Huge credits to Sam Julien for this amazing talk on the 5th of April! Check out his website here. This article will cover most of the points mentioned in this session! I hope that it benefits those that did not have the chance to join Hashnode Bootcamp Batch lll.

Article Outline

• General tips for shipping articles faster
• Building a system for content creation
• Creation phase
• Post-publication phase
• Recap
• Conclusion
• Resources from the session

General tips for shipping articles faster

1. Do not fall for the "Ultimate Guide" Trap. This trap occurs when your motivation spikes on a random day. During that day, you decided: "I am going to start blogging and write this super complicated article!" As a result, no matter if you ship it or abandon it, you will be exhausted mentally and physically. Moving forward, it will be hard to build consistent content. Instead, try to aim for consistent small wins!
2. How do you consistently make good content without burning out? This is the question most of us are clueless about when creating content. As content creators/writers, it is always overwhelming to know what to create or write. Drafts after drafts sitting there waiting for you to complete, but the list just keeps going on as you put in new ideas. In the long run, this will form a never-ending cycle exhausting you mentally and physically. Therefore, do not think of content (or any skills you are building) as a dictionary to memorize. Have a mindset of an explorer. In games, when you explore maps, you do not always see the whole story at once. You would have to go through bosses and solve challenges. This applies to content creation too! You will not know which article would have a high engagement rate or vice versa. Keep writing and explore your niche!
3. Do not wander aimlessly as you make less progress. This is because you are programmed to seek comfort and familiarity. Comfort is the enemy of growth, but do not neglect taking care of yourself. Be as effective as you can be to work on your content whenever you have time.

   "Chase what you want, don't take what you can"

4. "Heavy lift" vs "Slow burn"? Choose slow burn. Do not "heavy lift" your way during content creation. Do research, link up the content bits by bits, and produce your article in a more manageable way.
5. 700 to 1000 words best for SEO.
6. What causes us to grow? Action + Speed + Feedback = Growth or doing challenging things quickly and getting feedback. Let us split this into two parts.

   When you do challenging things quickly, it must be:

   • Production-focused (Focus on results)
   • Trackable (build websites or write articles, instead of improving writing skills as you can see the progress)
   • Measurable (See the traffic to your content and the engagement rate)

     When Getting feedback:

   • Does this work (Measure impact from feedback)
   • Learning in groups (Specified group of audiences)
   • Learning in public (Publicly on social media)

System Building

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
-James Clear, Atomic Habits

Creating content is hard. Especially when your motivation is at an all-time low. The Gartner Hype Cycle below represents exactly how your motivation and excitement are in the process. You get a burst of motivation, and it fades quickly when you start to put in the work. Thus, you will have to find a way to get you back on the "Slope of enlightenment". Therefore, when motivations are low, you should have an alternative to depend on writing articles consistently. Example of building a content system (You can create your own system that is small but complete for creating content)

1. Draft (Gathering notes, Creating an outline, Research)
2. Create (Writing, Adding images)
3. Publish (Publish on-site, cross-post on different platforms)
4. Promote (Twitter threads, forums, chat groups)
5. Garden/Maintain (Update when necessary & correct cross-links)

To build an effective system, divide the process into two: The Creation Phase & the Post-publishing phase.

Creation Phase

Three tools:

• Scratchpad
• Task manager
• Knowledge base

Breakdown of each tool:

• Scratchpad is a tool where you can jot down your ideas when they come across your mind. Examples are Notepad++, Google Docs, Drafts. Look for speed, ease of use, and the ability to export.
• Task manager allows you to ship things faster by determining the next action and context for a project. Examples are Omnifocus & Things. Find something that works with your brains and can add context/tags.
• Knowledge base slow burns your drafts and links your ideas together. Examples are Evernote, roam, notion, obsidian. Look for cross-linking, collections and has multimedia)

Three tips for the creation phase:

1. In the beginning, move fast to define your process. Do Tiny experiments: run small articles through the whole process.
2. Start with what you know. Isolate learning and shipping.

Use The Today I learned (TIL) format

1. Intro with 2 or 3 sentences describing the problem you had
2. A few sentences describing the solution
3. FInal solution: finish code to copy and paste
4. 1 or 2 sentences to recap the problems and solutions with a link to your Twitter or a shoutout to subscribe to your newsletter

1. Don't over-engineer too quickly.

"It's not a failure, it's a test! Learn from failure and adjust accordingly."

Post-publication Phase

1. Every piece of content has a price tag. Plan to spend equal time promoting and maintaining.
2. Provide direct value on each platform. What are people looking for? What is their frame of mind? How can you provide value on the spot?
3. Be patient. It takes time! Sometimes you get popularity, sometimes not. Be consistent!

Recap

• The need for consistency
• Think like an explorer
• Systems > Motivation
• Action + speed + feedback = growth)
• Tools ( Scratchpad, Knowledge Base, Task Manager)

Creation phase

• Move fast and scope small
• Start with what you know(writing and creating content)
• Do not over-engineer too fast

Post-publication phase

• All content has a price tag
• Provide direct value
• Be patient

Conclusion

Overall, it was a really informational session and motivated me to continue writing in the right way! I hope that you have learned a thing or two regarding content creation and shipping articles faster!

Resources from this session

• auth0 ambassador program
• Best Marketing Examples
• List of platforms that pay you to write

Thank You for Reading

Don't forget to leave a reaction to boost this article! Do note that this article is in my series for Hashnode Bootcamp batch lll! Subscribe to my newsletter or follow me to get notified when I post new articles.🥳Share this with your friends that are creating content too!

Do leave a comment below if I missed out on anything or some feedbacks!