Joel Simser

What happens when DALL-E 3 meets Photoshop’s generative fill? I get an eye-catching new feature image for my upcoming newsletter.

@GoTechUG @robertoblake He really does...

@robertoblake You deserve your flowers Roberto.

NOT EVERYONE CAN BE A SUCCESSFUL CREATOR… People with above average ability are often out of touch with people outside of their natural level who need more than them to accomplish the same thing… (read more) In Content Creation, people with natural advantages tend to perceive things as easy, or “luck” because it comes easily for them, either through talent, charisma or attractiveness that they didn’t have to work particularly hard at to benefit from… or natural intelligence and the aptitude to learn quickly without much help of mentoring. But for MOST people, to get above average and outlier results requires an EXTRAORDINARY and Extreme amount of effort and there is a high chance they won’t have much to show for it early on… They tend to require more help, more guidance, more resources and more time, as well as emotional investment to keep going and stay motivated. YouTube and other social media platforms promote high achievers as if they are abundant and they are so over represented that by comparison everyone looks and feels like a failure… This is no shade whatsoever to top performers and for the most part they tend to earn their place in the sun. This also isn’t to suggest their natural advantages, negated the need to work hard at all. But hard work still is just a multiplier of your “BASE STATS”… what you started with. Some people need help building their foundation if they don’t start with obvious advantages or the advantages that get the best results or let you have a speed advantage out the gate. In my experience, to be a successful content creator you have to balance: Creative Ability (Ideation, Content Strategy, Scripting, Design) Technical Ability (Production, Editing, Photography, Lightning, Sound) Business Acumen (Monetization, Negotiating, Networking, Marketing, Sales, Product Development) Personality (Communication, Charisma, Community Management, Collaboration, Curation, Emotional Intelligence) Any of these dimensions is a lot to ask someone to excel at. To truly be a successful creator you have to command master over all 4 of these things. It’s a lot to ask. So the idea that anyone can purely do it on their own, is going to be an anomaly of an anomaly… probably a 4th tier anomaly if we are being honest. This isn’t to discourage anyone from tying but you should be reasonable about the pressure you are putting on yourself Jr you’re going it alone… I’ll let you in on a little secret… Even the most successful Creators for help along the way and many just won’t admit it. Some were truly gifted and never needed a mentor or a course or anything more than a handful of tutorials… But most of the people who didn’t need help typically had a privileged lifestyle to some degree, where failure wouldn’t result in poverty… so take that with a grain of salt. Most successful Creators had a mentor, successful parents or spouses who invested into them behind the scenes, emotional support in abundance , or access to uncommon knowledge or skills or even the ability to take risks with someone else’s resources first… So if you have been struggling on your own and not getting very far or it’s been slow and you’re wondering why others got there faster… There is likely a reason, and that reason is usually that in some capacity they have an advantage … And that advantage is usually undisclosed. More often than not, it’s going to be outside help they received in some form or fashion. Once you realize that, consider where you might draw on the help of others to move forward. You don’t have to go it alone and you probably shouldn’t…

@Jayyanginspires @ItsKieranDrew Subliminal too. I read your response as "no, all mouth."

@ItsKieranDrew this is the best thing i’ve seen all week. no, all month.

This is a potato. This potato has nothing to do with my brand. But this is the new viral format so I’m going to write about it anyway. I’ve cooked and eaten potatoes for 1000s of hours now. Here are 7 mindblowing facts about potatoes:

@kadlac Artlist.io has quality stock footage, but not a huge library. Envato Elements has a huge collection, but the overall quality is as good. Both are subscription models that also include music, motion graphics, etc.

What are most people using for stock b-roll footage in YouTube? Looks like there are a lot of options out there. What's the best?

@robertoblake Everybody wants a shortcut. Unfortunate for them because process is where the value is.

Most people aren’t attracted the PROCESS and BELIEFS that breed long term success, stability, and resources… But boy are they attracted to the results … Nobody wants the process, just the outcomes…

@timforkindotcom I've always preferred Substance > Flash. Happy to watch a 90 min video filmed on a phone if there's value inside. However, many are still drawn to flashy shiny objects... but depending on what kind of creator you are/want to be, that isn't your ideal audience.

@thecreativejoel It's real tough for video pros like us to admit that native unedited iPhone stuff is better and will outperform because of that authenticity point

All video content should either be almost completely unedited or feature-film level quality. No in-between.

@editingpepp @JordanOrme @shleyjwoods @dvdaltizer @TheEditingPod Over-produced retention editing is not "good editing." Good editing is typically invisible. Stop trying to "RETAIN" people, and focus on letting good content speak for itself.

I don't believe in "niching down". ❌ I want to be the most versatile editor out there, so here's something new from me that you haven't seen before. ✂️ Let me know in the comments what you think 👇💬 @JordanOrme @shleyjwoods @dvdaltizer @TheEditingPod

Being able to @ a custom GPT is a huge step. This is a short but eye-opening example of how fast content creation can happen.

And in case you're wondering— No, he has not seen the movies... only listened to the incredible scores.

You know you're doing something right as a parent when: Your 5 year-old son is consistently walking around the house humming the themes of Crimson Tide and Gladiator.

@tonystoodios You must hate good editing, bro.

I got motion sickness from this 🙃

Just crossed 150 members in the @heycreatorhey community! Appreciate and honored by the trust shown by our early Visionaries 🤩 @justinmooretfam @monicalimco @smacmannis @tamioladipo @RobbyMiles @pauldm @tracyplaces @writinginthegap and many more! Visionary pricing ends January 31st and goes up from $17/month to $39. Check it all out through the link in my bio and drop any questions in the replies (or DM me). See you in there 👋

Just signed up as a @heycreatorhey Visionary. Introductory pricing is the lowest it will ever be for the next 2 days only. Excited for this amazing opportunity to learn, share, and grow with this unique creator community!

My simple productivity system It’s August 2009 and I’ve lost my job. I go all in on copywriting and hustle 24/7 for 2 years. But I burn out. I lose the will to do anything. So I take a couple of weeks off and read every piece of productivity advice I can find. Most of it seems either too complicated or nonsense. But I boil it down to the essentials and find a system that works for me. And now: • I don't work weekends. • I plan my day the night before. • I pick no more than 3 tasks to focus on. • And my default response to requests is “no”. The result? I'm more productive than I’ve ever been. Even though I seldom work more than 4 hours a day. Enjoy your weekend!

Video Creators! Fix your music levels vs dialogue. Music should NEVER overwhelm your narration. Finding the right balance takes practice... but here's a simple trick to help you get it right: Playback a section of your edit with dialogue and background music, and turn your speaker volume WAY down (𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘻𝘦𝘳𝘰). The idea is to turn your volume down until you can hardly hear the music... At this level, if your narration is still audible and understandable, then your music isn't too loud. Congrats!🎯 But be careful... you also don't want your music to be 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵—especially during something like your video's intro. Managing dialogue vs music volume levels is a constant balancing act, but with practice you will get better and better at finding the sweet spot. ☯

Agreed. You shouldn't constantly look for the next shiny tool... however: You should know the heck out of the tools you are using.

Folks who worry about tools and constantly switch are the least productive. Change my mind.

@buewho How about Google Buzz?? 😆

Ya'll remember Google Plus? Ah, what a time to be alive.

If you publish a newsletter... My ​Skill Sessions​ will help you write, grow, and monetize it. Here's how: ​THE NEWSLETTER BOOSTER session gives you a system you can use to get more subscribers in 5 minutes a day. For example, here's a free excerpt where I reveal ​the best time to promote your newsletter​: youtu.be/ix45ZeRqx84?si… ​THE NEWSLETTER SOCIAL PLAYBOOK session shows you 20 proven ways to use social media to grow your newsletter...and vice versa. For example, here's a free excerpt where I show you ​the one-question survey every newsletter creator should run​: youtu.be/16_7-MVCnNM?si… ​THE CONTENT COMPASS session features a simple system you can use to find share-worthy content in your newsletter. For example, here's a free excerpt where I share ​how to do clever Google searches that surface valuable content​ for your audience: youtu.be/xlDqpL4K0RY?si… And HOW TO WRITE YOUR MOST SUCCESSFUL BLOG POST EVER shows you the system I use to write articles millions of people want to read. For example, here's a free excerpt where I break down ​how to use horizontal or vertical expansion to come up with powerful ideas​ to write about: youtu.be/JgjgfcDpwWQ?si… Reminder: This is the LAST week you can get any of these sessions individually for $50 or become a member and get all of them for just $197. As of January 30th, they'll only be available with a membership and that membership price for new members will increase to $350. ​Learn more and get the Sessions here​: joshspector.com/sessions/ If you're interested, now's the time to act!

@khemaridh Yeah, the jump from 2 to 3 is huge. There should be a 2.5 that's about being able to take off your work for a month or 2, and not worry about paying the bills.

Lisa and I are still in the "Is Economy Plus worth it" level. Maybe 2.2?

Today is the day! It's Day 1 of the HeyCreator Summit! 🎉 Here's the schedule, starting at 12pm ET @nathanbarry on creator flywheels @learnwithbonnie on the art of business @khemaridh on productivity @thejustinwelsh on the CreatorMBA Drop your top takeaways in the comments 👇