Learn this and everything else gets easier

This is the one skill that most of today's top creators have in common.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Creator Science]( Presented by [Creator Network]() Hello my friend! I'm a teacher. My business is built on teaching other creators the things that I've learned so that you can take YOUR next step. The problem is that we are working in a very fast-paced world. And, often, the things that people like me teach you can go out of style just as quickly as they came into style. That's why I've always put more of an emphasis on explaining the underlying truths and strategies of an attention-based economy (rather than specific tactics that have a short shelf-life). It's also why my core product offering is a membership as opposed to a recorded course. Because tactics change so quickly, the only way to stay at the edge is to find keep innovating and find out where the new edge is. There are two ways to do that: - Experiment for yourself - Be part of a network of others who are experimenting Experimentation is the meta-skill that today's top creators are putting into practice. That's why it's the North Star for [The Lab](=). The goal of our community is to provide that network of professional creators who are all experimenting at the same time. But I also want to help you develop your own experiment mentality (or experimentality as I'm now calling it). If you develop an experimentality, you won't need to rely on advice from others as much as their support while you experiment. More on that in this week's essay. But first... ​ [Sponsor Image]() PRESENTED BY CREATOR NETWORK Grow your newsletter faster (without working harder) Are you tired of spending hours on social media or relying on algorithms to grow your newsletter audience? Look no further than The Creator Network - the ultimate solution for scaling your growth without all the busy work. At ConvertKit's Creator Network, we believe that creators should support each other in their growth journeys. That's why we offer a collaborative approach to newsletter growth, where you can recommend and be recommended by fellow creators in our community. As you work together to attract new subscribers, you'll see your newsletter audience grow like never before. And the best part? When your fellow creators gain new subscribers, you gain them too! It's a win-win for everyone. Join The Creator Network today and start growing your newsletter audience the easy and collaborative way! PS: And when you join, consider recommending THIS newsletter! I'll return the favor with a few of my favorites. [Grow your newsletter]() ​ ​ [Featured Image](=) NEW ESSAY Experimentality It's hard to master any platform as a creator. Sure, there are best practices, trends, and some generally accepted truths about what "works" on any particular platform – but those things also change all the time. There's really only one reliable path forward... Sustained success as a creator comes from experimentation. This week, I'm sharing with you how you can find your own path to success by developing an experimentality. [Keep reading (6 min) ↗](=) ​ CLICK WORTHY 🔥 Check these out 📬 [Newsletter Masterclass]() – I hosted my live Newsletter Masterclass on Friday. With over 200 registrations and 125 people live, the session got very extremely positive reviews! You can now enroll and watch the masterclass on demand. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🧰 [In my toolbox: Publer]()* – A member of The Lab recommended Publer to me as an all-in-one social media scheduling tool and I really like it. I was previously using a mix of Hypefury and Later but even without the ability to publish on LinkedIn, things were getting expensive. Publer supports posting Instagram Reels, LinkedIn, Twitter, and more for a very low price. *Proud Affiliate ​ NEW EPISODE #153: Tina Roth Eisenberg Building Creative Mornings into a global brand [Creative Elements Cover Art](=) Tina Roth Eisenberg, also known as [Swissmiss](, started [Creative Mornings](=) in September of 2008, in New York City. She wanted to create an accessible, inspiring, morning event for creative people to meet. Today, there are Creative Mornings in more than 200 cities, about 70 countries across the globe, and it reaches 25,000 people per month. In addition to Creative Mornings, Tina is the founder of the designer temporary tattoo brand, Tatley, and the co-working community, Friends Work Here. This episode is audio-only. [Play episode](=) [Apple Podcasts](=) [Spotify]( [Stitcher]() [YouTube](=) New to the show? Start with a [curated playlist](). ​ READER MAILBAG 📬 "How can I create more content?" I got a very relatable email from a reader this week: My challenge is the process and systems for creating content. I have a lot of content already (e.g., 142 podcast episodes, around 80 meaty articles, a book, another book in draft, lots of other stuff). But it takes me a ridiculously long time to create new content. I spend AT LEAST four hours getting a podcast episode out, most of which is writing the script/outline. I feel like getting help with the repurposing of my existing content into new content would be a great solution. But I don’t know where to start. Especially since at the moment, I’m not making any money off any of this, so I can’t afford to invest much in help. I really relate to this struggle. My talk at ConvertKit's Craft + Commerce conference talked about our obsession with short-form content. I believe it's robbing us of sufficient time going into our long-form, enduring work. =​ I often think of this idea from Jack Butcher and his course "Build Once, Sell Twice." The idea is that when you make great work, there is "sawdust" as a byproduct: either small aspects of the larger thing that you can share on their own or even things that got cut out in the edit. The sawdust from your work makes for great short-form, social media content. But social media has gotten so competitive that we focus on that as THE thing. But since social media content is ephemeral, all of that work evaporates days, weeks, or months later. This reader has the opposite problem, though – they have a ton of long-form work but feel as if they aren't getting as much mileage from it as they can. My recommendation to someone in this position would be to make short-form content creation the focus for a short season. If you're publishing long-form content (podcast, essays, YouTube videos, etc.) then either pause them for a few weeks or re-share existing content. When I get into a bind or want to buy some time to make a new podcast episode even better, I'll sometimes publish a past episode with the tag "[GREATEST HITS]." In the time you'd normally use to make a new piece of long-form content, try to create several weeks of social media content inspired by your existing long-form work. In my experience, you can totally disappear for a couple of weeks and no one will really notice. But when you return with new long-form work and you're showing up on social too, suddenly you look a lot BIGGER. When you show up everywhere, it looks [legit](=). It can feel like we're on a treadmill to keep up with our daily or weekly obligations – but you can totally step off of that treadmill for a season in order to set the table for the next. Cheers, Jay PS: Have your own question? Hit reply! I'll pick another question to answer in next week's issue. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Photo of Jay Clouse]( Jay Clouse [Say hi 👋 on Twitter]() or [Instagram]( ☎️ [Book a 1:1 call with me]( Thanks for reading! Reply any time. [Edit your profile]( or [unsubscribe here](. This email was sent with [ConvertKit]( and designed using [Palladio](=). Want to work together? - [Work with me 1:1]( – book a coaching or strategy session. - [Sponsor this newsletter](=) – get in front of 23K+ creators. - [Join The Lab](=) – my membership community for creators. - [Courses & Workshops](=) – learn the essential skills to become a professional creator. Send mail to P.O. BOX 797, Worthington, OH 43085