Content Creation For Introverts

You don’t have to be everywhere at once, doing everything and meeting everyone

Image by thatsphotography from Pixabay

The main focus of the last quarter for me has been a total revamp of my content strategy. I quit my blogs and switched my focus to just three main platforms. I had my doubts but I don’t regret it. In fact it’s going better than I expected.

After years of blogging on Wordpress (in three different niches) I've realised that trying to build an audience (or three different audiences) as a traditional blogger requires you to be in a lot of different places online, doing everything and meeting everyone, which for me feels like the equivalent of being a total party animal, socially speaking.

I’m not a party animal. I'm a bit of an introvert.  I do like people, just not constant and varied socialising. The core platforms for my content are now Medium and Substack, both of which feel like communities where I can connect with people in a more laid-back, natural, authentic way.

I feel like I’m now a member of two fairly exclusive clubs full of like-minded people, rather than a member of a wild party scene. It just suits me better.

I have other platforms to manage. I’m on Gumroad, and Kofi and Amazon (as an author and an affiliate/influencer. I still have a presence on the major social networks. But I’m now almost 100% focused on content creation, not content promotion, and it just feels right.

Quite apart from the overwhelming Wordpress backend maintenance (which used to drive me insane) just a few things that I don’t have to do anymore include:

• Extensive networking in Facebook groups and other online communities

• Constantly trying to build relationships with others in my niche so we can collaborate and support each other

• Replying to contact form email (which is 99% spam or people selling me wildly inappropriate stuff)

• Being super bubbly and attention grabbing on social media (which I never actually pulled off anyway, to be fair)

I don’t miss any of it. What I do now is create high-quality content and publish it. Yes, I do spend time reading and engaging on my two main platforms (Medium and Substack) now, but that happens in a natural and authentic way because, as I’ve mentioned, I’m now among like-minded people so the absorption and discussion of ideas comes easily, and is enjoyable.

I find that on Substack, as on Medium, my audience is pretty much building itself.

If you’re an introvert blogger who’s not enjoying the networking side of things, check out my articles about why (and how) I quit, and how it’s been going.

Let me know if this is something that you think might work for you, or if you’re still loving your more traditional blogging and content outreach model. Both are valid decisions. Both are of interest to me. I love hearing your thoughts.

Some thoughts from others I’ve been enjoying this week

• From $147 in My Account to $1,500,000 Writing Online: My Twisted Path to Building a Full-Time Business by David McIlroy &

  Ayodeji

• To Fix Your Writing, You Have To Fix Your Mindset First (Identity, Vision & Value) by

  Veronica Llorca-Smith

• How To Actually Make Money Freelance Writing as Beginner in 2024 by

  Kristina God

• Cultivating a Positive and Resilient Mindset for Writing by

  Susie Winfield

• A Basic Framework To Grow An Author Platform and Sell Your Books by

  J.R. Heimbigner

• 5 ways to make it painful to give up your consistent writing habit by

  Alex Mathers

• Does Boost (and Medium) Sometimes Get It Wrong? by

  Linda Caroll

What else I’ve been up to this week

Reading: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (can’t believe I’ve never read it before)

Listening to: The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure by Grant Cardone (got it free with Audible - finding it a little too ‘hustle culture’ for my tastes if I’m honest)

Enjoying: Sea swimming

Not enjoying: Getting out of the sea

This week’s Medium post

(Friend link, of course, so you can read for free):

• All the Things That Made Me Money in the First Half Of 2024

That’s all for this week. If you’re reading this online, feel free to subscribe to get future posts straight to your inbox.

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