To get the Compound Return newsletter in your inbox every month, subscribe here.
In a world of overabundance, delight is rare and valuable.
The problem of overabundance – where consumable things are so cheap that they’re drowning our human limits – looms over our modern lives, both at work and at home. You may recall that I spent the first two months of the year tracking all the freebies, trinkets and favors that my three small children received; it was 99 things. Everything is so cheap and oversupplied that none of it feels valuable.
Last month, I offered part 1 of this series about overcoming overabundance, comparing content marketing to gift-giving, and I recommended trying to give white space. This month, I offer that it’s time to infuse your gifts with an element of delight.
In a new cookbook I’ve been working through, I keep stumbling on little nuggets that give me a zing of delight. The author cues expertly through simple and well-designed (and cheap!) recipes, which is valuable to a busy home cook. But she also, occasionally, says things like: “Pour the custard over the vegetables and onions and enjoy watching it fill in all the free spaces.” Yes! I think. That’s exactly what I do when I pour the egg mixture! “Sauté the garlic for 1 minute, until it smells great and becomes translucent.” Yes! The signal for perfect garlic is smell, but it’s rarely described that way!
This person gets me – or gets people like me, doing the things I’m doing. She’s standing in her kitchen, acknowledging what I’m going through in my kitchen.
This is one dimension of delight, a defining mark of a fantastic gift: when the gift-giver relates deeply to your experience and needs. If you’re receiving a birthday gift, this is the odd-duck book that happens to mash together two topics that you’ve expressed interest in at separate times, or the pair of earrings that matches your favorites lost years ago, or some other quirky, personal thing. It need not be large or flashy; it’s the signal that your life experience, needs, preferences, whatever – your reality, is important.
This is not the only way to give the gift of delight. Consider these ways that gifts can be delightful, and how each could apply to the content that we make for business audiences:
Something hard-to-get. In my life, this is swim lessons for my two older kids at the local pool, a crown jewel typically locked up behind a triple-digit waitlist. The day I happened to score these for the summer was like Christmas plus eight or nine birthdays. I also will never forget a particular gift from 1985, when I got the elusive, sold-out-everywhere Cabbage Patch doll.
Something unexpected. Beyoncé likes to deliver her albums without any advance notice (and she delivers pregnancy news the same way). Arguably, the surprise itself is a zing of delight for her audience. The Broadway musical Hamilton stunned theatergoers by delivering a historical drama in rap lyrics. Speaking of rap, Rappers Delight first brought rap into the mainstream by mashing it up with other genres. The unexpected – whether it’s by timing or by format – can deliver a dose of delight.
Something playful. The Book of Mormon, another Broadway musical, puts a playful spin on religion – typically a no-jokes zone – and broke sales records wherever it went. There is a wide and wonderful selection of accounting memes on the internet. Look, there’s a financial services comedian who tours colleges! Why can’t dry, serious dry topics be treated with whimsy, a certain source of delight?
Something that unburdens. How great is it when something gets cancelled? The modern knowledge-working adult has a pleasant life but it’s all to-dos. To do the work for them, to offer some mode of un-burdening, is sure to delight.
Something personal. To go back to that cookbook: I’m sure this lady was not thinking of me. But her language and frame of reference exactly matched mine. This is a surefire source of delight for any content audience; when the maker can and does relate at just the right level.
Dosing Content With Delight
Financial content can take any of these angles and deliver some kind of delight to its audience, just like a treasured gift. Not every piece has to be dripping with the stuff, but look for ways to infuse it in some things, some of the time. You’ll earn a special place in your audience’s heart.
Stay tuned for part 3 of this series!
Looking for a freelance financial writer to help you make delightful content? Reach out and let’s talk about your project needs.
Posted By
Carolyn
Categories
Compound Return Newsletter, Content Marketing