The Hidden Factor That Sabotages Great Content
I came across a powerful question last year, “Who can’t I help?”
In other words, name the exact qualities that make a prospect a poor fit.
One factor immediately jumped out to me:
‘I can’t help someone who’d rather be invisible than be criticized.’
That came back to mind during a private mastermind at the BEATS event, when one of the speakers dropped this bit of wisdom:
‘I used to speak to the people in the audience with their arms folded. Trying to win them over. Seth Godin inspired me to stop speaking to them and only speak to the people leaning forward and engaging.’
If you lead, if you put your opinions into the world, if you create content in any way… you will be criticized. Sometimes unfairly.
But if you let it, fear of criticism will sabotage content in subtle ways:
Perfectionism
Changing tactics often
Watering down your message
Toning down your energy and personality
Fear of criticism is so intense for some that they reject any attempt to improve their content. They decide to just ‘Be Themselves’ and not worry about making their content more appealing. Being invisible becomes a hiding place from criticism, under the guise of authenticity.
So today I’m sharing 3 mindset shifts that can reverse your relationship with criticism and keep you from sabotaging your own content.
Give Yourself Permission to Be Imperfect…Especially on Video
The video medium…is less about the precise logical flow and it’s more about the relationship. - Mike Simonsen
It took a while for Mike to jump into video. But once he did, he found that he enjoyed it. He spoke to agents who shared his passion for the latest market data, and that attracted an audience of tens of thousands of agents.
Joshua Smith stripped down the production value of GSD Mode, showing up and being himself with very little editing, and was shocked that he didn’t get criticized.
“I just started getting on a mic, speaking into Zoom or StreamYard or whatever the platform is and realized that nobody cared. There was no difference in analytics. Nobody cared... They just cared about great content.” - Joshua Smith
On video, there’s an ideal we all aspire to.
Great eye contact with the camera, great energy and body language….AND delivering our content with perfect phrasing.
If you can do that for more than a couple sentences, you’re a rare talent.
When you avoid criticism, you tighten up.
You read from a script, rather than speaking naturally.
Your body language screams, ‘I’m uncomfortable!’
And the viewer agrees and clicks away.
So give yourself permission to focus on what matters more to viewers….energy, eye contact, being yourself, speaking to the people you want to reach. Even if it means your delivery isn’t perfect.
Give Yourself Permission to Be Different
‘I came out with essentially a message that was extremely authentic to me, but that was also the opposite of…what everyone has been saying in the real estate space for so many years. And so immediately I gained traction and got a lot of validation really early on by talking about things that other people would have possibly been afraid to.” - Jess Lenouvel
So much criticism is based on the simple fact that you stick out. You simply are different, or you do things differently from other leaders with similar businesses.
Maybe you’re an early adopter of tech, so you’re the ‘pioneer who gets the arrows in the back.’
Maybe you’re a real estate coach who’s more outspoken than other coaches.
Maybe you left a big organization to go independent.
I like how Jess Lenouvel approaches it:
“Cold traffic is a nasty place on the internet, right? But I think the comments are hilarious. So I’m going to do my version of Mean Tweets. I’m going to read them. I’m going to respond to them. I’m going to share…because I also think that there’s an element of permission that people are looking for.” - Jess Lenouvel
By laughing at her critics, Jess gives agents permission to do the same.
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Give Yourself Permission to Be Focused
Remember Clubhouse?
When the app took off, there was enormous pressure to join. At the time, I was co-hosting Real Estate Uncensored. Guests, friends, co-hosts…everyone in my world was raving about it.
I took a lot of heat for not jumping on the bandwagon. I didn’t think the platform would last and I wanted to stay focused.
Yet even if Clubhouse had lasted, I would have been happy with my decision.
Clubhouse would simply have been another option in a universe of marketing options. And I’ve given myself permission to be focused…even when it rubs people the wrong way. Even if others took that opportunity and succeeded.
One weird thing helped me…interviewing team leaders.
If you run a real estate team, you probably have 1-2 main pillars of lead gen. Maybe a 3rd, or something you’re experimenting with.
An expert or thought leader business is no different. We don’t need 15 lead gen pillars. We only need a couple that work.
When you give yourself permission to be imperfect, to be different, to be focused, you’re immunizing yourself against criticism. So it doesn’t drain you, distract you, and pull you off course.
Talk soon,
-Matt
Agency Founder & Author of MicroFamous
PS Here’s how we can help…
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We start every client engagement by developing your ‘Signature Talk’ - So you have a message you’re excited to take to stages, guest interviews and all your content.
Then we launch your flagship video show - supported by audio podcast and email newsletter, delivered with pro-quality and relentless consistency. We promote with short video clips and social posts on any platform where you’re active.
Each month we give you research-based video title and topic ideas, scripts, outlines, even slides. Plus all the support you need to stay consistent, from email updates to strategy calls.
So if you’re not putting out the quality of content…consistently…to become the thought leader you’re meant to be, let’s talk. Click here to learn more and schedule a Free Brainstorm Call.