Why should you take the time to ask WHY when creating content?
Discover the secrets to finding inspiration and creating meaningful work on the latest episode of The Talk Freelance To Me Podcast. Host Ashley Cisneros Mejia sits down with author and consultant Lyle Smith to discuss his new book WHY YELLOW MATTERS and how it can help you question your beliefs, understand different audiences, and produce your best creative work.
Lyle shares invaluable advice he received as a young reporter to focus your message and insights from his decades of experience helping businesses connect with customers. He also opens up about the unexpected journey that led to writing his book and the importance of collaboration. Tune in to hear Lyle’s most memorable quotes and uncover practical tips for writing, publishing, and marketing your own books from a true master of the craft.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How writing every day can lead you to getting ideas for your next book or major project.
- Valuable advice from Lyle’s early newspaper reporting career about simplifying complex topics and focusing your message.
- Strategies for understanding different audiences and what truly matters to them in order to create meaningful work.
- Insights from Lyle’s experience helping businesses connect with customers through compelling brand stories.
- The collaborative process Lyle used to develop, publish, and promote his book independently.
- Practical tips for writing, editing, designing, and marketing your own books based on Lyle’s successes and lessons learned.
Time Stamps
03:00 The origin of Lyle’s book WHY YELLOW MATTERS from a blog post he wrote years ago
06:31 The importance of asking why
10:11 Why you should always take time to get it right
11:42 Give people things that matter to them
13:33 Our value as creatives is that we see the world differently
16:32 Everyone has a story to tell
17:31 Getting company leaders to put themselves in their customers’ shoes
19:21 Your brand story is less about you and more about what matters to your customers
19:57 People will give you their attention if you give them value
22:52 The struggle some founders experience in letting go of their companies
27:27 Picking a cover design for your book
35:28 The necessary friction between words and images in creative works
40:52 The best writing advice Lyle Smith ever received
47:30 What’s next for author Lyle Smith
About Lyle Smith
Lyle Smith is the author of the new book, WHY YELLOW MATTERS, and host of “The Story Forge Podcast”. He’s been a daily newspaper reporter, editor, in-house marketing executive, agency creative director, author, and for more than the past decade, chief of his own consulting brand story agency called Nymblesmith where he helps small to mid-sized businesses get their stories straight so their customers recognize the depth of their value.
Order your copy of WHY YELLOW MATTERS at: www.whyyellowmatters.com
Learn about Lyle’s agency at www.nymblesmith.com
Connect with Lyle on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nymblesmith/
Noteworthy Quote From This Episode
“Take the time to get it right. There’s the famous quote from Steve Jobs. People would tell him, ‘You got to listen to what the customer wants and give them what they want.’ And he said, ‘No, if you tell the customer what they want, that’s what this is.’ If you pay attention to what matters to them, you can create something that they will want, and pay attention to, and read, and pick up – just because you understand what matters to them. The part about telling them what they want only works if what you’re telling them they want is something that actually works for them.”
Lyle Smith, Author of WHY YELLOW MATTERS
Listen Now
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