SP #035: The answer is 50 problems
Welcome to the 35th edition of Solo Pursuits, a helpful weekly newsletter for solopreneurs and founders!
Happy New Year! Wouldn’t it be awesome if we all woke up on January 1st every year vastly improved in all areas of life? I think a lot of people secretly wish that, but as many as 80% of people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions by February (source).
In other words, trying to stick to drastic change just doesn’t work for most (myself included). So because I genuinely want this year to be THE year of YOU, I invite you to focus on taking consistent feel-good baby steps, not expecting yourself to change overnight, and adopting patient and kind self-talk as you continue to navigate the uncertainty of life. I’ll be doing this too. Let’s make 2024 our best year yet! You got this!
Here’s some solopreneur-specific news you might’ve missed:
More AI. More video. Those are the top two most common themes among Social Media Today’s 2024 predictions for the future of social media. (link)
All Meta users will now be able to see all of the on-platform links they’ve previously clicked, known as link history. Meta will use this information to serve people more relevant ads (at least, that’s the goal), so it’s great for you if you run any ads on Facebook or Instagram and maybe not-so-great for you if you tend to click on a bunch of random things. (link)
Google recently rolled out the first phase of their plan to remove third-party cookie tracking in Chrome by the end of 2024. If you don’t know what third-party cookies are, for example, a Meta Pixel uses third-party cookie tracking that allows you to retarget (via ads) the people who visited your website. If you want to get a jump on this, I’m no expert on this but here’s a good-looking guide for setting up your own first-party cookie tracking. (link)
Now, onto this week’s tips, tricks, and resources!
Use the power of AI to come up with good content ideas for you.
Source: Tim Stoddart, 3x successful online business owner
It’s never recommended to have AI write content for you, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use AI in the content creation process at all! Tim shared an insanely simple yet helpful ChatGPT prompt to save you the hassle of coming up with your next round of content ideas.
Here’s the prompt:
"I create content for [description of target audience]. Give me 50 problems that this audience might have. Include a mix of practical problems and emotional ones."
If you don’t have a ChatGPT account already, it’s totally free and you can easily create one here. I’d recommend playing around with this prompt a bit, like adding in more background and context for the AI to get a better understanding of who you are and what you sell (so it can give you more dialed-in content ideas).
Aspiring YouTubers, get crystal clear on who you want to watch your stuff.
Source: Paddy Galloway, YouTube expert (has worked with many 7-fig YouTubers)
If starting or growing on YouTube is at the top of your to-do list for 2024, then you’ll definitely want to listen to these 5 tips from Paddy:
Get really clear on your target audience this January
What are their interests?
What YouTube channels do they enjoy the most?
What’s the maximum amount of views possible by your audience?
What kind of person is and isn’t your viewer?
Make 3 thumbnail options per video and choose the best one
Focus on TV viewership more than mobile, tablet, and computer
Build out your own unique style guidelines
Type of humor and personality
Pace and rhythm
Production value
Use of graphics/animations/text
Music and sound design
Form a 2024 feedback group with 3 to 5 other creators at your level
Resource: AnimStats
Quick Note: I am NOT an affiliate and I don’t have any connections to this tool.
What: A way to create super fun and attention-grabbing GIFs/videos of any statistic or data point. Let’s say you’re a fitness coach who wants to show off how many calories your students burnt over the past month - voilà! Or you’re a writer wanting to show off how many words you wrote last week - voilà again! Used by over 1700 people.
Price: 2 free credits to try it out and then $6.99/month with a no questions asked 14-day refund policy
Reviews: 5 out of 5 stars from 4 ProductHunt reviews (as of January 8, 2024)
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