Today’s November 12 and it’s finally here: Day 1 of Content Marathon.
I’ve just gone through the daily video and read the pdf…actually, I did that a few times so that I properly understood the concepts that Stewart explained in his honeyed baritone and got a grip on the writing assignment that needs to be submitted.
Then, I had this crazy thought — why don’t I put my assignment out in the world for all to see? One of the biggest challenges I have faced as a writer is that I can’t turn off the inner critic. It’s nearly impossible for me to come up with an idea and not have a negative thought (or thoughts) about it.
“It’s not very original. Who would want to read it? You suck!”
You get the drift.
So, I couldn’t think of a better way to kill (or at least beat to a pulp and render harmless) this voice in my head that keeps telling me I’m an imposter and a terrible writer than to take my daily assignment and my ideas and make my very first blog entry on Medium.
Scary, but exciting! So, here goes:
Task A: Make a list of the things your audience cares about and potential ideas they may be interested in.
As someone who writes content related to fitness, my challenge is to come up with:
a) new topics and b) present them in a manner that is new and fresh and doesn’t suck/bore the readers
For this assignment, my task is to make a list of 5 topics or ideas that will spark my audience’s interest and/or initiate debate.
Let me start by first defining who my audience is: my readers are mostly those people who possess little to no knowledge of fitness science. They have tried everything to get fit but have failed. They are rank beginners who have a desire to be fit and healthy but don’t know how.
So, what would they like to read? Here’s my list of 5 topics that I think they’d be interested in:
- 10 (or 5 or 7) Worst Fitness Lies That You Thought Were True
What it would cover: Popular fitness practices/beliefs that masquerade as effective weight loss/fat loss/health techniques
Why would the audience want to read it: The article would address some deeply-held beliefs about health and fitness and show how they are, in fact, bogus. It would also help readers spot health/fitness science BS that is so common in the fitness industry. Ultimately, it will help the readers understand what works and what doesn’t so that they can improve their own state of health & fitness.
2. Ayurveda For Modern Health — Is This Ancient Science Still Relevant?
What it would cover: Ayurvedic practices in relation to modern health and fitness regimes/concerns.
Why would the audience want to read it: All over the world, and especially in India, new age fitness experts keep extolling the virtues of an ayurvedic diet or lifestyle. However, quite often, these claims range from half-baked to outright deceptive and lack a working knowledge of ayurveda. This article will take an in-depth look at ayurveda and help readers decide whether or not ayurveda should be a part of their lives.
3. Weight Training 101: A Guide For The Gym Noob
What it would cover: Best practices to adopt and common pitfalls to avoid when you start weight training for the first time
Why would the audience want to read it: The article would be an essential primer and contain all the information that a beginner needs to know before embarking on his/her fitness journey. The aim would be to remove the fear of weight training from their minds so that they can appreciate, understand and effectively implement weight training into their lives.
4. Nutrition For Every Fitness Goal
What it would cover: A detailed and comprehensive guide on goal-specific nutrition
Why would the audience want to read it: It would be a research-backed guide to nutrition but one that isn’t sciencey (I guess that’s how it’s spelled). Anyone can read it, understand it and implement it. My aim would be to write an article that covers every single aspect of nutrition and serve as a Bible of sorts for the beginner.
5. Too Old To Get Fit? Start Your Journey At Any Age
What it would cover: Help older people to get started with their fitness journeys. Provide useable, practical tips which will prompt them to take action.
Why would the audience want to read it: I believe everyone wants to be fit and healthy, even (or perhaps especially) older people. But they also need a lot of encouragement and support to get started and stay the course. This article would equip them with the tools and mindset hacks that no one else talks about.
There! Done.
That wasn’t so bad. Now, all I have to do is hit publish.
And what’s incredible is that thanks to the prompt I received in this assignment, I’ve already started thinking about the content for each of these topics.
Will be interesting to see what Day 2 has in store!
#contentmarathon
