Optimize your Content for Human Attention not the Algorithm
4/27/23
Too many people worship the algorithm with their content, like they were making content for the robot mind and not for humans.
I see a lot of people worry about optimizing content for the algorithm, that digital god the humans of modern times have begun to worship.
They forget that they’re creating content for human minds.
I like to remind myself that at the end of the day, the algorithm is designed based on people’s natural curiosity patterns.
Yes, there are some tricks worth learning to get your content ranked more favorably within the algorithm and be shown to more people but you shouldn’t make your content FOR the robot mind.
If your content doesn't appeal to human attention and curiosity, people won't engage with it and the algorithm won't rank it favorably.
Optimize for human attention first, robot mind second.
When you optimize for the human attention of your ideal viewer, you are freeing yourself from the repression of worshiping a false god.
I’m being dramatic, but this newsletter is for human minds and human emotions.
How to Write for Humans first, algorithm second
Let’s look at my opening sentence of this newsletter (which I will be using as my YouTube video script later on).
Most likely you are reading this newsletter because you either clicked the link I shared on social media, are already on my email list, or found my website from social media as well.
This is my 4th newsletter so I am not ranking high on google search results yet for the keywords and topics I discuss.
Yet when I shoot this as a YouTube video, I know the YouTube algorithm will be scanning the first sentences of my video transcription for keywords that will give it clues to what it’s about and which audience will actually want to watch it.
My opening sentence was “I see a lot of people worry about optimizing content for the algorithm, that digital god the humans of modern times have begun to worship.”
I suppose it will flag “optimize content for the algorithm” as a big clue to what this piece is about.
I am not trying to get the algorithm to take the literal meaning of my words “worship a false god” in hopes that the algorithm will show this to people interested in religion or religious scams.
The second half of my sentence I wrote as a dramatic comparison because I know that’s how human minds make sense of things.
It also sparks curiosity, making people wonder what I am talking about.
Ideally they will be eager to hear more and will keep reading or watching (whatever kind of content piece it is).
My newsletter and YouTube channel is still new and young and it takes a while for the algorithm to determine what your content is about.
So this is me going through the motions and practicing and refining my content strategy as I go.
At my job at TubeSift we have a larger YouTube channel and have been publishing for much longer so YouTube and our audience knows that we talk about YouTube ads.
We frequently get comments of people thanking us for the tips and the strategies that we share.
When I produce our videos at TubeSift, we first choose a topic that we know would be valuable to our audience.
We use a strong hook in the first sentence that grabs people’s attention and demonstrates the video topic.
Then when I upload the video to YouTube I will create a title and video description in a way that gives clues to the algorithm about what topics are covered.
I still write them in a way that appeals to human attention and curiosity.
Title your videos off something a human would want to learn about and tweak it so it has the right keywords for the algorithm to recognize which audience this content is for.
If you deliver value in your content, and focus on holding people’s attention, people engage with it and the algorithm ranks it favorably and shows it to more of the right people who are interested in your topics and presentation style.
This is because you focused on people first and robot mind second.
The robot mind serves humans, not the other way around.
The content creator should serve humans.
The algorithm is just a tool to help get your content in front of the right audience.
Create content for human attention. Serve humans valuable content first, and then serve the algorithm valuable data second to help it know which audience your content is for and what it is about.
How to Create Valuable Content that Serves Human Curiosity
Now that we have broken down the false religion of making content for robots by over-focusing on the algorithm, let’s examine how to create valuable content that serves human curiosity.
When you serve human curiosity, you are making content that will get engagement, and signal to your distribution tool (the algorithm) that your content is valuable to a specific audience.
To make engaging content you need to appeal to human curiosity with these three elements:
Entertainment
Inspiration
Education
Your content can focus on just one of these, you can cycle through them, or you can make content that touches on all of these.
Think about this: what do we go to social media platforms for?
We are either trying to distract ourselves from a task or feeling and receive a dopamine release (entertainment), we’re trying to frame a positive mindset (inspiration), or are trying to learn how to accomplish a certain task or goal (education).
Those are the areas of influence over human curiosity.
To create content that speaks to these, you need to have clarity over who your audience is.
Who are you making the content for, and what are you trying to help them with?
Clarity over your audience comes in time after you create content consistently for a while but having this in mind before you start making your content is going to drastically increase the engagement.
Personally, I make content for people who are interested in making their own content and finding a greater sense of life purpose by sharing their knowledge, passions, and interests.
I try to appeal to all three areas of engaging content because I want my content to stand out from other creators and be unique to my own style.
I try to be entertaining with my comedy bits in my short reels series What’s my Nitch? (jokes about content creation and the struggles we face), I try to be inspiring by relating to people’s common obstacles and showing they can be overcome, and I try to be educational by sharing some valuable tips on how to accomplish a certain task or goal.
Some of my pieces are more geared towards entertainment, others more towards inspiration and education. At times I try to make content that appeals to all three in one piece.
By experimenting in these areas with content that is about content creation, I am learning which pieces perform best so I can create more content like those and continue to grow my engagement.
Advice for Getting started with your Content
Getting started publishing content is scary and frustrating.
Your first posts don’t get much engagement
You feel like you’re not really an expert
You test a bunch of topics you aren’t sure about
You worry your production quality isn’t good enough
It’s hard to find the time to make your content because you have a job and a life…
I have been there and it isn’t easy.
Remember, creating your own content and positioning yourself as a source of knowledge isn’t an easy task, but it’s worth it.
Here is a short piece I wrote on overcoming the obstacles to your content creation.
People who create and share content about topics and passions that they’re interested in are going to be lightyears ahead of people who don’t.
Content creation is changing the wealth distribution and education areas.
People can make drastic career, income, and life-purpose changes by building a personal brand or small business around topics they are passionate about.
You don’t need a new degree.
You don’t need a bunch of start-up capital.
You literally need your phone, some basic writing skills, and social media platforms to start creating a better future for yourself.
Selling your knowledge and guidance is the new business model for people who want to escape a rigid 9-5 job, gain more control over their time and finances, and develop a greater sense of fulfillment in life by living with greater purpose.
Since I started my content creation journey (AKA sharing my passions, interests, and knowledge consistently online) I have been a lot more fulfilled because I have an activity that actually engages my natural curiosities and skill sets in a way that is meaningful.
I plan to build it out over time and create digital products and services that help others simplify their content creation and speed up their success, and ultimately gain greater control over my time and finances so I can write books, make videos, create music, and travel and explore with more ease.
You don’t need to be the top-notch expert in your field to share your knowledge.
You just need to be a few steps ahead of the people you are making content for.
If you have been thinking about a better way to make money and live, consider the online education (or information) business.
It’s not as scammy as its reputation gets, and it is only going to grow in the next decade.
Why pay a bunch of money for a degree that won’t get you fast results, when you can pay a fraction of the cost to learn skills that get you 100x better and faster results when you learn from a human individual who has been right where you are and gone through your struggles?
It doesn’t happen overnight.
You need to put out free content consistently for a while.
This will only increase the value of your knowledge.
You will learn more and solve more problems you can share with your audience as you go.
Don’t do this for immediate results.
Remember that you are doing this to create a better life for yourself well into the future.
Take your time.
Make sure you have clarity over what you want to create and how it can be valuable to others.
When you have that clarity and you are passionate about what you are doing, trust in that sign that you are well on your way to making a more enriching life for yourself.
-Brady C Snow, 4/27/23
How I can Help You
If you want to start your own content creation practice, here’s how I can help.
Book a Free Strategy Call with me to outline a customized content creation strategy aligned with your natural skillsets & interests:
https://calendly.com/bradysnow/contentstrategycall
I will help you clarify your content topics and give you a game plan for how to start getting the ball rolling.
