Become a Better Blogger by Defining Your Road Runner Rules

This is a departure from my normal posting style, but it's worth it (plus, you can blame Jason Zook).

Do You Remember Wile E. Coyote?

I do. His escapades with The Road Runner were a staple of my childhood, and I owe Chuck Jones (his creator) quite a few laughs.

This week I learned that Chuck created these cartoons using a predefined set of nine “Road Runner Rules.”

Those rules provided consistent guidance throughout the creative process for Chuck, and explains why Roadrunner cartoons never “felt a little off” as some content does.

In a stroke of brilliance, Jason Zook applied a similar set of rules to the blogging and content marketing world.

Questions for Creating Your Own Road Runner Rules (from Jason Zook)

1. What’s something unique about the way you create and share content?
2. What topic or genre will you never create content about?
3. What’s one word that can describe the outcome you want for the people who consume the content you create? Include the definition of that word (or a quote that really resonates with you).
4. How do you speak to your audience? Is it from a place of relation? From a place of authority? Both? Somewhere else entirely?
5. What is your content schedule? What can you commit to that doesn’t waver or change?
6. Do you share stories from other people, or only talk about yourself and your experiences?
7. List out the tools you’ll use to create your content. (Having a list of tools will help you create with more consistency and without getting down rabbit holes of trying new tools all the time.)
8. What’s one question you can ask yourself at every turn to make sure you’re staying on track with the content you create?
9. What’s something you won’t compromise on when it comes to creating content for your audience?

Source: Define Your Road Runner Rules

Jason answered the questions himself, but then he challenged other content creators to do the same as well―so here are mine:

John Meese's Road Runner Rules

1. Something unique: I take potentially complex subjects, and present them in a simple, intuitive manner.
2. I will never: Use my platform to humiliate or shame anyone, no matter the cause.
3. In one word: Helpful. Every reader walks away with a new piece of knowledge they can apply to their life or business right away.
4. I speak to my audience: Like a knowledgeable friend sharing insight over coffee or lunch, I never hesitate to share anything that might prove helpful to my audience in some way.
5. Content schedule: I will send an email to my subscribers every Monday morning at 9:00 AM Central, typically linking to a new blog post inside.
6. I share stories: If there is at least one clear takeaway that my audience can learn and apply, I'll share stories from my own business and from other entrepreneurs.
7. Tools: I create everything in Calmly Writer, transfer to WordPress for editing & publication, and then send a summary through ConvertKit to my email list. Finally, I update Trello with information on each published post.
8. One question: How does the content I've created teach people some practical knowledge or skill?
9. No compromise: I will champion impact over profit every time, refusing to create content for the sake of monetary gain by itself.

Will You Take This Challenge as Well?

If you have a blog or some type of content creation avenue, I challenge you to join me!

Answer the questions above, and then share your rules in the comments below.