The 4 Reasons People Read Your Stuff
And how you can use them to grow your audience 10x faster.
As of today, I…
- did 31 podcast episodes about creating
- wrote 38,786 words of a book on creating
- interviewed ~75 top 1% creators
- coached hundreds of smaller creators
- built a community to turn amateur creators into professionals
I ask the same question to creators of all shapes and sizes.
What do you create and who is it for? 🎨
It’s the simplest and hardest question to answer for creators who haven’t taken off yet.
What’s your niche? What’s your style? What sets you apart?
In short: Why would someone read / listen to / watch your stuff?
There are four reasons.
Understanding each will make your content sharper and make reaching your #1 fans easier.
Let’s go through them one by one.
1) Search
Search = a solution to a temporary problem.
We search for quick answers to questions or step-by-step guides to fix something.
What’s the capital of Cyprus?
How to change a flat tire.
How do I end my loneliness and crippling insecurity?
You know, the simple stuff. 😊
Search is an excellent way to get clicks but not great for getting true fans to stick around.
For example…
5.5 million people watched this YouTube video on how to change a flat tire. But the channel only has 19,000 subscribers.
That’s nothing compared to the number of viewers.
People just want their tires changed; they’re not itching for the next America Drivers Ed video.
Search can be a great way to get started and get noticed if you have expertise in an area. Videos that successfully solve a temporary problem go super viral.
But once that problem is solved, most readers / listeners / viewers won’t return to your stuff until they have that same problem in the future.
Which brings us to…
2) Education
Education = solutions to ongoing problems.
How to get fit.
Growing your business.
How to get women to acknowledge you exist.
None of these problems are solved in a day. They require consistent action and experimentation, and can take months or years to “solve.”
My current favorite Education creators are:
- Alex Hormozi — His podcast and YouTube channel inspire and teach me how to make my business better.
- Steph Smith — Her book Doing Content Right changed the way I write blogs and took me from 100 to 1,000 newsletter subscribers.
- Eric Rosen — His videos level up my chess game.
I return to these creators again and again so I can continue refining my craft.
Business. Writing. Chess. These games are never-ending.
Education content is one of the best ways to build an army of true fans. But it requires genuine expertise in a subject.
I see many creators trying to be experts when they have no idea what they’re talking about. In the words of Uncle Alex…
I did this.
My blog started with me “teaching” people how to live happier, healthier, and wealthier lives.
Meanwhile I was living at my mom’s house, waiting tables at the Cheesecake Factory, and drowning in a mountain of debt.
Trust me, I’m an expert. 🥸
All I did was regurgitate ideas from writers and podcasters who had real stories and experience to share. I wanted to be seen as an expert instead of just doing cool shit and sharing my lessons.
If you want to make Education content but you don’t have any expertise…make “How I” content, not “How to” content.
Do interesting things and document the steps you take, the mistakes you make, and the gold nuggets you learn. 🏅
A Grindstone creator recently made a video about how he quit smoking weed after doing it every day for years. He titled it “How to Quit Weed.”
I suggested he change the title to make it more personal than preachy.
He switched it to “I Smoked Weed Every Day For Years — How I Quit Easily.”
Same content. Same takeaways.
But the frame went from let me educate you to here’s a story, hope it helps.
Education content is one of the best ways to grow an audience of true fans. If you do it, use your unfair advantages: expertise, life experience, and captivating stories.
No one can take those away from you.
3) Entertainment
Entertainment = an escape from day-to-day life.
My mom watches Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Is it so she can stay up to date with their latest business strategies or fashion trends?
No.
It’s so she can shut her brain off and watch a rich family live a dramatic, over-the-top life.
With so much going on, it’s nice to sit back and be entertained.
Video game streamers. Bands playing our favorite songs. Memes…
I’m not a home improvement person but this guy made it into my algorithm and I can’t stop watching. 🌳
If you want to make Entertainment content, you still need unfair advantages.
- storytelling skills
- captivating personality
- great sense of humor
This path is often a slow start but once you become reliably entertaining you’ll be hard to stop.
4) Connection
Connection = emotional investment in the creator.
Think vloggers.
When we watch Casey Neistat, it feels like we’re skating around New York City with one of our buddies. We know his fears, his failures, and his family.
People check out Connection creators because they want updates on what they’re up to.
When I asked my top 10 readers why they stay subscribed to this newsletter, the #1 answer was to see what’s going on in my world.
Connection content is often the most effective way to grow an army of true fans. These are people who love you and who want you to win.
But starting out, it’s pretty difficult to grow with Connection alone.
I see smaller creators post videos with titles like “I Can’t Believe This Happened!” But those only work when the audience knows and trusts the creator.
They need to establish themselves first. I don’t care about what happened to some stranger I’ve never heard of.
When GothamChess uploads a video called “I’m done. Goodbye,” his audience of 5 million knows it’s a funny breakdown of a horrible chess game.
If I upload a video called “I’m done. Goodbye,” it’ll get 4 views because I have a small audience. No one cares about some vague reason I’m annoyed.
When making Connection content as a smaller creator, try using elements from the other three content types first.
For example: an entrepreneur who’s a new dad. 👨💼
Don’t post something called “Staying Focused!” Instead, shoot for something more educational or story-based, like “3 Things I Do To Stay Productive as a New Dad.”
Connection takes time.
Build trust by making your content friendly to strangers. Bring them value for years, earn their trust, and you will have way more freedom in your content.
In summary
- Search: solution to a temporary problem.
- Education: solutions to an ongoing problem.
- Entertainment: escape from the day-to-day.
- Connection: caring about the creator.
Every creator is some combination of all four of these.
Joe Rogan is an obvious example. He hosts the biggest podcast in the world.
I can Search “how to sleep better” and find his interview with sleep scientist Dr. Matthew Walker.
I can stay Educated on what’s happening in the martial arts world by following his MMA Show series.
I can be Entertained by listening to his episodes with standup comedians.
I can feel Connected to him after listening to 2000+ episodes of his philosophies, life lessons, and struggles.
So if you’re a creator, what’s your pie chart of these four? 🥧
Assume you have 100 points to allocate.
I’ll go first. For my articles it’s…
20% Search — Creators looking up ways to start.
55% Education — Stories & guides on how to create better.
10% Entertainment — My unparalleled comedy.
15% Connection — Friends & family waiting for my updates.
Hopefully you can use these models to make your own content better and more clear for your audience. ✌️
If you want to follow my journey to $50k/month, get lessons from top 1% creators, and join me as I travel the world with my laptop…
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