Turn plain content into unmissable insights— A formula and 3 examples for you

Do you cringe when you read ‘wake up early’ or ‘be consistent’ type content?

“This is so dumb!” you say.

“EVERYONE KNOWS THIS!” you scream.

There are other times when you read an article or post and say, “Wow, I learned something there. How did the writer come up with that? I loved that!”

As a marketer-turned-writer who has worked with 15+ founders, I can tell you the difference between those two opposite experiences. The writing that makes you cringe gives you information, whereas the writing that you love gives you insight.

Defining an insight:

To truly understand something well, it’s important to know what it is not.

So let’s start by looking at what an insight is not.

An insight is not a data point.

Here’s an example of a data point that people may think is an insight—

“8 out of 10 employees in India admitted that they have a desire to work remotely.”

An insight is not an observation either.

Here’s an example of an observation that people may think is an insight—

“A lot more women have been joining the army in recent years.”

Both these examples won’t make your reader think, “Wow, how did the writer come up with that?”, because they are not insights.

So what is an insight then?

Here’s a simple formula to present an insight:

The ‘X’ in this formula is the old or existing way of looking at your topic. The ‘Y’ is the new way of looking at the same thing.

The 'X' and 'Y' in 3 insight-driven content examples:

• Example #1

‘X’ — Looking at eating whole foods as a special diet

‘Y’ — Looking at eating whole foods as the common sense thing to do

Using the formula, we can present the insight as: “The world thinks it understands that eating whole foods is a special diet, but the truth is that it is just the common sense thing to do.”

• Example #2

‘X’ — Perceiving greatness as something that can come easy

‘Y’ — Perceiving greatness as something that demands your mind, body, and spirit

Using the formula, we can present the insight as: “The world thinks it understands that greatness and success can come easy, but the truth is that it demands your mind, body, and spirit.”

• Example #3

‘X’ — Perceiving business success as an overnight change

‘Y’ — Perceiving business success as a result of staying in the game for possibly decades

Using the formula, we can present the insight as: “The world thinks it understands that business success will happen overnight, but the truth is that it is the result of taking the right steps for possibly decades.

Why insights are the foundation for effective marketing:

Selling creates revenue today.

Behavior change, on the other hand, creates revenue forever.

Effective marketing changes human behavior from the bottom up by showing people a new way of looking at the same thing. It focuses on turning the reader into the kind of person who would buy no matter what.

Take the book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ for example.

It brought in approximately more than $100 million for its author, Robert Kiyosaki. But when people pay for it, they don’t feel they are buying something. Instead, they feel they are learning and improving their financial literacy - a category or area of their life.

Robert Kiyosaki doesn’t sell. He tells his story to show what is possible for the reader and by doing so, he relates, adds context, and even changes perceptions. Readers start to believe that wealth-building is possible by steadily their improving financial literacy, and are exposed to a new way of looking at it:

They don’t need to go to college for that.

All they need to do is play a board game!

That’s insight.

I’m more of a writing-oriented person so I gave you the Rich Dad Poor Dad example. But if you zoom out and think about marketing in general, you will notice that every impactful ad campaign, video ad, billboard, or social post is born from an insight.

So if you ever feel like your content writing lacks ‘spark’,

or you are sounding just like everyone else, in an ocean of lookalikes, then remind yourself that top-quality content can demand the best of you.

It takes even the greatest writers 10+ iterations to come up with refreshing and attention-grabbing content. Insights are born in our subconscious mind when the ‘dots’ of our observations, experiences, and emotions connect.

An insight can come to you when you least expect it.

So fall back on the above formula and keep your idea pad handy.

Use the ideas you jot down to transform your content strategy, personal brand, expert positioning, and yes, sales.

See you next week!

— Abhi