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The more things change, the more they change, and then they come back around because pivoting happens, but hey, let’s see what The Dave has been up to since last month.

Let’s Talk About Flywheels

I’ve always got a long list of projects in a running list in my Notes app, and these are the current ones hovering in my head:

• Choose Your Words - I plan on rebranding this content and turning it into a video course sometime later this year, but it’s been on the back burner for reasons explained in a moment.

• Content Bombs - I’m about halfway through with this one, but it’s also in a holding status for the same reasons.

• Selling Art Online - This is a radical adaptation of a book I published in 2013. The book was popular but needed a complete overhaul. Instead of making it a book project, I’m building it as a more robust resource/wiki where people can buy a subscription as the content is added to and updated as necessary.

• Undisclosed Email Course - This will be a free lead magnet that I offer to get people onto The Hungry’s email list. I may do something similar here on The Dave, but that’s later.

Over the last several weeks, I’ve leaned into messaging/storytelling and engagement topics. Even though The Hungry is about creative business news and information, the underlying tone of what I share is about turning random viewers into fans, followers, and eventually buyers.

Much of the content going into Selling Art Online (SAO) will revolve around messaging and engagement, making it valuable in many ways. It can become the main content for the Hungry blog, turn into small lead magnets to get people on the list, and then be added to the bigger project where people buy into the resource.

Choose Your Words and Content Bombs are about messaging and engagement, so they will fit right in once SAO goes live. If I launch my email course, the content will lend itself to Content Bombs, eventually leading to Choose Your Words (a new name coming).

Turning the Wheel

That graphic shows the potential of the things I’m working on and how they will eventually work together and hopefully become self-reliant as things grow. At first, the wheels require a lot of hand turning to pick up speed, but over time, the momentum carrying them will require less work on my part. That means I get to spend more time doing creative work and engaging with others.

All this content has slowed my writing here, but I’m still trying to publish on the blog at least once a week. The trick is making what I share here exclusive to my thoughts and considerations on all these topics.

The Recap

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

• Your Art Won’t Sell Itself 

• My 2024 Instagram Strategy

• Put Yourself in Rooms of People Smarter Than You

• The Easiest Way to Start a Curated Newsletter

• I Could Have Stayed There Forever

• Focus on the One 

The Breakdown

As usual, this is everything happening in The Dave ecosystem. April was a good month in some ways and a stinker in others, but all arrows point upward.

The Dave

Beehiiv made a significant announcement last week, combining two tiers and reducing their monthly price for the mid-tier (the one I’m in). I now only pay $39 a month, down from $49, and it now allows me to do new things like integrate advertising through their ad network (see the footer). I can also earn from paid recommendations from other newsletters in the Beehiiv network.

I’m very aware of the reputation risk of running paid ads and recommendations, and I only run them if they align with my values and interests. I don’t want this ever to be a shill-fest, but I want to experiment with them and share that information with you later. As it stands, I’ve made no revenue from ads or recommendations yet.

Another of the new changes is the ability to track subscriber referrals. You’ll see your referral stats at the bottom of the page.

You may have seen something like this in other newsletters, but this is how I will judge your loyalty (not really). To reward that loyalty, I’ll create some beneficial referral rewards.

The Hungry

April was a good month for subscriber growth on The Hungry, showing my most significant monthly increase since December, boosted by the launch of Choose Your Words. I don’t have a reasonable explanation for why, except that I’ve been more active on Instagram and have tried to do a better job of announcing what's coming in the upcoming editions on Threads.

Revenue was low this month because I didn’t push any product. The revenue came in from a combination of affiliate earnings and newsletter recommendations, both of which are increasing as subscriber counts grow. However, I’m not eating caviar off of Wagyu steaks just yet.

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YouTube

I didn’t hit YouTube with blazing glory, but I did post a couple of long-form videos and one short-form video. I might share some of my Instagram Reels on there more often, but I haven’t worked out a strategy yet.

I've been pushing out so much written content lately that it’s been tough to switch gears and focus on YouTube. That said, I have a new video coming this week.

My earnings from YouTube dropped by 60% from the previous month, which I suspected would be the case. The content I’m making now is not the same as it was, and that attracts a different level of advertisers. I’m also not getting the same views because of the new content direction. I’m treating this as a rebuilding stage, and as I grow, the numbers should be, too. 🤞

I’m not looking to YouTube as a revenue generator but more of a driver to more Hungry subscribers. As the channel grows, the revenue comes with it, but it’s still gravy.

If you’re enjoying The Dave and think others would as well, use the link below and share with friends. Your referrals count toward (soon-to-be-announced) goodies, including getting a personal shout-out with links in a future recap.