039 - Get Unstuck Now By Using This Simple Content Creation Method

One of the biggest challenges for content creators is sitting down to a blank page (or computer screen). As a former magazine writer, I know how difficult it is to "write" on demand. 

In this solo episode,  I share a system to help you avoid facing that blank screen. I call it the RECAP method. 

🔹REcord your thoughts on whatever topic you're working on
🔹Convert  the  audio file into a transcript, which becomes your draft
🔹Adapt the text to whatever type of content you want to create
🔹Publish the content on social media

Download 25 Content Creation Ideas To Kickstart Your Social Media Posts  (Click Link Below)

🔷 Thank you for listening. I hope you found this episode insightful, educational, and inspiring. If you did, don't forget to hit that Follow to keep learning and growing with us.

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⏬ Download 25 Content Ideas To Kickstart Your Social Media Posts (For People Who Don't Know What To Say (It's Free) Click here to Download

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:45

Hi, I'm Annette Richman. Welcome to Content Marketing School, where we will dive into content marketing strategies specifically for coaches, consultants and entrepreneurs. Discover how effective content marketing can elevate your brand and grow your business. And if you enjoy the show, don't forget to hit that follow button. Hi, I'm Annette Richmond. Welcome to Content Marketing School. Today, I'm excited to share with you a method I learned that will help you with your content creation.

Speaker 1: 1:23

I often talk about having been a magazine writer in a former life. It was my dream job and certainly a magical time in my life. But I also remember what was not so magical was having to sit down at a computer screen and know that I absolutely had sit down and write something that day. If you've never worked in publishing, I can tell you it's a non-stop environment. We were often working on two issues at the same time and almost always on some type of a deadline. So I am no stranger to having sit down at the blank computer screen and start writing. But I recently learned something in a training. Well, maybe not that recently, but I recently learned a technique to help avoid that. Now, this is something that actually a lot of people do use because they want to make sure, when they're creating content, that they are writing in their own voice so that it will sound like them. And the simple method that I'm going to teach you. It's a four-part technique. I call it the recap system Record, convert, adapt and publish, and if you follow this simple system, you will not have to face that challenge of looking at the blank screen. So the first part is record yourself. So you record yourself speaking about your area of expertise, whatever it is that you want to post about that day. For me, it might be talking about how to do a podcast or how to do some type of content.

Speaker 1: 3:18

There are a variety of options that you can use. Zoom allows you to record up to 40 minutes and download it to your computer for free. You can use an app called Audacity, which a lot of people use to record their podcast. You can record and edit on there, also for free. I actually use a very simple and free app on my phone it's actually called Voice Recorder and Audio Editor and what I love about it, besides the fact that it's free, is that I can talk into it, dictate into it, and then I have the option to actually download, send myself by email a transcript or even send myself the audio recording if I want to use it that way. I love the app on my phone because it's great if I'm sitting in my car waiting for someone and I have some extra time I can start working on something that I want to write about.

Speaker 1: 4:23

The next step is to convert your audio into text. Now there are some platforms, like Riverside, that can be used to transcribe audio or video created elsewhere. Now my favorite transcription and captioning platform is HappyScribe. While there is no free option, they have a relatively inexpensive pay-as-you-go alternative and you can upload your audio file to HappyScribe and actually have it transcribed and then download the transcribed. Now there are also several platforms that let you record and transcribe. Most of them have limited free and also paid options.

Speaker 1: 5:10

Now, for video, you might want to use Descript on the desktop. You can use Riverside, which I just mentioned. You can use that on your desktop or also on your phone. What you can do is record and transcribe and then download the transcription. If you want to use something for audio only, you can record using Otterai. They have desktop and also an app for your smartphone, and I believe they have limited free. You can use the trusty voice recorder and audio editor app that I use on my phone. Again, you can record audio and then just download the transcription. Now there are pros and cons to consider when deciding if you want to record something on video and then just use the audio or if you want to use something that's audio only. Now, free voice recorder and audio editor app that I use records and transcribes the audio, and you can email the audio and or the transcription to yourself, as I think I've already mentioned. However, using a video platform or app to record is a great way to get comfortable on camera, particularly because you're not going to be using the video, so it's just an other opportunity to be in front of the camera talking, which is always very helpful.

Speaker 1: 6:42

Now that you have the text, the transcript, the next step is to adapt it to create a variety of original content for LinkedIn and other social media platforms. Three posts you can create by pulling content from your transcript are a text-only post for LinkedIn, or a text-with-image post for LinkedIn, or a text with image post for LinkedIn. You also might want to create some graphic quotes for LinkedIn and Instagram, which are very easy to create in Canva. And, as I always say, why share a quote from someone else on social media if you can share a quote from yourself. Three other things that you can do with your transcript content are to draw on the transcript to create a poll. You might want to expand on the copy to write a full-on blog post. You can use the copy as a basis for a newsletter edition on LinkedIn or someplace else.

Speaker 1: 7:45

Three more content formats you can try are scripts for short-form videos, which will save you time recording. I know that there's a lot of disagreement on writing scripts for videos or not, but I'm a big believer in doing it for very short-form videos. You can make copy for sliders, also known as carousels, or document posts that you can use on LinkedIn or Instagram and, of course, sliders are some of the posts that get very high engagement still on LinkedIn. You can also use the copy from your transcript to create infographics, which are becoming now sort of the new darlings on LinkedIn. Infographics were around for quite a while. They sort of went away. Then carousels came in and now infographics are back in a big way for those text with image posts on LinkedIn. Now the last step, of course course, is to publish your content on LinkedIn and other social media platforms. So here are some ideas for that you can create a text or text with image posts for LinkedIn. You can create short form videos for LinkedIn, youtube TikTok and YouTube, tiktok and Instagram. Of course, very short videos can be reels on Instagram or shorts on YouTube. You can use them, of course, on TikTok. Even LinkedIn is really leaning into videos increasingly, so you might want to use short form videos on LinkedIn as well. And and then, of course, as I mentioned, you can create graphics for LinkedIn and Instagram.

Speaker 1: 9:31

So the next time that you're struggling not coming up with an idea so much, but just want to start and create a draft that you can work with, try recording yourself talking, a draft that you can work with. Try recording yourself talking. It's a very simple way to take what's in your head things that you're thinking about and get it onto a page. That becomes the draft of something else that you want to write. It's easy to pull a few lines here and there to be used as scripts or graphic quotes, or to build on whatever you have and create an article or a blog post for LinkedIn or your own website.

Speaker 1: 10:22

So I hope you find this simple recap technique that I've shared with you. Start by recording your voice talking about whatever it is that you're going to be writing about. Convert that audio into a transcript, take the transcript and adapt it for whatever type of content you're working on you. You can probably get more than one piece of content if you've been talking for 10 to 15 minutes and then, of course, publish whatever it is that you create on social media. Thanks again for joining me. Have a great rest of your day. Thanks for tuning into the Content Marketing Show with me, annette Richmond. If today's insights have inspired and resonated with you, please share this episode and, if you haven't already, hit the follow button to keep learning and growing with us.