Getting content out into the world is mandatory today.
If you don’t then someone else will be more prolific and find more success.
But this also doesn’t mean you should put out any piece of shit you create.
You want your content to actually do work for you.
You want to know that it is fulfilling its job when you put content into the world.
But which job?
To make money?
That could be one job, but it becomes much easier if you understand how to break down your content.
And even more important to understand how all of the content comes together to work as a system.
So for that, you need a system!
No shit, right?
But what is the system?
I’m going to give you the system that I’ve been using for years. I call it the NAT Dough Framework.
The NAT Dough Framework for Creating Content That Works
The framework only consists of 4 steps.
It has to be easy or else you’d get lost.
The purpose of this framework is to check each piece of content that we put out to see if it’s doing what’s intended.
It’s very easy to put out a lot of content and not understand why none of it is working.
This framework is meant to stop that from happening.
Ready? Let’s go!
Step 1. Get Them to Notice You
Not a single piece of content works if you can’t get people to notice it.
This is about ensuring that people know that you exist.
But it’s also important to understand the context of where the content is.
For example, if you’re looking at your TikTok content, then you know you need to hook people in within the first 3 seconds.
If you’re looking at Twitter content, then maybe a strong opening line and an image.
YouTube? SEO, titles, and thumbnails.
You have to understand what it takes to get people to notice you based on where they are seeing the content.
Does every single TikTok video NEED to focus on the first 3 seconds?
Not at all and that’s because there are people that will notice a video simply because they see your avatar and they know you.
It’s why some people can send an email with any subject line and get it read by their audience. Their audience stops everything and reads the email because they see who sent it.
So the first step is to make sure that your content is doing a great job of getting you noticed.
Once you understand that then we move on to step 2.
Step 2. Get Them to Pay Attention
Isn’t this the same as step 1?
Not at all.
Getting someone to notice you isn’t hard. Go stand in the middle of the grocery store and yell.
People will notice you.
But they won’t pay attention to you if they see you’re just an idiot screaming.
However, bring a piano into the store and start playing it in the produce section then people will stop and give you their attention.
IF they like what you’re playing.
Attention is given when someone feels they will get something out of it.
What’s in it for them?
If you can’t show what’s in it for them then they will bounce.
It could be money. It could be entertainment.
But they need to know if it’s worth watching another second of your video or the next line of your LinkedIn post.
Step 3. Get Them to Trust You
This is about doing Step 2 over and over and over again.
The more times you’re able to keep their attention means the more times you’ve helped them level up.
People like to level up.
If you’re the one that does that for them then they’ll trust you.
This also means you shouldn’t ask for things right off the bat.
“If you want this cool thing then like, comment, retweet, and follow.”
That tactic can work wonders for getting engagement, but what if I don’t know you?
Then how does that content move me through this Framework?
It doesn’t.
I got me to notice you. Maybe it gets me to pay attention. But it doesn’t gain my trust.
However, if I do know you then that content works great.
More stuff for me! Yay!
But let’s take it a step further.
What if I just posted a link to the stuff instead of asking you to jump through hoops?
What if I do that all of the time?
Wouldn’t your level of trust in me go up?
If so, then we can move on to Step 4.
Step 4. Convert That Trust Into Money
With trust comes money.
I don’t like to sell.
I hate selling.
But I need to make money.
It’s a lot easier to make money when people trust you and you simply let them know you have a solution to level them up faster, than it is to hound people consistently about how much they need to buy your new thing.
When people trust you, you can casually lay your products around and people will sign up.
I’m not saying every once in a while you won’t have to go into sales mode to really nudge the people on the fence, but if you continue to do the things to get people to trust you then you’ll continue to make money.
It’s quite simple.
The difficult part is understanding that this takes time.
A lot of time.
So you have to be consistent with the first 3 parts of this Framework.
You have to show up consistently for your audience.
In doing so, you’ll develop an ecosystem where things sell on their own without you having to be the main salesman.
Always Take a Stepback and Check
This framework is great at reviewing your content.
Does your content do what is needed to get noticed? Is it able to maintain their attention? Does it help them level up?
More times than not, if your content isn’t hitting the mark after a while you’ll notice that it’s missing one or all of these pieces.