American Poet, Maya Angelous said, “You can't use up creativity. The more you use the more you have.” Today we'll talk about a simple way to never run out of ideas.
In this article:
1. Lessons learned from sitcom reruns
2. They said it better
3. Something to look forward to
Lessons learned from sitcom reruns
As a kid I watched a lot of T.V. especially during the summer when I was out of school. I remember watching reruns of “I Dream Of Jeannie” all summer. In fact, most of the shows playing during the day were reruns.
Why can't we do the same thing with our podcast? Dropping a rerun every once in a while is a great way to drive home important lessons. Best part is, we don't need to come up with any new ideas.
Some people might argue that rerunning old shows could bore our listeners. Fact is, we need to hear things more than once for it to sink in. That's why reruns are necessary in any good podcast catalog.
At The Podcast Factory® we position reruns as a “Best Of” episode. The host records a quick intro with a fresh perspective introducing the show. The listener comes in with fresh ears. And you have another weekly show, without struggling to come up with new ideas.
Let's keep this idea train running. Next stop, how to get other people to confirm your ideas.
They said it better
One of the tricks we teach our clients is to have other people confirm their ideas. Here's how it's done:
- Start by planning your Content Vault with your core philosophy and record your first 6-8 shows.
- After that, book guest experts to discuss topics from your Content Vault.
- If we've picked the right expert, they will confirm the ideas we shared in our Content Vault.
Having someone else confirm your ideas makes them more valid to your listeners. It's a form of social proof. It also gives you more content without coming up with any new ideas.
As an added benefit, these interviews boost our rolodex of ‘like minded' individuals. That's one of the reasons I host an interview show called, Results Leader. I create new content and make new friends in on simple workflow.
Now, let's look at one more way to be creative, without coming up with new ideas.
Something to look forward to
When we were recording The Ben Settle show, we had series called, “eMail Players Rules.” Every 6-8 weeks we'd do an episode on the rules. People couldn't get enough of them. They were our most popular shows by a landslide.
The “Rules” were Ben's maxims for life and business. We all have rules we live by. We're always adding new rules and getting rid of old ones. This makes for a great recurring series.
I challenge you to open the note app on your phone and start writing the rules you live by. I bet you come up with 10-15 without even trying.
Each episode of eMail Players Rules had 4-5 rules. If you came up with 10-15 rules you live by, you have enough for 2-3 shows. Zero creativity required.
Let's bring this all together.
The Never Ending Idea Machine
The more creativity we use, the more we have. We don't need to be creative to come up with ideas. Instead we need systems that produces ideas for us. Using the “Best of” episode drives home your core ideas with minimal effort.
After recording your Content Vault, get other people to confirm your ideas. Book a guest, choose the topic, and 10 times out of 9 they'll say it better than we did. This makes our ideas more believable to our audience.
Listeners love consistency from their podcast host. A consistent way to deliver a fun topic is having a recurring series like, “eMail Players Rules.” Share your rules for life and your listeners will lap it up.
Combine these three techniques to create your own never ending idea machine.
What's next?
Today we talked about building your never ending idea machine. The best ideas aren't ours at all. The best ideas come from our listeners. To find out how to farm ideas from your listeners read this article: https://thepodcastfactory.com/decoding-what-your-audience-really-wants-with-3-simple-tools/
If you're thinking about having your own podcast, but you have no idea where to start, I can help. Book a short 30 minute call and I'll show you how our system has worked for over 100 experts exactly like you. Grab a time that works for you at http://ThePodcastFactory.com/call
