"Why do you write this newsletter?"

No one's ever asked me that. But I'm answering it.

Because within my answer lies something you can act on: The power of writing.

One of the reasons I write this weekly email is that it forces me to expand my thinking (and self). Writing has that ability if you commit to it regularly.

Producing this email takes me 4+ hours of writing/editing. That's a lot of refining of my ideas and perspectives.

An example is the concept of Macro/Micro Content. I've written close to 4,000 words in creating micro essays for this newsletter. That's a friggin book (ok not really, but…). It's hard not to improve when you spend that much time thinking and writing about something.

What could you be writing (thinking) about that would help you make progress? Write about it.

Enjoy this week's (long) letter:

Marketing Micro Essay 💡 Five secrets for creating good micro content

(Time to read: 4:52 minutes – sorry!)

Before I share the secrets, let’s agree on one thing: Social is where micro content thrives.

But we must first overcome a common belief: You can’t (and shouldn’t) create macro content on social. A rare example would be if you did a live Q&A weekly on Facebook.

For most, social is a distribution channel. That is NOT synonymous with a broadcast channel. It means that social is where you distribute micro content in creative and helpful ways (with the potential that they will engage with the macro piece).

Now, I want to share a few secrets for creating micro content that resonates while spreading your message (from your macro content):

Secret #1: The best micro content is Zero-Click

What’s the point of distribution? It’s to get people to engage with your macro content, right? NO.

It’s to ensure more people taste your cake (big or small pieces). Which requires your micro content to be helpful on its own. This means your audience needs to be able to make progress from your micro content without engaging with the macro.

If they want to go deeper and engage with your macro content, that’s the cherry on top. But it shouldn’t be your mindset when chopping up micro content. Your mindset should be, “How can I repurpose this content to retain the main idea and help my audience make progress?”

When you create micro content from that place, you will help more people with the long-term goal of driving business results.

Click here to read more on Zero-Click Content

Secret #2: Focus on Actionable Insights

The best micro content delivers value (secret #1) while helping them act on the information. That’s the second secret: create micro content that contains actionable tips.

Rather than share a statistic, put more content around what your audience should do now. Make the micro content actionable, so when they make progress from taking action, they will be more inclined to engage with the macro content.

The goal of micro content is two-fold: Give value while directing attention to the macro content (sorry to contradict myself).

Creating micro content with actionable insights helps you do that. Here’s a meta example:

Three ways to improve your content promotion 👇

1. Don’t solely promote your content. No one cares.

Instead, ensure there is a valuable insight or actionable takeaway from the post while still linking to the larger content piece.

2. Optimize for each platform.

If you have a new blog you’re promoting on Instagram, create a video rather than share a photo of the blog cover. Make a “selfie” style video where you share top takeaways and insights from the blog, encouraging the viewer to read the entire article.

3. Leverage visual storytelling.

If you use statistics within your content, pull them out and create a pretty visual. Share this as its own content with valuable insights while pointing toward the blog where the data came from.

If you want to improve your content creation, read the latest Guide on Macro/Micro Content.

“Give away the farm”. If your content is good enough, they’ll come back for more. Trust me.

Secret #3: Use segments within your content

For my podcast (shameless plug), I have five segments. I designed each segment to help my audience make progress. And for distribution.

Each segment contains fodder (aka stuff) to turn into micro content. My first segment is about marketing fundamentals, where I ask the easy question, “What is marketing?” From this, I can create 1-2 clips, write my thoughts on their answers, and expand upon my definition of marketing (Read my definition of marketing here).

Another segment is the Marketing Hot Seat, where I ask 15 rapid questions. This creates killer (short) content, which I strongly recommend for podcasts/video shows. It works well on fast platforms like TikTok or YouTube Shorts.

Finally, I end by asking a few questions about life. This also creates 1-2 stellar clips that bring a different light to the guest. Without these segments, I would be praying for short periods where significant value was shared, resulting in quality micro content.

Segments are designed to pack value into a small duration, which is excellent for micro content.

Secret #4: Leverage Visual Storytelling

While a writer by trade, I realize the potency of visuals. Most of us learn best when we see something done. Sadly, written content is rarely expressed as a visual. That’s something I’m working on.

I spend all my time stuffing the content with insightful information, never thinking about how I can repurpose some of the content as visuals. This not only hurts my content’s reach (less accessible) but also makes my content less visually appealing. A lot of mediocre content blows up because it’s packaged well.

I’m not suggesting you waste significant time thinking about the packaging. Make sure the sausage in the package is of good quality. But even the best diamond ring delivered in a McDonald’s happy meal package loses value. The package matters, and what’s inside matters more.

Secret #5: Optimize for each Platform

Vertical video is the future (if we keep using vertical phones). And it’s becoming the norm for many social apps because of how the platform is designed and audience preference. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts are built for vertical video. This makes it easy to fall for the trap of producing the same clip for all three.

While this is how you maximize the distribution of your content, it won’t create the results you’re looking for. Yes, it will introduce your content to new people (people who use TikTok but not Instagram), but it won’t resonate with the platform trends or better practices. You need to create micro content built for that platform.

Using the example of vertical video and my marketing podcast for the macro content, here’s how I might create micro content:

• TikTok (I am the least familiar with this platform…)

  • Vid 1: Sharing why you should listen to my guest’s insights overlayed on the person’s LinkedIn profile or the podcast video

  • Vid 2: A short clip from the episode, which I then overlay over the video to elaborate on the concept

  • Vid 3: Rapid answers from the Marketing Hot Seat section that is designed to fit TikTok’s trends (emojis + rapid movement)

• YouTube Shorts

  • Vid 1: 60-90 second clip straight from the conversation

  • Vid 2: Marketing Hot Seat rapid answers

  • Vid 3: Answers to 1-2 life questions

• Instagram Reels

  • Vid 1: An engaging snippet that captures a compelling moment, highlighting a critical insight or a humorous exchange, eye-catching text overlays and relevant hashtags to enhance discoverability.

  • Vid 2: Address a common marketing question or misconception, using a clip or quote from the podcast for the answer

  • Vid 3: Share a behind-the-scenes moment from the podcast recording, giving your audience a glimpse of the preparation or the casual interactions before/after the podcast.

Rather than exporting and sharing one video with all three, I’d recommend mastering one platform and expanding to new platforms when you have the capacity and understanding.

No matter how you approach creating micro content, it’s essential to intentionally add value to the content and design it in an appealing and accessible manner. Please use your brain.

This leads to a deliberate strategy I’ve gleaned where you can create macro content from micro. It requires critical thinking and planning but can help create intentional content pieces.

Click here to read my Guide to Macro/Micro (work-in-progress

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P.S. I share the links so you can comment and share your thoughts (assent or contrarian). Please click the link above and add your comments to help improve my thinking on this concept. Thank you!

✏️ Clip of the Week

THERE ARE NO GATEKEEPERS FOR TALKING TO CUSTOMERS 🚫🧢

I’m yelling because I need to embody that belief. I struggle with this.

Not as much with customer success or sales as Hiba paints it.

But with other false beliefs:

– Everyone knows our customers, so I should lean on their knowledge
– People are too busy to give up time to talk with me
– Will it even help me make progress?

I’ve found the hard way that the answer to the last bullet is a HELL YEAH.

The further you are removed from your customer (as a marketer), the worse you will do your job.

Click here to watch the full video (or click the image below)

Three Books – Three Quotes

"The reason you start with keyword research is to validate ideas. In addition, your keyword research can and should inform the content’s structure and how you construct headlines.”

– Maddy Osman (Writing for Humans and Robots: The New Rules of Content Style)

"The best story wins. Not the best idea, or the right idea, or the most rational idea. Just whoever tells a story that catches people’s attention and gets them to nod their heads is the one who tends to be rewarded.”

– Morgan Housel (Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes)

Two quotes from this unique book:

1. “Marías once remarked that, ‘to ask ourselves to which generation we belong is, in large measure, to ask who we are.’”

2. “Your generation isn’t like the generation that shaped you, but it has much in common with the generation that shaped the generation that shaped you.”

– William Strauss & Neil Howe (The Fourth Turning)

Heard – Saw – Experienced

Heard:

What does work ethic mean to you? Does it mean working longer and harder?

I believe work ethic is disassociated from the length of work. Doing that could promote longer and more inefficient hours.

One of my favorite podcasts, The Rework Podcast, discussed the Outwork Myth, where we need to focus on the quality of our time rather than the quantity.

Click to listen to the episode

Saw:

Family.

I acknowledge that for many, family has negative connotations. Whether because of disrespect or even abuse.

Thankfully, I was born into a semi-normal family. Last weekend, we celebrated my niece's second birthday in Gladstone, MI. It was an excellent time having my brother and nephew there (from Green Bay, WI, like Kate and I).

I love family for the single reason that you don't choose them. You just have to deal with them (also help?). And this builds something within you.

Not only does family bring joy, but it brings growth in ways I could not gain if I (we) leaned away from family.

Do you lean in (or out)?

Experienced:

Helpless. I hate feeling that.

I have a friend who has been getting sick a lot lately. I feel bad. And I know nothing I can do will help him.

I know God uses those moments to draw me near. I know it increases my faith and stretches me.

I pray and think often about people who I can't help. All I can do is be there with them. Validate them and see them.

It's okay to feel helpless if it forces me to be there for others.

Personal micro essay 🙆‍♂️ ON sonder

(Time to read: 1:51 minutes)

You wake up, and the opening scene begins.

You start your day thinking about things that matter to you. Or maybe you scroll social. Regardless, the camera is focused on you. The movie develops as you move through your day.

At the end of the day, you look back and decide whether it was a good movie. And you fall asleep to begin a new film tomorrow.

You’re the main character. Everyone around you is a supporting actor. They are merely pieces of your larger story.

The crazy thing is?

We all have this movie going. We’re all the main characters of our own show.

You’re a supporting actor in someone’s movie. But you’re not the main character.

You’re only the main character in one movie, with the potential to be a supporting character in thousands.

So I suggest our goal be to focus less on our movie and try to help make the movies of others better. You can only do that if your movie is in a good place, so focus on improving that first, and then realize that we all have movies going on and contribute (positively) to the films of others.

How I got to this realization was two-fold. I was interviewing Bolaji Oyejide when he introduced me to the word Sonder. After roughly grasping the concept, I explored it deeper with a friend (Steven Lippold), which created the opening metaphor.

I believe this is the first step in increasing your impact: Realizing we each are the main characters of our own movie and focusing on how to improve the movie of others.

To begin that journey, let’s explore this mystery word:

The definition of “Sonder”

The feeling one has on realizing that every other individual one sees has a life as full and rich as one’s own, in which they are the central character and others, including oneself, have secondary or insignificant roles. – [From The Dictionary]

For some, this might be intuitive. Others, like me, have experienced this through spirituality, realizing we are all interconnected in one giant “movie.”

I never had a word or concept to wrap around that intuitive feeling. Or to use it as a mantra to step out of myself and contribute to the larger movie. Now I do. I love how simple Sonder is, yet the immense definition it carries.

Why wasn’t this taught in school?

When you understand and accept this concept, you’re free to contribute. You likely see life as an abundant/infinite game. You positively impact other’s stories while enriching your own.

In a state of sonder, each of us is at once a hero, a supporting cast member, and an extra in overlapping stories.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Now, let’s attempt to find ways to enter a “state of sonder.”

Continue reading the essay here (and comment your thoughts!)

Click here to find all my micro essays

Thank you for reading this week’s email. Is there anyway I could help you make more progress through this newsletter? Hit reply and let me know. I’d love to hear :)

– Jo (every second counts)