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The Best Accountability Coach: A Content Calendar

One thousand years ago, when I was in college studying classical music, I had a realization -- one that made me decide to change careers.

The best musicians who ended up going pro weren't the ones who were the smartest, or the most creative, or the most interesting. They were the ones who did the work, even when they didn't feel like it. And much like sports, the best players were often meatheads.

They were consistent as hell, even in the face of staggering boredom, and rarely overthought things. As a result, they had the most momentum, and made the most progress. Meathead musicians are tough to beat.

Content creation works in a similar way

You can whip yourself into a frenzy all you want with great ideas, but eventually you'll need to buckle down and start writing when you don't feel like it in order to develop consistency.

A content calendar can help you achieve this. And the content calendar doesn't lie. You either hit the deadlines or you don't, and it's in that trial-and-error that you figure out what rhythm works best for you. A content calendar is an accountability coach.

Airtable has a content calendar template. Other tools might have templates as well. I personally think Airtable is best, but since Camp Wordsmith® uses Airtable, I am biased.

What matters is that you have a space where you can define your marketing goals, then publish content that moves you toward achieving those goals. If post-it notes or a whiteboard achieve that for you, by my guest.

If you do decide to tinker with Airtable, here's a new blog post on how to get started with its built-in templates for free.

🔗 Nerd Out About Airtable

Google's AI Now Integrates with G Suite

Bard, Google's AI chatbot, now integrates with most other Google Workspace applications, and can check its own work via Google search, a dramatic improvement in mainstream AI accuracy.

In a new blog post published on Google's website, Bard Project Management Director Yury Pinsky says the updates, called bard Extensions, will pull information from multiple apps, including “Gmail, Docs, Drive, Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Flights and hotels.”

Additionally, users can now ask Bard to check the accuracy of its own output by finding corroborating sources in Google Search, a big step forward for many Generative AI chatbots' Achilles heel, which is that they often lie, but can do so persuasively, since they've been trained on large-language models (LLMs).

The fact-checking only works for queries in English at this time.

Why care?

Because technology can help you be more efficient and effective with your time.

Yes, there's a learning curve. But ignoring emerging technologies can be a risk. Remember Blockbuster Video? Neither do I.

Embrace learning curves related to tech. Learn the keyboard shortcuts. Stay informed. The full Bard announcement is linked below.

🔗 Read on the Google Blog

An Upcoming Free Event from Vimeo

Video management tool Vimeo is hosting a free event this week. You can choose between Tuesday the 26th and Thursday the 28th, and signup details are here.

Vertical video is its own beast. More than ever before, the ability to make a point or tell a story in a compressed length of time is a valuable skills.

This livestream will offer new ideas and tips, as well as a keynote from “Abbott Elementary” creator Quinta Brunson on “the value of pushing artistic boundaries and amplifying voices through storytelling.”

Register below.

🔗 Learn More About the Free Event

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Cheering you on,

—Nick