How do you deal with it when things go wrong? I know for me, I’ve sometimes gotten frustrated and discouraged.
I know it’s been because I thought things should go a certain way and I’ve been reluctant to let that go. Not a beneficial viewpoint, in business or in life, as I’ve come to learn!
Instead, when I look at everything with curiosity, in an environment of learning, my reaction is much different.
That’s the environment of this 30-Day Video Challenge. This Challenge is proving to be surprising in many ways, discovering my consistent equanimity among them. One of the biggest things I am learning is how I can deal with the unexpected, and sometimes the glitches, differently.
Of course, in theory, I expected stumbling blocks, but I didn’t anticipate what they would be, because I didn’t know in advance what I would attempt. As I’m deeper into the Challenge, I’m being bolder about what I attempt.
As soon as you take action, the landscape shifts and you see opportunities you didn’t see before. When that happens, you can respond to those opportunities and move into new, sometimes scary, and often fruitful territory.
For example, since starting the Challenge, I have upped my technical capabilities at least an order of magnitude.
I’m someone who used to describe herself as ‘not techie’. I preferred to hire someone to take care of those aspects. The things is, though, that this Challenge is moving at a speed that exceeds the normal course of business. So, my otherwise trusty VA is not always available just when I want her to be.
Plus, things pop up in the glitch department that I want to fix right away, so that my clients get things sorted out quickly and so that I can move on.
So, in these 10 days, I’ve learned a lot about WordPress, video editing software, Facebook Live, Facebook groups, YouTube, and Medium. Whew! A lot even for an avid learner like me.
The wonderful thing about this is that it’s been liberating! I no longer have to rely on someone else for many things. I can be responsive to clients on a new level. I feel a deep sense of satisfaction for learning new skills and putting them into action.
With all this new learning, though, comes glitches and hurdles to move through to get things to work as I had planned. Like the 2-person Facebook Lives that don’t connect with my guest and dealing with upload speed/bandwidth issues.
What I’ve learned though, is that these things don’t have to stop me. That’s also liberating.
Instead, I can graciously and even with humor accept when thing go awry. I ask my audience for leeway, and they’ve been great.
This turn of events has surprised me. I’ve been reluctant to be so visible with my mistakes and glitches. What will people think of me? Well, it turns out, they like it! And I do too. Authenticity, you know? Affirming yet again that it really is a good thing.
Here’s a quick summary of what I’ve done and learned since my last post about the Challenge:
- Adjust. When something unexpected happens, just do the next best thing. Like when my 2-person Facebook Live didn’t work. I just hopped back on myself later that day with another topic, and brought my guest back the following day.
- Take a risk. This one I didn’t have as much trouble with, since my whole 22-year entrepreneurial career has included taking calculated risks. Still, it was good to be reminded, when I took a chance that my upload speed/bandwidth would let me do a longer Facebook Live video and I ended up with pixelated video. I just went ahead and reshot it on QuickTime and reposted it on Facebook.
- Have a backup plan, or at least be willing to pivot. When my Facebook Live guest couldn’t connect for the second time, we just had him speak on the phone. Not as good as having him on screen, but we got the information shared.
- Be responsive to your audience. Knowing that I am more in command of the technical side of things lets me respond when someone can’t upload the Video QuickStart Guide.
The one thing I’ve learned too, is that all of this takes a lot of time. I’m still juggling the increased pace with the need to rest and rejuvenate. It’s not so much a balance as an ongoing awareness of how the energizing aspects of the Challenge are sometimes out of harmony with the drain of a lot of work hours. Something I’m working on!
All in all, it’s been a satisfying few days. And I’m looking forward to more.
Here’s what things look like from a numbers standpoint:
# videos: 14
11 on Facebook Live, 2 on YouTube, 1 in the Work Alchemy Video Challenge Facebook group
Page Likes/Follows: +10/+5
Email subscribers: no change
Work Alchemy Video Challenge Facebook group: +8
In general, the engagement with individual posts has increased, with more Likes and Comments, but few Shares. So I still have work to do on my content!
Facebook ad investment: +$4
The last Facebook ad I ran was for the Day 2 blog post about the Challenge results to people who had visited my page in the last year. Results: reach 410, clicks 5, page likes 1, CPC $1.60. The CPC is high by conventional wisdom, but at this stage in my online growth, it makes sense. I’ll continue to monitor this in future ads.
YouTube video views: +16
YouTube subscribers: +3
More engagement, a growing community. I’m happy with that, and I find my increased contact with my community to be energizing.
I haven’t focused on increasing email subscribers at all, so am not surprised they are not increasing, though I thought there might be a ripple effect. It tells me that a specific email list opt-in call to action is likely needed.
I’d like to see more engagement on Facebook, so I just started two new Facebook ads, as well as a higher level of support in the Facebook group.
If you’d like support to create your own videos, go to the Work Alchemy Video Challenge Facebook group and click on +Join Group.
Are these shares helpful? Leave me a comment and let me know, and if there are other things you’d like to see.
Lots of learning and growing with this Challenge. And I’m relishing it.