Q&A

Hey All! Last week I did an AMA where you could submit questions (you still can!). I'll write back to what I can, and or share ideas in future blog posts.

Here are some responses:

What does authentic content sharing look like for my message?

It's really tough to not be "performative." You have something to share, something that you're thinking about, but when you try and write about it or post about it, you distort that message because you think that you can't just simply say it.
So you create what you think people want to hear, instead of what you hear, and want to share with people.

What helps? For me, I think there's a certain energy that I can sense (and I think other people do too) when I'm being authentic and simply sharing. I know that I'm doing well sharing authentically when I feel that energy is there in my work. The very reason there's that energy is that it's unblocked from the self-filtering. It's allowed to flow.

The other thing that can help is a template for yourself. If you have a template for the post/video/email etc. then you don't have to think so much about the structure, and if it's going to flow, because that constraint let's you feel comfortable that it's in a structure that people can digest, and your message can just flow through that structure.

As a teacher, I don't have experience marketing myself. How do I go about doing that so I can move to a district-level position that is the right fit for me?

Marketing, in this case, is about creating a Win-Win scenario rather than a win-lose scenario.

Win-Lose = You're taking something from them in the transaction.
Win-Win = you're both gaining something from the transaction (ie. role change).

You are moving to the district-level position to add something positive and valueable to the organization. "Marketing" is really just helping someone see how and what that's the case. We have to realize that even people who are doing the hiring have a problem they need to solve. What are their goals? What are they trying to accomplish? What problems do they have? They need to fill a role with a great candidate. They are hoping someone like you will come along and make their job easier. Understanding is the first step to marketing, it's about meeting their needs/wants in a way that we genuinely believe will help someone.

From your experience with Jacuzzi Club, What's your advice for someone trying to cultivate a community for creative individuals?

First and foremost that communities need to have a sense of direction. They are either growing or dying, and they are either heading on a journey together or they are lacking purpose. If it's just a community for social reasons, that's one thing. But if it's for more than friendship/connection, then a mission is critical. There's a new term I heard that I like a lot by Rob Fitzpatrick called "outcome-oriented communities." Where are your community members trying to arrive in the future? And how will this community help support them on that journey?

Been running my company, a productized service for video creation, for 2.5 years and most of our clients are agencies white-labeling us. Great for cashflow, bad for organic growth. Want to secure more direct clients so what would be the best way to do such?

Ok – so what's awesome is you are SUPER clear about the change. Going from White-labeled to direct to corporate clients.

The simple, and only change really necessary are the number of sales conversations you're having with non-agency clients, and instead with direct-to-brand/corporate clients. I don't think you need any new form of trust, etc. other than building relationships with a new type of client.

Here would be the GOLDEN question, in my opinion:

"How many sales conversations have I had this week, where the discussion was selling directly to brands/companies, rather than white-labeling?"

Imagine that I'm asking you that every single week on Fridays :)