đ¤ How I score sponsors + Saturday coworking calls
It's Q2 of 2024âare you staying consistent?
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Summertime. đ¤ď¸ Iâm almost never without an iced drink of some sort these days. Writing this newsletter is a product of my current caffeinated cup: a Costa Rica pour-over over ice. Black, of course. âď¸
Hope youâre cozying up to a nice cold drink (or hot, if itâs chilly where you are âď¸) while reading this.
One Tiny Essay
Since recently coming back to my newsletter and YouTube channel, Iâve had friends say itâs âpretty cool that [I] seem to always get sponsorships these daysâ even without a massive following.
Call it imposter syndrome, but the truth is, itâs surprised me too how often the opportunities have come since Iâve returned as a creator.
I recently had the chance to talk to a sponsor about why they were interested in working with me, even when I wasnât a megastar on the internet.
Hereâs what they said:
âWe often look for creators who do good, quality work online, even if they have a small but engaged community.
And just because your community is small now doesnât mean itâll stay small forever.
Plus itâs always great to be one of the brands that backed [creators like] you early. We think thatâs always a win-win!â
The focus of that quote is âgood, quality work.â
And I think thatâs pretty telling of something weâve always known to be true:
Nothing good ever comes from doing it easy. The best results still come from good old-fashioned hard work. (Smart and hard work, of course!)
Shortcuts wonât get you anywhere.
So even if itâs hard to produce something like a new article, a new video, a new podcast, just remember itâs that effort you put in now that brings in the results later.
You wonât always see those results right away.
But thatâs why everyone always brings up the metaphor of planting seeds and tending to your garden; itâs just true that good things take time and energy and nurturing.
Two Tiny Tricks
1) No new ideas? Go back to basics.
So Iâve alluded on this newsletter and on my YouTube channel that I devote my full-time hours consulting for tech companies and VCs.
One thing Iâve been doing for a VC is creating their video strategyâand in the process of trying to grow their audience, weâve been going back to basics.
Think beginner startup terms, tech acronymsâŚ
Stuff thatâto people like us whoâve been in the industry a whileâwas easy stuff. Stuff you wouldnât dream of posting about online because, in your mind, âeveryone knows this stuff already.â
But we decided to post stuff like that anyway because, hey, just because we know doesnât mean everyone knows, right?
So we tried it out.
Results?
From a cute little 26 followers on TikTok and an average of 450 views per videoâŚ
âŚto⌠đĽđĽđĽ
177 followers and over 18,500 views.
Itâs not internet-breaking resultsâbut itâs a start. Weâre only two videos into a âstartup basicsâ series trying to grow TikTok from scratch, and weâre liking what see.
Donât underestimate the power of going back to basics. 80% of your audience out there wonât know what you know.
Make of that what you will.
2) Be a generous creator.
So Iâm part of a few groups online that play and follow the game Stardew Valley (10/10 game), and thereâs been a lot of buzz over what is collectively called the 1.6 update.
Context: This game update added all sorts of cool new things. Think new festivals, outfits of the game characters, new story quests, itemsâbasically making the game feel like an entirely new game.
The most impressive part? Itâs a game completely done by one person.
This isnât the first major update heâs given either. As the update name suggests, itâs actually one of six major updates, each introducing relatively big new things to add to the game.
Oh, and these updates are completely free.
As the game developer, he could have easily packaged these updates as separate downloadable products, as most game devs and publishers do.
But he doesnâtâand youâd think that would ruin his results, but itâs the opposite.
With the generosity and care he puts into each update of his game, the creator of Stardew Valley is obviously well-loved.
Itâs translated to millions of copies of his game sold, and each update brings in more and more sales as the community spreads the word about him and supports him by purchasing new copies of Stardew Valley for different platforms or gifting it to others whoâve yet to play the game.
Key takeaway for us creators:
Donât underestimate your communityâs ability to appreciate your efforts.
Give as much as you can, and the right people will appreciate you, spread the word about you, and keep on supporting you. đŠˇ
Three Cool Things for Creators
1) Creator Toolkit Corner
Hereâs 1 tool that Iâm keeping an eye out as a creator, in the hopes youâd find it useful:
Jitterâmake motion graphics easy
Iâve never tried to touch Adobe After Effects in my life (do I really have the time?)âbut I could see myself using Jitter to make motion graphics for explainer videos and animated posts.
2) In My (Internet) History
Hereâs an amazing thing I found and fell in love with on the internet this week:
This was a riveting article I read on The New Yorker called âBecoming You,â which explores how our personality changes (or doesnât) from childhood.
It hit kinda close to home considering how it was actually an afternoon of reading through old essays I wrote when I was younger that led me to coming back to my creativity in the present.
3) Try This At Home
Aside from nursing an ice-cold black coffee while I committed to writing this newsletter, thereâs another thing keeping me going:
Some friends and I committed to twice-a-month creative accountability working sessions.
For two hours every other Saturday morning, we commit to working on one thingâwhether in a cafe, or virtuallyâfor our personal passion projects.
Itâs been a fun exercise so far, and a great way to stave off the feelings of âugh, I just wanna sleep in on Saturday morning.â
For best results, I recommend doing this with creator friends of yours that have their own running passion projects ongoing.
I find it works better than working with, say, a sweetheart or a childhood bestie who might not have something in the works (and thatâs okay!)
Howâs the new quarter been treating you so far?
Hope you remember that January isnât the only good month to start over; April sounds pretty good too. :)
Your struggling creator friend,
Mica
P.S. If youâve enjoyed any of my writing thus far, refer a friend!
As a thank you, if you refer one person who signs up, Iâll 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.
And now a word from our sponsor
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Watch my review of Podia (particularly its new blogging feature) to see how you can save hundreds of $$$ by switching from differentâand separateâtools.