Jay Clouse (@jayclouse)

You be the judge!

"Be a poet not a preacher."

One of the reasons I've slowed down on content over the past few months is because the business has been in a bit of an awkward, painful period. There have been some failures...some setbacks...and those wounds haven't all fully healed. I've always appreciated the advice, "Share your scars, not your scabs." So I've been letting some time pass before sharing more of the failures in full. What do you think about that advice? Do you agree with it?

I loved this advice for writers thinking about social media from Joy Sullivan.

Day 1

I have 6 months to get my $h!t together. Follow along?

To get good, you have to first overcome Cringe Mountain.

Is watching short-form video bad for you? I had a really fun conversation with @yoniman.mp4 on the podcast recently. He grew an Instagram account from 0 to 188,000 followers by posting a Reel every day for about a year and a half. It brought him attention, helped him launch a mobile app, but he was pretty critical of the whole format, saying he probably wouldn't do it again. I don't think short-form is all bad. But I do think it's popularity has led to the creation of a lot of content that *is* a collective waste of time. Someone recently described scrolling a short-form video feed as cycling between emotions because the best-performing short-form videos tap into strong emotion. That's great when they're emotions you WANT to feel...but how often is that *not* the case? But short-form has also led to the compression of education. Real value and real time savings. So what do we do with this tension? For creators, there's a clear opportunity in creating short-form content. It can be done well, with integrity, and create a lot of value. For consumers, it comes down to thoughtful consumption. My wife and I have a shorthand for when we see each other scrolling: "Are you in a hole? Do you want to be there?" More and more, I'm intentionally locking myself out of social feeds to reclaim my attention. I'm shocked by how much more time there is in the day!

Be become a human AI wrapper!

"The best way to grow your net worth is to be smart about your taxes."

When Ankur Nagpal was about to sell his company, he hired some fancy lawyers to help him better understand the tax code so he could keep more of what he'd earn from the sale. He says what he learned "radicalized" him—and he went deeper down the rabbit hole. How deep does the tax racket go? Look no further than buying professional sports teams.

Here's a thought exercise for you: What would a $10,000 offer look like in your business? I see so many creators start with low-ticket products. I get it—it feels safe, the stakes are low, and someone paying you ANYTHING is such a trip in the beginning. But what if you gave yourself permission to imagine what a $10,000 offer looked like? What outcome could you deliver? What would need to be true? The answer will look different for everyone, but it's worth considering.

A membership is a very specific product format. It’s an ongoing subscription—so when people are considering purchasing, the question is, “Why should I renew?” You need to be creating and delivering new value at the same rate that the subscription recurs. Recurring revenue comes from recurring value.

This is David. I hired David to create the thumbnails on my channel. David uses AI in his process. In fact, the last four thumbnails on our channel all have humans featured in them—and they're all AI-generated based on photos of those people, including AI-generated assets of ME! Those assets of me are so convincing that *I* wasn't even sure it was AI. This is big for our channel. As a remote interview show, we've always struggled with assets of the guest because cutting them out of a two-dimensional video feed doesn't look great. Certainly not as good as thumbnails from in-person interviews. Now, we can create a much better look on the thumbnail (even without meeting in person). A lot of the uproar against AI is that we will choose AI *instead* of working with humans...but I am still HIRING David, who is using new, best-in-class tools to do things for us we haven't been able to do before. Sure, I could try and design my own thumbnails with AI. And they'd be....OK. I could get better, and so would they, but I want to hire people like David. People with skills I don't have who are super-powering them with tools that do crazy things.

Don’t make unfair comparisons! If someone is investing MORE into what you’re able OR willing to, comparing yourself will only bring disappointment.

LinkedIn is becoming Instagram.

How a successful thumbnail concept led to an insane MrBeast video.

188,000 followers…but he wouldn’t do it again. Is he crazy or enlightened?

The opportunity (and risk) of YouTube Shorts according to @Colin and Samir.

How long building a YouTube channel REALLY takes.

The more you write, the better you think. Surrender your writing, surrender your ability to think.

Work relationships often start on a good foot with good intentions — but they also start naive. In the best case, things go really well — but sometimes that creates a new, sticky situation. @Tyler Chou, Creators’ Attorney recommends employment agreements (including contractor agreements) EARLY to avoid painful situations down the line.

Are YouTube channels more valuable than real estate? According to @Tyler Chou, Creators’ Attorney, they’re a comparable asset for some creators. Except YouTube channels can be built from nothing.

Most creators are ignoring the legal side of their business. This can be a disaster! Get ahead of it. Tyler shared a ton of practical steps for getting your legal bases covered.

Please enjoy this secondhand embarrassment

Does @Pat Flynn have the most famous thumbs in the world?! This is hilarious — but even better is how he took what may have gotten him down and leaned into it. Full interview with Pat exploring @Deep Pocket Monster on our YouTube channel.

Podcasters should be more intentional with their episode emails.

Savor these moments!

An easy way to instantly increase revenue!

How to make better decisions!