Kathy and I watched the last episode in the current series of Murdoch Mysteries last night.

We don't watch a lot of TV but I realised that we've seen a full 14 series of a show about a turn of the century Canadian detective and his colleagues.

That's a lot of attention we've given it. Sustained over time.

I know there are a lot of people, when it comes to content or email marketing, who worry about whether they have enough interesting things to say to sustain the interest of their audience over time.

Or who get stuck when they're trying to write an email or make a video because they worry it just won't be valuable enough or interesting enough.

What we've found with Murdoch Mysteries and all the series we've watched over long periods, like Elementary or Fringe or the CSI shows is that variety really is the spice of life.

Some of the shows have complex plots. Sometimes there's tension as the characters are put in grave danger. Sometimes they address important issues. 

It's the equivalent of your best, most in-depth content and ideas.

But I don't think we'd have kept going for 14 series had everything been deep, complex, tense and dark.

There needs to be lighter periods to relax the tension. More whimsical episodes. Simple, action oriented episodes.

You need to be able to breathe before being gripped by the tension again.

It's the same with your content.

Filling every email or blog post or video with in-depth, super insightful content is not only a huge task – it also overwhelms people.

People tend to tune you out for one of two reasons.

Either when what you send them stops being relevant, valuable or interesting.

Or when it's just too much for them. And that's not just the volume you send them – it's the mental capacity it needs for them to process it.

It's vital that you build credibility and share your best ideas. 

But you should also learn from the best in entertainment and have both shadow and light. It's not just OK to have lighter, easier to consume, more casual content. It's necessary. 

Be like Murdoch (or insert your obsession of choice here).