Road Runner Rules: Improve as a Blogger and Entrepreneur

This week I learned that Chuck Jones, the cartoonist behind the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, once created a set of nine rules that he used as a filter for his creative process. He called them “Road Runner Rules.”

Those guidelines gave reliable direction all through the innovative procedure for Chuck and clarify why Roadrunner shows never “felt somewhat off” as some content does.

Here are those 9 rules from Chuck Jones:

Jason Zook, the creator of the Action Army newsletter and podcast inspired me to perform the following exercise. I won’t recycle what he said, go read his awesome blog post here and report back ASAP.

Jason connected a comparable arrangement of standards to the blogging world that he uses to help him keep his content-based business focused on his values.

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

After reading Jason’s answers to these questions, I decided to accept the challenge.

I now have 9 Road Runner Rules that I can use to run my content-based business.

But before we go any further: I am running a content-based business.

Let me elaborate by quoting Jason again:

“A content-based business is one in which a business owner shares consistent and free content (emails, blog posts, articles, videos, podcasts, etc) with an audience. That content helps audience members improve some aspect of their lives. The business owner makes money by creating products and/or services that build on the free content and provide even more value to the audience.”

So, without further ado:

Dorian’s Road Runner Rules

1. Something unique: I’ll be authentically Dorian. When I create and share content, it’s going to be coming from my voice and style.
2. I will never: Use my platform to humiliate or shame anyone, no matter the cause.
3. In one word: Action. 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: in a 1,000% unbiased, objective, helpful way. I want to connect in order to give them exactly what they need.
5. Content schedule: I post at least 3 blog posts a week, at least 4 weeks a month. So, at least 12 blog posts a month. I also write a newsletter every 1-2 weeks. I can commit to never quitting. I’ve started and stopped blogging. I’ve started and stopped my newsletter. I will never quit.
6. I share stories: On the off chance that there is at least one clear takeaway that my tribe can learn and apply, I’ll share stories from my own business and from different business people.
7. Tools: I write in Microsoft Word (although Google Docs may make me convert), collaborate and party in Slack, manage in Asana, and publish in WordPress.
8. One question: At every turn, I am asking “How hard did you hustle?”
9. No compromise: Integrity and Trust. Regardless of the results, regardless of the opportunity cost. I won’t compromise on sharing honest experiences with readers.

Road Runner Rules are the guiding principles that I’m utilizing to make and share content. They fortify the substance that I place out into the world. These are the guidelines defining what you’ll find here.

Parting Thoughts

It’s an incredible exercise, regardless of the possibility that I never take a gander at these words again.

The intuition and writing these down helps me to “zoom out on the business” and exposing…

• who will I and my company be,
• who will we serve,
• and, how will we do it?

I am so thankful to Jason for sharing this cool exercise, and for encouraging me and hopefully you to be better.

What are your Road Runner Rules?