Mistakes NOT to Make when Creating Content
Making a post about mistakes not to make implies that you can mess up and everything will be fine. We are all human and will make mistakes. Some are okay to make while others create irreversible damage.
When I originally had the idea for From the Attic, it was centered on voice-over work. For once, I am actually doing something other than writing an opinion on voice-over work. But in that, I learned 3 big mistakes not to make when creating content.
The voice-over side hustle has been mentioned over and over for weeks on From the Attic, but no real sign of progress. I was excited to finally chronicle forward movement. It felt really good to cross this off my to-do list. However not serious the wording may be, I at least now have something to put forth.
There was also my promise to you that I would document and share the experience. Mentally it was becoming this grand milestone, but was it really?
3 Mistakes Not to Make, learned from experience
We are going to make mistakes. The small ones like stumbling over words are easy to forgive. The mistakes not to make do no good for anyone, if accepted.
I documented the vast majority of my efforts that night. In watching back the footage, I just get the feeling I was trying to be something bigger than I really am at this point.
The video looks good. I got some decent b-roll and I even got some shots editing in real-time. In real-time, it felt amazing. The next morning has proven to be a much different case.
I’m not saying I am disappointed or feel like I did not do a good job. The two files I finished are decent and already uploaded. Reviewing the footage revealed a few lessons that we all should remember when working on any project.
Be Prepared.
Watching someone struggle to intelligently speak about what they are doing is painful. It is more painful when it is you. It doesn’t take Stephan Hawking-level intelligence to speak into a microphone, but if you are going to talk about it, at least think before you speak. The result is someone just spewing words at you.
This is the first mistake not to make.
I had great intentions for this vlog about recording a voice-over demo, but I never took time to plan anything out. It really showed when I watched the footage later that night. I was mortified by what I saw.
If you are not prepared, stop what you are doing, and get prepared
The next day I thought about the experience. It was then I decided I couldn’t use this footage the way I intended. I also remembered times during the evening that my brain questioned the statements I made.
This is the second mistake not to make.
My own mind was trying to stop me and I just kept going. I was not prepared to produce quality content. At that moment, production should have stopped. Then some planning should have taken place so that the outcome was a product I could present.
Instead of heeding the warnings from the voice in my head, I kept going. The result was a bunch of words related to the actions shown. And even though the words related to the actions, there was no substance. Nothing of value to provide you.
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Don’t let ego get in the way
Speaking about what to say and how to say it is one thing. Trying to explain what effect plugins you are using and why, at 11:00 p.m., is a whole new level of uncomfortable. That is what I tried to do and I quickly realized I was not prepared.
I’ve recorded audio and edited those files before. The problem is I let my ego get in the way and failed to remember how long it had been since I last produced audio in this manner. It would be different had I not performed these tasks several times in the past. If it was the first time in this situation, I could accept a lack of substance.
This is the third mistake not to make and is the root cause of the other mistakes. I the ego doesn’t get in the way, you can start to make a solid judgment about the tasks you perform. The result is evaluating yourself honestly. And when you evaluate honestly, you can avoid wasting your own and your audience’s time.
My promise to you
Moving forward, I will take these lessons I have shared to heart. Never again will I potentially provide you sub-par content.
In the future, I will be recording more demos. I will make this up to you by trying again in the next couple weeks as I start to rotate demo material in and out.
I also promise to never hold anything back from you just because I look bad. While I would argue the footage I took does just that. This is not the reason I have withheld this content. I have chosen not to show this footage because the content provides no value to you.
The point behind From the Attic is to share with you the lessons learned from successes and failures. In this instance, you will learn much more from the failure than a vlog celebrating the fact that I recorded to 60-second audio files.
You deserve way more than that.
Join me Sunday for Vlog Sunday as I talk more about continued progress in my Voice-Over venture. And yes, there has been some progress.
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