Crap pedestals, creativity, and cliffhangers
ft. Jay Acunzo
As I write this piece, India has begun to flatten the pandemic curve, family and friends are either already vaccinated or are waiting to be vaccinated, and hope has somehow found its way back, even if it simply means a smile underneath a neighbor’s mask.
My heart swells with gratitude to every single one of you - for reaching out to make sure things were okay, for extending your support to India, and above all, for still being here. Thank you.
On to today’s conversation then.
Let me set the scene for you before you read any further.
I’m a marketing novice. I hit the one-year mark into my first full-time marketing role just a few weeks ago. So don’t believe me when I say I know how to double your website traffic or triple the ROAS or increase x times any of the acronyms we’ve grown so fond of as marketers.
However, do believe me when I say that when I create, I create because it gives me happiness. I write because that was one of the things I fell in love with, without even trying.
So when all these KPIs and “success metrics” made their way into my life, I was running and rolling with them, sure, but I was also losing sight of the reason I started writing (this was a recurring theme in conversations I had with people I go to for advice).
When did dashboards take over emotions?
I desperately wanted to know it was still possible to do things I loved, with happiness being the only success metric.
And The Newsletter Nerd Show was just me showing myself it was possible. I wasn’t going to bring on experts to show people how to “growth hack” their way to a million email subscribers.
No, that was never my goal. My goal was simple - I was going to discover the stories of newsletter creators who’ve left an imprint in my heart.
Sure, all of us might learn a thing or two about running a newsletter along the way, but that was always the byproduct.
In the end, I might not become a great marketer after all and I’m okay with that. Because I would have created stuff I’m proud of and that’s all that matters.
***
You know how they say seemingly ordinary moments can sometimes become life altering? This tweet created one such moment for me.
I hadn’t heard of Jay Acunzo until that moment (sorry, Jay!) But he had something to say on creativity and I wanted to check it out. I then landed on his newsletter Playing Favorites, a weekly newsletter to help create stuff that matters.
In this specific piece, Jay had written about one of his high school teachers—Mr. Schread—and how his story ties to today’s marketers chasing metrics even if the work they create doesn’t necessarily make them feel anything.
“It's important to embrace and understand and take pleasure in the art and emotion of things when you're surrounded by an industry that wants to optimize and industrialize what you love,” he had written.
Sit with this quote for a minute.
This hit home and stirred things in me because Jay had put into words I’d never been able to until then. And he showed me it didn’t have to be that way.
He was the firefly that showed up on the darkest night and revealed a hidden path that led me back home.
As I dug into more of Jay’s work, I knew he was someone I’d be listening closely to. Did I mention life altering already? That’s how I’d describe this conversation with him.
On his content spectrum of transactional to transformational, this is 100% transformational.
From creativity equations and crap pedestals to the asterisk being the tiniest storytelling tool, we’ve unpacked a lot in this conversation. Go check it out. It’ll be worth your time :)
Hit the play button above to dig in!
Alternately, you can head to: Apple Podcasts | Anchor | Spotify
In the second segment of the show, I invite guests to read out an excerpt from any of their newsletter editions. Jay chose to read out the one he calls The Future Of. If you feel like you’re always in a scurrying rush, this is a reminder to slow down and take it one step at a time.
Time stamp: Head to 45:48 in the podcast for the reading
This is that critically acclaimed (who we kidding?) part of the show where I ask Jay questions relating to newsletters and he answers them with a Yes or No.
Hands down my most favorite segment of the show, this happens to be the same for guests and listeners alike!
Alright, let’s go.
… before we go, this is what the GIF below means - if the llama accompanying the question turns red, it means Jay’s answer was No. And if it turns green, it means his answer was Yes.
Time Stamp: Head to 53:54 to check out how Jay faced the questions thrown at him and get the complete experience🥁
Told you it’d be worth it, didn’t I?
As this dialogue ends, I hope you ask yourself one thing - will you market more or will you matter more?
Don’t ship mediocre stuff to tick the boxes on your content calendar or to appease the marketing gods and call it a day. Create, craft, and ship things you’re proud of.
Until next time,
Akshaya