A series of micro-rants that should probably be written into essays

Maybe sharing them here will strike a chord, generate discussion, and give me a needed butt-kicking to publish more.

I searched for “screaming into a void” and I chose this photo by Nik on Unsplash

Life update: Hello. It’s been a while. I’ve been taking an unintended break. I’m currently pregnant which has caused me to hyper-prioritize my health and long-term happiness. This means much of my time has been going to sleep, taking care of my home, preparing wholesome meals for my family and myself, and enjoying my family. My work has been 100% SparkToro-focused, so I’ve left little time for side projects and even less time for social media. It’s pretty great.

I am itching to write again but having trouble finding a topic that’s moving me. So here are a few half-hashed hot takes that you might find interesting:

1. Your marketing tests are a waste of time.

People often ask me what I’m testing out lately. I panic, try to think of something smart, and then I end up making something up about testing different kinds of content on various social media platforms. It’s only partially true. I do try out lots of different types of content, but I have no technical methodology for observing performance. I just create and vibe.

But that’s a terrible answer.

The full, full truth is that I have very little interest in most marketing tests. To test something accurately, you’d need to have a control group and a variant with the change. You can’t get too fancy with the changes because then you won’t know which specific change drove (or tanked) performance. You also need to run both your control and variant long enough to yield statistically significant results. This takes time. Weeks. Maybe months. By then… who cares? Did you really need three months of rigorous testing to change your CTA buttons to green?

Unless you have massive budget to drive traffic to your multiple websites and/or you’re working on several projects that can show you meaningful changes more quickly, you just end up wasting time waiting around for things to happen (or not happen). You’d be better off just making the change that you think is right. Then if you end up being wrong, change it back. Try new things, yes. Testing them? Meh.

2. All of us are cringe. Sorry, you are. But I am too.

Twitter users are exhausting about this. Yeah, the hustle culture bros are annoying. But so are the complainers. Don’t like what you see? Then go make something better. Your whining helps no one. It only discourages hesitant creators to get started.

I say this because I was one of those creators. A part of me wanted to publish online for years. But I resisted because I was afraid of all the whiners and haters. At some point you have to just say, “Fuck it,” and acknowledge that all of us are cringe. There are lots of successful, well-meaning folks who I find cringe because of the way they choose to behave on social media. But I don’t need to make them feel badly about it.

Do you. Just don’t be a grifter. And please don’t ask me to like your thread.

3. “Quality” vs. “viral” content is a false choice. You need both.

I hear this all the time: Should I create something meaningful, substantial, that I really believe in sharing with the world, even if no one reads it? Or should I just write some crap that resonates with the lowest common denominator so that I can get likes and shares, and ultimately grow my account?

This so-called dilemma is confusing. If you have an idea that you truly believe is worth sharing with the world and you already think no one is going to read it — is it really worth sharing with the world? Is it possible that you have the arrogance to assume you know what’s best, yet you’re somehow too myopic to realize that nobody cares about that topic?

Or maybe you just need to think differently about how to get people to see that content. Maybe your idea is incredible. But you have no hook that entices people to read. If that’s the case, then I’ll push back: If you have an idea that you think is so wonderful, that you can’t get out of your head, that you absolutely must write about, then why wouldn’t you spend the extra time and energy to figure out how to get people to read, love and amplify it?

You’re kidding yourself if you think you get to choose between quality and virality. At some point, you’re going to need both. You might have moments when you need to focus on quality (or refining your ideas), and other moments when you need to get heads down on ensuring widespread distribution.

A final thought: If you think everything that goes viral is just some lowest common denominator bullshit, then you’re missing out entirely on what effective content distribution is.

4. Like it or not, you already have a personal brand. So you might as well control your narrative.

If you’re reading this and rolling your eyes, thinking to yourself:

“I don’t have a ~personal brand.~ I’m an average joe marketing director who doesn’t care about that nonsense. I signed up for this newsletter to get marketing advice. Not for pontifications on personal branding.”

Ah, there we go. There’s your personal brand. You’re too cool for one. You don’t pull any punches and you’re not afraid to be real. You lurk the marketing scuttlebutt but you don’t participate. And that’s ok.

But here’s the thing about your “personal brand.” It’s just marketing speak for the way others perceive you. People are going to form their opinion about you no matter what. You might as well own that narrative.

So, what is your personal brand? How do you view the world and how does your treatment of other people, your work, and your daily choices reflect those views? Are you living your values?

5. You could have control over your day by being your own boss… or by being a regular ol’ W2ed employee.

Another thing I hear a lot: the best way to control your day is to be your own boss.

Maybe that’s true. For lots of people. But it sure as hell isn’t true for me.

The last time I was my own boss as a marketing consultant, I only worked about 15 hours per week. I didn’t make a whole lot of money, but if you broke out my paycheck based on hourly wage, I was doing pretty well. I was bringing in enough money to pay my share of the rent and handle the grocery shopping. I also had lots of time to spend with my then-infant (a time I will always, always be grateful for).

On the other hand… it was awful. I was constantly worried about what next month’s pay would bring or whether a client would churn. I hated the feeling of asking my husband if we could afford to buy X or Y or take a trip to see our extended family. I never felt like I was doing enough and I always felt that I wasn’t enough. (I know, it was a “me” problem.)

Later on, I took on a full-time job that was a few steps down than my resume would suggest. It meant fewer direct reports and no seat at the executive table. I was fully remote, didn’t have to play office politics, and I spent zero time arguing across departments. When marketing leadership would debate a conundrum during a meeting, I sat back and scrolled Instagram until they were done talking. The pay obviously wasn’t executive-level but it was pretty great. I had a lot of control over my schedule while maintaining the benefits of a W2 salaried employee.

Of course, nowadays, I have even more control over my schedule at SparkToro. We’re fully remote with a meeting-light culture. We generally stay organized and on-task, but there aren’t Asana tickets to check off. My bosses, Rand and Casey, appreciate when I check in but honestly, I don’t think they really care. I know. I am lucky and I am currently in a unique situation. But as my previous story shows, you don’t need to work at a zebra company with unicorn culture to live the life you want.

I’m not trying to dissuade you from entrepreneurship or persuade you to be an employee forever. I’m only suggesting that you stay open-minded about what it means to “own” your day.

You can be a full-time freelancer. You can start your own company. But beware of thinking that that means you “fully control” your day-to-day. Because when you’re working for yourself, it might mean that you’re working all the time and you can’t turn off that part of your brain. And you just might find that the worst boss is actually you.

---

Did any of these ideas resonate? Did you hate any of them? Great! Reply to this newsletter and let me know, or leave a comment.

🥩🥦 Beef and Broccoli

Follow me on Instagram @amandanat for a steady stream of screenshot recipes like this.

Serves: 2

• 8 oz sirloin steak, thinly sliced

• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

• 3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

• 1/2 cup beef stock

• 3 oz low sodium soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

• 1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 cups broccoli florets

• 1 shallot, thinly sliced

In a medium bowl, whisk together the marinade of ginger, garlic, stock, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, cornstarch and pepper. Add steak. Let sit for, I don't know, maybe 15-20 minutes. Whatever time you have.

In a wok over high heat, cook broccoli and shallots. Set aside. Cook the steak only (no marinade). When done-ish, pour in marinade and bring to a low boil until slightly thickened. Add vegetables to warm through. Serve.