Archive of posts from June 2023

What games teach us about being a creator/indiehacker:

• When you die (fail), you have another life.
• When you’re out of lives, turn it off. Come back later.
• If you don’t like the game, play a different game.

Nothing is fatal.

Everything is learning.

We learn until we win.

If your content is boring… How do you make it not boring?

One option is to add “power words” and spice it up with nonsense:

• "8 websites that should be illegal, a thread."
• "If you don’t drinking tumeric with ChatGPT sprinkles, you’re falling behind."
• "How I wrote a thread that made me a bazillion dollars in MRR, a thread."

I know. It makes you want to vomit in your own face.

The other option is to just not be boring.

Your content’s not boring when you’re brave enough to be the real you:

• Your real opinions are spicy enough on their own…to your people.
• Your quirky interests are interesting on their own…to your people.
• Your solutions to problems are interesting on their own…to your people.

So…you really only need 2 things to not be boring:

1. To be yourself
2. To find your people

This week’s issue of the Productoons newsletter covers this in more detail, plus steps you can take to make it happen in your own work.

Check it out at Productoons.com.

The more you succeed, the more people stick their selfish little heads up your butt.

Those same people weren’t there for you when you were still on the rise.

And if they were there, they certainly wouldn’t have been rooting for you in quite the same way.

Along the way, you’ll find:

• Some people are selfish jerks
• Some people are all-purpose jerks
• Some people are really, really nice

Remember the third kind: those who are cool to you before you succeed.

Because when you get to the top, it’s way harder to tell who’s truly there for you.

Keep going, and keep taking names.

A surprising number of creator (and life) challenges can be solved with:

• Paying attention
• Doing the reps
• Doing more reps

Even a monkey can roll a double-six sometimes.

And if your brain pushes back, consider this: If a monkey can do it, you can do it.

Pay attention. Do the reps. And that’s it: you need no additional secret hacks or mystery skills.

What could you achieve if you truly internalised this?

Don’t fear failure.

Fear not trying and killer bees.

Not trying is sure to kill any chance of success. Because you never tried!

And killer bees are just generally worth watching out for.

If there are killer bees, avoid.

Not trying? Avoid that too.

But not failure.

This isn’t high school.

You’re not rewarded for fitting in, but for standing out and being unique.

You’re not compensated for doing the same as everyone else, but for being objectively better in your chosen niche.

You don’t sell by doing the same bland garbage everyone else is doing, but by caring more deeply and showing up more readily.

You’re not noticed by your market because you act cool, but because you act weird (in a good way).

Today is a great day to be weird and have fun with your work.

And so is tomorrow.

The more I learn about the creator economy, the more I see the hurt.

The anxiety. The stress. The insecurity. The self-worth issues.

Social media makes it worse:

Many influencer accounts know that their most popular content is either talking about how much money they make, or motivating people to make lots of money. Having the world compare themselves to outliers and edge-cases is a great way to get engagement… but also a great way to make insecure minds fret about their worth and abilities.

Many online courses know that promising untold riches will secure the product sales, because people want that for themselves. But when they buy these courses, only to realise it doesn’t live up to the hype (because there is no secret), again, more insecurity and stress for creators.

More creators on here are silently suffering with anxiety or depression than you think.

So drop them a Like. Leave a nice comment. Be kind.

They’re working through their issues, getting bitten by predators, and trying their best.

We should do our part in helping them focus on the work they know they should be getting on with, rather than letting pangs of insecurity derail them in pursuit of fast riches.

People don’t just like stories…

They’re completely addicted to stories.

Such as the story about why they’re “a charitable person” or “a Mac guy”.

And when they can’t be a part of one of their stories?

They experience pain:

• Anxiety (‘What happens now?’)
• Confusion (‘What does this mean for me?’)
• Mourning (‘Who am I without this?’)

But what about when they discover a new story?

They experience happiness:

• Excitement (‘What happens now?’)
• Wonder (‘What does this mean for me?’)
• Identity (‘Who am I without this?’)
• Notice how so many of the questions are the same?

Funny how that works.

Draw people into a good story. They’ll love immersing themselves in it and hate to ever leave.

This week’s issue of the Productoons newsletter covers this in more detail, plus steps you can take to make it happen in your own work.

Check it out at Productoons.com.

Brain hack:

Succeeding and Failing mean NOTHING.

All that matters is how you PROCESS stuff, and what you DO next as a result.

Life’s a game played and won in the mind.

Words are magic.

Most times an important message needed sending to a client or prospect in any of my businesses or projects, team members pull me in and say “do your magic”.

MAGIC.

Don’t underestimate the power of words.

Building something great?

Don’t count in months.

Count in years. Or even decades.

Big stuff takes time.

And the good news is, there’s very little competition because of it.

Reps.

Reps are where your growth comes from.

Reps are where your health comes from.

Reps are where your breakthroughs come from.

Reps on the dumbbells.

Reps on the cold calls.

Reps on refining your craft.

Put in the reps.

It’s Father’s Day.

And it’s the first time this has rolled around since I became a father.

So to all the Dads out there building their dream projects for the future of their families…

Creators without kids have no idea how hard it is juggling all these things.

You guys are the real ones.

High-five to you.

Whatever you’re working on…

If you try and nail it the first time… you’re setting yourself up for disapointment.

Because you won’t. Or the second. Or the third.

Or the fourteenth.

And that disappointment robs you of the energy you SHOULD be getting from the lessons learned that move you just that little bit closer to what you really want.

Reframe it.

You’re STUMBLING. And stumbling is GOOD.

Everyone STUMBLES their way toward their goals.

Tripping up over stones and bumping into walls the whole. way. there.

So learn to love the stumble.

Keep stumbling, friend.

“I wish they’d make less stuff so I didn’t have to spend so much money.”

It’s madness. Insanity, even.

How do some brands make us feel so… attached? Why do we hand them our wallets whenever they ask?

Because they figured us out.

And not necessarily in a creepy or insidious way…

…but in a “we actually took the time to deeply understand what you need, what you want, and what you love.” way.

• Why is the news in a frenzy each time Apple makes… well, anything?
• Why do you automatically buy DLC in your “most favouritest game ever™”?
• Why are you itching to get your friends into your brand obsessions too?

Because he who knows what their customers need, want & love, wins.

It’s not enough to know their problems (though you’ll sell nothing if you don’t).

It’s not enough to know what they want (though you’ll sell more if you do).

No: We need to know what they love. What they enjoy. What they do outside of your world (y’know, where they spend 99.99% of their time).

Work that out and you’ll make ads they look forward to, products they feel they need, and audiences that become loyal fanbases.

This week’s issue of the Productoons newsletter covers this in more detail, plus steps you can take to make it happen in your own work.

Check it out at Productoons.com.

Pick one:

Option 1: A $1m check, but you don’t wake up tomorrow

Option 2: No check, but you’re guaranteed to wake up tomorrow

Let your answer remind you of how rich you truly are.

“Move fast and break things.”

We’ve all heard that Facebook quote before.

And it’s right.

If, you want VCs to be interested in you. If, you want to attract their resources.

But what if you don’t want VCs, or their resources?

Try a new quote:

“Move slow, build what matters and enjoy the process.”

Yes, speed lets you try more things.

But it’s also what burns you out when you’re going it alone.

And when you’re burned out, the whole thing stops. You make bad decisions. You may even be tempted to terminate the project unduly.

That’s no way to get things done.

Slow it down, friend. There’s no rush.

Creators should, at times, think like venture capitalists.

Because venture capitalists know something creators don’t:

Most of your projects won’t work.

And they’re okay with that.

Because the few that do, make up for all the attempts that didn’t.

And that you tend not to find the ones that do, if you’re afraid to invest in the ones that don’t.

So build. Take losses. This is the path to wins.

And you may only need one win.

Weirdness is a superpower.

And it can help you grow your business.

For instance, Productoons.com helps creators grow by watching cartoons. Over a decade of being a successful full-time independent creator, coupled with the ability to illustrate and animate, allows weirdness to show up and invite others who share that weirdness.

Find your weirdness.

Then deploy it as a superpower.

Watch what happens.

Everyone’s throwing darts.

Sometimes, they hit the bullseye.

If the board made a sound every time anyone in the world hit the bullseye, it’d be making sound constantly.

Yet most of them don’t hit it, most of the time.

Forget what others are doing. Do you.

If you’re grinding for followers… stop.

I hit my goals before teaching anything on social or newsletters.

Audience is awesome, but not critical.

Audience opens doors, but other things do too.

And followers doesn’t mean attention, interest, trust, rapport, or a willingness to do business with you.

Do you, friend.

“I wish they’d make less stuff so I didn’t have to spend so much money.”

It’s madness. Insanity, even.

How do some brands make us feel so… attached? Why do we hand them our wallets whenever they ask?

Because they figured us out. And not necessarily in a creepy or insidious way… but in a “we actually took the time to deeply understand what you need, what you want, and what you love.” way.

It’s not enough to know their problems (though you’ll sell nothing if you don’t).

It’s not enough to know what they want (though you’ll sell more if you do).

No: We need to know what they love. What they enjoy. What they do outside of your world (y’know, where they spend 99.99% of their time).

This week’s issue of the Productoons newsletter covers this in more detail, plus steps you can take to make it happen in your own work.

Check it out at Productoons.com.

Pro-tip:

Remember that most people have no idea what they’re doing.

(Yes, even the authors of your favourite podcasts, social media accounts, and businesses)

“Imposter syndrome” emerges from the belief that people have a clue. As though the future has already been written, and they’ve read it. That they can be certain of the outcomes of their actions, even when those outcomes are external and not ultimately within their control.

This is, of course, nonsense.

There are many paths to where you’re going.

Some that have been discovered by others.

Others that have yet to be discovered.

Follow their paths, or carve out your own.

Just remember: they feel lost too. We’re all feeling our way through this. Act accordingly.

Want to create things you’re proud of?

You don’t need:

• Pitch decks
• World-changing ideas
• A huge team
• Daddy as partner at a VC firm

All you need is:

• Skills to build with
• Story to tell
• Patience
• Audience with a problem

Impatient minds are where big visions go to die.

Breathe.

Enjoy the process.

Give your vision some space to thrive.

Do you find yourself scrolling through Twitter for growth secrets?

How’s that working out for you?

Thought so.

Instead, scroll for fun. For inspiration. For camaraderie. For connection. For giving other people presents.

And you might just discover some growth along the way.

E-learning will be a $347.3B market by 2026 (that’s big).

Only 5–15% people complete courses (that’s small).

‘Casual’ gaming segment grown to 49% (that’s big).

This is why I’m investing SO heavily in edutainment.

(Well, that, plus I really enjoy it and am really good at it.)

If you enjoy being boring, please disregard this message.

If you sell things to people who like fun, you may owe it to yourself and to them to make things they actually want to see and you actually want to make.

Doesn’t that sound more fun?

As I covered in last week’s Productoon:

Ever get to the end of a week and think to yourself…

“Man, I worked hard every day but…what did I even get done?”

The feeling of “literally where did the time go” and “at this rate things will take forever, and I don’t have forever” is not uncommon.

You’re not alone: I’ve talked to a lot of creators over the past couple of decades, and this feeling is normal… and it’s getting worse:

• Instagram’s full of ‘alphas’ in ‘lamboz’.
• Twitter’s full of threads about how 2yos are becoming trillionaires.
• LinkedIn’s full of humble-brags in navy blazers.
• “Oh man, maybe I should be doing more of __!”

Stop. Hey, come back to me. Focus.

Listen: Eating three uncut pizzas at once is gross.

You’re not an animal. Select a pizza. Slice it up. Then eat 1–2 slices a day during mealtimes.

If you’re going to ship all of the amazing projects trapped inside you, eat work like you eat pizza in polite company.

Read more about the topic in the Productoon!

Recently, I felt nauseous all day every day.

Didn’t know why.

Turns out I was drinking WAY too much coffee. I cut it way back, feel a lot better!

And this reminded me of the importance of YOU in the work YOU create.

We talk about product development a lot. We talk about product marketing a lot. But we forget the importance of self development as an essential ingredient to creator success.

70 hour weeks aren’t uncommon in the creator world. That’s a problem.

Creators: Add your body and your mind to your product development process.

You’ll be amazed at what you can build when you build you first.

Woah. 2,000 posts. On 2,000 consecutive days.

When I started blogging daily, I assumed I’d get to maybe 50. Or 100. Or if I was crazy, 500.

I’ll say this though: Almost five-and-a-half years later, it’s not hard anymore. But it was hard until about 1,500 posts.

Whatever you’re building and working on… remember: keep putting in the reps. Results aren’t fast. Creating is hard.

Keep going.