Making decisions on a whim
Since I have been putting out a link for you guys to share your stories, this is something seemingly minute that I connect with.
Hey there,
Remember how you and I started the year with big goals and plans? Okay.
I seem to be falling short on one of them, and I don’t seem to have a befitting solution yet.
I set a goal for 2000 subscribers, but it’s not going so well.
I had a steady 1-2 subscribers before now, but that has not changed. As a matter of fact, it hit zero when I lost my contacts and WhatsApp broadcast list.
Well, I guess it’s a marathon, not a sprint, so we move.
In an attempt to hit my goal, I decided to start asking you guys to share stories, and interestingly, today is the day I will be sharing one of those stories, and I might have found a possible solution to one of my problems during the conversation.
The idea of this story/reference is to expand the value of this newsletter. Anything shared here has been consented to by the person sharing the experience.
A little bit of context before I go on.
I have managed to consistently write and share an article every week since April 2023. For something that started as an experiment to see how consistently I can do something and also an avenue to share valuable lessons I learn as I grow as a product designer, that’s awesome.
However, while I may be on Substack and WhatsApp consistently, I am totally inconsistent on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn. If I must achieve any of my goals, I need to learn to hack these platforms, too.
LinkedIn & Twitter - Because both of them are open platforms and have greater potential in terms of organic growth and expansion. WhatsApp, Substack and Email do not have that.
These two platforms are also important because they would help me position myself as a professional in my field, which is also one of my major goals.
Now, these are the issues:
My content is not exactly Product Design-focused at the moment. So this type of content can’t really help with that positioning, even though I enjoy writing them.
Secondly, I find it harder to be as consistent on these two platforms.
Now the story/interview
This may not seem like much, but it struck something in me.
Me: This is a pretty short interview. But note that everything you say is valuable, so be as expressive as possible.
Yagazie: Sure
Me: Please introduce yourself and what you do.
Yagazie: My name is Yagazie, I’m a content marketer.
Me: Cool. Nice to meet you. Since this newsletter is about career/personal growth, I would just go straight and ask…
Yagazie: Shoot
Me: In your career/personal development journey, what's one experience that has brought you the most joy or pain?
Yagazie: Hmm. Okay. I think I would share a couple of experiences that are pretty tied together.
Me: Awesome
Yagazie: Deciding on a whim to stop hiding and share my knowledge during a random conversation on X.
Secondly, I landed my first 6 figures and one of the most fulfilling roles in my career even now.
Me: Interesting, that's something I struggle with. I haven’t been that consistent on X or on LinkedIn.
…. abrupt end
This interview was extracted from a Google form and converted to a dialogue for the sake of storytelling.
In case you missed it, she said something I would be expanding on.
The part I wanted to point out is the “Deciding on a whim part”.
I have seen an artist friend of mine grow his reach, following and personal brand just by consistently sharing on Twitter. He seems to have hacked that consistency and now has a bigger brand because of it.
I wanted to hack that, too. Maybe that would be the road that would lead to 2000 subscribers.
So now, I would like to try two things and, like Yagazie, decide on a whim just to do it. I would not over-plan or overthink; I would just do it.
Get help. I might need someone to help me handle the posting while I handle the creation. Naturally, someone with an interest in content marketing.
I would create a campaign solely focused on highlighting my expertise as a product designer, and I would grind it out till the very end.
Yes, that sounds fun.
Let’s fucking go.
It might seem a little dramatic, but I like sharing what I’m up to and everything I learn along the way. I hope you are learning from them.
2024, no gree for anybody.
Stay tuned for updates.
Cheers.
Announcement:
Due to some new commitments, I have no choice but to change my newsletter time to Sunday at 4 pm instead of the regular 12 noon.
Thanks for understanding.
In summary
Inspiration or solutions can come from anywhere, be open-minded.
I’m going to try more solutions and means till I get my desired result, I think you should be that daring and experimental too.
Something for you
If you were being interviewed by me, what experience or lesson would you share that you would like me to learn from? Answer here or in the comments.
Are you confused about what career path to pursue or what skill to learn? Fill out this form.