted in my LinkedIn poll, I offered my Negative Comments Response Template (PDF).
PS. When you’re ready, here are 6 ways we help consultants & advisors grow:
1. Web Strategy Planning Template (PDF). Our flagship 1-page tool we co-created with David Meerman Scott. It’s been downloaded over 1 million times and featured on Forbes.
I’ve only just scratched the surface… but what I love so far is:
AI transcribes the video and gives you a transcript.
You can use this to create captions — which great for LinkedIn, YouTube and social media videos! And of course you can use the transcript to form a written article.
If you stumble on your words or do any ‘ums’ or ‘ahhs’ you can simply edit out those words from the transcript and the video will trim accordingly.
You can add overlays like your company logo or a name tag.
Even just those features alone make it a no-brainer, especially given you can all this on the free version!
That said, some features I’m keen to play around with include:
you can train the AI to speak in your voice — so if you forget a line or want to re-do a section, you can type in what you forgot and it will dub it into your video, in your own voice!
no need for a green screen — the AI will crop out your background, so you can add in whatever you like instead.
Let’s talk about how content on platforms like LinkedIn should be driving you towards commercial outcomes.
When I did a poll of my LinkedIn connections recently, 51% of respondents said that content was the key driver of their business growth on LinkedIn.
Now I want to show you how you can amplify that and maximise the content that you are publishing because it is a popular topic in my LinkedIn workshops and also the coaching conversations I have had with clients recently.
Content publishing is absolutely fantastic because it keeps you top of mind. It keeps you visible and it helps build up the know, like, and trust factor.
But content on its own won’t contribute to the commercial outcomes as quickly and reliably if you just do it on its own. So let me share with you what I suggest doing in tandem with your content.
So there’s two things to consider here.
The first is, I guess there’s content which is above the surface. So everybody, well, not everybody, but a lot of people in your network will see it. You might have hundreds or thousands of impressions or views on a piece of content, and that’s great.
But also you’ve got to consider what happens under the radar that no one else sees, and that’s your private messages.
We want to be doing both – content & DMs.
Also keep in mind that I think the reason why content is so popular and why content is something that people want to learn more about, is because 99% of people on LinkedIn in particular are lurkers.
They’re actively paying attention, they’re logging in frequently. They’re viewing it on their phone or their computer. They’re observing and consuming the content, but they themselves aren’t actually actively publishing any content.
The recent studies that I saw, I think, there was over 800 million users on LinkedIn, and yet only 3 million people actively published content.
So what this means is it’s a huge, huge, huge opportunity to rise above everybody else and be visible.
Less than 1% of people are publishing content, which means it’s a huge opportunity for you.
Now, what we need to do back to this diagram, what we want to do is consider that content’s above the surface, DMs, private messages, direct messages, whatever you want to call them, are under the surface, under the radar.
So content is great, lots of people are going to see it, and now the opportunity lies with engaging with people that like your content that vote in a poll or that leave a comment and starting a private conversation with them because that brings you under the radar into the private or direct messages where the commercial outcomes typically stem from.
5 Step Nurture System
If you are familiar with my 5 Step Nurture System, you will know there’s 5 stages:
1. Connect, 2. Start a conversation 3. Gauge whether they’re interested 4. Have a hand-raiser type question (aka ‘Shake the tree’), and then when they respond favourably to that 5. Book in a sales call.
So these are the five stages we want to be nurturing people through.
And the best way to see who is the most interested is to be publishing content. And then those people that engage with that content, then we move them down under the surface, under the radar. Into a private message or a conversation. Team, I hope that helps.
That is something that when you do the two in tandem content plus the private messages, that’s when we can really start to not only build trust at scale, but also fill the pipeline with qualified, interested people that actually know like, and trust you.
I wasn’t going to share this story outside of my coaching group but one of my clients said “Adam, you should.”
“If it means one more person realises ‘this is a thing’ and does it, then it will be worth it.”
This story is totally unrelated to marketing — but it is ALL about marketing.
So here we are.
I’m in hospital as I write this to you because I’m a bone marrow match with a recipient who needs a transfer.
As the donor, I have started daily injections to boost my bone marrow stem cell production.
In 5 days we’ll do the actual extraction/donation and it will be sent off to the recipient.
I’ve been on the bone marrow donor registry for a few years now.
Why? Because I was asked to. Simple as that.
Of course I said yes because I knew it could help someone who needs it, but it started with a question.
My journey actually started way earlier.
Half a lifetime ago, I got in the habit of giving blood when the Red Cross Blood Bank van came onto the university campus every 3 months.
Volunteers stood outside the van and asked the question, “would you like to donate blood today?”
I said “yeah, sure.”
After years of regular donations, a nurse asked me “would you like to donate plasma as well?”
I said “yes, sure”.
Years later again, a nurses asked me “would you like go on the bone marrow registry?”
I said “yes, sure”.
When I matched with a recipient, they asked “would you like to proceed with the bone marrow donation?”
I said “of course”.
Each time, it started with a simple question.
I didn’t actively seek them out and insist on donating blood, plasma or bone marrow.
However because they asked a simple question, it started a conversation which lead to a successful outcome for both of us.
I presume you can see the similarities with what you’re doing with you marketing and lead gen.
If you don’t ask the question, your clients can’t say yes.
In a few days I’ll ask you the question if you’d like to know about my new course. It’s the DIY version of my coaching program — keep an eye on your inbox.
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PS. Some marketers might be reading this thinking… you could’ve got a way higher click rate if you’d used the Title: I’m in hospitalbut I think you’d agree, that’s not my style.
