11 Ways You’re Sabotaging Your Content Growth

"My content isn't growing anymore. I've tried publishing better content, having bigger named guests, and even spending more time editing - but I've stopped growing. What am I doing wrong?" Sound familiar?

There are 11 ways you may sabotage your content growth -- without even knowing it! Today's episode covers some mistakes I often see content creators making long after the allowable timeframe of "rookie mistakes."

These might keep your content from growing, your stats stagnant, and even push you further away from your content goals. Let's break these down one by one and walk through the stickiness of this conversation together. 

And don't worry, I've made most (if not all) of these mistakes too! Please take this opportunity to learn from what I've done wrong and make your content even stronger.

Join the Podcasters Connect™ waitlist here: https://krystalproffitt.com/podcasters-connect-waitlist/

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• 16:09 (Cont.) 11 Ways You’re Sabotaging Your Content Growth

Transcript

Intro  0:01  
As I start thinking about it, I feel like I could say with confidence that I've been a coach most of my life. And in saying that it doesn't mean I've been teaching content creation, right, because this is relatively new to me. I started in 2018 really doing this, and I started teaching it heavily in 2019. So I've been teaching content, as long as I've been quote, unquote, coaching. And I say that because I think about I used to be the, okay, this is, this is not like a bragging moment. But it's kind of one of those where I look back and I put like, it connects all the dots. Because I used to be the student council president. I was the head cheerleader for a while I was our team captain for the volleyball team. And there's just been other roles that I'm like, kind of embarrassed to say, I know, I've shared the one year before, but it still feels like oh, it's it's so funny looking back, that I volunteered to be the president of Elliot Hall, which was the dorm that I lived on at Texas State University, which that dorm has been torn down, because my roommates dad, like he went there in the 70s. And they never made any improvements on it, since the 70s. Like it was time for a remodel. And I think that they just demolish the whole thing. But I've always kind of sought after roles where I was coaching, helping leading, and it just brings me so much joy. And I had to really open today's episode with that, because I want you to receive today's content. With that in mind, like this is all coming from a place of coaching and helping and supporting. But I think that some of you listening to this today may feel attacked. And that is not what this is about. Because we're talking about 11 ways that you are sabotaging sabotaging your own content growth. That's what we're covering today. So it's gonna be one of those touchy subjects where you're gonna feel like, ooh, she's talking to me, or she's calling me out. And that's partly what this is about is to kind of shine a light on some of those shadows and monsters that you've been ignoring and the corners of like your content were like, I really don't want to look over there. I know I need to, but I don't want to. We're going to shed some light on those today. Because it's time, it's time for us to talk about them. So this is my disclaimer that there's going to be some tough love in today's episode. But we are going to talk about what sabotaging your growth so that you can move past it. And really make a difference with your content this year, the next year, and as long as you are creating, so let's get right to it. Welcome to the Proffitt Podcast where we teach you how to start launch and market your content with confidence. I'm your host, Krystal, Proffitt, and I'm so excited that you're here. Thanks for hanging out with me today. Because if you've been trying to figure out the world of content creation, this is the show that will help be your time saving shortcut. So let's get right to it, shall we?

11 Ways You're Sabotaging Your Content Growth  3:27  
Okay, so if the intro of today's episode did not scare you off, and you were still here with me, thank you so much. That means you're ready for a little bit of that tough love. Or maybe you were just like, oh, gosh, Krystal was talking to me. But I know that there's a lot of you listening to this, and you're like, her know that she's gonna call me out. Maybe you're like you just kept going, you didn't hit pause, you didn't go to another podcast, because you're like, This is what I need, you need that kick in the pants. And we all need it from time to time, which is why I love coming here and sharing with you the things that I'm seeing, because the reason why I have 11 ways that you're sabotaging I could have just put three out there. I could have said you know what, there's three main ways but there are probably more, there's probably 25 ways that people are really sabotaging their growth with their content. But this is what I see on a consistent basis and I can ignore them anymore. So I'm bringing this to shed some light on what I see on a regular basis. But also it's kind of that thing that's like my pet peeve is I can't just sit around complaining that you know, oh my gosh, I wish the people in our audience were making more progress. I wish that like I feel like I'm saying those things a lot in my head. And when it gets to that point, I'm like, I need to share this. Like let's just get some things off our chest today. So we're just gonna dive right in. 

1. Only creating content for one platform.  4:51  
So number one, the first way that you're sabotaging your content growth is you're only creating content for One platform. Now, I'm not gonna sit here and coach you and say, You need to have a podcast, a YouTube and a blog to be successful today, because I don't think that that's true. But I will say that creating content on multiple platforms can help you grow your audience in your authority faster. So if you are only creating podcast content, and you may post on social here and there whenever you have the time, like, let's just let's stop that now. Okay, let's stop that. And we're going to talk about consistency and a little bit, we're going to talk about strategy. But I want you to expand your minds, because a lot of you've been listening to this, since that 2018 2019, whenever I was first getting started, and I'm so appreciative, I'm so appreciated for all of you that have been around here for a while for months for years. But I'm also seeing you not growing, I'm not seeing you expand, above and beyond what you and I, maybe you took profit podcasting, and maybe you and I had a one on one coaching call, you're in our Facebook group, and I've helped you like, get this platform off the ground. But if that's all you still have today, let's change that, okay, because you can absolutely grow your audience and your authority faster, whenever you're creating content for more than one platform. But I don't want you saying I don't know how to do that, just wait to stick around, we're gonna keep going. And I'm going to share with you some of the solutions I have to these seven tours, that's a fun word of your content. 

2. You're just thinking about your audience as they are today — not growth for you or them.  6:40  
Alright, so the second way that you're sabotaging your growth is you're just thinking about your audience as they are today, not the future versions of yourself or them. So here's an example. My audience has grown. Like I said, I started in 2018. Really, like I've been consistent since 2018, with my podcast, and then later with my YouTube channel, and posting regular and all these places, and y'all have grown, you have evolved as I have continued to grow and evolve. And I don't want you thinking about your content as like this thing that is set in stone, and it's never changing, you have to think about it as dynamic. So you don't get bogged down in like the static pneus of what you're doing today. Because otherwise, you'll end up in this same place 12 months from now, 24 months from now and you're gonna say crystal, I don't understand. I don't know why I'm not growing? Well, it's probably because you're creating the same content in a very different way each time. But it's not different enough, right? Because y'all will tell me, Oh, this is so different. This is very, I'm using air quotes, right? Wish you could see me, I'm doing very different in quotes, because what you're doing is, it's the same message every single time. You're just changing the title, or maybe you're inviting someone new on. But it's the same story. This happened to me. Whenever I first started the rookie life back in 2018, I started feeling like I was having a Groundhog Day moment of like, This feels like the same story. And it feels like we're not really getting anywhere. We're not evolving. We're not growing. And I think it was because I was just thinking about my audience that was listening today, not future pacing them for where they were going to be in a few months from now. So that is something to think about. Maybe you're like, oh, yeah, that's me. It's okay. I've been there. Like I'm owning up to my own mistakes, too. Like we're in this group therapy session now of talking about your content. Okay? I'm not calling you out without pointing out my own flaws in this. So we are in this together. I am with you. 

3. Not doing any SEO, even the basic stuff.  9:00  
All right. Number three. The third way you're sabotaging is you're not doing any SEO at all, nothing, not even the basic stuff. And I get it like SEO like I'm, I'm standing up for this episode because I knew it was going to be fiery. So I'm leaning on my desk now and I've got my hand on my hip. But I will say SEO was a challenge for me. It wasn't until I had it explained I'd already been creating for about a year. And I had someone explain to me in very, very simple terms, what it is and how it could benefit me. And I have to tell you, in 2022 or if you're listening to this in the future, you no longer have that excuse SEO is not this like obscure thing that super hard and technical to do. Y'all. There's an app for that. Okay. There is an app for doing SEO. There are YouTube videos for you to figure out SEO Do you no longer have these excuses. So if you have been creating for a while, and you aren't even focusing on the very, very basic stuff, it's time, it's time like we need it, we need to make this happen. Even if it's just your podcast titles, or your YouTube videos, or your blog posts, like these little small things can help you appear in search engine results and actually get traffic, get that organic growth, get that really that SEO engine working for you. So whenever someone Google's something about your topic, they're like, oh, my gosh, I just landed on Krystal stuff. She has a podcast, she has a YouTube about that. She even has a website where I can go find all kinds of fun things. But that doesn't happen if you never get started. Like that took a while I will be very honest, it took me a while to appear in YouTube search results at all, and in Google search results at all. But it just came from getting started and making it happen. Not saying well, I don't know how this works. I'm not know you got to do like, just dedicate a day make it happen. Because otherwise, you're never going to figure it out. And you've honestly you're leaving audience members on the table that could find your content, you're leaving money on the table, and you're just really missing out on some organic free traffic to your content. Okay, I got on a soapbox on that one. I promise I will. I can't promise that I won't get back up there. But I've stepped down for a second because we're gonna move on to number four. 

4. You're titling your podcasts with episode numbers  11:33  
All right. Number four, is your titling your podcast with episode numbers. So this is specifically for those of you with podcasts. I have a little bit of, you know, different kinds of creators sprinkled into today's episode, but I'm calling you out. podcasters. Stop putting numbers in your episode titles. I don't care if a YouTube video from five years ago told you to do that. It's not what you do today. They don't add value to your audience. And here's the end like specific reason why you don't want to do it. Your podcast host does this for you. They know that it's season one, episode 373 Because that's what I uploaded into Buzzsprout for this episode, I don't have to put episode 373 live in ways you're sabotaging your content. I didn't put all of that into Buzzsprout for my title. I put it in the area where it says episode number season. That's where you put that information. Don't do it in your titles. Just stop it if you're doing it today. Stop it. Okay, it ends right now. All right. Agreed. Maybe I Am that I Am fiery. today. We're just gonna keep rolling with this. It's a good thing. I'm standing up because I'm like, Who? I'm using lots of hand gestures. I probably am going to smack my mic here in a second on accident. Like we're just going with it. 

5. You don't have a website.  12:56  
All right, number five. Oh, this one's gonna, this one's gonna hit hard. Okay, but I'm gonna say it. I'm gonna say it because y'all have given me all your excuses. And I'm gonna We're tearing this one down. Now, the saboteur number five is, you don't have a website, y'all. It is 2022. It's about to be 2023. You need a website. Okay. And there are so many options. I'm not saying you have to go pay a designer 510 15 $20,000 To make you this amazing, beautiful website. You can go get one on, you can do it with bus brow, you can get a website for your podcast through Buzzsprout. And it is literally included in your plan. Go grab a $12 domain and boom, you have a podcast website. Go to Squarespace, go to all of these. There's pod page, like there's so many options for you to have a website and for you to say, Well, I just can't figure it out. I can't do it. None of that that stops today, we're going to figure this out. We're going to see how you can create a website for your content because it is very, very important for you to have this in this day and age. Okay, we're bringing you up to speed and what is going on in content today. And you need a website. 

6. Your CTAs are sad or non-existent.  14:19  
Number six, your CTAs are sad or non existent. Okay. And I'm guilty of this here I am calling myself out on this. I when I first started, I either didn't have any CTAs or it was very boring. It was subscribed to the show and I said it really fast. Like, subscribe to the podcast. It was sad. We'll call it that because it wasn't non existent. It was there but it was still pretty sad. I want you to be more strategic with your CTAs and I have so many resources about this, y'all and even if they're old YouTube videos that say podcasts CTAs it applies to all content, okay? It is absolutely crucial for you to have CTAs down. Because if you don't ask people to subscribe to join your email list to follow you on Instagram or you buy your products and services, then why would they, if you are not asking them too, so maybe you should go through all this list. Today, I'm gonna have everything listed in the show notes. So krystalproffitt.com/episode373. But go through all of these and say, Ooh, okay, this is what I need to work on, download it, highlight it, circle it, take a screenshot to highlight, do whatever you have to do. But if this is somewhere where you're struggling, you need to improve this, I have tons of resources to help you with all of these things, but I'm calling you out on it. Okay, if you're not doing really good CTAs, then your content will not continue to grow. Okay, so that's number six. 

7. You're not marketing your own content.  15:57  
Number seven, you're not marketing your own content. So many of y'all are guilty of this. And it's funny, because I'm not even calling you out, y'all have called yourselves out to me. Because anytime I mentioned this, I'll say, okay, you know, you're publishing a piece of content, you're being consistent every week, but then you're not telling anybody about it. And you'll have said, Oh, guilty, this is me, like, I'll publish it. But then it feels weird to say something. And it's just like, oh, just stop creating content every single week, and then not telling anyone about it, because you are the one that's really missing out. You're the one that is planning your content, you're recording it, you're editing it, oh, my gosh, all editing is going to come up again in a second. But if you are spending hours and hours and hours editing something, and then you don't market that thing, you may as well just thrown away those hours of your life because no one's going to hear it. It like all your hard work, all the things you're doing behind the scenes, no one will hear it if you are not marketing it to the potential audience or your audience that you want to hear it. So you need to market your content, you've got to market your content. Okay, I said I wasn't gonna I am I'm firing today, at an even like, just have my coffee or anything. This is just like, whoo, it's coming. It is coming out of me. And we're like, we're a little over halfway. 

8. Not networking with others in your industry.  17:22  
All right. Number eight. You're not networking with other people in your industry. So whether it's content collaborations, promo swaps, or just getting to know other people, you should be connecting with other creators in your industry, you need to see them as peers, and not competition. I cannot stress to you how much this has helped me tremendously, tremendously. In my business, I have made really incredible friends, like lifelong friends, I see us like still being really close in the next 1020 years. Because I have reached out to different people in my industry. Some of them have been selfish, like I want to just learn from them. Some of them are people that I'm just like, Ah, I just want to, like, just be around them because they have this intoxicating glow of how they carry themselves and how they interact with their audience. And I just want to learn from them. And other people. I just genuinely want to get to know that as so many people in this audience. I have gotten to know people that I can call out by name and give them a shout out like Amy Cornell, like shout out to Amy, if you're listening, Cathy Vin and Whoville like she's been around Craig Van Slyke. Like all of y'all, I could keep going I feel bad now, like I'm giving these three people shout outs but like, I could just keep going. There's so many people in this audience that I would have never known had I not created content and started making these strategic connections to where I know if I have a question about fitness, I can reach out to Amy, because this is what she does. If I have a question about caregiving or helping someone through a hard time, I know I can reach out to Kathy because this is her expertise. And I know that Craig comes from an education background as an academic and I could reach out to him. If I had questions about the education space or anything related to universities, colleges, and anything to do with education. I would not be able to pull these people's names like off the top of my head if we hadn't made genuine connections with other people that are just interested in content creation. That's all like we've come to know each other. Some of them have been students of mine. Some of them are members of our community. But I think at the end of the day, it's so important for you to connect with other people in your industry. So I want to say that again. I want you to see people in your industry. Free as peers and not as competition. Very, very important. 

9. Spending too much time editing.  20:05  
All right, number nine. Okay, this was going to come up. I told y'all it was going to come up. All right, my hands back on the hip. My hand is back on the desk. Number nine, the ninth way that you are sabotaging. sabotaging your own content growth, is you're spending too much time editing. I know, I've said it before. I'm gonna say it like 1000 more times. I know I'm gonna keep doing it. But you need this talk. Because even though I've said it, it keeps coming back around is a reoccurring theme here on this podcast. It is okay to have sums or pauses in your podcast episodes. It's totally fine. If the lighting for your YouTube video is a little off today. And it is absolutely okay to have a blog post. That is not culet surprise where they are just I have to say it because I I feel like maybe you need to go back and listen to that. Did you hear that long? Yeah, I said it, it's fine. It's totally unfair to go back and edit that out it is totally fine. But if you need to hear that audio of what I just said about podcasts, YouTube blog posts, like record that like do a screen recording on your phone and like help play that back to yourself. Like it's okay to have an pauses, it's okay to have your lighting slightly off. It's okay to not be a perfect writer. But you'll have to stop spending so much time editing because you are missing out on other important things that you should be focused on in your content because you're spending way too much time editing. I'm gonna say it again like it's just who Okay, I got on my soapbox now we're stepping back down. It's like, it's like I'm doing like step ups. You know, like Jane Fonda like I'm thinking of like her aerobics videos from back in the day. She's in the leotard and we're doing like our step up some little bench. Now I'm imagining my mom in the 90s. Like having the the Step Up Classes at the YMCA. I don't remember what they're called. But they had those little things and I feel like I'm just stepping up on my little, my little thing. I'm tapping. I'm stepping up. I'm Jazzercise thing. That's what it was called. Jazzercise going with me right now. Okay, because I'm stepping up on my soapbox, I'm getting down. And now we're back. 

10. Not showing up consistently.  22:30  
Okay, this is number 10. Number 10. The 10th way that you're sabotaging your content, you're not showing up consistently. And I've said this so many times, and I'm not gonna harp on this, you know who you are, you know who you are. Okay. But the bottom line is, if people don't know, when you're going to show up for them, then why would they show up for you? And I feel like I need to like a mic drop emoji, like boom, like that is legitimately all that it comes down to. People will come to me complaining, well, people aren't listening. People don't watch my YouTube, people will read my blog post. And I'm like, Well, have you been posting consistently for the last few weeks? Oh, no, I just kind of do it when I feel like it. You're sabotaging you are sabotaging your growth. By doing that you truly are. And I'm gonna call you out on it. You just I've said my piece. That's all I'm gonna say about that one, you know who you are. 

11. Not strategically planning what you're creating.  23:33  
The last one, number 11. The 11th way that you are sabotaging your own content growth, you're not strategically planning what you are creating. Now, everything that you do needs to have a purpose in your content, whether it's a small goal that you're working towards, or a life changing goal, you need to have a plan to get there right with it's just your daily to do list and you got to write down I got to do a b and c you got to go to the grocery store. I got to finish laundry, you got to cook dinner, like that's still a plan. It's not huge goals, but it's still a plan. Or if you're trying to create a million dollar business. Do you think you're just going to wake up and be there one day without having a plan? It's not likely okay, I guess I can't say it's not impossible because some crazy things happen for tech talkers and all these people like I'm not gonna say it's impossible, but it's not likely. And I can promise you that Dude Perfect so I of course I know about them. If you have young boys or young children, you know who Dude Perfect is on YouTube. They have over 58 million YouTube subscribers. They didn't get there without having a plan. Okay, maybe they didn't have a plan in the beginning because they were just posting trick shots on YouTube. But today oh they have a plan. I can tell you their plan just by like doing their or watching their content is just thinking in my head. I'm like, Whew, that's my next case study that I need to do is Dude Perfect, because it's pretty incredible what they done and what they're continuing to do today. But they have a plan, you'll I know I can see their strategy. If you scroll through their YouTube videos, you can see their strategy of how they're creating their content, or armchair expert, y'all. This is one of my favorite shows. It's my top three podcast. And they have a top podcast in the world with millions and millions of downloads. And I know that they have a strategic plan for all of their content for their audience and the path that they see for themselves. I hear it because I listen to them. Whenever they're talking. They're creating new content. They're trying new things they have these different experts on they talk to these specific people, like it's just very clearly on the wall, that they have a strategy, you need a strategy for your content for what you are creating. Because if you are still, you've been in this for a while and you're still throwing spaghetti against the wall, it's time. And it's time for you to have a plan. It's time for you to get strategic, it's time for you to stop just saying I'll record whenever I get a chance. It's not going to work if you want to actually grow your content and have a bigger impact. Okay, we got through all those. I'm like done with my Jazzercise and getting up and down on my soapbox, but I just had to share these Saboteurs like this is such a fun word I'm going to keep like, as soon as I'm done recording, I'm gonna walk out and say did you know there were 11 Saba tours in my office today. It's such a weird thing. I know it. Don't do accents. Krystal don't do accents. You just made it really weird. 

Easy Peasy Content  26:48  
But they were super important to cover. And I hope that you receive today's episode with love and know that I have compassion for you. I'm not wagging my finger and getting on to you in a way that's like Shame, shame, shame on you. It is to let you know that these are the things that you're ignoring that don't need to be ignored. They will stop you from growing. So if you have like had them hidden in a corner for a while, and you're like, Oh, nobody will notice we'll just kick it under the rug. It's no big deal. Well, I will notice because you won't grow. And you'll notice because you won't grow. And that as a coach, going back to what we were talking about the very beginning makes me sad. It makes me sad that you can't reach your full potential, because these things are holding you back. All right, I want you to look at everything we talked about today, go to the show notes, and really get strategic at what you can do with their content. So you have a big plan, like this is the last quarter of 2022. And I want you to achieve really big things in 2023 and beyond. And in order to do that, you have to not just put your head in the sand and pretend like everything's okay. When you know it could be better. But I wanted to share with you I actually have a brand new masterclass that is all about easy peasy content, because maybe you're listening to this and like it's all sounds so complicated. Or Krystal, I wish that you could just walk me through what you do and how this works. Well, I'm sharing this masterclass, that is called Easy Peasy Content. And it's six ways to save five plus hours per week creating. And the reason why I created this is because I've talked to so many of you. And the thing that you struggle with most is time, time, whether it's the time you spend editing, or the time you don't have to market or the time you don't have to plan like I just hear it time, time time it is the theme that recurs over and over and over again, I don't have time to do all the things that I want to do. And so I want to share with you these six strategies that will help you cut down on how much time you spend in your content, so that you do have more time to be strategic to spend it with your family to go on walks with your dog or your partner or have date nights or just soak in the tub and binge watch. Love It or List It. This is my current favorite show that I'm watching on Discovery less on HDTV. So yeah, I'm just like total myself, but it's true. If you want to do that. I want to give you the gift of time in this masterclass. So go to krystalproffitt.com/easy to register and find all the information about it. Because it's going to be so good. It's going to be so good. If you are struggling with time. If you're struggling with the things that we talked about today, if you're like crystal you just told me 11 ways that I need to work on my content, but I don't have Time for it. Come join this masterclass I will show you how you can save five plus hours a week like I mean five is the minimum, the minimum number of hours you will save with the strategies that I'm going to share with you. So again, go to krystalproffitt.com/easy to register. 

Outro  30:20  
But that's all I have for you today. This was such a fun episode. Thank you for Jazzercise, being with me and hanging around for the tough love and I hope like I said that it was received with love because it totally comes from a place of compassion and learning and understanding from my own journey. But as always remember, keep it up. We all have to start somewhere.