SPI 909: Is Value-Based Content Dead?

SPI 909: Is Value-Based Content Dead?

Pat Flynn: Welcome to 2026. And I wanted to start off this year by asking you a very important question, a question that relates to the content that you create, to how you show up to what you say. And that question is, is value based content dead? Are we past the era of just sharing information and sharing tips and being able to grow in that fashion?

You know, those posts that are like top five ways to do this. If you want to succeed in this, here is what you have to do. It used to be true, I think we know this, that you could probably post anything online back in the day and be found for that information. There was a lot of strategies related to search engine optimization and those kinds of things, but nowadays it’s not working as well.

So what do we have to do? What must we do? Before I share with you the answers to that, I do want to share with you where, largely, this podcast episode was inspired from. This is inspired by a man named Nick Komodina. He has an Instagram. He is an author, speaker, mentor. And I came across a post that proposed this statement, that is, value based content is dead.

And the comment section was pretty mixed. And I thought it would be a great discussion and a way for us to consider what the best steps are moving forward here in 2026 in terms of how to grow, how to get found, all those kinds of things. Is value based content actually dead? So let me play an audio clip from an Instagram that I found.

This was my first interaction. Wasn’t even a two way interaction. It was just a piece of content that I came across from Nick, and I wanted to share it with you here as the basis and foundation for our discussion today. So here is  Nick Komodina.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the era of value content is completely dying off, if not already dead.

How many of you guys are freaking exhausted of posting three tips for this, the number one hack, the number one reason you’re stuck is this. And everybody’s telling you, you have to do this. You have to provide value. You have to talk to these people. And yet you’re doing it. But nothing’s happening. No clients are coming.

You’re barely growing your page anymore. What gives? Because people aren’t using IG or TikTok like they used to for search engines, 99 percent of people when they have a question or they have a tip or a trick that they need to understand, they just go ask ChatGPT and ChatGPT is going to give them a way better answer than what they’re going to get from you in 30 seconds on a clip.

The value that you have to provide when you are a business owner online has to be about who you are, how you see the world, and those aha moments that you give people that make them shift how they view their situation, not necessarily a tip or a trick for them to get a result. That’s tried and true, but it’s boring.

If you think about it, the only creators or business owners that are growing by giving tips or tricks are the ones giving you tips and tricks to grow your business because you can’t grow your business by using tips and tricks. Come on. I want to feel you inside of your content. I don’t want you to doctor yourself up.

I don’t want you to try to be professional. I want you to resonate with the people that you’re talking to. I want you to call them out in a way that makes them feel like you are a big brother or a big sister. Tell them something that they need to know that nobody else is telling them. Tell them something that all of your peers in the industry are gonna go, Why are you telling people this?

You’re exposing us. But they need to hear it and that’s where you come in. Non stop tips and tricks to help people is kind of dead. Triggering people so that it creates a transformation in them. That’s the new wave.”

Okay, so that was again Nick Comodina on Instagram, credit to him for that clip and for the inspiration for this first episode here in 2026.

So is he right? Is value based content dead? Let’s break this down. First, let’s define what we mean by value based content. Traditionally, it’s the how to stuff, right? The tips, the hacks, the do this, get that type formulas, and for a long time, that worked. In fact, it was the backbone of my own brand, Smart Passive Income.

For years, I built my business on sharing what I learned, teaching people how to start podcasts, how to start email lists, how to launch online courses, and it worked because, at the time, there weren’t a million people doing it. There wasn’t an AI that could answer your question in two seconds. Now, there were a lot of people doing the same thing, competitors, if you will, other personalities sharing the same information.

So it was important for me to show up and do it in a way that was different. And my way of doing it different was to actually take people along the ride. It was the crash test dummy of online business positioning. It was the follow along in my journey positioning. It was the, let’s do it together.

Instead of here’s how you do it. But now, 2026, let’s be honest. If you want to know how to start a podcast, yes, you can join our course. You could look up my tutorials on YouTube, but most people are going to start with ChatGPT nowadays. And they’re going to get a very detailed list on how to do so. And, sadly, a lot of what ChatGPT has to offer you is probably largely based on my own tutorials.

Tutorials that I’ve been publishing since 2012 on YouTube, and many times over since then. Thanks for the credit, ChatGPT. If you want a list of the best email marketing tools, you can Google it and get a hundred blog posts all saying the same thing. So what happens? The market get saturated and you, the audience gets numb and the creators who are just repeating what everyone else is saying, they get lost in the noise.

But here’s the thing. Does that mean value is dead or does it mean the definition of value has changed? I think it’s the latter. So let’s zoom out for a second. In my book, Lean Learning, I talk about the difference between information and transformation. Information is everywhere, right? It’s cheap. It’s abundant now.

Transformation is rare. It’s what actually changes people. And here’s the truth. People don’t just want more information. They want to feel something. They want to be seen. They want to be challenged. They want to be inspired to take action. How do I know? Well, recently, and you’ve heard me talk about this in a number of recent episodes, we have an upcoming challenge.

If you haven’t heard about this, let me tell you about it for a second. Starting on January 12th. You can join our challenge. It’s public, and this is working because we have thousands of people already signed up to take part in it. This is the 30 videos in 30 days challenge, 30 short form videos in 30 days.

And you could sign up, get some pre information, wrap your head around how this is going to work. January 12th, we begin 30 days later, you’ll have 30 videos under your belt. And some of you, many of you are going to see results that you haven’t seen before. You just need. That inspiration, that permission, that challenge.

I know what you’re going through. It’s hard to get seen and hard to be found out there. And this is why we’re doing this. And this is how I know that’s the new value. It’s not just more information. You want to be seen. You want to be challenged. You want to be inspired to take action. In a way, held accountable.

That’s the new value. It’s not just three tips on how to grow your Instagram, right? It’s, here’s how I see the world, here’s what I believe, here’s what nobody else is telling you, and here’s the uncomfortable truth you need to hear. And that uncomfortable truth right now is, what worked before, doesn’t work anymore.

And if you keep beating down that same door, with the same methods that you used before, It’s just not going to work. In fact, you will be tired. You will feel like nothing’s working. You’re going to be deflated and you’re not going to see results. Really, it’s about resonance, not just relevance. So let’s get practical.

If you’re a creator or entrepreneur, you’ve probably noticed this, right? You post a tip, a hack, a how to, and it’s nothing. Especially if you’re doing short form video. We don’t want to just position ourselves as somebody who’s just sharing tips that people can get anywhere else. And they don’t know who you are, right?

You might get a few likes here and there, especially from people who already know you, but nobody’s really engaging. You’re not getting new clients. You’re not growing. The algorithms are not amplifying your stuff. Why? Because, again, you’re competing with AI, with Google, with a million other creators, all saying the same thing.

When you share your story, when you show up as a real human with real opinions, real struggles and, honestly, a real perspective, people pay attention. This is where, when you draw the line in the sand, a line then finally gets created for people to see, and then stand within or without. But it’s better than just Not really knowing or not caring about what you have to offer.

They now can see where you are and can stand with you. Maybe they’ll stand against you, but at least there’s something to stand for.

So let me give you an example from my own journey. When I started DeepPocketMonster, my Pokemon YouTube channel in 2021, I could have made just videos like everybody else was top five cards to invest in, or How to spot a fake Pokemon card. Here are the cards that are moving the most this week. Here are the sets that you need to pay attention to.

All those kinds of things, right? And sure, those videos do alright, but the ones that really took off are the ones where I tell a story, where I share my own excitement, my own journey as somebody collecting cards and learning about this and going on these challenges, trying to complete a set within a period of time, trying to navigate my way through a new city to uncover new hidden gems in those areas, card shops that may have the card that I might need.

And it shows the ups, it shows the downs, the behind the scenes, the mistakes, the wins, the losses. That’s what people connect with. Even in my personal life with my wife and my daughter who are into K pop, they’re into this group now called Stray Kids, which if you know anything about K Pop, Korean pop music and pop culture, you’ll know probably who the Stray Kids are.

They’re huge. And yes, they create music. Their music is actually pretty good, pretty diverse. Some of it’s more rock and hip hop. It’s kind of a mix of a bunch of things. People aren’t just connected to this group because they have great music. They connect because each of the group members are themselves in their own special kind of way.

And you connect with one or more of them. You have, in this world, what’s called your bias, the person who you seem to connect with most. And what is really amazing about this group and many other K pop groups that I’m noticing is that they do a really, really good job of sharing their personalities. And they create moments and opportunities for their personality to show up, not just on stage, not just in their music videos, which are of course overproduced, But the Stray Kids have this thing, for example, called SKZ Code, I think is what it’s called.

And with Code, this is like a series on their YouTube channel, which again, yes, they have their highly produced music videos, they have the behind the scenes in the studio, that’s pretty cool too, I love that kind of stuff. But SKZ Code is where these guys, these eight guys that make up this group, they, uh, they Just get silly, and play games, and mess around, and you can tell that, for example, one of the guys, Seungmin, he’s kind of the jokester, kind of the trickster.

And you have Bang Chen, who’s more the leader, the older one, who kind of gets everybody together and helps support people when they’re in need, all those kinds of things. You have Han and Felix. I mean, every one of them is unique because there are opportunities to see their uniqueness shine through, and it’s fun, it’s silly, and they do all kinds of different things where they’re just themselves, and as a result, their audience enjoys them even more.

They connect with them, they resonate with them, and they’ve built a community around it. I’ve seen it, I’ve been around the concerts, I haven’t gone to the concerts, my wife and daughter has, but I’ve been around people who are fans of this group, and many other K pop groups as well, and when they find each other they already have so many things to talk about.

What’s your name? I don’t know, but who’s your bias? Who’s your favorite? What was your favorite music video? Do you remember that outfit they wore? Duh duh duh duh duh duh. All this stuff. All the collectibles they have. It is insane, and it is awesome, and it’s so fun to see. And so I’m getting inspired by a lot of what the The K pop scene is doing and the kinds of content that they’re creating.

Yes, they’re a music group. And so you might think, okay, well, Pat, that’s an entertainment group, right? They don’t need to create tips. That’s not in their repertoire anyway, so they don’t need to do that. It doesn’t matter. If you’re in an industry where you’re trying to teach something or not, whether it’s entertainment or information based, you still need to connect in some way.

And that’s what really this is about. What do you do with all of this here in 2026? If you’re listening and you want to succeed as a creator or entrepreneur this year, here’s my take. Number one, stop competing on information alone. Your content can be replaced by ChatGPT. This is the barometer here. If your content can be replaced by ChatGPT, it’s not enough.

Don’t just share what you know. Share how you see the world. What is your perspective? And lead with that. That’s number two here. Lead with story and perspective. You might not think that your perspective matters. Oh, but it does. It absolutely does. Share your beliefs. Don’t be afraid to have an opinion, even if it’s polarizing.

The people who resonate with you will stick around. The rest, well, they were never your people anyway. Number three, create aha moments, not just tips. So ask yourself, what can I say or share that will make someone see their situation differently? How can I challenge my audience to think bigger, to question their assumptions, to take action?

Because when they’re thinking about that they’re not thinking about who else I should learn from, or leaving, or exiting. They’re thinking more deeply about the things that you’ve prompted them to. Next, number four, be relatable. Not just reliable. Reliability is important, especially as a content creator.

You need to show up consistently. This is why the daily challenge is important, and will train you to hopefully get over the fear of editing and all those kinds of things that might take up time and might delay you. You’re not giving yourself enough time to overthink. You’re giving yourself Such amount of time to actually make decisions.

That’s the power of the 30 day challenge that we’re doing. Again, if you want to do that challenge, 30Videos.com. Sign up there. If you haven’t already, 30Videos.com. Get the pre work, wrap your head around how this works. And we get started on January 12th. It’s going to be fun. Anyway, back to number four, be relatable, not just reliable, relatable.

If you can show your face, you don’t have to, but your personality has to show up. Share your struggles. People love when they see people going through some stuff, especially when they see that person who’s been going through some stuff, overcome it, overcome those fears, overcome those, you know, slay those dragons, metaphorically speaking, because then they see themselves in that as well.

And that’s how you can lead people. And if you’re not out of the struggle yet, use the audience that you’re building to encourage you to get outta that struggle knowing that they’re following along that you can inspire them as well. Let people in behind the curtain behind the scenes is huge when it comes to building trust and people want to connect with people, not brands.

So if you’re starting a social media campaign this year and you are beginning your work on Instagram, on YouTube, wherever a lot of people ask, Pat, should I just use my name as opposed to a company? Again, that’s really up to you, but in my opinion, people connect with people, not brands. And if you have a name, that’s great.

And I know you might worry about pigeonholing yourself into something, but you can always change who you want to be known for over time. Yes, you might still be connected with that, but I don’t think that’s something to be afraid of. I think that because it’s a part of your history, whether you move away. That’s part of your history.

Number five, don’t be afraid to trigger transformation. Sometimes the most valuable thing you can do is call your audience out. Tell them the hard truth. Push them to take action. That’s what creates change. Real change. And that’s why this episode exists right now. And that’s why the 30 day challenge is coming up very, very shortly.

So let’s get tactical for a second. In Lean Learning, I talk about this thing called the inspiration metrics. If you’ve read the book, you know, this is four quadrants, right? It’s a tool that I’ve built to help you figure out what kind of content you should be creating or to do an audit in the kinds of things you’re doing right now, right?

So here’s how it works. You can apply it to what it is you create as a content creator as well. It’s kind of cool. Recreational content. Right? Fun, light, entertaining, those kinds of things build connection. Your passion pursuits, right? These are deep dives into what you care about. This is what builds authority.

You have your junk sparks. These are trends, fads, stuff that doesn’t really matter. And it’s something that you want to try to avoid. I know that a lot of times on social media, it’s like, do the trendy thing, right? Use the trending music, do that trending dance. If you already know everybody’s going to be doing that, wouldn’t it be smart to not do that?

That’s my opinion, at least. And then you have your critical commitments, right? The stuff that your audience actually needs to hear, even if it’s not that sexy. So ask yourself, where does your content fit in? Are you just chasing trends? Or are you sharing what really matters to you and your audience? How might you wrap story in all of that?

Your recreational, more fun, lighthearted content, your passion pursuits, the critical commitments that are things that people need to hear about anyway. Now I know what some of you might be thinking right now, but Pat, I still want to help people. I want to provide value. If I entertain more, then that means I’m helping less, right?

I’m glad that you have that thought. But value isn’t just about tips and tricks. Like I said, it’s about connection. It’s about transformation. It’s about making people feel seen, feel heard, and feel inspired. You can still teach. You can still share your experience and your expertise, but do it in a way that’s uniquely you.

Don’t be afraid to show your personality, your quirks, your beliefs. That’s The kind of thing that makes you irreplaceable. So, as we head now into 2026, we are here already by the time you’re listening to this. Here’s my challenge to you. Number one, audit your content. The videos, the podcasts, the blog posts, the emails.

How much of that simply just be replaced by AI? How much of it is just repeating what everyone else is saying? Next, find your unique perspective. What do you believe that nobody else is saying? What stories can you share that only you can tell because they’re from your actual lived experience? So I’m gonna say those two things again because this is really really important.

What do you believe that nobody else is saying? What stories can you share that only you can tell? Commit to showing up as a real human. Be vulnerable, be honest, and be bold. Because in a world where everyone is sharing value, the only way to stand out is to be you. And nobody else is like you. That is your 100 percent unique advantage.

Might as well take advantage of it and use it. So, is value based content dead, to go to the original question? Maybe the old definition is. But the new value, the value of story, of perspective, of transformation, that is more alive than ever. If you want to succeed as a content creator or entrepreneur in 2026, don’t just provide value.

Be valuable. Be real. Be you. Thank you for listening to the podcast. This episode has got you thinking. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Shoot me a message, at Pat Flynn on Instagram, or on X, wherever you’re at, or in the community, if you’re a part of our community. Let’s talk about it. And remember, the world doesn’t need another three tips video.

It needs your story. You can still be helpful. You can still teach. You can still provide value. But value today comes with connection. And transformation. I hope this episode has transformed you in one way or another, and I look forward to transforming together here in 2026. I got a lot of big things on the horizon.

A lot of papers have been signed for stuff that I cannot even share yet, but I look forward to sharing that with you soon. So make sure you stick around, hit that subscribe button if you haven’t already, and be sure to join our 30 short form videos in 30 days challenge starting on January 12th, just go to 30, that’s the number, 30videos, 30Videos.com, sign up there, and we’ll get you going soon. Cheers.