If you’re a small businessperson, in sales, or just a closet egocentric, you probably want to be famous. And those days being famous means you need to saddle up with the Four Horsemen of YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and of course Facebook.
The real question in 2021 isn’t about which pony you should ride; it’s about how you go about using them to get the popularity you want. A lot of people spend a lot of time on these pursuits, often with zero luck. And yet, as it is with most things in the life, the answer to that question is simple, just not easy. To build your tribe of raving fans and to satiate your wildest dreams of popularity and avarice, it really comes down to three magical words: quality, consistent, content. And those three words apply if you’re taking a picture, making a video, creating a podcast, or writing a blog.
Let’s take a look inside.
Quality
Quality is a word that really is in the eye of the beholder. And if you’re a regular reader, you know there are different levels of quality, even on a Sunday.
One disagreement I have with other instructors, creators and so-called gurus is whether someone brand new at content creation should actually be publishing what they create in the beginning. When I work with video clients, I use the number five. I tell them never post your first 5 videos because they’re going to suck. And when something sucks it’s not going to make you famous, it’s going to make you embarrassed. But don’t confuse my words here – you still need to make those first 5 videos; you absolutely do. Just like you need to take that picture, write that post, and make that podcast. And when you have finished your first five new finger paintings, show them to someone who will be honest with you and use that as your guide about your first public appearance.
Consistent
I’m pretty big on this one. I started the Sunday Blog on February 2, 2014. That’s over 7 years ago and I’ve never missed a single Sunday. I’ve written just about 3 million words to you since this whole thing started. Seems like a lot I know, but so does tooth decay, hair loss, and belly fat when you’re 17. And then one day you just sort of say to yourself, “huh”. The trick for me is that I really enjoy writing to you. Sounds trite, but it matters. Because when it comes to consistent content creation, if you don’t like creating what you are creating, you won’t be consistent at it. And that means you won’t get famous.
The big roadblock to consistency isn’t the lack of joy from doing the work, it’s workflow. Time. Learning how to cram just one more thing into a day and a life that probably has too much in it already. So be honest with yourself about this. If you can’t do whatever you’re going to do at least a couple of times a week for the next few years, you’re probably better off just staying in the audience because you’ll never get a lot of traction and you won’t be famous. No offense, just sayin.
Content
The Four Horsemen ride the four ponies: blogs (writing), visual (video and photo) and podcasting (audio). Here’s how they work in ascending order from fast to long and simple to complicated.
1. Photo
The easiest and fastest. Take out your phone, kerplink, swipe, post. And suddenly everyone wants a piece of you, right? No, not right. Two things about photos. First, you need to learn something about composition. Proper weight of subject, framing and exposure. To get good it takes some practice, but you can do it. There are a million videos on the YouTube about this.
But most importantly, you need something that stands out. Another picture of your kid doing something kiddish, the house you’re selling this week, or the bird taking a bath is fine, but it’s also boring and no one’s really going to care. With photos the hard part is making them stand out. But learn to stand out you must. I will give you a resource for plagiarizing this at the end.
2. Writing
Writing takes longer than a photo but is faster than the other modalities. But of the four ponies of content creation, I think writing is far and away the most important. The reason I start with writing is you must train your brain how to tell a story.
Story craft is the baseline skill you need for both audio and video. Writing and learning how to write will also introduce you to “story structure” and your “voice”. I feel kind of weird saying this because no one taught me how to do any of it, but then again, maybe that’s the good news for you. There are basically two camps of writers: those who outline and meticulously think it out before tapping a key, and those who just write and write and clean it up later. My workflow is more the second and less the first.
So start by just writing. Really, just sit down and start tapping away. Just write. And see if you like it or not because you might not. And if you don’t at first, stick with it for a while anyway. And then set it aside, and then go back and polish it, and then give it to someone else to read. Believe it or not, good writing isn’t easy to find – even on a Sunday. But if you stick with it you’ll figure it out and when you do, you’ll have something few others do: the ability to say something that matters in a way that people will listen. And that will give you the launch you need to be famous.
3. Podcast
Number three is the podcast. I’ve done a few of these and I used to work on a radio show, so I know how they work. Obviously what you say matters (hence start with writing), but what’s equally a big deal is how you say it. With audio you’re also getting into editing. A popular open source (meaning free) piece of audio editing software is Audacity. If you’re going to podcast, take some time in your editor to learn about cutting, trimming, gain, and something called “compression”. It will make a huge difference in your final product. Also learn what an “RSS feed” is and get yourself into the Apple eco system too. Remember: consistency = famous. I recommend you get a decent mic and an audio recorder, or just your iPhone and a lapel microphone. In case you’re wondering I use this mic and this recorder and I love, love, love the results I get. Either way you MUST use a microphone and you MUST edit before you post.
I don’t usually do this, but I’m going to recommend a mentor for your speaking and presenting skills. I took a class from her last week and she’s really good. Her name is Kerstin O’Shields. She’s a former opera singer and she works with clients on voice and posture. Check her out at this link. Seriously, strong recommend.
4. Video
Video is no doubt the best medium to tell your story, create emotional connection, and go viral. It also takes the longest of the four ponies to learn and to execute. But if you do, you win the popularity contest.
In The Video Seminar we teach the 3 pillars of video: story, shoot, edit. This fall we’re launching two now courses: the Basic Course and the Business Course. These courses will spend more time on story concept and script structure and how those blend these with the visual because this is what people struggle with the most. I’ve scripted, shot and produced over 2,000 videos for myself, individual clients, and businesses. Learning story concept and script structure are the most difficult and most important things you need to learn.
If you aspire to make videos that get results, I’m going to give you a pretty great gift for just showing up today. It’s a one-hour course on how to make a simple video. You can get it at this link. We will walk you through the story, shoot, and edit process in about an hour with an emphasis on pre and postproduction. It’s free, and if you want to make video, this is the place you should start. And if you like it please share it.
The Metrics of Fame
So what about measuring fame? Lots of people correlate the number of subscribers and likes with how “good” you are. Social proof (number of subscribers) is important, but it’s also a false positive. I have videos that have over 80,000 views and I have a lot of readers too. I also have metrics at the other end.
To me what matters is quality. The quality of the people who will read, watch, and listen to me consistently (like you). I would rather have 10 who do than 10,000 who don’t. Am I right? Maybe and maybe not, but to me quality of audience should be the focus over quantity or subscribers.
Homework
If you want to ride with the Four Horsemen to your next chapter of fame and fortune, here’s your homework for this week:
1. Write something today. Not tomorrow, today. Just spend 15 minutes writing. And then set it aside and read it again in two days. Then polish it. Then give it to someone else to read.
2. Look at photos and start noticing what you like. I’m a member of the Pexels Community. This is a great place to start and something you should know about.
3. If you want to get into this video thing, start with the free course.
Good luck and have a good week.
Joe Still
2021.05.23
Cite
“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs.”
– Ansel Adams