Something to getcha going - “It’s not the time you put in, but what you put in the time.” — Josh Waitzkin
This newsletter schedule is:
ON THE MESSY CONSISTENCY SCHEDULE! 💥
I KNOW you are busy and ummmm, me too. 😅 Time is indeed our MOST precious commodity. I want to send this out when I have updates for you and stuff to share that uplifts and HELPS you.
I know they say to “have a schedule” and “be consistent” and sure yeah of course. Do that, if you want.
Also? Family, life, work is the order in which I am living. As soloprenuers, teams of one, the CEEs (Chief Executive Everything) we juggle priorities like. a. boss.
Meanwhile? ALL of my numbers are up this month and I’m totally off my personal desired schedule for a variety of reasons.
Let’s look at some data…. Remember my Medium numbers? THIS is what happens when you keep posting even if it’s messy consistency…
Here is a year ago and now… I’m SO EXCITED. Yes I’m monetized and instead of .02¢ I am getting $2 - $10.
I got out my calculator (nobody wants Karen to do math without a calculator) and that is (based on the average of $6) an average growth of 29900%. My views went up 2283% and my reads went up 2659%…
LIKE WTAH?!?! 😭 And I have 20 drafts ready to be finished please Universe I need more TIIIIIIME.
Please please PLEASE just do your thing. DO NOT YELL AT YOURSELF. Give yourself a big Mo-the-dog hug, get back on track, and keep going. Keep creating. Keep selling.
KEEP SWIMMING! You’ve got this. I’m with you. You’re amazing, friend!
Let’s GO!
Tools and Koolness 🛠️
I’ve got a plethora of incredible finds this month OMG!!
💻 My new easy-to-create webpage is here! Check it out!
Here’s how I did it! I used Get Real Nice and started with the free plan, WOW! You can use the basics for free as long as you want. They are fabulous! So kind and helpful.
Here’s my review.
🎹 Musicians! Check out AnthemScore. I used it once already and I’m hooked. From their site - “AnthemScore is the leading software for automatic music transcription. Convert audio files like MP3 and WAV into sheet music or guitar tab using AI. No subscription required—buy once and use forever”.
📔 Digital Social Media Planner an entire YEAR of post ideas, viral hooks and so much more.
❃ Social updates! 🦋
According to HootSuite these are the top 16 things to know for 2024 - my thoughts and comments are next to each one.
‼️ Warning‼️ There may some giggles along the way. 🤭
1. Text-only posts are the sleeper hit of the year (X remains on top) - maybe 🤔
2. Social platforms will become the hottest new search engines - been saying this! Use your keywords in post captions, say them aloud, use in alt text.
3. Longer videos will make a big comeback - TikTok currently testing THIRTY MINUTE VIDEOS OMG!
4. Engagement will move from feeds to DMs - hate this and *maybe, but not likely.
5. Shares will matter more than likes, comments, or followers - ask for this!
6. Telegram might become the next super app - not a fan.
7. The fediverse is the future of social media (but it’s not here yet) - been saying this too! I think I’ll do a blog post about it.
8. Every grid post will be a photo dump - easy & fun!
9. LinkedIn will deprioritize personal content (and win more love from Gen Z) - GOOD and also? LinkedIn is…. waaaaay funner than it used to.
10. TikTok Shop will spark a re-emphasis on authenticity - yes, good. Also use this trick if you want to stop all the shop posts! Go to your “discover” page on your TT. Then search #TikTokShop - scroll right to hashtags - HOLD it down and choices will pop up - choose “dislike” - you can say why and BOOM 💥 your “for you” page is BACK to stuff you like/want. #curateyourfeedruthlessly
11. You won’t need a BeReal strategy - Fo realz
12. TikTok will continue to be the birthplace of video trends - yup
13. The unhinged social media manager will calm down a little - ummmm HELLO RUDE. 😬 and no I will not. 😜
14. Social isn’t moving into the metaverse quite yet - slower than expected
15. Social media managers will become best friends with AI - DUH already besties. 👯
16. You won’t ignore YouTube Shorts anymore - THIS is my NUMBER ONE. YouTube updates below…
📺 YouTube - First the update I just found and it’s so exciting! I hope I can go back and edit it into my current shorts for myself and my clients… YouTube has added a feature where you can ADD A “RELATED VIDEO” to your short… 🤯.
Do you get it? We all bee-yotch about “no links” and now they have made it ENTIRELY possible to link back to your longer video and GET MORE WATCH TIME. Here’s how to do it:
go to your channel
go to youtube studio
find your short
click the details/edit
then on the right side of your screen, under “visibility” find “related video”
click the edit (pencil) and choose the video or short to link to
your short now has a LINK!
TLDR - ↓
Make your long form - make the shorts - link back to your long form.
I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the mass exodus of many top ‘tubers from YouTube.
Check out Shelby’s thoughts -
I really like Photographer Zadenka’s channel and her thoughts on this -
The biggest reason prob’ly isn’t surprising - BURNOUT. The schedule *can be* brutal.
Current top YouTubers often:
Worry DEEPLY about the content
Obsess over thumbnails and constantly A - B test
Back to topic and content
Cost ➡ teams + gear + travel (often) = $ spending
Frenz you DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT. In fact - PLZ DONT DO THAT.
Let’s talk about what TO DO in 2024 with YouTube. TBH, it’s the same thing as social media and blogging… READY?
Messy Consistency FTW.
Topics that excite you AND your audience.
Simple, uncomplicated edits.
Srsly, that’s it. As always, the caveat is yes. You will not have overnight growth. That’s ok. Time goes by whether you do the thing or not.
So, do the thing. ENJOY the thing. Get the thing out there. Make money with the thing.
One last thing… 😜
Speaking of money… and quite frankly we all should do that more and not let it be weird… I have a friend who is a literal genius with finances. He has been helping me work on my teeny tiny retirement account. If you would like to reach out to him, his email is jim@robertbender.com. THIS IS NOT A HARD SELL OF ANYTHING. I’m sharing this because he is gracious and we all need to learn the beautiful art of money and finances. When we have it, we can help more and time can be your own. What a gorgeous thing that is! 🦋 Reply back with any questions, thoughts you may have.
In the trenches and on the beach with you,
Karen