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Content Codex

August 13, 2023

Multi-Brand Content Creation Concept Guide

Introduction

We are not just DIY contributors and content creators; we are advocates and architects for a more open, decentralized and just world.

#WeHaveTheTools

This tagline and hashtag are a unifying thread across brands, reinforcing the shared philosophy that underpins Steelbak, Flying-Higher, DiggnDeeper, and Farrier Services

Welcome, I am Scott Gregory. This guide serves as a comprehensive manual for The Guild, our dedicated team of specialists who each bring their unique skills and expertise to our multi-brand content creation business and my AI assistant.

Our business is built upon a foundation of passion for DIY motorsports and content creation using open-source, and decentralized solutions. We believe in the power of these principles to transform the way we create and share content and even build more robust communities. Our brands – Steelbak, Flying-Higher, DiggnDeeper, and Farrier Services – each embody these values in their unique ways, serving different audiences but all contributing to our overarching mission.

At the heart of our business is a commitment to transparency and community. We document our projects in detail, sharing our journey with our audience and inviting them to join us. We are interested in other people’s projects to spotlight and we believe our audience will be as well.

This guide is designed to provide a clear understanding of our business model, our brands, and our content creation process. It will also outline our strategies for community engagement, monetization, and future growth. We hope this guide will serve as a valuable resource for The Guild, helping each specialist understand their role within the larger business model and how their work contributes to our overall success.

Our Brands

Steelbak (Steelbak.com): This is my personal brand, focusing on DIY motorsports and a commitment to open-source and decentralized solutions. The website showcases a variety of projects, all meticulously documented to fuel the curiosity and creativity of fellow DIY enthusiasts. The goal is to build a sustainable multi-brand business around this content, using affiliate marketing, YouTube, Patreon and other innovative funding methods like Hive and Odysee. We want to build a very compelling and profitable website with the goal of people joining Discord and then select members can collaborate on our projects via The Hub.

Flying-Higher (Flying-Higher.com): This brand is focused on content creation, covering topics like using open source tools like Linux, WordPress, Blender, and Nextcloud for business and marketing. It also covers how to use and scale servers. The website provides guides, tutorials, and resources for content creators, with a focus on open-source and decentralized solutions. This site is currently at about 50% completion, which needs fixed before launch.

DiggnDeeper (DiggnDeeper.com): This brand is a curated deep dive into all things open source and decentralized. It explores how these principles can transform the way we create and share content as well as how it is already fundamentally changing society into a more equitable, accountable and robust society. The website features articles, resources, and discussions on a variety of topics related to open source and decentralized technologies. This site (or series of sites) is ugly and needs tons of content to be “complete”. There is a community on our Discord and we want to focus on Hive.

Farrier Services (FarrierServices.net): This is my original career, which I’m transitioning away from. It’s a profession that involves the care and maintenance of horse hooves. The website has some info about farrier services including the importance of hoof care, the process of shoeing a horse, and the tools used in the profession. The website is incomplete. I have published several videos on Youtube, where I have about 300 subscribers, but creating content for farrier services is a challenge due to privacy concerns. There may be a lot of content for 3D though, which could be a whole series that could tie into Flying-Higher content.

Goals

Our goals guide our content creation efforts, ensuring that we’re always working towards meaningful outcomes. They are divided into short-term and long-term goals, providing a roadmap for our journey.

Short-term Goals (1-6 months):

  1. Complete the Brand Docs: Stabilize all the documents in the Brand Docs section. This will provide a solid foundation for this content creation business and ensure that the The Guild and the AI assistant have all the information they need to support this endeavor.
  2. Finish All Sites To A Launchable State: Ensure that all my brand websites are fully functional, aesthetically pleasing, and ready for public viewing. This involves finalizing the design and layout, ensuring all links and functionalities work correctly, and that all necessary content is in place. The sites should be optimized for SEO, mobile-responsive, and user-friendly. The goal is to create a professional online presence that effectively represents my brands and encourages visitors to engage with my content, join the Steelbak Community, and utilize the affiliate links.
  3. Establish a Regular Content Schedule: Determine a feasible schedule for creating and publishing content across all my brands. This involves setting specific days for content creation, editing, and publishing.
    Mon: Steelbak, Tues: Flying-Higher, Wed: DiggnDeeper, Thurs: Farrier, Fri: 3D MODS, Sat: ?
  4. Increase Community Engagement: Set a goal for increasing engagement on your Discord server and other community platforms. This could be measured in terms of new members, active discussions, or shared projects.
  5. Implement Monetization Strategies: Start implementing the monetization strategies outlined in your Content Codex. This will involve setting up affiliate marketing links, maintaining a Patreon page, and starting to sell products.
  6. Transition Away from Farrier Services: Begin the process of transitioning away from my farrier services.

Long-term Goals (6-12 months and beyond):

  1. Achieve Financial Sustainability: My ultimate goal is to earn enough revenue from my content creation business to support my family.
  2. Grow Your Audience: Set goals for growing the audiences across all my brands. This could be measured in terms of website traffic, social media followers, or Discord members.
  3. Expand Your Content Offerings: As the business grows, consider expanding content offerings. This could involve exploring new content formats, topics, or platforms.
  4. Establish Partnerships and Sponsorships: Once I have a sizable audience, I will try to attract partnerships and sponsorships. Set a goal for the number or type of partnerships I want to establish.
  5. Continuous Improvement: I always aim for continuous improvement in all areas of your business. That’s what I’m here for. This could involve regularly reviewing content, engagement strategies, and monetization methods to identify areas for improvement.

Brand Strategy

  1. Brand Positioning: I position myself not as a leader, but as passionate peers in the world of DIY, motorsports, open-source, and decentralized solutions. I am fascinated by the process of content creation and the philosophies that underpin this work. I aim to be seen as a fellow enthusiast, sharing this journey and inviting others to join.
  2. Target Audience:
    • Steelbak: Our target audience is like-minded DIY motorsports enthusiasts, primarily males with masculine tendencies who share our passion for DIY and motorsports.
    • Flying-Higher: Our target audience includes individuals or organizations seeking freedom from proprietary solutions for their business or personal media interests, as well as those already interested in open-source solutions and looking for more.
    • DiggnDeeper: Our target audience includes individuals looking for an A-political solution or those with a real interest in open source and decentralized tech and philosophy. This is very divergent from mainstream. We look for solutions. #WeHaveTheTools
  3. Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Our unique selling proposition is our focus on open-source, decentralized solutions. We believe in the power of these principles to transform the way we create and share content. We are not just DIY contributors and content creators; we are advocates and architects for a more open, decentralized and just world.
  4. Key Messages:
    • We are here as documentarians and providers of collaboration tools. We document our journey and provide the tools and resources for others to do the same.
    • Our work is nothing without the contributions of our community. We do our thing, but it’s the community that brings it all to life.

Cohesive Content Creation System:

  1. Project Planning and Scheduling:
    • KOrganizer, Wordpres and Nextcloud: These are the tools to schedule and manage all aspects of my projects, from conception to publishing.
    • Flexibility: My schedule is designed to allow for adjustments and shifting tasks as needed.
    • Outcome: A clear roadmap for each project, with all tasks and deadlines laid out.
  2. File Management and Server:
    • The Hub: Centralizes all my files and resources for easy access and collaboration.
    • On-Site Server: Invest in a robust server to handle all my content. Consider security, capacity, and accessibility.
    • Stream Machine: A dedicated machine for streaming, brought to you by Flying-Higher.
    • Outcome: A streamlined file management system that supports your content creation needs.
  3. Content Creation Workflow:
    • Live Editing: Create and edit content live, allowing for real-time updates and engagement.
    • Regular Follow-Ups: Schedule regular updates or tune-ups to keep content fresh and relevant.
    • Audience Engagement: Foster community interaction through comments, Q&A sessions, social media, etc.
    • Outcome: A dynamic content creation process that evolves with your audience’s needs and interests.
  4. Investment and Growth:
    • Early Investment: Prioritize essential tools and infrastructure to support your growth.
    • Content Volume: Plan for the large volume of content you’ll be producing across multiple brands.
    • Collaboration with Community: Engage with your community to shape content and foster loyalty.
    • Outcome: A sustainable and scalable content creation ecosystem that aligns with your multi-brand vision.

Content Publishing: (Needs other brands added)

(##) is number of subscribers.

  1. Steelbak.com is a WordPress site: We also are on several other platforms such as Discord (3), The Hub (3), Hive (75), Odysee (147), YouTube (17), Patreon (0), CG Cookie, HP Academy, Maker Tales, Creative Designer3D and some facebook groups. Facebook Marketplace is still the best place for trading.

Content Distribution and Audience Engagement

In our quest to engage our audience and distribute our content effectively, we’ve implemented an RSS-to-email campaign using MailerLite. This strategy allows us to automatically send our latest posts to our subscribers’ inboxes, ensuring they never miss an update.

Here’s how it works:

  1. RSS Feed: Our website’s RSS feed serves as the source of content for these emails. Whenever we publish a new post, it’s automatically added to this feed.
  2. MailerLite: We use MailerLite, an email marketing service, to manage our subscriber list and send out our emails. We’ve set up an RSS campaign in MailerLite that’s linked to our RSS feed.
  3. Email Template: We’ve designed a custom email template for our RSS emails. This template includes an RSS block, which automatically pulls in the content from our new posts. We’ve configured this block to display the title, summary, and author of each post, along with a link to read the full post on our website.
  4. Sending Schedule: We’ve set a schedule for our RSS emails. Depending on our preferences, we can send these emails daily, weekly, or monthly.
  5. Subscriber Engagement: Our subscribers receive our latest posts directly in their inboxes, according to the schedule we’ve set. This makes it easy for them to stay updated with our content and engage with us.

This RSS-to-email strategy is a powerful tool for audience engagement. It ensures our content reaches our audience in a timely manner, and it saves us the time and effort of manually sending out email updates. Plus, by delivering our content directly to our subscribers’ inboxes, we’re meeting them where they’re most likely to engage with us.

Content Promotion:

Our Marketing Strategy is an expanded version of this section.

We’ll build our social media presence on platforms relevant to each brand mentioned above. SEO will be a long-term strategy, implemented in iterations over time. Affiliate marketing, a crucial part of our business model, will involve promoting content with affiliate links across our platforms and potentially through paid advertising. Community engagement will take place on Discord and The Hub, fostering a dynamic interaction with our audience. As our audience grows, we’ll consider implementing an email marketing strategy.

Content Analysis:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

At Steelbak, we prioritize Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as a key aspect of our content strategy. Our focus is on creating high-quality, engaging content that aligns with the search intent of our target audience. We use the All in One SEO plugin for WordPress to streamline our SEO efforts.

Our SEO practices include:

  • Keyword Research: We conduct thorough keyword research to understand the search behavior of our audience and align our content accordingly.
  • On-Page SEO: We optimize all elements of our content, including titles, meta descriptions, headers, and the content itself, with relevant keywords.
  • Technical SEO: We ensure our website is fast, mobile-friendly, and easy for search engines to crawl and index. The All in One SEO plugin automatically generates an XML sitemap for our website, aiding in this process.
  • Schema Markup: We utilize schema markup to provide search engines with more informative results about our pages.
  • Social Media Optimization: We optimize our content for social media platforms to increase visibility and engagement.

Our commitment to SEO best practices helps us increase our organic reach, attract a larger audience, and build a sustainable content creation business.

Community Engagement

Our community is the lifeblood of our brands. We aim to build and nurture a community of like-minded individuals who share our passion for DIY, motorsports, open-source, and decentralized solutions. Our community engagement strategy includes:

  • Website, YouTube, Patreon, Hive and Odysee: These platforms are the primary channels through which we attract and engage with our community. We share our content on these platforms and invite our audience to join us on Discord.
  • Discord: Discord serves as the lobby to The Hub. It’s a place for our community to gather, discuss, and collaborate.
  • The Hub (Nextcloud): This is our collaboration platform. It’s where we share resources, collaborate on projects, and provide a space for our community to do the same. Access to The Hub is limited to members to ensure the quality of collaboration and manage resources.

Monetization Strategy

Our business model is centered around content creation. We aim to generate revenue from our content through a variety of methods, including:

  1. Affiliate Marketing: This will be a significant part of the revenue model. By promoting products or services related to the content, Steelbak can earn a commission on any sales made through affiliate links. This could include tools, parts, or any other products used in the projects. The key here is to ensure that any promoted products are genuinely recommended and relevant to the content.
  2. Content Monetization on Platforms: Platforms like YouTube offer monetization options for content creators. This typically involves earning revenue from ads displayed on the videos. The more views the videos get, the more ad revenue generated. It’s important to create engaging, high-quality content that attracts viewers and keeps them watching.
  3. Patreon: This platform allows creators to earn revenue through patronage. Fans of the content can choose to become patrons, contributing a set amount per month to support the creator. In return, patrons often get access to exclusive content or other perks. This can be a great way to build a community around the content and generate consistent monthly revenue.
  4. Hive and Odysee: These blockchain platforms offer another avenue for content monetization. By publishing content on these platforms, Steelbak can earn cryptocurrency based on the engagement the content receives. This can be a more unpredictable revenue stream, but it offers the potential for significant earnings, especially as these platforms continue to grow in popularity.
  5. Selling Products: We can sell custom wiring harness for ATVs and Carts. In the future, I want to sell YFZ/ Banshee Hybrids and the like. I also would like to make custom motor mounts, A-arms, Swingarms, IRS and other various custom parts for our hybrids and carts. R&D for these products can provide tons of content and community engagement.
  6. Sponsorships and Partnerships: As Steelbak grows and gains a larger audience, there may be opportunities for sponsorships or partnerships with relevant companies. This could involve promoting a company’s products in the content, or even collaborating on projects.

We are always on the lookout for more and better options to monetize our content while providing value to our audience.

Future Growth

Our primary focus at this stage is to establish a solid foundation for our multi-brand content creation business. We are in the process of creating preliminary plans, documents, and content for each of our brands. Our goal is to ensure that each brand is well-established and that our business model is robust and sustainable. I don’t know how to predict how long it will take me to get this done.

While we are fully engaged in these foundational efforts, we are also mindful of the future. We recognize that the landscape of content creation is dynamic and full of opportunities. As we continue to develop and deploy our current plans, we expect to discover new opportunities for growth.

These could include expanding into new content areas, reaching new audiences, forming partnerships, and diversifying our monetization strategies. However, any exploration of these opportunities will be grounded in our commitment to our core principles and our existing brands.

I’m already wondering if I should consider building this business for sale. I’ve had my farrier tradesman lifestyle career and I know I’ll love building this business and running it, but at this stage of my life, it might be the most wise to sell it once its at the optimal stage.

We believe that by building a strong foundation and staying open to new possibilities, we can ensure the long-term success and growth of our multi-brand content creation business.