Crank the wheel and win big prizes

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May has been the longest year of my life. Between various ailments and disorders, it’s been a rough go. If you didn’t see my IG Story updates this past week, I’ll spare you the gory details, but I came down with a severe case of Shingles all around the left side of my face.

It wasn’t pretty, but I’m on the mend and feeling much better. Thanks to all the well-wishers who reached out. I appreciate you.

Because of this, I wasn’t highly motivated over the last ten days or so to put out a lot of content, but I’ve had a lot of big ideas, which is what you pay me for, so let’s get into it.

Audience - Strategy - Implementation

I came up with this graphic today to express the concept of a content flywheel for creatives. The idea is that in order to grow, we start by considering our audience, who they are, and how we can solve something for them, even if that means filling their walls with art.

Once we thoroughly know our ideal audience, we can devise a content strategy that caters to their wants and needs. Then, it’s all a matter of implementation, and if we execute this well, the wheel starts turning.

Our implementation attracts new, like-minded audience members who fit within our strategy and consume our content. Maybe it’s so good that they share with friends, which turns the wheel a little faster. Before we know it, the wheel is turning quicker, and we no longer need to crank it ourselves; we can let momentum take care of it for us.

Turning the Crank

This week, I’ve had three different friends reach out with questions about how to think about strategy and what kind of content an artist can provide that inspires people to become loyal followers and buyers.

Between those conversations and some things I’m working on in the background, I’ve decided to offer strategy sessions to people who want to move forward with their business operations.

I don’t have all the details yet, but you’ll be the first to hear about it. Based on the conversations I’ve had already, there’s a bunch of value to be unlocked, and I can’t wait to share it with any enterprising people ready to make their next big moves.

The Recap

All the stories you may have missed since the last time we did this.

• Invest in Carrots, Not Sticks (Planning)

• How I’ll Grow My Email List Faster (Strategy)

• The One Where I Ask for Testimonials (Strategy)

• I Won’t Create Another Course Without This (Big Idea / Planning)

• How to Refresh a Neglected Email List (How-To)

• This Life Requires 10x Thinking (Big Idea)

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The Breakdown

I’m a bit behind schedule today, and I’ve got minutes to upload this before I turn into a pumpkin, so we’ll keep this lean today. Stay tuned to the end because I’ve got a pleasant surprise I want to share.

The Dave

I shared some stories from here in The Hungry this month and got a nice bump. We’re still a tiny but mighty group, but I like the trajectory even though I haven’t been as active as I would have liked.

You’ll also notice the presence of another sponsor above. Beehiiv is doing its part to help me out, even if the money is lean, simply because we are a small group of creative juggernauts.

The Hungry

This month, I launched Five Day News, my free mini-course about launching a newsletter, and that brought in a decent number of new subscribers. A sidebar to that is that I used the ManyChat app to help drive people from Instagram to the free course, which accounts for a majority of the bump in subscribers.

Because of my ailments, I wasn’t as focused on social media, which slowed things down a bit, but I’m happy with the results, and I plan on doubling down soon to help generate more new subscribers.

YouTube

This one is sad, really. I had intended to do a couple of new videos this month, but then I got sick and didn’t feel up to it. My revenue on YT this month was a whopping $30. Now that I’m feeling better, I plan on doing better here soon.

Big Surprises

I have big plans, but I need to do more of my own implementation to make things happen. That said, I do have some good news that I didn’t quite expect to share.

First, this month was my biggest month of affiliate earnings in a very long time. I’m not driving a Ferrari yet, but I know it’s happened because of the strategy I’ve implemented. I put things in place to help me earn from what I would share regardless.

As the audience grows, so does my revenue as a percentage of that growth. If I can 10x that growth, it’s safe to say I can 10x my revenue in the future. 

Second, after our conversation today, one friend told me they would have paid me for my time helping them. This is the proof-of-concept I needed to push forward with my strategy sessions. Having someone confirm whether you can get paid for your knowledge and skills is always nice to hear.

If there’s anything about what I’ve shared here that you’d like me to talk about in-depth, reply to this email (or drop a comment in the post if you’re reading in on the website) and let me know.

See you next time.

Cheers,

Dave