How to Calm Your Content Anxiety in 5 Simple Steps

How to Calm Your Content Anxiety in 5 Simple Steps

Reader Comments (46)

  1. Good stuff, Calvin!

    Taking a more zen approach — more mindfulness, more observation — has always been beneficial for me. We get into that FOMO state where we want to “just do something.” But doing the right something is always going to be more effective. 🙂

    • I couldn’t have said it better myself: “Donig the right thing.” I spent so many years just trying to do everything that none of it was significant or useful.

  2. Looking at the author’s photo, I almost didn’t read this, because I have socks older than him. But this advice is spot on and terrific — all of it. Kudos!

  3. Calvin,

    I, too, am an advocate of quality over quantity when it comes to content creation. Your steps put this fundamental truth into an enlightening perspective. Step #4 on the art of observation is especially important because therein lies the secret to content marketing success. Thanks for sharing great advice.

    Here’s my philosophy (or a part of it) regarding content on the Web: Content is NOT king.

    That may sound odd or blasphemous coming from a content marketer. But the “content is king” mantra is the most overused — and misguided — statement on the Internet. Content is important, but it’s not enough to get the job done.

    Blake Smith
    Web Content Doctor

  4. Excellent advice, Calvin. We manage content marketing for clients and they almost always want us to stop working the plan, create a quick post/blog/article/whatever that is about something THEY think is important but is of no real interest to their audience. It’s a delicate balance between spontaneity and strategy.

  5. This is great advice. I know publishing immediately can mean you have to go back and edit later. Better to wait and reread and think before sending it off. I have so little time for writing copy while I’m running my business that I often send it off too soon and have to change it the next day. I should just wait until the next day first.

    • I find that it helps to write my posts a few days in advance. I only post once a week, so there’s some breathing room for me to get things right.

      Of course, there are times when I’m too tight on schedule. And so instead of publishing, I just skip that week.

  6. I absolutely needed to read this today. It is so easy to forge ahead especially when you read/hear the constant mantra of content, content, content. And on top of all the content are all of the platforms to put that content! Thanks for the reminder to slow down, become thoughtful, and remember that the content is not for you, but those you serve.

  7. I had an organization where I was thinking of 6 topics one day. The next day I was thinking of the bullet points. The next day (monday usually), I was writing the 6 posts and scheduled them on my social medias streams and group for the 6 days of the week, rotating them so that the 6 posts were on 6 different stream each day.. I went in super overwhelmed and also was constantly rewriting the next days, tweaking etc…
    Next week, I will try a different strategy: Writing and posting that day what I feel is the most relevant. So now I have a little bit of content (only 2 posts) to write and polish and publish every ther day. It might be because I am a perfectionist but I was getting lost in edit mode and I was also frustrated when the idea I had planned didn’t necessarily match amynore what I needed to talk about at that moment.
    Let’s see how it goes 🙂

  8. Great article Calvin. I believe in quality over quantity SO MUCH that I haven’t written a blog post in over 2 years. Eek!

  9. Very insightful post Calvin. I strongly believe in publishing articles that have been carefully thought through and edited. My biggest take away is to learn the art observation. It can really difficult to observe on social media when all you want to do is tweet, post, chat and connect.

  10. Writing a lot may help you rank for various reasons, but like you say, if your content is rushed and they don’t convert, what is the point 🙂 Loving this site, thanks for the great article!

    • You’re welcome! I’ve found that writing good vs. writing often doesn’t have a very coherant relationship on ranking. Good is always better, though. 😉

  11. Thanks ,for the article ,I have started blogging 2 months ago, I really enjoy doing this but sometimes I feel little frustrated when I think about writing posts. Well hope that I would do better with these tips in my mind . How often should I post a blog ?

    • How often you blog is entirely up to you. It depends on your audience, and how much they want to hear from you. Try a few different variations and pay attention to your reader’s feedback.

      At the end of the day, it’s about them and not “best practice”.

      • That may be a good question for your readers to end your next post Aman. Be it generalized or specific to your blog, the best way to find out may just be to ask. It’ll also keep up engagement and may help create trust from your readers. Just a thought. ?

  12. Hey Calvin,

    Glad to know you are the Rainmaker’s front end developer. Quite geeky.

    Writing is the essential part, when you hurry – you might miss the point or add confusion.

    When you stop and drill and stop again – you create compact idea stand out and there is an impact.

    Superb post buddy. Stay Awesome.

  13. Hi, Calvin.

    I want to thank you for your post. It helped me a lot. Because I had this belief that I should make content every day. I developed so much stress ever since I knew that. I had some errors in writing and making my ideas hard to make sense. It’s hard when you’re still starting out, I guess. But, what you wrote has put me at ease. Yes, quality is still better than quantity. Thank you for reminding me of that.

    Create a great day!

    • Hey Peter! Glad I could help ease some stress — it’s easy to get overwhelmed, especially when everyone is telling you to go, go, go!

    • Peter, totally get you there. Pushing content on a daily basis is extremely hard. But then again, a lot of bloggers succeeded with much less content like Brian Dean from Backlinko who only publishes once a month.

  14. Hey Calvin,

    Great points. I just realized a mistake I have made a few times earlier and realized them and wondered what I should do about it. “The impulsive tweet” one. Will definitely try it next time.
    I wish I could follow your advice of getting someone from your family or friends to read your article before posting. So it’s just online tools like grammarly and hemingwayapp on second day of writing.
    Thanks for the great tips though 🙂

  15. Calvin,

    I’ve never heard of the work content anxiety before. But now that you mention it, it’s probably what a lot of bloggers, including myself might be feeling while being pressured to produce content on a regular basis.

    The way I see it, content creation is like a marathon, not a sprint. You need to find a pace that works and doesn’t drain the life out of you in the long run. To continue to be a blogger basically means to keep publishing after all.

    Thanks to your article, I think I’ll need to focus more on my process rather than just getting it over with.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Cheers,
    Anh

    • The way I see it, content creation is like a marathon, not a sprint. You need to find a pace that works and doesn’t drain the life out of you in the long run.

      This. Is gold.

  16. When I started writing I took Seth Godin’s advice and wrote daily. It gave me the practice to solidify my thoughts into a post, ability to look at issues through the idea of a post, get some quick feedback, get confidence that I have something valuable to say and see what interests my audience. After having done that for 2-3 months I relaxed into writing only a couple of times a week and do more thorough posts. It has been a good journey. thanks for the valuable advice in your post Calvin.

    • Thanks Priya. Writing daily is a great exercise, and one that I always try to get better at. In the end, it’s more about quality than it is about quantity.

      If you can knock out a blog post everyday without sacrificing quality, then you have an edge. And I would say use it if you can.

      Most people don’t have this capacity, however — and that’s just fine. 😉

  17. So like me to write mediocre content because I was told to publish every single day…
    Realizing that high quality content once or twice a week is worth so much more than “meh” content 6 days a week has been, probably the most impactful realization I’ve had since I started Blogging.
    Back then I was writing with the objective to write and my posts were nothing really worth reading…writing now is a process that I truly enjoy, because I’m writing trying to create the best piece of content I possibly can.
    Every post I publish gives me a sense of accomplishment that just wasn’t there before.
    All thanks to switching my focus.
    Loved the post, Congrats

    • Every post I publish gives me a sense of accomplishment that just wasn’t there before.

      This is perhaps the golden nugget in it all. Feeling good about your art is fundamental to a fulfilling work life.

      Thanks for the comment!

  18. Good advice, Calvin. Content anxiety seems to take on many forms. The separation of writing and editing, for example, can be a challenge — I’m always tempted to revise before I’ve even completed the first draft (ack). Another anxiety: Taking too long to write content (the hours fly by).

  19. Hi, Calvin.
    Your sense of humor is great. Quality over quantity is always an important part and you have managed it here perfectly. Good advice.

  20. I concur with your opinion about inspiration and high quality. As for me, I’d like to be inspired every day and write what is needed, but it is not always so. To be honest, I always feel fulfilled when I write what is relevant for me today, in this moment, what is in my heart, what is in my mind.

    • That’s a great point that you don’t always have to follow a schedule either. If you’re not feeling it on the day you normally post, then just skip it!

  21. Thanks for the great article. I´m creating content for the Czech market about SEO and content marketing, and I absolutely agree with you that quality surpasses quantity. I’m writing this less, but it’s worth it to me.

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