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A New Look on Creator Failure – #108

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Dealing with Creator Failure

I’m almost finished with the audiobook Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. The main characters are video game designers, so this book is more than appropriate for any content creator. The ups and downs of creating something are palpable.

Without giving anything away, the creators developed a game that turned out to be a flop. Sadie, one of the creators, has a difficult time dealing with the failure, especially a public failure. She is, frankly, beside herself and doesn’t know how to move on.

The advice she receives is priceless. There are two takeaways I remember.

The first is there is a blessing in a public failure. It means, in the aftermath, there are no expectations on what you create. This bittersweet silence gives you, the creator, the time and the “moment” to begin creating something again, without any pressure. The creator must embrace this.

While listening, the book took me back to the year 2009. It was turning from summer to fall when I had to face the fact that Junta42, my first startup, was not going to survive. I was keeping it on life support, hoping. Hopeful that some miracle would happen.

We were so small at the time. No one was paying attention. But I felt as though I would never be able to work again. I was ashamed. I moved from room-to-room and the failure seemed to follow me wherever I would go.

I pushed through and made the decision to kill the business. The feeling was not what I expected. Relief? Freedom? Something like that.

The months after I was free to think and create something different. Six months later Content Marketing Institute was born.

In the book, Sadie asks “what do I do?”

The response: “You go back to work. You take advantage of the quiet time that a failure allows you. You remind yourself that no one is paying any attention to you and it’s a perfect time for you to sit down, in front of your computer, and make another game. You try again. You fail better.”

The second piece of advice from the book is around the idea of switching to a new project. Sadie had the idea that moving from one project to another is a sadness. Something not to revel in. Something to mourn.

The advice she receives is the exact opposite. Moving from one space to another is not something to mourn. It is, rather, a joyous occasion. We should honor what we have produced and created before, but exalt in the idea that we are to embark in a new journey. This is also a blessing.

Failure creates a gate…a gate to walk through and, on the other side, do something truly better than before.

I’ve heard all the failure quotes. I’m sure you have as well. Fail fast. Failure is necessary. Failure makes you stronger. All these are true. But I’m not sure I’ve ever looked at failure as an opportunity. A space “in between other spaces” that is a blessing…if you see it as such.

Anyway, the thought makes me smile. It also reminds me of why I love this content entrepreneurial business model so much. We get to work on different projects. An end to one is a new beginning for another.

My father always worked jobs where he got up and pretty much did the same thing each and every day. The only “new” thing each day was what he was having for lunch.

While there is nothing wrong with this type of work (which in many cases is needed in our society), I like the thought of passing through one gate, being thankful, and moving on to the next.

Nine Reasons to Meet Me at CEX in May

Here’s 9 reasons why you need to be in Cleveland May 1-3 for the 2nd Annual Creator Economy Expo (CEX).

1. The presentations are from real content creators doing the work. You’ll learn EXACTLY what you need to be doing to grow audience and revenue.

2. We’re still a small conference. You’ll get to actually talk to the speakers. Ask questions. Network without bumping into people. Make real relationships.

3. Current pricing ends March 31. You can save $200 off regular pricing by registering before then.

4. Don’t you hate events where food is extra? At CEX, you’ll get watered and fed with some amazing options (and not pay anything more).

5. My favorite two months in Cleveland are May and September. Spring in Cleveland is (generally) amazing. You’ll love it. Stay for a while and catch a ball game or go to the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

6. Jay Baer, keynote speaker and tequila expert, will be doing multiple tequila tastings during the opening reception. Don’t miss this!

7. The Savannah Bananas are a worldwide sensation. Founder Jesse Cole will teach you his “fans first” philosophy, and how you can implement it as well.

8. Eight tracks this year including subscription generation, podcasting, web3, courses/membership, revenue growth, content operations and video/social media. PLUS four sessions on how creators need to deal with AI and Content!

9. Flights to Cleveland are reasonable. Hotels are cheap (by comparison to other venues).

Register today and save. And use coupon code JPVIP to save an additional $200 off! Hope to see you there.

Friendly AI Reminder

The last two months the creator world has gone ChatGPT crazy. With the release of ChatGPT-4 last week, we are back at it again.

Let’s face it, ChatGPT and other AI tools are incredible…tools. If it helps your process, by all means experiment and use them. I know many creators who are using it for headline suggestions and simple editing. Bravo!

But know that the tool is often wrong. According to Newsguard, the new ChatGPT version provides more misinformation that the previous version. Quite a bit more actually.

Also, here’s a great reminder from Rand Fishkin, who pulled information directly from OpenAI’s FAQ (OpenAI is the company behind ChatGPT).

1) “ChatGPT’s training data cuts off in 2021. This means it is completely unaware of current events, trends, or anything that happened after its training.  It will not be able to respond appropriately to questions or topics that require up-to-date knowledge or information. It does not know who is president of the United States, the latest viral meme, or what day it is.”

2) “ChatGPT has no external capabilities and cannot complete lookups. This means that it cannot access the internet, search engines, databases, or any other sources of information outside of its own model.”

3) “It cannot verify facts, provide references, or perform calculations or translations. It can only generate responses based on its own internal knowledge and logic”

So absolutely be excited … but also know what you are receiving is not necessarily true.

How Epic Content Marketing Was Born – #107

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This week is the official launch week for Epic Content Marketing, second edition.

If you’d like to help (of course you do), please buy or share with your marketing or business friends this week. It is much appreciated.

But…you ask…how did EPIC2 happen? Isn’t one version of Epic enough?

A little over a year ago I was in an online discussion group with some marketers talking about the future of content marketing and my latest book. Attending was my friend Brian Piper.

Every year Brian and I would chat (and have a drink or two) at Content Marketing World. I knew a few things about Brian. First, that he taught at the University of Rochester. Second, that he jumped out of planes. And third, that he LOVED the first edition of Epic Content Marketing (he told me many times how it changed his career).

So, of course, I liked Brian because he liked me 😉.

In this online discussion Brian was asking me some questions about my current book at the time, Content Inc., and here is how it played out.

Brian immediately shot me an email and asked me if I was serious.

I told him I was serious. I also told him to really think about if he wanted to do this. Brian would take point on all the interviews and the initial draft, so he would be carrying the heavier burden (by far). He said he was up for it (to his wife’s dismay most likely).

On November 1, 2021 I sent an email off to McGraw-Hill asking if there was interest (there was). Two weeks later, Brian and I submitted a book proposal to MH. Exactly one month later it was approved and we were ready to go.

And 16 months later, EPIC2 is being born.

Why should you care about this story?

Many people who read this newsletter are not authors, but want to be.

There are a lot of amazing books in your industry that should be updated with a new edition, but…

  • maybe the author isn’t thinking about it.
  • maybe they don’t have time.
  • maybe they don’t want to do the work.

But, perhaps, you’d like to take on this role.

I can think of dozens of books out there that need a second edition. Can you? I bet you can.

I’m so happy Brian asked me the question and agreed to co-author Epic with me. Maybe there is an opportunity out there for you as well.

Add this to Your Bucket List

Two weeks ago I went on a Caribbean cruise with my wife and friends to the Cayman Islands (Georgetown), Jamaica (Ocho Rios) and the Bahamas (Nassau).

As you know, I’m a big fan of cruises. I love the floating hotel concept where I can get a small taste of a location (to see if I want to come back at some point) and then move on to the next spot.

The big surprise on this cruise was Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica.

To tell you how I make decisions, my wife and I watched a movie called Like Father starring Kelsey Grammer and Kristen Bell. The movie takes place mostly on a cruise ship where they just happened to go to Jamaica and visit a “falls-like area.”

I did a bit of research and found out that Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica is one of the island’s biggest tourist attractions. We received a free excursion with our cruise, and so we quickly booked a day at the falls.

I expected a tour through a falls area, possibly with water dripping on my head and looking at the beautiful sites of Jamaica. What I received was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

As we arrived, we descended hundreds of feet to drop off all our belongings at a locker area. We were told we’d get 100% wet, so we deposited our goods and had a bottle of Red Stripe beer (brewed in Jamaica) before taking on the falls.

We made it to the beach, turned around, and saw the falls (see picture). We were told we were going to travel up into the Falls almost 1,000 feet (Wikipedia says 600, but 1,000 is totally believable). In order to make it through, our group of 30 needed to form a human chain, hand-in-hand, in order not to fall. But don’t worry, anyone with solid knees can do the trip (there were many in our group who were almost 80 years old… they were a bit slower but did just fine.).

Upon completion, we all looked at each other like we really accomplished something. It’s one of those unforgettable experiences that I cannot recommend highly enough.

So put it on your bucket list. You won’t regret it.

10 Things I’ll Regret on My Deathbed

I’ve been following Sahil Bloom on LinkedIn for quite some time. I appreciate his mix of business and personal growth advice. This week, a post from Sahil truly made an impact. Please check out the original post, but the 10 things include:

1. Not spending enough time with my kids during the magic years.
2. Not spending enough time with my parents during their remaining years.
3. Not training my body and mind during my middle years.
4. Allowing true friendships to atrophy over time.
5. Allowing negativity to linger in my life.
6. Letting money control my life.
7. Not leaving something that lasts beyond my life.
8. Wasting precious time stressing about stupid little things.
9. Not working on things I consider meaningful.
10. Allowing my quest for more to distract me from the beauty of enough.

A couple things that stand out to me:

The first is health. I have a number of family and friends that are not in the best physical condition right now. I’ve heard from so many of them how they’d wish they’d taken their health more seriously when they had the chance.

Treasure the time you have with kids and family. Being new empty nesters, we love our new home, but we also find as much time as possible to visit our kids. Same goes for our parents. You have to make the time.

As my wife will attest, I get a new business idea almost daily. When I do, I quickly weight that idea against time with my family, my friends, and what’s the most important. Before doing anything about the idea, I generally get to the point that enough is enough.

What stands out to you?

What I’m Working On Today

Outside the launch of Epic Content Marketing, here are the things I’m working on right now where I’d love your support.

My first marathon. On April 23rd, I’ll be running in my first-ever marathon in Toledo, Ohio at the Glass City Marathon. Last week I ran 44 miles (my most ever in a week) and 19 miles on Sunday (my most in a day). Simply send positive thoughts that I survive the race in one piece.

Creator Economy Expo on May 1-3rd in Cleveland. If you’d like to go and can’t afford it, email me. We have a few scholarships available for creators who need some financial assistance.

100 Holes of Golf (May 15th in Elyria, Ohio). I’m raising money for the 4th year in a row by golfing 100 holes in a day. Please support me if you can at this link. All proceeds to go kids who need speech therapy but cannot afford it.

Business Passion, Patience, and More – #106

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I’ve Done Enough

This video from Jim Carrey made a real impact on me. If you go to the four-minute mark, watch the next 60 seconds.

Carrey, after an illustrious film and comedy career, says, “I have enough. I’ve done enough. I am enough.”

Life is short. Make the decisions that make sense for your life now. Don’t wait.

Thank you, Jim.

Turning Your Passion into a Business

Last week I got on a zoom call with my friend Jay Baer to talk through his upcoming Creator Economy Expo speech.

For those of you who don’t know Jay, he’s been in marketing for over 30 years, has written a New York Times bestselling book, has run a number of multi-million-dollar businesses, and is in the National Association of Speakers Hall of Fame.

But his passion is tequila.

Last year he started a content business around his love for tequila, with the goal to make at least a dollar.

Before he started his content journey, he had one amazing realization. Most of the tequila influencers out there were speaking to other tequila “nerds” or experts. But who was speaking to the casual tequila drinker who wanted to be a bit more sophisticated about their tequila? There weren’t many, and thus the opportunity.

Tequila Jay Baer was born. 4 short videos per week on TikTok and Instagram, and six months later Jay has become the #2 non-celebrity influencer in the world with millions of views and 200,000+ followers.

What’s amazing to me is that Jay has been incredibly successful in marketing for the past three decades. One of THE most successful marketers on the planet.

And in less than a year he has, perhaps, created his very best business opportunity ever.

Jay himself said “I know more than most about Tequila, but not that much. So many are afraid to start because they don’t have the knowledge. That’s almost never true for anyone creating content.”

The truth is, no one knows enough when they start. The key is choosing the right audience, niche, and platform, and then simply doing the work.

Is there a business around your passion? Perhaps. And perhaps now is the time to think about doing something about it.

Jay will be telling this story in detail with a keynote presentation CEX on May 2nd in Cleveland. If you can, I hope you can make it to see this speech.


In Love with Hadestown

Two weeks ago, I saw the musical Hadestown.

Going in I had no expectations. I knew absolutely nothing about the plot or the songs.

Well, it was a true experience unlike most others.

The last time I felt this way about a musical was seeing In the Heights from Lin-Manuel Miranda (his musical before he created Hamilton).

It’s not often that a musical keeps me engrossed from beginning to end. This one did.

Hadestown is a version of the Greek myth including Orpheus and Eurydice…a love story reimagined by the incredibly talented Anaïs Mitchell.

Now get this…let’s talk about patience.

The original version of Hadestown was performed in Vermont in 2006.

The concept album came out in 2010.

Mitchell reworked the musical in 2012 and took four years preparing it for an off-Broadway performance in 2016.

The show premiered on Broadway in 2019.

That’s 13 years folks.

Hadestown won Best Musical in 2019, along with seven other Tony Awards.

I’ve said it a million times…the most important virtue for a content creator is patience.

I am in awe of what Mitchell accomplished.

Who’s Your Favorite Creator?

I’m looking for content entrepreneurs who deserve more recognition. Do you know any?

If so, please nominate a content creator here.

Finalists will be honored at CEX in May. Thanks for your help.

Here Comes the Middle Class

Rolling Stone put out an interesting article on the rise of middle-class of content creators. What’s the “middle-class of content creators” you say?

This basically means everyone outside of the MrBeasts of the world. Regular business owners trying to make their way with a content-first approach.

I like this line from the article:

“Not every creator is poised to build a billion-dollar burger franchise, but despite the economic backdrop, creators who succeed at building a niche audience are better positioned than ever to monetize their online relationships both on and off the platforms.”

In my opinion, this group of people will have the most opportunities for financial success in the next decade. Once you build an audience, you can generate revenue in many different ways. And for a long time.

Shhhh….

Don’t say it too loud, but my favorite digital currency (Bitcoin) is up 50 percent this year (as I write this).

Actually, someone asked me the other day my thoughts on “crypto” in general. To me, there is Bitcoin and Ethereum. Those are the only two I’m interested in right now. If I miss out on other opportunities because of this focus, so be it.

And this is not financial advice of any kind.

Moving Forward, Editing Advice, and More – #105

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On Moving Forward

Sometimes you have to temporarily go left or right to ultimately move forward.

While on holiday I was running a five-miler along the beach. About a mile into my run, there was a blockade. On the right, a pile of seaweed too large to leap over (not that I actually leap over anything). On the left the sand had recessed, creating a small lagoon. In order to pass, I had to run a good bit to the left to keep moving forward (see map pictured below).

I was immediately reminded of this quote from the movie “Lincoln” where the President says:

“A compass, I learned when I was surveying, it’ll… it’ll point you true north from where you’re standing, but it’s got no advice about the swamps, deserts and chasms that you’ll encounter along the way. If in pursuit of your destination, you plunge ahead heedless of obstacles, and achieve nothing more than to sink in a swamp… what’s the use of knowing true north?”

When I left corporate America to start a business, all I wanted to do was focus on the new business.

But to fund the business, we needed cash, so I took a few consulting gigs.

And to spread the idea of the business, I took a few speaking gigs.

Ultimately it took four+ years to hit our goal…to reach our true North. Without the consulting and the speaking (what I considered at the time to be distractions) we never would have made it.

Just a reminder for those of you working to build your business. Maybe the distraction you are working on is helping you reach your goal?

Lizzo On Editing

As a content creator I want to publish everything I create.

Want, yes. But should I? No.

Whatever content you create, we need to understand that not everything should be published.

Most content creators do. Or feel like they should.

For Lizzo’s last album, she created 170 songs…but only published 12. That’s 93 percent NOT published.

It’s called editing. We all need to be doing more of it.

Be like Lizzo.

Oh…by the way, I have about 20,000 words of my last novel that we cut. It still hurts my soul, but it was the correct decision.

On Shania Twain

I’ve had some fits of writer’s block recently. When this happens, I go for a run.

Most of the time, I listen to audiobooks. On this particular run I asked Siri to play some new music. For the first song up, I didn’t recognize the song, but definitely knew the artist…Shania Twain.

I love Shania. My wife and I have seen her in concert. We also used one of her songs as our first dance as a married couple.

You may know about Shania’s success. She’s sold over 100 million records, making her the #1 bestselling female country artist of all time.

But you may not know this. After releasing her Greatest Hits album in 2004, she was diagnosed with Lyme Disease. It wrecked her voice. At times she could barely sing on key. She was scared to sing in public (think about that…scared after thousands of in-person performances).

Well, you know the rest of the story. She battled through it and started to write her own music again by 2011 (also dealing with a rather horrible break up during that time).

The point? Even one of the greatest musicians and performers ever has to overcome piles and piles of crap to make it.

It’s part of all our journey. We just have to see it, know it’s there, and then take the next step.

I highly recommend Shania’s documentary on Netflix to give you the full picture. Very inspiring story.

ChatGPT News

I feel obligated to tell you that Microsoft is launching an “AI-Powered Answer Service” while Google launched Bard, a ChatGPT rival. For the first time in history Google feels like it’s behind (or it looks that way).

Maybe this is the 2023 version of the cola wars.

But the most important news of the week? Beyonce won her 32nd Grammy Award and now holds more Grammys than any other artist.

Oh…this week’s newsletter is one story shorter than normal. I’m on holiday this week and am entirely unapologetic about it. That said, I wanted you to know. Peace!

Weighing Importance, LinkedIn Experiment Updates, and More – #104

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Super Early Bird

Prices go up on Friday for Creator Economy Expo. If you create content for a hobby, side hustle, or full-time for yourself or your company, you need to join me in Cleveland May 1st to 3rd.

Bar none, the best speaking lineup we’ve put together in my 20 years of doing events.

Check out the agenda here.

For an extra $100 off, use code JOEVIP. Register here.

Is this Important?

Brandon Arvanaghi shared this 20 second clip from Elon Musk on LinkedIn. Now, I’m not a big Elon fan, but I simply love this.

Basically, Elon says that he only asks “is this important to get done?” with an activity. If it is, he does it. If it isn’t, he doesn’t.

Maybe the advice is too simple, but I like it.

Look at anything you are doing. Ask the question “is this important to get done?”.

That’s it.

If we lived our lives that way, things would be better, yes?

My LinkedIn Experiment

For the past 60 days I’ve been posting regularly on LinkedIn. Here’s what I’ve found.

I post at least once per day weekdays and every other weekend (for time purposes). Weekend posts do better naturally because of less competition.

There is no difference between images or no images. It’s all about the BIG IDEA. Hashtags seem to help, but not so much you notice.

For my two best posts, one was an image (the subscriber hierarchy) and one was a story on being focused.

Over the 60 days, I’ve added less than two thousand LinkedIn followers, which is rather disappointing given that I already had over 200,000 followers.

But here are the big aha moments.

1. I added a LinkedIn newsletter as an offering when I started this whole thing. I send this Random newsletter out (shortened) to those people that sign up on LinkedIn the Monday after this one goes out.

I’ve added almost 25,000 subscribers in 60 days. Truly amazing. It seems that is the best call-to-action when people check out your profile.

2. Speaking of profile, I’m averaging over 1,000 profile looks a day. Before I started this, it was about 20.

3. Commenting on other people’s posts is probably the most critical. And not for the reasons you think. When you comment on someone else’s post, YOUR audience sees that you did so in the LinkedIn stream. While you might pick up some new followers if someone who doesn’t know you found you interesting, commenting on other’s posts is maybe the best way to stay top of mind with YOUR current audience.

If you don’t have a following, I’d go heavier on the commenting. Target 10-20 accounts where your customers/prospects are hanging out.

I’ll keep going, but so far, so good.

Everywhere

While we were on family vacation  our youngest asked us to watch the movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” If you are not familiar, this is the movie that just snagged 11 Oscar nominations.

Without giving anything away, it was, perhaps, the oddest movie I’ve ever seen. Two weeks later and I’m still thinking about what it means.

If you want to see something truly original, and visually stunning in parts as well, check it out and let me know what you think.

It was one of those movies that I didn’t like once it was finished but has been growing on me ever since.

Content Questions

This week Brian Piper and I finished recording the audio version for Epic Content Marketing, Second Edition (available for preorder now). I wanted to share this section on content questions (included in the book) because, frankly, it’s everything when it comes to content creation.

If you create content for an organization, you most likely are supplied a budget from a senior executive.

While YOU create content for many reasons, they only care about the answers to these four questions:

  • Is the content driving sales for us?
  • Is the content saving costs for us?
  • Is the content making our customers happier, thus helping with
    retention?
  • Is the content growing our community and expanding our
    opportunities?

I call this sales, savings or sunshine.

That’s it!

If your content metrics can show one of these four things, you’ll never have an issue getting and growing a content budget.

Book Recommendations

I just finished two amazing books that I highly recommend.

The first is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. The second is a historical fiction novel called The Rose Code by Kate Quinn.

If you want to feel a full range of emotions, both books will do that. Plus, superbly well written.

I asked my LinkedIn audience for some other book recommendations and they came up with some amazing ones. Here’s the link.

DisneyWorld Review

We had a truly amazing family trip to DisneyWorld with the kids.

Couple of thoughts if you are planning a trip:

The two best Disney attractions are Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (Hollywood Studios) and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (Epcot). It’s worth it to pay for skipping the line. To do that you need to sign up for Genie+ (their fast lane pass) and then check in with your app at 7am to reserve the ride.

IMO, if you are serious about getting on the attractions you want, you need Genie+. The cost ranges from $15-$20 per person per day (this is over and above the ticket cost).

We did the Airbnb thing and did not stay at a Disney resort. I don’t regret it at all, but if you stay at one of the Disney resorts you get early access into the park and get to reserve hard-to-see attractions on Genie+ first. The kids wanted to have dinner at Space 220 restaurant at Epcot, but we couldn’t swing a reservation. We wouldn’t have had an issue with that if we stayed at a resort.

Here’s my top 10 ride list at the Disney Parks.

1 Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind – Epcot
2 Rise of the Resistance – Hollywood
3 Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – Epcot
4 Expedition Everest – Animal Kingdom
5 Mickey’s Runaway Railroad – Hollywood
6 Living with the Land – Epcot
7 Soarin’ – Epcot
8 Space Mountain – Magic Kingdom
9 Na’vi Journey – Animal Kingdom
10 Toy Story Mania – Hollywood

Final notes.

Slinky Dog, the coaster, is frankly not worth the wait IMO. Rock ‘n” Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith was nice but very short. We made sure we were on it since they are redoing it soon and losing Aerosmith. Avatar Flight of Passage is the new Pandora attraction at Animal Kingdom. I simply was not a fan. The ride is overproduced and parts are just unnecessary. If you decide to ride it, use your Genie+ to skip the line. Waiting is simply excruciating.

If you want to get the most out of Genie+, you really need a park hopper pass. It stinks but it’s true.

If I had to choose only two parks to go to, it would be Hollywood Studios and Epcot. If we had small kids, Magic Kingdom.

Google: No More Page 2

I had some conversations on LinkedIn this week regarding Google. I didn’t realize how many people were unaware that Google is just one continuous scrolling page now (in the United States at least).

There is no more page 2.

So, there you have it.

Here’s all the conversation on that if you’d like to check it out.