How to stop DROWNING in analytics
As well as the importance of selling IDEAS instead of products ~ 6 min read
Hello again.
Your favourite internet cowboys here. This week, we discuss why failing is inevitable, the importance of music choice, and the right way to sell a product. Take it away, Sean! 🐴
Picture yourself wakeboarding on a sun-soaked lake, your best friends cheering from the boat towing you. You glide with grace, effortlessly leaping across wakes, laughter filling the air. The scene is idyllic.
Out of nowhere, an unexpected wave trips you, plunging your face through the surface of the lake. Sunlight dances through the water as you struggle to keep your eyes open. You’re still being pulled forward, holding onto the tether. Panic begins to grow, your grip starts to break, and you realize the only solution is… letting go.
My recent Instagram analytics resembles this scenario, with a sudden dip below the baseline. For three weeks, my performance has faltered, and I find myself metaphorically underwater, clutching on to the boat’s rope for dear life.
Sure. Maybe this is an overreaction. But struggling as a creator is a lot like drowning. It’s hard to breathe when things just aren’t working.
Releasing the tether is the only solution. You don’t want to lose the boat you’re being pulled by, but you also don’t want to drown. I’m constantly reminded of the importance of stepping back and reevaluating my approach as a creator. Nothing changes unless I actually make a change.
True success lies in the resilience of embracing a challenge. Stick it out through the choppy water, wipe your brow, grab that tether, and catch some more waves!
Unfinished Chronicles
Previous week’s goal: Shoot two long-form videos ❌
Next week’s goal: Shoot just one measly long-form video
I hate making excuses but I played the ol' mental health card over the weekend. There’s simply nothing more important than keeping your head on straight. After some R&R, I finally feel ready THIS WEEK to shoot a single long-form video. Let’s do it!
Let’s talk about soundtrack. In my opinion, the most important element to storytelling. How do you get it right?
Here’s a couple approaches to keep in mind:
Juxtapositional Sound
Some of the most powerful scenes in film are moments of contrast. Take the beautiful ending of Dr. Strangelove, where shots of nuclear apocalypse are ironically played over We’ll Meet Again. This technique is called contrapuntal sound.
Diegetic Sound
Diegetic sound is sound that characters in your story can hear too. Like music from a radio, or a concert. Consider this motivation – what will placing music into your story’s world suggest?
The Tear-Jerker
Sometimes a scene will call for something grand. Moments of glory, wonder and spectacle – they often require large music that swells. Just be careful to make sure the decision is earned. It’ll feel cheap otherwise.
… Silence?
Play around with music in your scene, but what happens when you cut it entirely? Sometimes letting things play out without music gives a more authentic, intense experience.
Unfinished Chronicles
Previous week’s goal: be in final stages of editing ❌
Next week’s goal: have the video FINISHED
Underestimated what was ahead of me. About 80 animations complete, 30 to go. My next video will be edited, exported and delivered to a sound mixer by next week. No April 1st upload, but not much longer!
The best form of marketing is storytelling. If you are able to get customers to care about your message… price and quality comes second. How do I know? Well, I recently fell in love with a startup that got me begging for their product in 13 minutes.
The Browser Company is doing something crazy - rebuilding the web browser. At first, I couldn’t care less. Google Chrome does everything, why download another one?
That was until I came across their latest YouTube video which was like a hypnotic spell. The brutal honesty, self-awareness, and mission of the company is something I’ve never seen. They convinced me it was more than a product. They convinced me that Google Chrome isn’t the endgame. The Browser Company is an underdog story of a small team trying to do the impossible. It was The Miracle on Ice, the 300 Spartans, Rocky, but in real life. Soon, I found myself scouring the internet to score an exclusive invite to their product.
From their excellent design to making me feel like I’m in the boardroom with them through their YouTube vlogs, The Browser Company is a fascinating case study of how to make people care.
Unfinished Chronicles:
I lost the Battle of Focus this week. The objective: finish this YouTube video. It was an easy straight shoot forward yet instead I flanked left, right, dug a trench, went south instead of north… okay this analogy is falling apart haha. I did too many different things when I should have focused on this damn video. It SHOULD come out Saturday :)
Hey y'all! There seems to be a problem with this week's newsletter -- as Dan said, every image isn't being displayed, it just says ''Image not found''!
Yeehaw, awesome work love the new format! FYI this week the images are white squares that say "Image not found" :/