“If you want to make millions you have to inspire millions.” -MJ DeMarco

Business follows a simple formula; Find a problem, create a solution to that problem and sell it.

Marketing on the other hand is explaining the problem and explaining your solution to a target of just those that have the problem and thus are able to see the value in buying your solution.

Internet marketing however realizes that the answer my friend is blowing in the wind online and that all solutions to problems are already out there for free some place online. The signal is there, however the noise to signal ratio is high. You can find the answers in the sea of content that is being produced every second, it’s just going to take you some time. If you have time to look that is but many would be happy to pay for the solution and implement it rather than looking for it.

The signal is there, however the noise to signal ratio is high.

That is the value of being a signal creator. If your message is full of fluff and you are not talking about the problem or the solution you are just creating more noise.

The best content are those that give away solutions to problems with no noise. When I find a great source of solutions I bookmark it. I use it. I love that they are doing what they are doing! I sign up to their email newsletter I am more than happy to give back. When asked to buy their concise solution or to use their affiliate link in making a purchase, I am happy to reciprocate. I would have bought anyways once I realize the value of the solution good Internet marketers are selling. After all great content is lots of signal (solutions) and very little noise.

We live in the noisiest time ever in the history of the world. More content is created every thirty seconds than we can consume in an entire lifetime. Eric  Schmidt of Google was quoted five years ago that we create as much content in two days and put it online that was created from the dawn of time till 2003. I am sure that we are creating more content now than then as this Internet thing seems to be growing and not slowing down! (Moore’s Law)

So what do I mean by content? Internet content is every book ever written, every movie ever made, every song ever recorded, every video clip, every TV show, Every commercial, every radio talk show, every podcast, every ebook, every photograph, every sound file, every video file, every painting, every drawing, every idea that has been written and more; that is content! It’s anything your can read, see, or hear on the Internet.

Now think back to 2003. We had the Internet, we had Amazon, EBay, Google and Yahoo. We knew a lot of stuff! I bet the amount of content has at least doubled since Eric  Schmidt spoke. If so there is that much information created every day that was created from the beginning of time to 2003! I don’t know about you but it’s hard to wrap my mind around a world of that much content creation. Even if I want to get specific information in a little spec of overall content I would have a possible river of content.

I’ve heard the metaphor that consuming content today is like taking a sip from a fire hose. But I think that metaphor is a bit too gentle.

Today the value of information is at an all time low. It’s everywhere and sometimes it’s easy to feel a bit overwhelmed by it all. Millions of web sites, photographs, graphics, books and thousands of TV shows, and podcast, and movies. So much stuff being pushed at us to look at or listen, in one word, to consume. Every second there seems to be something vying our attention, every second we have to make a choice; to consume or more accurately what to consume.

All marketing material is content. The packaging on a bag of chips is content. My apps, my email, all my communication is content, vying for my time. With information everywhere it’s amazing that we would pay for it!

With information everywhere it’s amazing that we would pay for it!

Why we buy books and content is why we buy anything. Because it solves a problem. It entertains and amuses us when we are bored. It teaches us new perspectives and skills when we seek to learn. Most important, it saves us time.

Those that make concise content that helps people and no fluff are those that can make money in this sea of noise today.

Let me know what you think. Tweet to me @JohnTupper Thanks for reading my blog!