Hello Content Creators!

Thanks for tuning in! Here's some crazy food for thought:

Worst. Response. Ever. Or was it?

A high school teacher friend just told me something that made me upset, at first.

Like everyone right now, he's having to teach remotely, and our school district has made it known that students will not receive letter grades, only Pass/Fail.

On a recent teacher parent/teacher call regarding a lack of assignments being turned in by their child, the parent simply said: "If he ain't getting credit, he' ain't gonna do the work."

I know. There's a lot to unpack there.

But let's look at this from a content marketing standpoint. Obviously, neither this student nor his parent(s) are motivated by learning for learning's sake. The knowledge isn't the reward that motivates them. It's the letter grade. The certificate. The number or ranking.

So my friend's suggestion that the student might want to learn these things so he's ready for the following school year fell on deaf ears.

And so it is with (probably) much of your content marketing.

Is your message falling on deaf ears because it's not delivering the reward, value, or solution your potential customers want? Do you even know what they want? Chances are, their value systems are vastly different than yours.

Great, but how do I know what's important to them?

Ask? That's easy, right? Run a survey contest where they can win a prize for responding. Ask your current customers why they bought from you. Ask others why they didn't buy from you. Don't judge, just learn. Then put out new and different content that rewards them the way they want.

(Yo, real quick, if you got this from a friend, click here to get your own)

A recent content project

Last fall, while we could still travel, we toured Slovenia's backroads and mountain passes on gravel bikes. As far as bucket list trips go, this one's up there. Even if you're not a cyclist, check out the photos, food and other adventures in our story and you'll want to go explore!

The trip was sponsored by Niner Bikes, Bontrager, HT Components, Roswheel and Mission Workshop. The Slovenian tourism department covered airfare, hotel, meals and transport with a guide.

Planning a trip like this is a big undertaking on its own. Balancing the needs of the country and the brands with our own editorial goals takes a little extra attention to detail. The results were worth it.

We created a gorgeous video and story that's an evergreen, reference travel feature for Slovenia. It's also a top notch planning guide for anyone who wants to cycle or travel there. And the brands not only received massive organic product placements and implied endorsements, but also separate reviews on Bikerumor.

We call these stories our "Where To Ride" series, and we're already planning our next gravel and mountain bike destinations for when things return to normal. If you're interested in getting your brand involved, hit reply and let me know!

Cool stuff I've found recently:

1. Comica Wireless Mic- iPhone cameras are amazing for creating short videos. Their mics not so much. This one lets you record high quality audio with your videos, whether your own or your interview subject, and create incredibly watchable content! Rode makes a great one, too, but Comica's holds your phone, threads into a standard 1/4-20 tripod mount, is more affordable, and has almost 200ft range!

2. Heron adjustable camera rig - I set the Heron 4ft Desk Mount Overhead Equipment Rig up in my garage to film Bikerumor's product tech videos on my work bench. Unlike spring-loaded articulating arms, this one's joints use a locking cam to fix its position, so it won't budge during filming or sag over time.

3. Amazing Grass Green Superfood - Stressed out and stress eating during lock down? Or just running a million miles per hour like I am? As far as "green drinks" go, this is among the better tasting ones, and since it's basically an Amazon brand, it's way more affordable, too. Even better when it's mixed into a smoothie!

Make it interesting,

Tyler Benedict

*Any items, services, or products mentioned in these emails are provided solely because I think you'll like them. I don't sell this space, but some of links might be affiliate links, which earns me a small commission (beer money, really) if you buy something. This helps support all the free content. Thanks!