✨ 1 tiny essay, 2 tiny tricks, 3 cool things for creators
Blank Page syndrome, non-conventional YouTube commitment hacks, and free creative assets
Second newsletter sent since promising to you (and myself) that I’d show up here consistently, no matter how hard it gets. This is a win.
P.S. Thank you for all the kind messages I received after sending my last newsletter!
It’s ultra motivating. I’m not a robot, and I write back. And if you find these emails just aren’t for you anymore, feel free to unsub.
One Tiny Essay
Two weeks ago, I wrote these exact words:
What can I even say about creativity now?
What can I even share now that this isn’t my full-time life?
I was lamenting a reality where I “pivoted” (stop me from hurling a bunch of startup buzzwords your way) from full-time content creator to woman in tech, and suddenly I didn’t have daily stories and tidbits about creator life that seemed relatable.
What a lie, I realize eventually, because I remember 95% of you telling me content creation isn’t your full-time job or has never been.
Guess we’re on the same boat. And isn’t being on the same boat the most relatable we’re ever gonna get?
Two Tiny Tricks
Many of you who replied to my last email shared your own consistency-related challenges, especially in a post-pandemic world.
I get it. We’re back to normal life. How do we create at the same pace when there’s people to meet, places to go, things to do?
Being on that same wagon, here are two things I’m trying to create consistently, with varying levels of success:
1) Repeatability
Instead of facing a Blank Page each and every time I draft this newsletter, I start with a template.
You’re seeing this template right now: an easy 1-2-3.
1 Tiny Essay.
2 Tiny Tricks.
3 Cool Things for Creators—a cool new tool, a trend, an article, a challenge; I’ll try to spice this up every edition!
Which do you think is less scary: starting a brand new post from scratch and watching that cursor blink…
…or having prompts like above to force you to get creative?
How can you make your creativity Repeatable™️?
They say limitations often inspire creative solutions, so I’m willing to bet my bottom dollar you’d find a way to apply this to your own platforms.
2) Sponsors
While this is my second newsletter I’ve sent in the last month, I can’t say the same for my YouTube channel.
I haven’t posted a new video in over 50 days—almost 2 months, yikes.
To challenge myself to get off my butt and actually publish something new, I tried something pretty unconventional:
I pitched brands to sponsor my next video.
Remember I mentioned these two tricks have varying levels of success?
Yeah, so a bunch of brands (understandably) didn’t respond, but you know what did happen?
One did. And they’re sponsoring my next video.
Keep an eye on the channel to catch my next productivity app-related video. It was a fun one to make.
Asking a bunch of brands to sponsor a video is a pretty big ask when you’re practically a nobody on the internet. (It’d be conceited of me to assume otherwise.)
But I focused on the brands who had something to gain by being featured on my channel, and those are the brands that I want to work with anyway.
Let’s ignore the Squarespaces and the Shopifies and the Surfsharks—let’s start with brands that need as much of a leg up as we do.
Even if you don’t have what you believe is a large-enough following yet (I’m talking 1,000 people on any channel at the very, very least), this could work for you.
Instead of asking for money or free stuff, why not ask for something even smaller, like a repost or a reshare?
The mindset is supporting each other. And everyone wins when we do that.
Sidebar: Are you a brand and interested to sponsor my next productivity app videos, or this newsletter? Check out my media kit for who I can help you reach.
Three Cool Things for Creators
1) Creator Toolkit Corner
Here’s 1 tool that I’m keeping an eye out as a creator, in the hopes you’d find it useful:
Design Spells—design details that feel like magic
One of my favorite sources of creative inspiration are tech products, and Design Spells is a website that compiles all sorts of cool design examples across websites and apps that make the internet more delightful.
2) In My (Internet) History
Here’s an amazing thing I found and fell in love with on the internet this week:
I was today years old when I learned Creative Market has a free Monthly Drops page that features amazing creative assets (think fonts, templates, PSD files—that sort of thing) that you can grab for free.
3) Try This At Home
There’s a big thing I’m seeing on the internet that’s been leading to some creators and even brands see some explosive growth.
Humor.
While comedy has always been a crowd-favorite, it seems to be permeating the creator, tech, and business space more than ever.
I guess Walt Disney, genius that he was, was right:
You have to entertain to educate because the other way around doesn't work
I’m now off to start editing 3 (three!!) new videos I recorded over the last week. Wish me luck!
Liked this new format? Hit reply and let me know. It makes my world a little brighter when I see your name in my inbox. :)
Your struggling creator friend,
Mica
P.S. If you’ve enjoyed any of my writing thus far, refer a friend!
As a thank you, if you refer one person who signs up, I’ll send you a copy of my Daily Check-In Tracker, a free interactive worksheet that lets you check in with yourself kindly. Perfect if you need something to help you unwind each day and reset.