Snow Leopard

1. The Content Pyramid: Climb from consumption to category creation

"Thinking about thinking is the most important kind of thinking."

The Content Pyramid represents the journey from consumer to creator. At the base is Consumption, where most people remain. The next level is Curation, followed by Obvious Connection and Non-Obvious Connection. The pinnacle is Category Creation, where legendary writers establish niches they own.

Levels of the Content Pyramid:

1. Consumption
2. Curation
3. Obvious Connection
4. Non-Obvious Connection
5. Category Creation

To ascend the pyramid, focus on creating value through unique insights and perspectives. Avoid the trap of merely regurgitating existing information. Instead, strive to make non-obvious connections and ultimately create new categories of thought or products.

2. Writer business models: Align your goals with your monetization strategy

"How you make your money as a writer & creator is exceedingly dependent on what your business goals are, what outcomes you are solving for, and most importantly, what type of content you create."

Determine your priorities before choosing a business model. Are you solving for money, time, status, or contribution/impact? Your answer will guide your monetization strategy.

Business model options:

• Attention and advertising (for curators)
• Direct-to-creator for products and services (for obvious creators)
• Direct-to-creator for experiences and transformations (for non-obvious creators)
• Category King economics (for category creators)

Consider combining obvious content for short-term gains with non-obvious content for long-term value. This balanced approach allows you to fund your life while building a lasting legacy.

3. Content-free marketing: Avoid saying nothing, everywhere

"Content-free marketing leads to easier, faster, cheaper output. Output is noticeable. Output makes it look like the marketing department is doing something."

Reject the Content Marketing Industrial Complex. Many companies fall into the trap of producing large volumes of meaningless content, focusing on quantity over quality. This approach wastes resources and fails to engage the audience effectively.

Signs of content-free marketing:

• Overemphasis on content management
• Outsourcing content creation
• Lack of differentiated thinking
• Focus on vanity metrics (views, likes) over meaningful engagement

Instead, invest in creating high-quality, differentiated content that reflects a unique point of view. This approach is more likely to resonate with your audience and drive real business results.

4. The art of fresh thinking: Create Obvious and Non-Obvious content

"Obvious content = The art of speaking to what people already think and believe (catering to the reader's reflexive nature). Non-Obvious Content = The art of educating people on what they haven't thought about or decided they believe yet (requesting their reflective nature)."

Balance Obvious and Non-Obvious content to maximize impact and reach. Obvious content caters to existing beliefs and is easily accepted, while Non-Obvious content challenges conventional wisdom and introduces new perspectives.

Four combinations of Obvious and Non-Obvious ideas:

1. Obvious Problem, Obvious Solution (least valuable)
2. Obvious Problem, Non-Obvious Solution (valuable near-term)
3. Non-Obvious Problem, Obvious Solution (valuable long-term)
4. Non-Obvious Problem, Non-Obvious Solution (too complicated)

Focus on creating Non-Obvious solutions to Obvious problems for near-term success, or Non-Obvious problems with Obvious solutions for long-term impact.

5. The power of a Point of View: Change the way it is

"Everything is the way it is because somebody changed the way it was."

Develop a unique Point of View (POV) to differentiate yourself and create new categories. A strong POV challenges existing paradigms and presents a new way of thinking about problems or opportunities.

Steps to create a powerful POV:

1. Frame a different problem/opportunity
2. Evangelize a different future
3. Show how your solution bridges the gap

Your POV should be clear, memorable, and easy for customers to repeat. It becomes the script for word-of-mouth marketing and helps establish your position as a category leader.

6. Languaging: Strategically use language to change thinking

"A demarcation point in language creates a demarcation point in thinking, creates a demarcation point in actions, creates a demarcation point in outcome."

Master the art of languaging to effectively communicate your ideas and change how people think. Languaging involves creating new terms, modifying existing language, or using strategic phrasing to shift perceptions and behaviors.

Languaging techniques:

• Naming & Claiming new concepts
• Creating distinctions between old and new
• Using metaphors and analogies
• Inventing new terminology

Effective languaging can help you establish ownership over ideas, differentiate your offerings, and create new categories in the minds of your audience.

7. Engineering a best-selling book: Follow the data-driven framework

"The way you increase the likelihood of your idea 'scaling,' as well as the likelihood of writing a best-selling book is by ascending up these 7 categories."

Use data-driven insights to increase your chances of writing a best-selling book. Based on an analysis of the top 444 best-selling business books over two decades, certain categories and approaches are more likely to succeed.

Seven best-selling book categories (in order of potential):

1. Personal Development
2. Personal Finance
3. Insights/Thinking
4. Leadership
5. Case Study/Allegory
6. Functional Excellence
7. Relationships

To maximize your book's potential, aim to write in the Personal Development or Insights/Thinking categories, and focus on creating Idea-Centric content rather than Author-Centric content, unless you're already a well-known figure in your field.

Last updated: April 25, 2025