Valuable content has already been shared. Just Google or ask an AI and you will get it all.

“But I have picked a niche” you may argue. Yes, but so do 1000 others. Do you think they are not sharing valuable content like you do?

Also, people know a lot more than you think. So simply sharing valuable information does not work. Your content may be welcome but it rarely helps you achieve what you want. Which is building a name.

What is valuable content anyway?

Valuable content is anything you share that others, the audience you talk to, may find useful.

A quotation from Nelson Mandela or Tony Robbins is valuable information. But can you expect to gain anything from sharing that?

The gurus will tell you that all it takes to build a name is to share valuable content. But what they don’t tell you is that valuable content in itself may not help you build a personal brand. Because, like I said, valuable information is all over the internet.

You have to share valuable content that can be accrued to your name. So you can reap the benefit of recognition and ultimately make money out of it.

A good test to whether your insights can be accrued to you is this; if we remove your name and give the content to someone else to share, will people notice something is off?

If somebody else can own your content and nothing happens, then you two have been merely sharing valuable information.

Look at people who share startup trends or motivation, they amass engagement but their brand authority remains weak. They struggle to monetize their efforts. Why? They simply share valuable information that is all over there.

Bring a different perspective

People know a lot more than you think. But you may gain their attention by helping them see what they already know from a different perspective. Be someone who sees what everyone is seeing but thinks what everybody isn’t.

It is not enough to share valuable information. You have to be effective. You want to leave an impression in someone’s mind, not a simple agreement because you said something obvious.

Try costly signalling

Anything a person says or does that involves cost tends to inspire trust. For example, humor is a very expensive skill. If you can make people laugh while sharing something, you easily stand out. Can you share valuable content in a humorous way?

Another example of costly signaling is being a contrarian. Share unpopular opinions on what is known to be the case. Just like what I’m trying to do here. I am challenging the popular advice of “share valuable content.”

In this post, I tried to signal that I am an observant person. I tried to explain a pattern I observed at the gym and how it manifests in other life instances from business to politics and scammers.

Stand out with a personal experience

We recently wrote an article at my agency that resonated with many business owners. What is unique about the article is that it is not generic best practices or how to grow a business online. It is packed with experience-based, not Googable tips. Nobody can own what you personally experienced. So try to weave personal experience into the known valuable information you share.

Do not share valuable content

Be opinionated, connect the dots, and share experience-driven insights. Writing for authority has moved from sharing the general “5 ways to do it, or three ways not to do it”, hacks and steal this or that. We are now into opinionated and experience-driven posts. Things that nobody can just take and make their own.

Most of my posts, such as this one, are opinionated.

A lot of things we say have already been said. Probably better. How we frame, package, and deliver them is what matters.

Remember, be someone who sees what everybody sees but thinks what everybody doesn’t.

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