Tag: social media

My biggest challenge in content creation 

Anna Peng1 Comment

Whenever I start a new post, there’s a challenge in deciding what to write about.

My cheat strategy is the following:

  1. Doing so informs me which headline was able to grab attention and/or if readers enjoyed reading the actual post.
  2. I go back into my post history, and look for headlines that performed well.
  1. Once I pick a headline, I’ll rewrite the post so that I now have a clear focus.
  2. Now that I have a new post, I can publish and learn from market feedback (comments and engagement) on how to improve for next time.

P.S. I’m building a content club for people who want to take their brand seriously. Want in? Join the waitlist with 26 others today.

The main reason why you haven’t started your social media page yet

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If nobody has said it, I will.

It’s because there’s fear.

Fear of other people’s opinions about you.

Fear of looking stupid.

Fear of not looking the part.

Fear of not appearing successful within 2-4 months.

And on and on.

My whole thing is letting you know that effective social media pages aren’t supposed to be about you.

It’s supposed to be about your audience.

Try asking these questions before you hit post:

How can I solve this problem that is specific to this audience?

How can I educate this audience about a problem they care about?

How might my community be able to connect with each other?

Don’t put the focus on yourself.

Flip it, and focus on your audience.

Can you believe we got 19 people on this thing already?

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A week ago, I told my friend Daniel that we were going to build a content club.

Here’s the meat:

Everyone knows they should build their brand on social media, but not everyone knows how. 

Tons of resources online, but no community to execute on the plan for those who need it.

The club will be 21 days long.

Just enough for you to get totally invested in your own journey.

And then we’re going to see you fly.

We’re doing it 100% free, out of our own pockets.

Because of that, we need to make this the best workshop possible.

That means we need as many committed, ambitious, proactive folks as possible in one place.

If you are one of those committed, ambitious, proactive people, I think you should sign up for the waitlist.

The content club starts in April.

Sign up for your spot here.

See you there 🙂

My biggest mistake in social media

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My biggest mistake in social media is letting my ego get in the way of making a post.

“Will this get a lot of likes?”

“Does this make me look good?”

“Is this cool/edgy enough?”

Not saying that asking these questions are bad.

However, if you want to do social media properly for your business, ask these questions instead.

“Is this helpful?”

“Is this something my audience can relate with?”

“Is this something my audience wants to see more of?”

Why does it feel wrong to repost a piece of content you’ve already published before?

Anna Peng2 Comments

Question: Is it wrong to repost a piece of content you’ve already published before?

No.

But many creatives have a hard time accepting that.

I used to feel really weird about copy and pasting my own work and republishing it as new material for the day (yes I do that occasionally).

Here’s why.

It didn’t feel original.

It didn’t feel like I was actually writing.

But if we focus on those 2 faults, the bigger picture is lost.

Who is this message for?

And if we choose to dedicate our craft to someone else, personal originality and pursuit of the act is actually not in the interest of the end consumer.

As a writer and marketer, reposting old pieces of content isn’t a hack.

It’s simply giving people information that they will find beneficial in this specific moment of their lives.

Reposting content is never about you.

It’s about your audience.

P.S. I’m building a content club for people who want to take their brand seriously. Want in? Join the waitlist with 17 others today.

One book that has changed my outlook on brand building

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Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. 

A memoir that highlights tenacity.

I grew up as an ultra shy, reserved, quiet, Chinese girl in a conservative household. 

Tenacity wasn’t a word I knew of until 3 years ago.

I picked up Shoe Dog 1 year ago.

Learning about the ups and downs of Nike’s story allowed me to realize something.

If you wanna go far, you gotta put in the work.

And not just the fluffy-fluffy kind of work, but work work. 

When I think about brand building now, it’s not just a nice logo, or a good looking website. 

Though those things are nice to have, brand building is more of hitting the floor and actively trying to finding your people. 

It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible. 

And if you still go for it, that’s tenacity. 

93% of brands and content creators give up social media 14-21 days after they’ve started.

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The main reason being?

There’s not enough engagement.

Nobody is liking your posts. 

It’s hard to keep a new habit with just yourself.

Life gets in the way. 

Time management isn’t your strongest suit. 

I hear you.

Creating content isn’t for everyone. 

But if you’re serious about building your community or brand, content creation is the way. 

Kickstart your way into an engaged community with an audience who cares about your product. 

Master your brand voice. 

Gain the attention of your dream audience.

Control the ins and outs of your creativity.

Grow your business presence. 

How?

I’m hosting a content creation club.

But it won’t just be any kind of club.

Everyone in it wants to be there because they have a brand to build. 

There will be no live meet ups. 

Only a common deadline (12AM, your time zone).

Everything online and remote.

Be there (or don’t be there it’s really up to you).

This idea will only work when there is a focused, tight knit group of people.

Anyone is welcome to join.

And to sweeten the deal?

It will come at no cost to you.

However, if you want this to work out for you, you have to put in the work to succeed.

Want in?

Join the waitlist with other creators here.

See you there 🙂

3 Copywriting Tips I Wish I Knew Earlier in my Career

Anna PengLeave a comment
  1. Write shorter sentences.

Get to the point. Erase the fluff. Practice shortening. 

  1. Write as if speaking to your audience 1:1

Speak to them directly. Ignore the rest. Use their lingo. Let them know you’re part of the community.

  1. Understand that a CTA isn’t a chance to make money

Your CTA is your chance to be helpful. Lead your reader to a place they want to be. Don’t booby trap them with guilt if they don’t like your idea.

If you liked this post and want more, follow this blog for daily updates 😉

If you’re going into social media with this mindset, you need to change immediately

Anna Peng1 Comment

For freelancers, social media isn’t about showing off what you can do and letting people know about all your accomplishments to boost your own sense of self worth. 

Instead, social media is a place for creators to show value and teach/entertain/perform/inspire their audience.

When you do the latter enough times, people will intentionally look for you to solve their problems.

Looking to create content that performs?

Anna Peng2 Comments

I got you. 

Here are 3 tips to do just that. 

  1. Eavesdrop on your audience and listen to what they say. Read their posts. Listen to their problems. Go on Reddit. Then use what you’ve heard as insights, headlines, and content that will resonate. This is to ensure that you’ll click with your audience (also a common copywriting tip) 
  2. Make something save-worthy. Give your audience a list of how-to’s (like this). Give them a resource they will want to keep and refer back to when they need it. Content that gets saved oftentimes get promoted more by a platform’s algorithm. 
  3. Prioritize video. Video posts tend to perform better than text posts, picture posts, or carousels. Put your camera on yourself and give it a shot. At first you might be awkward, but don’t let this stop you.

Above all, make sure you keep your focus on what you want your results to be. These tips are general, but if you want specific results. you’ll have to act accordingly.