Category: Uncategorized

This past week I was blindsided by the death of someone I followed on YouTube. He was only 40 years old, had no known medical issues. He died suddenly in his sleep.

What I have found is that I have been going through the grieving process, for someone I have never met, and would never meet, even had he lived.

On a day to day basis, so much of the work I do is about helping people create a deeper connection with others, often via the web. What I experienced this week is the other side of that connection, when losing it can feel like a deep loss.

There is something that feels personal about the nature of how we “follow” others online. We initially discover them because we feel we are aligned in interest or worldview. Somehow, they open a door for us, they are a gateway. (I wrote about this theme just the other week.)

Then, every day, you get status updates, or photos, or videos. Little by little this person becomes a part of your daily life, just as your coworkers, friends or family do.

But there is more.

As a gateway, these people open the door to things we are passionate about. They help us experience the world differently, and perhaps help shape our own identities.

After more than ten years of writing a blog, this post as by far been one of the most difficult for me to write.

That person I followed on YouTube who passed away? His name was Glenn Webb. Many of you don’t know this about me, but I’ve always been an avid toy collector. LEGO, action figures, Star Wars, just stuff that rekindles the magic I felt from toys in my childhood.

While I don’t buy many toys nowadays, I am able to still experience the hobby via YouTube. There are so many people who review toys online. I know, it’s silly, but what can I say, it’s a nice little escape.

One of my favorite toy reviewers on YouTube was Glenn. He was a 40 year old guy living in Edinburgh, Scotland. Pretty much every day, he posted a new video where he reviewed action figures, hunted for toys in stores, showed action figures he was customizing, or reflected on the hobby.

This is his YouTube channel. At this time of his death, he had nearly 100,000 subscribers, and more than 45,000,000 views of his videos.

With his passing, I have seen thousands of others posts statements of grief online, and other prominent YouTubers (that is what you call people on YouTube) sharing videos about Glenn. A GoFundMeCampaign was setup to help with Glenn’s funeral expenses, raising more than $7,000 in just a few days.

Here is another toy reviewer (wth 250,000 subscribers himself) sharing the news of Glenn’s death. And this is a close friend of Glenn’s barely keeping it together as he pays homage to him.

Glenn was a gateway for so many people. If you read the comments on Glenn’s videos, on the two videos mentioned above, on the many forums where people have talked about his passing, you find stories of how Glenn opened a door for others.

Parents talk about how their kids got into the hobby because of Glenn. Adults talk about how Glenn made it okay for them to dive deeper into a hobby they were passionate about. Many folks began customizing action figures because of Glenn.

Just by reviewing toys online, Glenn had a profound impact on people’s lives.

Hearing about his death was a complete shock to me. Glenn made up one of the threads in the fabric of my life. The fact that he updated so frequently — that his voice was such a strong part of his videos — simply made him seem like a friend.

My condolences to Glenn’s family and friends, and all of those who made him a part of their lives.

In writing this post, I remembered that there were two other times in the past few months that I wrote about death on this blog. One was about the meaningful experiences we share in social media, and the death of a childhood friend.

The other was a reflection on why we create, and why we share; something I thought about when an editor I worked with passed away, and I then found photos of him playing his guitar in Central Park.

With the work you do, sharing it to others can inspire them and open amazing doors for who they are and their experience of the world. I think a lot of us are afraid to share for obvious reasons of social risk, or of feeling that our work is never quite ready.

I will end with a reminder: enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think.

-Dan

Too often, to push our work forward, we consider investing in tools and resources. Maybe it’s an application, a new piece of equipment, or a learning resource such as an online course.

Today, I want to encourage you to instead invest in experiences and other people.

I started the thread of this conversation last week, and today I want to share three examples of what I mean. Each of these things are experiences I was a part of this week:

The Value of Attending a Conference

This past weekend I spoke at and attended the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City.

Here is a line of authors waiting to pitch literary agents.

In the modern age, where we have mail, email, social media, and phones, there is still something irreplaceable about being face to face with someone who can launch your dream as a writer.

Here is Writer’s Digest Publisher Phil Sexton in the hallway after he ran a workshop:

Likewise, Phil has an email address, he has posted many articles online. But there is a huge distinction between a Tweet, and having Phil look in your eyes for a moment, listening intently to your question.

Here is keynote speaker Kwame Alexander, who was A-MAZ-ING:

I mean, you can click on this link and watch a YouTube video of Kwame speaking from last year. Is it the same? No. To hear Kwame tell his stories in person; to laugh with him; to have him ask his wife to stand up on the room, so we can applaud her — all of this takes on a special meaning when done in-person.

I spoke on a panel about marketing, here was the audience filling up the room:

I have written a blog for about a decade, have shared tens of thousands of Tweets, taught dozens of webinars, courses, and workshops online. But there is a difference between that, and hearing me and the other panelists speak in person.

Why I Hire People, Instead of Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant

I was talking with a client the other day, and she asked me about my team. I said, “What would you like to know?” She asked if I knew them, which was code for: “Are you merely outsourcing work to people overseas? Are you using workers as a commodity, or are they truly names and faces who are a daily part of your business?”

The latter is true, and this week my team grew quite a bit. I just hired two new people, and this week they already did so much to help me push my creative work forward. This is the team right now:

Hong Tran came on board this week. She is already rewiring my head and creating entirely new processes around my writing. So far, we are identifying a new workflow that will help me better manage my blog, newsletter, articles, and book projects. And it’s only been two days!

Betsy Brockett joined the team this week as well. I asked her to do an audit of the WeGrowMedia branding and a few hours later she delivered what was essentially an analyst’s report on what is working, what isn’t and her recommendations. It was like magic.

 

Diane Krause has been with me for years now, and I call her my “business therapist.” She is instrumental in strategy work, plus the nuts and bolts of editing and publishing.

 

Carmen Kern has done some incredible work for me and my clients this year, focused on graphic design and website development. She is also a writer and photographer, and her keen eye has made everything we do better.

It’s worth noting that each of these people work virtually. I’m in New Jersey, with the rest of the team in Texas, Pennsylvania, California, and Arizona.

There has been so much talk in the past few years about outsourcing work overseas, hiring a virtual assistant through an intermediary, or using services such as 99designs to get people to bid on projects for you. While all of these strategies are 100% fine, I find that my life is richer for working with people consistently and developing collaborative relationships.

Why We Go to Museums

While in the city last weekend, my family and I snuck away to visit the Guggenheim. With so much art available online or in books, why take the subway all the way up town to visit a museum? This is why:

That is my son experiencing the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright while viewing the work of László Moholy-Nagy, plus the Guggenheim’s permanent collection. Here he is with a Cézanne:

Do I know what kind of mark this experience will leave on my son? No. That will only be realized years later. Did it leave a mark in a way that a website cannot? Absolutely.

The Cost of Experiences

Let’s face it: experiences tend to cost more. You may be reading about the three examples above and be saying: “Dan, I can’t spend the money to travel to NYC for a conference; I can’t afford payroll for staff; the admission price for my family to a museum is too expensive.

I get it. Yet, I still think you can create meaningful experiences with real people on a reasonable budget. For the three experiences above, this is how I was able to make it work:

• For the Writer’s Digest Conference: as a speaker, I was given free admission to the event. This is what I have done for dozens of events.
• By hiring interns at 5-10 hours a week, I set an expectation that this is intern-level payment. I am 100% up front about that.

  And while the pay is essential, what I am often told is that it is a secondary reason. People who apply to work with me often say that their primary goal is not the direct payment, but rather to learn how to develop a business of their own, and to do collaborative work with creative people. In other words, they are looking at this as investment beyond just the hourly rate they are paid.

  I will say that I work extra hard to ensure that I am serving the personal and professional needs of my staff. Diane, Carmen, Betsy, and Hong all have their own goals. I want to help them with those as much as possible.

• For getting into the Guggenheim, my local library has a program where you can get free museum passes! Our admission would have cost us $50, but instead we got in for free. Aren’t libraries amazing?

What is one experience, or one person, that you can invest in to push your creative work forward?

Thanks.
-Dan

The measure of our success cannot always be counted in raw data; rather, it should be felt in the depth of experiences we create. If you are a writer, that experience may be the one that a reader feels when reading your book. It may also be the countless silent ways they think about your book years later.

That experience doesn’t show up in data that Amazon can calculate in their algorithm. You don’t get royalties on it.

Often, we try to track data to validate the meaning of our work. For an author, we may track:

• Bestseller lists
• Amazon rankings
• The number of reader reviews
• Stars and ratings (e.g.: on Goodreads)
• Twitter followers
• Facebook likes
• Snapchat, um, Snaps? (confession: I don’t know much about Snapchat.)

Instead of just tracking numbers, I want to encourage you to focus on creating experiences.

Experiences that your books or other work creates in the lives of others.

Experiences that you as the author can create in the lives of others.

Experiences you create for yourself as someone passionate about their work and how it shapes the world.

Experiences that no one else — not Mark Zuckerberg, not Jeff Bezos — can create as middlemen in you reaching other people.

What does this look like? Perhaps:

• A meaningful email email exchange, from one person to another
• A meaningful conversation
• A meaningful social interaction in-person or online
• A hug
• A high five
• One of those weird bro handshake things that I never learned. (The one where you start by shaking hands, but then reverse it to some kind of finger lock, then you lean in to hug while flexing your bicep, but then reverse it again, by just bumping shoulders, and then you end with some quick pulling away, and maybe add a finger point. That’s how it works, right?!)

Again and again, when I speak with a successful author, I hear about the countless interactions they have had with others, the small experiences they have to create meaning around their work.

This could be visits to indie bookstores, and conversations they have with the owner. Or a long conversation they have with librarians. Or teachers.

It is all the work they do years in advance of their book being published, to connect with others around their work.

At this point you may be thinking:

“Dan, I wrote a book for exactly the reason to avoid all of this. You see, I’m an introvert, but I have a story to tell. A book, one that can be printed by the thousands — or millions — and reach others quietly and personally, that is my goal.”

First: I hear you. I really do. I absolutely want you to be read by thousands, or millions, of people. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: a book is a perfect form. The technology of a book is just amazing.

But… (you knew there would be one, right!?)

It is work to build a readership. For example, Elizabeth Gilbert often comes up as model that a memoir writer will have in their mind. They want the success of Eat, Pray, Love. Sometimes this is spoken out loud, oftentimes it is not.

I just went to Elizabeth Gilbert’s Wikipedia page to see what her life looked like prior to Eat, Pray, Love — how much work was it for her to get to that place of success?

There are 300 words cataloging her work before the term “best-seller,” and 418 words after it. Is this a scientific way to calculate something? NO! (I’m a writer, after all.) But I would encourage you to read the bio, and think about each step, each article she wrote, from 1993 to 2006. Every connection she made, every way she pushed her own writing forward to get to the place to pitch Viking with the idea of her book, and with them accepting it based not just on the strength of the idea, but on her track record as a writer.

What Elizabeth created was experiences along the way. Sure, the primary experiences she created were for readers through her articles, her first two books, and other writing. But she also had thousands of interactions with colleagues, developed a network, and created a fan base one person at a time.

In the past I have written about Rebecca Skloot’s 10+ year journey to go from “Oooh, I have this idea,” to sitting down with Oprah.

One by one, Rebecca created experiences with readers, with editors, with conference attendees, and so many others.

Do I hope that you are able to skyrocket from obscurity to bestseller based on your book alone? YES! I do, I really do.

But I also believe in investing in experiences. Why? Because you have the power to create small moments that change people’s lives. There is not gatekeeper in this process, and there is nothing passive about it.

Sometimes an author views becoming a bestseller as:

1. Struggle in obscurity for years as you craft the book.
2. Pitch an agent who falls in love with the book.
3. The agent, who now deeply believes in this book, pitches it to publishers with passion and vigor.
4. The publisher, who has chosen to marry this book, now gives you a kick-ass editor who takes the book to the next level; a sales team who sells it into all the big retailers; a foreign rights team who extends your reach globally; a design team who gives you this amazing cover and interior; a publicity team who pitches every big media outlet like their lives depend on the success of this book; and a marketing team who gives you the most inventive ideas ever to ensure readers become aware of this book.

Does this happen? Yep. Every day. For the thousands and thousands of books published each year, this happens.

And maybe it will happen with you. Maybe you will get lucky at every step, and other people will take on the work to ensure your book finds a readership.

But you know what would help in the meantime, whether you get that lucky or not? Creating experiences for yourself and others, around the work you are most passionate about.

You can do this today.
You can do this next week.
You can do this every week between now and becoming the next Elizabeth Gilbert.

In the past few years, I have seen a lot of online marketing people espouse the value of developing an email newsletter. Now, I have sent a weekly newsletter for more than 10 years myself, that it has had a massive impact on my career.

But, to me, too much emphasis has been placed in this idea of “GROW YOUR EMAIL LIST FAST!” by so many online courses and webinars. Why?

Because in the race to grow one’s email list, what is lost is the ability to create meaningful experiences. When you are focused on doing anything possible to get more data — another subscriber, another follower, another rating — you begin to see these not as meaningful interactions from one person to another, but just data.

Your reader isn’t data.

I was reminded of that this week from a writer I know, Becky Galli, who shared this:

“Quick confession: I sent out my newsletter and watched how many people opened the emails via MailChimp:

At 9:08am I had 7.
9:15 I had 25.
Then 111.
Now 127.

As I scrolled through the list, an amazing feeling washed over me. I may be alone — empty nest, divorced — but I have people who read what I write.

Man, that is affirming. Just thought I’d share that feeling. We writers live such a life of ups and downs. We have to “kiss the joys.”

Is data useful to us in setting meaningful goals, milestones, and in creating effective marketing strategies? Yes, of course. This is work I do every day with clients.

The key is to make the connection that Becky has: that behind every number is a person. Each is an experience that has been created. A moment that will shape their lives, and grow their relationship to you and your work.

Thank you.

-Dan

When I talk with writers, they often feel confusion at how the vision they have for their book can align to the pressure they feel to have a “platform.” They don’t know what to include on a website, what to send in an email newsletter, what to share on social media, and how to make marketing feel meaningful.

So today I want to offer you the solution I share with authors I work with every day. It’s a simple phrase:

Be the gateway.

Be the gateway for how other people experience the world through the stories you share and topics you talk about. Be the gateway for how that person’s identity is shaped based on what you share.

Let’s dig into some examples for fiction and memoir authors…

Novels are gateways into worlds, into characters, into stories that help us experience our own lives in new ways, and help us develop our own sense of self. How often have you thought of a character from a book or movie as inspiration?

Think about it this way: why do people get tattoos of the Batman logo? Or a tattoo of an image from a children’s book?

These symbols — these stories — align to narratives that the reader has about their own experience of life. As an author, you become the gateway for them to experience it.

This is why fans scream and cry when J.K. Rowling walks into a room. Because she is a gateway for a worldview that has shaped people’s lives. The characters she has crafted embody who we hope to be, or someone that we deeply relate to. The stories delve into deeper issues in ways that feel inspirational and accessible.

A few years back, I met J.K. Rowling, waiting in line with hundreds of other people. She has come to represent something to her fans. She has become a lightning rod for belief systems, for a worldview.

She has become the gateway for how her fan experience the world, experience each other, and experience themselves.

Too often, I hear this line from a novelist, “Oh, I just want to entertain people!” This is an excuse they are giving that, to me, belittles the scope of what a story does for readers. Should it entertain? Sure. But that alone is not how we experience stories.

Stories help us make sense of the world. Characters embody aspects of who we hope to become. When we read about Harry Potter and his hidden gifts; when we read about Jason Bourne and his search for self and truth; when we read about experiencing true love — this is not just “entertainment,” it is something so much more.

As a novelist, consider what those things are. How what you can share in a newsletter, in an article, a blog, a podcast, a social media feed can embody these things.

Let me give you a model for how to think about this. Recently, I framed it this way with a client of mine who is a memoir writer and trying to figure out how to shape their story and their platform. These are three elements that connect the book you are writing to you being a gateway for readers in the platform you develop:

1. STORY. The first goal is to be a storyteller — to craft a compelling story.
2. AUTHOR. You become the gateway, the personal way that the reader experiences a larger topic. You are the way in for people. This is not unique to memoir, but I think it applies here in a magnified way.
3. TOPICS. Then come the topics, the issues, the narratives that your story digs into. Memoirs can be about so many things, including overcoming huge challenges. Challenges that others may experience, or that come to symbolize experiences the reader is going through. No, we weren’t on that hiking trail with Cheryl Strayed, or on the trip with Elizabeth Gilbert, yet that doesn’t stop those books from resonating deeply on a personal level with readers.

These three things work together allow the “platform” to be the gateway for people.

For instance, if you are writing a memoir about your experience with cancer, you don’t have to write an email newsletter that steals content from the book. Instead, you can tell other people’s stories of their experiences with cancer. Or tell stories about overcoming the odds; or dig into the many other themes that are likely buried within your book.

The book is a perfect form. The platform you develop around it should not try to re-create the book. Instead, it should tap into aspects of the story, and then extend them in new ways that the book could not.

This relates to social media as well. Too often, we use it to comment on news stories, and merely share links. Instead: use it to tell a story — an original story — that opens up a worldview for people.

If you are that memoir writer whose book is about cancer, and a key theme is medical reform, don’t just link to articles in newspapers. Instead, find and tell stories that resonate with us. Become the voice for others… the gateway for them to share their stories with the world.

I mean, how powerful is that?

To not be the 1,000th person to share the link to a newspaper article, but to be the first person to tell someone’s story that needs to be heard?

You are a storyteller, right? Then use that gift.

The nice side effect of this? It is also how you engage others and develop the platform for your book before it is published.

I received a note from an author I had worked with last year and earlier this year, Carlen Maddux. His book doesn’t come out until October. I typically work with authors well in advance of their books coming out for exactly this reason: he sent me an update on what was happening in advance of his first book being published:

• He is ranked #8 and #9 in two Amazon best seller rankings already.
• He has hundreds of people on his email list, with lots of response from them when he sends a note out each week. Yes, he tells stories each week.
• He has nearly 100 people on his “launch team,” these are advocates for his book, those who will be drive word of mouth marketing.

He isn’t waiting until October, hoping to “go viral.” Instead, one by one, he is creating advocates for his book, his story, and how it can become the gateway for others. The Amazon ranking shows just one effect of this; the more powerful one is in the emails he receives from early readers and those who are awaiting the books publication.

Awhile back I worked with author Lauri Taylor to bring her memoir to the world. Lauri is amazing — she has this innate ability to connect with people.

Again and again, she would tell me about a meeting she had with someone about her book, and she invariably described the highlight of the meeting as this:

“We cried.”

Why? Because Lauri, by sharing her story with that person, became a gateway for them to share their own experiences. While Lauri’s memoir is unique, she hits a nerve with others who have lost a family member.

Do you need to go around one person at a time, crying, in order to affect others with your book? No.

But look at the Amazon page for her book: nearly 100 reviews, averaging out to five stars. The book touches people, just as when you meet Lauri in person, you get a compelling sense of someone who is a gateway to a meaningful experience of our lives, including the crazy twists and turns.

Let’s face it: this is why a writer writes.

When someone comes to me for consulting, I always ask about their goals. Typically, they tell me about publishing their book, and selling as many copies as possible. While I agree that can be an important milestone, I never see it as the “goal.”

Their real goal?

That, in sharing their story, they become a gateway for others. To experience a compelling story. To see the world in a new way. To even shape their own identity

That last one is huge. You are a gateway to the identity that someone wants for themselves, or the highlights an aspect of themselves that they want to be more clear, more in the forefront, more real.

But maybe you can’t write your book yet. Someone wrote to me and shared her biggest challenge the other day:

“Finding time to write as a working mother of two children under 6, responsibilities running a household, and very little support beyond my husband and I.”

Maybe you wrote the book but can’t afford to get it edited. Maybe you have done both and can’t find an agent, or can’t get it published.

But you can be a gateway.

Even to one person. Or to dozens. Or hundreds. Or thousands.

Opening up their world. Their identity. Their experience. Their connection to others.

Thank you.
-Dan

I’m hiring an intern to join me here on the WeGrowMedia team. I want to tell you a bit about that, plus I want to go further and encourage you to hire interns of your own.

Crazy, right?!

Let’s dig in…

Join My Team!

I am hiring a paid intern to join WeGrowMedia! This is a “virtual” internship, meaning you can do 100% of the work from home, or wherever you are. Do you work best from the beach at 10pm? That’s fine by me.

These are some of the skills I am looking for in an intern. Do you need to have them ALL? Nope.

• A designer. You know how to use Photoshop and other design programs, you obsess over fonts. I could give you a boring looking checklist and you can turn it into a beautifully designed worksheet.
• Comfy with web design. You know how to manage WordPress websites, and do some basic customization. If you have deeper web development skills, that’s awesome, but not required.
• Social media is your friend. You know how to Tweet, Facebook doesn’t turn your stomach, and Instagram sounds fun.
• Thoughtful and caring communication skills. To me, success is entirely about relationships — with me, with my clients, with creative professionals. And relationships require positive helpful communication.
• Enthusiasm (Because this should be fun, right?)

The internship is from from August 22 – December 31, 2016. I would estimate 5-10 hours per week, and yes, it is a paid internship.

If you or someone you know may be interested, please check out this page for ALL THE DETAILS about the internship and how to apply.

Create Your Own Team!

Since I know that only a small percentage of you will apply for the internship, I wanted to also encourage to hire interns yourself. Why do this? Loads of reasons:

• The number one thing I hear from writers and creative professionals is that they wish they had more time in the day. People are overwhelmed. By hiring an intern, you are literally buying more hours in your day. More hours to attend to the many aspects of what it means for you to get your creative work done and share it with the world.
• Instead of mastering everything, create processes to master (and manage) everything. This is what professionals do: they slice off small tasks and train others to do them. This system becomes something sustainable even as life throws you curveballs.

  

• It just feels great to support others. A client of mine not only just released his memoir, but also opened his first store, which serves affordable healthy food to those in south LA. The New York Times covered it (see photo to the right), and look at who they put on the cover of their Business section: not Sam, but the local father than Sam hired to manage the store. Sam is changing this guy’s life by giving him a job. A job that has already landed him in The New York Times. I mean, how amazing is that?! Do you know how many people would be thrilled to earn $10 or $15 per hour working from home? So many! Consider if there is some tiny way you can begin this, even hiring someone for three hours per week, working virtually.

If you want to know more about my process of hiring interns so that you can consider it for yourself, and even replicate my process, please read these other posts I have written on the topic:

• Why hiring a team has changed everything about how I work
• Things I’m Learning While Hiring an Intern (or Three)
• Getting Help: What I Learned in Hiring & Working With Interns
• 3 Key Ways That Hiring Employees is Helping My Business Grow

It’s one thing to invest in your career by buying a tool (such as a computer or software), or even buying knowledge via a course. But it is something else entirely to invest in yourself and your creative vision by investing in others. To be in it together, and know that you are helping to make a small contribution to support them.

If you could hire a virtual intern for five hours per week, what would you have them do?

Thanks!
-Dan