By the time I finished writing the full article, the article was 3472 words. I felt that would be a lot of content to consume in one sitting.

So, I broke my monstrous article into two to save you a lot of headache while reading and still deliver a lot of value.

Let’s start at the top…

I’m going to be completely honest with you. I’m not proud of how I have been showing up in the past year.

So, I’m going to open up and be vulnerable here.

If you’re reading this you’ve probably noticed that there are a couple of inconsistencies in my website.

Case in Point #1: The Blog Section.

The last blog was a guest post written by Tavleen from The You Engine and it was for something related to 2016.

And in case you’re like “what’s wrong with that?” then let me remind you that we’re now in 2018. So we have a full year gap between the last article and the one that you’re reading now.

Well, let me console myself by saying that at least I broke the jinx with the first episode of my podcast which was released on December 31, 2017. If you’ve not listened to it, here’s a link. (And it’ll mean a lot to know your thoughts on it.)

Oh, and before you crucify me concerning the quality of the episode #1 then please read this.

Case in Point #2: Social Media Accounts

Well, I had been on and off in creating content for my social accounts, especially in the early part of 2017.

And the theme of my content was all over the place until it started to get a little more consistent towards the later part of 2017. But I bowed and fizzled out until I released episode #1 of the Millennial Out Loud Podcast.

The place where I was somewhat consistent in was my Instagram. Funny thing is that I was going through the lowest time of my life back then. It seems like I created the best content during that time and the level of engagement was not bad at all.

How about my Facebook business page? Well, it’s currently in a sorry state. So let’s just not go there.

However, I wasn’t doing badly in my personal profile though. That’s where I created longer and more heart-to-heart content. Engagement was pretty good there too and got even better when I released episode #1 of the Millennial Out Loud Podcast.

Case in Point #3: Guest Posts

In 2017 I was actively creating content and publishing articles on Huffington Post. Although I pitched to other publications I didn’t write as much in other publications as I did on Huffington Post. But as 2017 was about to die down, so did my enthusiasm to write articles on Huffington Post.

Call it gut feeling or whatever, I was no longer feeling in alignment with Huffington Post. As much as it brought huge exposure, it wasn’t something that I really “vibed” with. We had good times together but it was time for HuffPost and I to breakup.

I did grow to love Influencive though. Maybe it’s because it’s more focused on entrepreneurship – a niche I totally adore. I know that my first article on Influencive was probably 10 percent entrepreneurial, to be honest, but I can say it’s something every entrepreneur needs to read.

Why You Need to be Consistent

Let’s do a little assessment.

Remember the saying “Consistency is key”? Yeah, whoever said that was right.

I was not consistent with my content. I would not encourage anyone to be inconsistent. Here’s why:

1.     Being consistent puts you in front of your target audience.

Yes, this may seem like a no-brainer but listen up: algorithms are changing and they are affecting content creators. And algorithms didn’t spare any form of content. So whether you write content, record audio or make videos, algorithms will affect the rate at which your target audience gets to see your content.

The reason why you are encouraged to be consistent with your content is to ensure that you are seen by your target audience.

For example, if you make a post on social media (Facebook, Instagram and even YouTube is affected by algorithm) today the likelihood of ALL your fans and followers seeing your content that day is like 1:5.

But if you push content on your social media everyday, for example (It’s just an example. You don’t have to put out content everyday… I’ll get to that in a minute) then the chance of people seeing you increases.

Since I wasn’t consistent with my content, not many people got to see my content. So the closest I made to impact was a scratch.

2.     Being consistent gets the momentum going

There’s something about consistency that keeps you going. If you’re committed to showing up in your business and creating valuable content that actually helps people on a regular basis then it gets easier to do.

Since I was not consistent with my content I lost momentum pretty quickly. One week I’m creating content everyday and the next week I’m like “Screw this. I’m going to lounge all day”. This made creating content very difficult.

Instead of taking it on incrementally – like pieces of value-packed content then gradually inch into something bigger – I tried to make the best long form content I could muster. That created an inroad for my bullshit to creep in as I got obsessed with making “the perfect long form content ever”.

Guess what? I ended up with a folder full of incomplete articles that never got published and pages of content ideas and outlines that never saw the light of day. #Facepalm

3.     Being consistent fuels the level of your authority

Let’s be honest here. Would you rather listen to someone who is consistent and well-defined with their message or someone whose allegiance you can’t put a finger on?

I trust you’re pretty smart so I know which one you’ll choose.

My authority level dropped from being someone people listened to and even asked advice from to someone who’s just making noise. Ouch!

That’s pretty much what sporadic and spontaneous posting does to you.

But What Does Consistent Look Like?

When I talk about consistency, I refer to two kinds:

1. Frequency of showing up
2. A message that is 100 percent you and on brand

The Truth About Frequency of Showing up

When people hear about being consistent with their content they think it means that they need to publish a blog post or put content up on social media everyday to get results.

The truth is that you need to show up everyday but that doesn’t necessarily mean publish content everyday.

Okay, give me a minute to clarify.

Creating valuable content is just one form of showing up in your business or showcasing your brand. There are other things about you and your brand that you should be releasing to your target audience.

Gary Vaynerchuk is huge on documenting. Documenting your life, events that happen, things you’re doing, etc. gives your target audience a chance to get to know you for who you are. It’s so much more relatable and so much easier to create.

Another way of showing up to your target audience is to effectively engage with them with the sole aim of building a solid relationship. If you can be laser focused on building relationships, the ROI on your effort in the long run is huge.

Building relationships is something that many brands and thought leaders fail to leverage on. Yes, the effort expected of you to build a good relationship with your target audience is long and cumbersome.

For example, you can’t scale messaging your potential clients, especially when you want to be a memorable brand and business that stands out from your competitors. A simple copy and paste sample pitch doesn’t make the cut anymore. People have grown wiser and they see through that bullshit now.

It’s not enough to follow influencers and comment “Yes”, “So true!”, “On point”, “Great post” on the first 3 posts on their wall and hope they follow you back.

The market is open for those who have the guts to go the extra mile and add more heart and soul to conversations.

So if you count creating content as the only thing you can do to show up in your business then you’re leaving a lot on the table. Creating content is just part of the game.

People want more personality and a deeper connection. They crave it and the competition at that level is extremely low.

Now let’s take a step back and look at the whole picture.

You may decide to create valuable content everyday but there are other things you need to add to this so that you really show up as a brand like building relationships, sharing your content and giving sneak peeks into your life.

But if you decided to create value-packed content 3 times a week, it shouldn’t stop you from reaching out to your target audience everyday and connecting with them.

Got it? Good.

Keeping Your Brand in Line with Your Message

People need to know what you stand for.

When they hear your name, what do you want to be known for? When people hear about your business or brand, what do you want people to think or feel about you?

Consistency also lies in the how often you reflect your brand message in your content. Your message is powerful and it is the part where your audience relates with you the most.

That’s why it’s so important to have a crystal clear picture of the message you want to project to your target audience. So answering questions like:

• Who are you?
• What do you stand up for?
• What is your passion and/or mission?

I had my messaging all over the place. Sometimes I would receive a message from one of my friends on Facebook asking me what exactly I do for a living.

That’s the worse place to be when you are projecting a brand with mixed messaging and your potential clients are confused about what you do and what you stand for.