“The single most important strategy in content marketing today is video. Whether it’s video on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat or YouTube, the content you need to be thinking about creating and marketing on social for your business is video. Period.” ― Gary Vaynerchuk.
I’m scared. There, I said it.
I have to start a podcast – scratch that – I want to start a podcast but for some strange reason, something inside me keeps screaming “NO” while my heart is screaming let’s go!
Wait, did I just quote Christina Aguilera?
I knew this post was gonna be bad idea!
Video is the future of media, I’m aware of that, so what am I so scared?
I don’t know, and more importantly, it doesn’t matter, because you know what?
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but it’s knowing that you’re gonna die and jump on your horse anyways.”
Sorry, I kinda needed to quote John Wayne after accidentally quoting X-Tina.
The truth is, what I’m feeling is not fear of failure, well not technically anyways.
How do I describe it? It feels like those moments when you were young and you see a beautiful girl that you like, but you’re still afraid to go talk to her.
Do you know what I mean?
Well, if you do, that’s exactly how it feels like.
But I like her, I really do.
In this case, I like the entertainment business, and strangely enough, that’s what makes it a whole lot scarier.
The good news here is that at least I know that I’m not fooling myself. I know that it’s something inside you that always fights change, I know it’s irrational. And I know it’s that goddamn allegory of the cave all over again.
And I know I have to lose those chains.
“People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
The Why
Why? You mean “where”? As in: Where do I start?
For starters, 80% of communication is non-verbal. Why provide only 20% of entertainment/storytelling value if you can provide the whole deal?
And as you type this you suddenly realize that you’re missing out on voice intonations, on body language, facial expressions… And for those who have some sort of charisma or sense of humor, you could be missing out on something very valuable.
Am I going to stop writing? Hell no!
But it can’t hurt to open more doors to more possibilities. There is a lot of untapped potential in video, why let it go to waste?
And lest we forget, rapport is very important, your audience will certainly appreciate it.
You are much more likely to connect with them via video where they can get used to your face, and your voice, than they are to connect with a simple avatar picture.
Although to be fair, it totally depends on the person.
So let me give you another reason.
Like many of you, I’m a full blown steemian and obviously, we want to watch the steem blockchain grow and watch it change the world for the better.
To do that, we have to lead by example in many occasions.
In this case, some of us have to get better at social ourselves.
Which takes us to the next point:
What kind of asshole would I be if I write about marketing in the year that you live in without doing so myself for my own work?
Time is the New Location, Time is the New Location... Great, now lead by example.
And I’m Immortalizing this shit here, so that any of you can call me up on it if I don’t step up my game.
Although in all honesty, adding video to the repertoire was the plan all along.
This decision to start a podcast didn’t occur on the spur of the moment, not even close.
The house I live in, I rented a few months ago because it has a huge terrace and has enough space that it makes it ideal for the task, it also has an isolated room downstairs that I’m converting into a studio.
I wanted to set myself up for success before starting to walk towards the goal.
I also bought this bad boy some time ago, along with some Lapel microphones and other contingency gear:
Before I bought it, I did my due diligence of course. I’m blessed to have friends working in films and I took their recommendations to heart.
I know that many Youtubers use top-notch Canon cameras, so I went with the best Canon camcorder I could buy.
I was told that camcorders are better, and I did just that.
I’ve also been told that the RØDE Microphones are best so I went with that.
I decided to investing some steem Dollars in a way that I could give back and provide value in return, and in this case sound and video quality wouldn't be a problem.
So yes, this is not on the spur of the moment, not by a long shot.
Why didn’t I start then?
I wasn’t ready, I couldn’t. I was tied up professionally, I missed on steemfest for God’s sakes, along with some other stuff for which I’m still kicking myself to this day.
But it’s OK, I’ll have another chance. I hope.
Time to Reinvent Yourself Again
I wasn’t ready then, I am now. And I hope you hold me up to it if I don’t start a Podcast next March.
Why March and not January?
Because I want to live, breathe and focus on an outreach program that me and other people are involved in and think that it could be very productive.
However, I left the best reason of all to the end:
A podcast allows you above all things to talk to so many amazing people and learn something new from each one of them, and sometimes to connect with them at some sort pf level.
As James Altucher calls it: “You get to talk to your heroes”.