I just spent 3 days with dear friends, all of whom have kids ages 8mo to 4y.

Something I need to get off my chest about being a parent of young kids and the culture we live in: What the culture shares and even demands you share about having kids/being a parent is that it's precious, it's a gift, it's a joy, etc.

But this is not what actual parents talk about or how actual parents feel.

Instead...

I think there's 1 defining trait of a brand "acting like a media company," and that's content brands.

This means (A) well-developed IP, brought to market under (B) named, serialized projects you can subscribe to, featuring (C) talent which is or becomes known. Content marketing 1.0:
- pieces
- connected by a list of relevant topics
- housed under the company brand
- bylined by anyone

2.0 (aka "media"):
- series
- connected by 1 focused premise
- housed under a named project brand, THEN the company's
- bylined by talent you follow

A story from Ira Glass + a quote from Kazuo Ishiguro reveal what it takes to be a more gripping storyteller.

Let's dissect both. Ishiguro said, "Stories are about one person saying to another: This is the way it feels to me. Can you understand what I’m saying? Does it also feel this way to you?"

Clarity: "Can you understand what I'm saying?"

Connection: "Does it also feel this way to you?"

It's not the "best" time to be a creator. It's just the most popular time.

These are not the same thing.

I'd like to provide a counter-cultural narrative quickly, simply to help aspiring creators + creators who may be frustrated or feeling burnt out learn to persist. ⬇️ First, to be clear: I want people to make what matters. That is literally my mission. I don't want to DETER folks from becoming creators or persisting. I want you to NOT get the rugged pulled from under you.

Here's what I mean by that...

It's been (checks calendar) 7,000 years, and us marketers STILL debate 'quality vs quantity.'

What I think we're actually asking: "Can we please, boss/client, create stuff we're proud of? Honest-to-goodness cool things which aren't diluted into commodities?"

A few ideas... 1/ Quantity & quality aren't opposites.

Quantity is objective. Quality is subjective.

Quantity is how much. Quality is how it compares--to the spec (did it match?), to the category (is it preferred by others?)

The trick is to learn to slowly nudge the spec fwd.

A founder emailed me asking what it takes to be a great podcast guest. He wants to book more appearances too.

I'm fortunate to guest on a few shows per month, in addition to hosting @UnthinkableShow.

I told him these 3 obvious but overlooked things (with pitch sample below) ⬇️ Thing 1) Podcasters want to book someone with a POV. Everyone pitching a host is "successful." Not everyone is INTERESTING. Develop your ideas + stories publicly. Build a platform (of ideas, of audience). That is the real work. Guest appearances become the byproduct. ⬇️

We’ve done a few days’ equivalent of discussing our editorial focus for @MShowrunners, so here it is:

1/ we teach chess, not checkers.

Running shows & all it entails (strategy, creative, marketing, measurement, constant reinvention) means there are many moves & ways to “win.” 2/ We won’t offer an easy button. We won’t wade into prescriptions or blueprints. If it can be googled or learned simply by trying stuff for a few minutes, we won’t address it. We want to create masters of chess, not falsely claim it can be checkers.

So who are we serving?