Hi friends,
Have you ever received a video from someone that was just meant for you and you alone?
Instead of sending you a text message or an email, that person went on camera, hit record, and talked to you.
I have received a couple of “audience of one” videos now, and they always create a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.
Creating and sending this type of video was one of the first assignments for our students in Minimum Viable Video. And the responses they got were positive and encouraging across the board.
Recording a short video for a friend, family member, coworker, or client without a script is the perfect, low-risk way to get more comfortable on camera.
I’ve sent out a couple “audience of one” videos over the last few days and pretty much got a direct response (often also via video) every single time.
To keep up the momentum, I’ll be sending Christmas videos instead of Christmas cards to family & friends.
Give it a try! This is really powerful.If you don’t know who to send a video to, I’d love to receive a quick hello from you 🙂
Now, to what I want to share with you this week:
📖 The Online Course Operations Manual: How to run a cohort-based course
An online course is so much more than teaching students new skills. Marketing is obviously critical, but there’s a third aspect that’s often overlooked: the operations. As a former Project Manager and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, I dig this stuff. In this article, I share what I’ve learned from running two cohort-based courses simultaneously as the course manager for Minimum Viable Video and the GLUE IT! Practitioner.
💡 Speak the language of your audience
When I reviewed one of my clients’ Facebook ads recently, the words “high net worth individuals” stood out for me. I know they meant “rich people” or “the wealthy” but that’s not what they said.
Having worked in the corporate environment, I know how quickly you can get accustomed to the industry lingo. It’s a way of showing that you’re an insider. People take pride in it.
However, in an attempt to sound sophisticated, businesses often lose touch with how their customers actually speak. They throw fancy words around, trying to prove that they have it all figured out and that they can be trusted.
But it has the opposite effect: It creates a rift between business and customer. And that’s not what you want.
So, stick to the terms people actually use when talking to each other. Would your aunt Linda gossip about the “high net worth individuals” down the street? Guess not.
🛠New habit I’m developing: Interstitial Journaling
I’m on day 4 of an experiment to get a better grip on how I’m spending my time every day.
Roam is the perfect tool for this. I’m adding a timestamp with a keyboard shortcut and start typing.
So far, this new habit has really helped me overcome procrastination. Instead of going on Twitter for some distraction, I’ll navigate to Roam in my browser and write down what I just worked on and if there are still any open loops. Then I’ll record the first action I’m going to take on my next task.
I’ll report back on how this develops.
Do you have a way of tracking how you spend your time and what you accomplish every day? I’d love to know!
💬 Quote of the Week
“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.”
Neil Geiman
Thanks for reading! Thoughts or feedback? I’d love to hear from you!
Virtual hugs,
Julia
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