Beyond the Launch

Hi Reader, I was in Yellowstone National Park this past week, on my first real vacation in five years, celebrating my 30th birthday. Internet was awful, couldn't check my emails, and no one could get in touch with me. It was awesome. Truthfully, I LOVED not being needed. You may recall (or if not, I'll catch you up) that a big part of my story is working in Yellowstone as a seasonal housekeeping employee. It was the thing that kicked off everything: Yellowstone → Book → Marketing →...

Hi Reader, From about 2023 to 2024, I was publishing a video a week on my YouTube channel and posting up to 3 or 4 reels a week on Instagram. With enough consistency over that one-year period, I'd grown my channel by 800% percent and had a few viral videos that earned me about 5,000 new followers in total across both platforms. I had this influx of attention that I was doing my best to manage, and really wanted to do my part to engage them. YouTube growth chart (2023) Anytime I offered an...

Hi Reader, I recently started following a blog called “Net Influencer” that reports on news and updates within the online landscape. They shared an article called “How the Creator Economy Actually Works in 2026” that had a really interesting breakdown I wanted to share. In the early days of social media, like mid-2010s, you may or may not remember that feeds actually used to be capped. You would literally run out of posts to view because it was all about who you followed. Remember that? If...

Hi Reader, I've got this theory I've been testing out on myself, and I wanted to share it with you. We live in a very digital world obsessed with MORE. More followers More customers More revenue More recognition But what people tend to forget is that to stand out, you need to do the opposite. Why? Because trends are -- and have always been -- a pendulum. What if your quality of life became the new status symbol? Instead of a million followers, you have the right ones Instead of traffic, you...

Hi Reader, Every time I think of Activia yogurt, I think about Kristen Wiig impersonating Jamie Lee Curtis on SNL from like a decade ago. Click to watch the original parody Of course, SNL being SNL, this was a caricature of the real commercial with the real Jamie Lee Curtis. Click to watch one of her original commercials Danone, the company behind Activia, launched it in 2006 with the claim of probiotic yogurt supporting digestive health. It was an uphill battle for them: Danone is outside...

Hi Reader, How do you build excitement without being annoying? A great question. A popular question. My easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy answer is don't make it about you; make it about the message. Example: ❌ Come buy this book I wrote! ✅ I wrote a book about X problem to help Y people. If this resonates, I think you'll get a lot of value from it! ❌ I started this online community! Come check it out. ✅ I started a community after noticing X challenge for Y type of group. 90% of our members say it's...

Hi Reader, If you've got an idea and decide it put it out into the world -- a course, community, toolkit, roundtable -- there's often a disconnect between how you see it in your head and...what actually happens. 😬 No one shows up No one pays No one engages You get discouraged My personal approach to avoid this is to look at these four core launch elements that I've summarized as P.A.N.N: P - Proven method, framework, approach, or strategy A - Authority to speak on it N - Niche interest N -...

Hi Reader, Been thinking a lot about newsletters. Between you and me, I've never had a great relationship with them for a number of reasons, including (but not limited to): They're expensive to maintain...like gym memberships Believe it or not, I sometimes don't have a new thought to share every week (or every other week for that matter) I'm a very busy person and sometimes I just get lazy But that's no excuse. I mean really. Because when you look at the statistics, they speak for themselves:...

How do you know when you're ready to start an online community? As someone who's helped build out a six-figure online community, these are the four things worth getting clear on: Do you have an engaged audience or network? Do you know what people appreciate about you? Do you have anything of value or urgency to offer? Do you know if people even want it? Then ask yourself: HOW DO YOU KNOW? Communities are education hubs for people to get their hands dirty with other like-minded individuals...

Hey Reader, A big insecurity of mine has been my age. In the past, I've often felt like I've had to work extra hard just to be acknowledged as an equal to those older and more experienced than me. To my younger subscribers: you ever felt like that before? I've been told more than once by family and colleagues not to worry about it, to not give others any reason to believe I'm not competent in my abilities with the work I do. But what do you do when people mistake a young face for inexperience...