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Hey guys, welcome back to Content is Profit. Today I have an interesting topic, one that made me so angry yesterday. Well, not so angry, but a little frustrated. And it's not the first time that this conversation happens with either somebody new into our process or somebody new asking about, you know, on the creation process. And probably you have been in this situation before and what am I going to say today? You might not agree with it, and that's totally okay. So we are entering the eternal fight of quality of the content. Enjoy. Okay, so yesterday I log into Slack and we have a message from one of our customers, which, by the way, we love and adore and respect and we've been working with them for a long time. But you know, the message that was there, personal things aside, was about some feedback on the production aspect, right? I'm, you know, like every production agency, we have customers that are very easygoing and then we have customers that provide a ton of feedback. And keep in mind, this was resolved, the team was on it, they got the product back and they loved it. So apart from that, you know, what I want to highlight is the situation that in general, you probably have lived either as a creator with your production team or as a production team with your creators. And the situation is there's a lot of feedback and revisions that come back, right? Like whenever you talk to a production team, that's probably the thing that they hate the most is like the quality of the content. So I want to, I want to start with this as in, like, the quality of the content is very subjective, right? It's very driven by personal opinion and references and things because I've been in this industry for now seven to eight years and we've seen everything from footage that is, you know, recorded in a little Handycam or maybe a very low quality webcam to very high quality 4K, you know, blackmagic type footage that is nice and crispy, right? So it's interesting because whenever we jump on conversations and people refer to us, hey, can you send me an example? Right? I personally dislike that question because yes, we can send you a ton of examples, but at the end of the day, the production team can create whatever you want, right? And keep in mind, like, if you are a creator and you're trying to hire somebody, start asking those questions, right? Of course we want to see examples of the work that they've done to have a reference. But normally the feedback and decision making that happens after they see some of that example is like maybe they didn't like the lighting or they didn't like maybe the conversation or maybe they didn't like the angle of the camera, you know, and those are the questions that we start, have to, we need to start digging into. But anyways, the eternal debate is like quality of the production versus quality of the message, right? Like what is quality content? And some people are going to lean into the production aspect, some people are going to lean into the messaging aspect. Like, and so I ask you if you're listening or if you're watching, what's quality content for you? To me there might be a mix of both of them, right? So when, you know, we try to create content back in the day and like before 2020, we've spent years, specifically three years trying to figure out like how to create that quality content. And for us quality content was all about the type of camera. So we invested in a ton of gear. We have this like DSLR cameras that we barely knew how to use. Then we have the dgi, like all these things to make it look nice. And when we hit record, we had no idea what we were going to say. We had no idea what we were saying. We had no idea how to frame a message. And probably to be honest, today still I still get comments like, man, you talk for like an hour and I didn't get, you know, information. Awesome. Very constructed criticism. So thank you for those sending that because I've been putting an effort to making this a little bit better. Also my way to create content consistently and low friction is kind of going off of my notes and going there. So how do we solve that issue initially where because we were so attached to the quality of the content, which by the way, I think a lot of people stop publishing because they don't seem the, they don't, they don't recognize their content as quality content and hence they don't publish. How do we solve that? In our specific case, we decided to go live and set aside the conversation that a nice looking piece of content, it's going to bring me customers. And we detach from that idea when we start investing in our message right on like what are we saying? So in today's video we're gonna go through like three ways on how to get better at your message. Specifically, you know, how do we broke that is because when we decided to go live with low friction, no quality, like from our phones in whatever place we were at, bad audio, good audio, didn't matter. We're like, the priority is to go consistent for 45 days. After 10 days we connected with incredible people and that Led to a seller, you know, of our service. We're like, oh, they saw our message, the heroes. It didn't really matter. Like, the lighting, the quality of the camera, like, it didn't really matter that what matter was what I was saying and the idea that I was sharing and my opinion, my knowledge. And that led to the conversation that led to the sale. So at that moment we're like, oh, this is, this is good. So we continue to do that, right? So with all the, you know, with all due respect, with, you know, quality content gets very subjective. Um, I'll say there's going to be some kind of content that you are going to resonate that you may be feeling proud to put out there, right? But if that is preventing you from putting your message out there and helping people, I think you should start to rethink the way that you approach this problem and be like, how can I get as close as possible there with the resources that I have today to be able to be frequent? So, you know, with that, we start with message. So how can we focus on messaging? There's three ways to actually get better at your messaging. So number one. Number one, and this is super important. We were in an interview the other day, and this was a question. And I think number one starts with a create, with the idea or the thought that you are a creator, like, you can create a beautiful message. That's going to help a ton of people, right? So a lot of business owners and people that we've seen in the studio come in and start a podcast. They come in and they don't really believe they're our content creator. They think, you know, I'm a business owner. Am I sharing this message? But we have to become a creator. We have to start thinking as a creator and that we're good on camera. We have to be looking at the camera, we have to be communicating with the camera, maybe flirting a little bit with the camera, wink, wink. But that, that belief is what's going to start and it's going to trigger the process so we can get better at our message, our sharing our ideas at doing that. So if you need some help, I highly encourage you. This is not a product like 45. Like, you can go live for 45 days. Start by sharing something that happened to you today in your day to day, and then attach that story with a lesson for your business and then invite people to connect with you. If you do it for about five days, you're gonna be able to see kind of like, what are your content pillars of what you continue to levitate to talk to. And this is gonna help you identify what's the low friction content for you. And of course there's different layers then of research and things and social media topics and trending things that you can layer on top of it to make it more relevant and hopefully help the platforms promote your content. If you're not quite there yet, no worries. I think by the time this episode goes live, you can go to our Facebook Group. Content is profit.com Come in, join. We're probably going to be in the middle of find your voice challenge, which is a 17 day challenge with a bunch of fun dares, so we can trigger that creation. So number one, believe that you're a creator. If you're listening to this, I am pretty sure we have this knocked out. But if we still having some identity crisis, just believe it. You'll be like, you are a creator, man. You are a creator. Your message is going to help a ton of people. Number two. Number two is we actually have to solve people problems, we actually have with our content. We have to be providing a solution for those that are coming into our channels, right? So hopefully for you, listening or watching content is profit. What I'm saying is making sense and it's making you move the needle forward. If it doesn't, please let me know because that's the feedback that we need to do that. So I a lot of this content in our specific case, we do it for ourselves too. There's a bunch of ideas we're documenting kind of like our day to day in the agency, our frameworks or things that we put it out. So it does help us a ton. But at the same time, if we want to get to more people, then we have to help them solve the problem. So in our specific case, podcast episodes that have been like very specific to us, solving one specific problem, which are normally these solo episodes, are normally gaining more traction with the people that listen to it. Right. If you have an interview show or if you have a conversational show with like between a few people, just keep in mind that it might not be as optimized for audience. Right. But the benefit to that which we've talked before is the connection that you have with that person and the relationship that you can develop for a B2B or a relationship that you can develop to move the business forward a little bit faster than if the audience kind of comes to you. So solve people problem. There's a great example of a physics professor. His name is Matt Anderson. I think by the time that we checked his channel, he had over 200,000 subscribers, right. And his last video was two years ago. He's physics professor and he stands behind like this transparent whiteboard and he teaches physics on that. That's it. It's one shot, right? And do that. And there's another example that we saw. I can't remember the name, but it was literally a chalkboard in the back right behind him. And he was talking to a camera almost like a zoom class. And he was doing that and he had millions and millions of views because he was solving the students problems, right? So as a creator, it's like, what is the problem that you solve and how you present it in in a good, frequent, consistent way. There's layers to the production aspect to is in like the base is like, our message has to be good. So. So, number one, I believe that you are a creator. Perfect. That's going to put you in position to be creative and figure out how to solve a problem in front of a camera, how to share those stories to get people to understand and stay with you. And the third one is be a student of your content. Like, how do we learn from the type of content that we put out there? So earlier I shared the fact that, you know, we get some comments. I got a comment, I think the other day, I think I was doing a rant in one of these episodes like, dude, you spoke for like 30 minutes and I didn't get any of that. Like, perfect. I welcome that. Also, maybe you're new to the podcast and this is the vehicle that we document, like raw, really, like what we're thinking and, and the things that we're putting out and sometimes we're wrong and that's okay. But at the same time, it's like, okay, I use that to be like, okay, how come? Maybe I have a little bit of a better structure in the content that we put out there every single week. So be a student of your content. Now, tactically, how can you do that? There's a couple of places that you can, that you can look at in your platforms, in your analytics to help you get better. So we're going to frame it in two sides. We're going to frame it one podcast, like audio podcast. So the Spotify is the Apple podcast, and then on YouTube, which by the way, still learning, right on our side or long form hasn't been the best, but it's okay. Our main platform is audio and we are open to this. So number one, right, for audio platforms, what we want to look at it and is kind of like how many people are listening to this? So Spotify now if you have, if you have your podcast on Spotify is giving you really, really good analytics. Is almost like the click through rate that YouTube has. They all show like this many people saw your episode and these many people started to listen to it. So that number right there, what we want to do is we want to try to increase it you for whatever. So look at it right now. I think it's like the creator portal the Spotify has. Go look at your show and see how many people are transferring on Apple podcasts is same thing like how many people, how many of the subscribers are listening to your podcast? If it's long form, right. We want to see, okay, what's the completion rate of my episode? I want to listen, I want to see from these people that are listening, how long do they listen for? So a 20% listen through rate. It might not be good if your average is about 60%. Right. It's like, okay, what happened there? Why do people are falling off? Maybe I ramble too much, right. And maybe the good, the meaty part of your episode is towards the end and you did not share any of that, you know, and at the beginning and you don't, you didn't hook them into the conversation. So how can we start improving base of that data on YouTube, very similar click through rate. So if your thumbnail or your headline lines are not the best, how can we get, you know, how can we get that click through rate to go higher every single time that we do that, right. And that comes with obviously thumbnail design and, and hooks into your episode. But then after that it's like, how long are people staying watching the video? 5%, 7%, you know, depends on how people consume the content. And for short form is a little bit different. So those are a few of the things that you can start doing and looking at your data to start collecting information and be like, okay, if people are watching about 50% of my episodes and they're an hour long, what happens if I actually do an episode that is 30 minutes? Put it out there, see what happens, right? Or if you want to stay within the hour, like how can I hook people at the beginning of the episode so they know that, you know, at the very end, maybe we have a special surprise or a bonus type of content that they can stay longer. Right? Like what are the solutions that we can come up and because you're a creator and you believe that you're a creator, you're going to come up with an awesome solutions. And because you're teaching people how to solve problems, then they're going to stay and listen and it's going to, you're going to get better over time. So I have a bonus for you. And this is a clip that I saw from. Maybe I'm saying it wrong, but Bing Huang Zhang on Instagram, which is Ask Vin. So at Askvin A S K V I N H this guy speaks. Speaks or teaches people on how to speak on stage, how to be better communicator. I think he's also a magician, but he's awesome. And he, he published this clip. It was like the five minute test. And he was like, okay, record yourself. Creating content, explaining this idea. And for him is a lot about the energy, the pacing, which I've been trying to work a little bit on my side. I know I speak too fast, but he teaches these people how to do this. And one of the things that he said was, okay, record yourself saying the thing that you want to say for about five minutes and then play it. Do you. Do not watch it. Just listen to it. And you're going to start finding moments where you can slow down or it might be better to say it in a different way or different tone and go up if I feel excited or go down or like go deep, who knows? But there's like all these things that you can start to listen and, and maybe if you feel a little awkward about him, maybe that's something that we need to work yourselves. So initially for me was I wasn't taking enough pauses. Sometimes I still do it. So whenever these, these episodes come out and I list to them as a podcast, I don't watch them on YouTube. I listen to them. I start finding still ways to be like, oh man, like I repeated that idea like three times. Or this can be better. And if we're conscious about it and because we're creators and we're helping people solve problems and we're improving in the feedback, I'm going to implement it on my next video or my next piece of content and I'm going to become better and better at this. And the, the quality of the message is going to become better and it's going to overrun the quality of the production. Once that's done and we continue to work on this, on our message, then we can start putting resources into the production and kind of get creative on how we present that idea. So I hope today was useful. Maybe at the beginning I ramble a little bit. I was really mad yesterday but not anymore. Gave me the topic for for the episode today and I hope this move the needle forward for you. So have you encountered something like this? Are you super fixated in the quality as in production value right versus your message? Let me know this resonate with you? Do you agree with me? Do you disagree with me? Put it in the comments right below. Send me a DM at Bees. Roscoe, Come join us in our Facebook group Content is profit. We are running the find your voice challenge and something really cool is going to happen at the end of this. So anyways, I'm excited. Thank you so much for listening and I'll see you soon. Take care.
Content Is Profit - Episode Summary
Episode Title: Are You Obsessing Over Production and Neglecting This Crucial Element?
Release Date: May 15, 2025
Host: BIZBROS
In this insightful episode of Content Is Profit, hosted by BIZBROS, the discussion centers around a prevalent issue in content creation: the balance between production quality and the effectiveness of the core message. The host shares personal frustrations and experiences to highlight why focusing solely on high production values can hinder the actual purpose of content creation—delivering valuable messages that resonate with the audience.
At the outset, the host expresses frustration over customer feedback regarding production quality:
"The quality of the content is very subjective, right? It's very driven by personal opinion and references." ([00:45])
He emphasizes that perceptions of quality vary widely among audiences, making it challenging to meet diverse expectations. High production quality doesn't necessarily equate to impactful content if the message doesn't engage the audience.
The core of the episode delves into the age-old debate:
"The eternal debate is like quality of the production versus quality of the message, right?" ([04:20])
Some creators prioritize sleek visuals and advanced equipment, believing that superior production will attract and retain viewers. Others argue that a compelling message is paramount, regardless of production aesthetics. The host advocates for a balanced approach but warns against letting production obsessions overshadow the message itself.
Reflecting on his own journey, the host shares insights from his early days:
"Before 2020, we've spent years, specifically three years trying to figure out like how to create that quality content. And for us, quality content was all about the type of camera." ([08:10])
Despite investing in expensive gear, he admits that their initial content lacked clear messaging:
"When we hit record, we had no idea what we were going to say. We had no idea how to frame a message." ([10:05])
This realization led to a pivot in strategy—from focusing on production to honing the message.
To overcome the paralysis caused by perfectionism in production, the host explains their strategic shift:
"We decided to go live and set aside the conversation that a nice looking piece of content, it's going to bring me customers. And we detach from that idea when we start investing in our message." ([12:30])
By embracing lower production standards, they prioritized consistency and message clarity, which ultimately led to increased engagement and sales:
"They saw our message... it didn't really matter like, the lighting, the quality of the camera, like, it didn't really matter." ([15:45])
The host outlines three key strategies to improve messaging:
Believe You’re a Creator
"We have to become a creator. We have to start thinking as a creator and that we're good on camera." ([18:20])
Adopting a creator mindset is essential. This involves building confidence in delivering messages effectively, even without high-end production tools.
Solve People’s Problems
"We actually have to solve people problems with our content." ([22:10])
Content should address specific issues or questions that your audience faces. By providing tangible solutions, you increase the value and relevance of your content.
Be a Student of Your Content
"Be a student of your content." ([26:35])
Continuously analyze and learn from your content's performance. Use feedback and analytics to refine your approach, ensuring that your messaging remains effective and engaging.
The host discusses the importance of utilizing platform analytics to gauge content performance:
"For audio platforms, what we want to look at is how many people are listening to this." ([30:00])
By monitoring metrics such as listener retention and click-through rates, creators can identify what works and what doesn’t, allowing for data-driven adjustments to content strategy.
Sharing advice from Bing Huang Zhang, the host recommends practicing self-review:
"Record yourself saying the thing that you want to say for about five minutes and then play it. Do not watch it. Just listen to it." ([34:50])
This exercise helps identify areas for improvement in pacing, tone, and clarity, ultimately enhancing the delivery of your message.
Wrapping up, the host reiterates the importance of prioritizing message quality over production aesthetics:
"Focus on message first, then enhance production." ([38:15])
He encourages creators to join their Facebook group, participate in the "Find Your Voice Challenge," and engage with the community to further develop their content creation skills.
On the Subjectivity of Quality:
"The quality of the content is very subjective, right? It's very driven by personal opinion and references." ([00:45])
On Becoming a Creator:
"We have to become a creator. We have to start thinking as a creator and that we're good on camera." ([18:20])
On Solving Problems:
"We actually have to solve people problems with our content." ([22:10])
On Being a Student of Your Content:
"Be a student of your content." ([26:35])
On Improving Communication:
"Record yourself saying the thing that you want to say for about five minutes and then play it. Do not watch it. Just listen to it." ([34:50])
This episode of Content Is Profit serves as a crucial reminder for creators to balance production quality with the core message. By focusing on delivering value through clear and consistent messaging, creators can build a loyal audience and drive revenue more effectively than relying solely on high production standards.
Join the Conversation:
Have you found yourself fixating on production quality at the expense of your message? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below or join the Content Is Profit Facebook Group to participate in the "Find Your Voice Challenge" and connect with fellow creators.