#AndyTalks 037 – Surprising feedback on videos

I’m just about to dash in to Dublin. I don’t go in very often so I’m actually quite excited. Spend all of your time working at home then sometimes it’s quite nice just to get out and walk into an office and see people at desks and things like that. For all you people who have to do that every day, it probably sounds a bit odd and I apologize. Honestly it’s just like seeing adults walking around instead of seeing kids all day long.

I’ve been thrown a bit sideways with some of the responses I’ve had from the videos I’ve been creating. Literally just got a text to my phone of somebody whom I haven’t spoken to in years saying “I really like your AndyTalks videos on YouTube” and…

— so I’ve just been posting them just to see how to post them and obviously some people are consuming them and not commenting or anything on the LinkedIn post or on the YouTube channel or whatever, but they’re obviously watching it. So that’s great little feedback. Thanks very much Damien.

Something I’ve been doing in the FastLane Forum is taking some of my videos and dropping them in to their own little post. Short little title that I’ve given it on YouTube and then just seeing whether it sinks or swims. Definitely notice that when I put a transcription on it, it gets more engagement and feedback and I think it’s really helping people.

I consume content and much faster when I read it than watching a video. And somebody else’s response when I said I was going to eventually get subtitles put up was that they’re looking forward to that because they’re hearing’s not the best.

My apologies for the washing machine going on in the background.

What’s really interesting this morning, I’ve just logged in just to check if there’s any moderator type of things that need to be done in the forum and I’ve got a few responses to one of the videos I dropped in. It’s not the video I would have thought that would get responses. It starts with me waffling about watching a Alan Shearer playing Dennis Bergkamp in Newcastle Arsenal match and then my kids and then waffle, ramble, whatever, but that seems to be one that’s resonating at the minute. It keeps coming back to the tagline Dan Norris has on his excellent little book, “The 7-Day Startup.” His tagline is, “You don’t learn until you launch.” I mean, this is proof again. So I just throwing out videos and I wouldn’t have predicted this one being the one that resonates with people. And then I’m getting some feedback, great feedback, and then somebody gave some feedback and I’ll read it because I think it’s important.

This is from user @FiftySeven and he says, “Andy, I laugh every time I watch one of your videos. Your — Aww, shucks — delivery style, plus sincerity, makes me feel like I’m right there with you. Keep up the good work. Thanks! FiftySeven.”

@FiftySeven, thanks very much for commenting and the kind words and watching the video and all those things. Thank you very much. Glad I’m making people laugh, but I’m not intending to; I don’t know what I’m doing. And my “aww, shucks” delivery style, that’s just… I’m like… Yeah. I don’t… Wow.

I think I shouldn’t think to hard about this. I think it’s just — be me and whatever. And Snapchat — the style — I think helps.

But anyway, that’s cheered me up and completely baffled me as well but it’s also just encouragement just keep going. The other thing is upload videos that didn’t make the grade that I haven’t posted because because I thought, “Naww… It’s not interesting. There’s no AdWords in it, or business, or something.” Just me and my brother being idiots and me laughing my head off and just trying to speak at the same time. Who would be interested in that? But maybe people are, I don’t know. Yeah, there ya go.

Even more excited to be going into Dublin and sitting in a traffic jam and do what I used to do. It makes me appreciate not having to do it, to be honest. But Dublin’s a pretty city as well. Was going to listen to the rest of the GaryVee, “#AskGaryVee” audio book on the journey in, but I think I’ll just chill and think and try not to think as well. And just let the brain try and work out what the hell’s going on. Anyway, hope you have a great day.

Not a bad place to come for lunch, eh?

— biggest pubs in Dublin to one of the smallest. Think it only fits about 20 people in there.

Strange old day. Met somebody on a client site talking about data and AdWords. Data analyst trying to learn AdWords and I could speak her language because I used to be a data guy. I had a long lunch with the Chairman of the Irish Internet Association, so that’s a completely different level. If my battery doesn’t run out on my phone, I’m supposed to have a chat with somebody who runs a radio station about business in Dublin or something like that. I think my battery will run out first, to be honest, so I won’t start that call. I’ll do it tomorrow maybe. Maybe me getting on it and talking about AdWords or something.

— desk. Gonna go and get the kids in a second and walk back along the canal there like that. I’ve just finished the Gary, “#AskGaryVee” book. I listened to the audio version because I figured he comes across better in audio. It was very, very good. Highly recommend it. It was interesting how near the end of the book he’s talking about all the videos he’s doing, this audio book, other things, he’s leaving a legacy for his kids and his grandkids. A bit like how I was saying a few days ago that this vlogging is really interesting. It’s like, y’know, Superman’s throwing that little green thing out into the ice and then that structure forming and then he managed to speak to his dad, or whatever, some hologram thing. And his dad spoke to him when he was old enough to understand and… That’s just a kind of powerful image for me. So that’s part of my “why.” A while back, people were linking to Gary Vaynerchuk videos and I was like, yeah, whatever, it’s all about motivation. I’m not really interested in that. I’m motivated enough. Then I watched a few videos and that’s what got me into video. I realized I got to know him so much better by watching videos — feel like you know him. After a few days of watching videos of his, I went and bought a book. There you go; I was sold. I got know his personality, I got to know that he knew his stuff; I got to know, like and trust him. Bang. Book. Bought it. Bought quite a few of his other things now. But interestingly, I’m not following him on Snapchat any more; I’m not listing to #AskGaryVee podcast anymore; I’m not watching the DailyVee anymore; I’m not consuming anyone’s Snapchat story at the minute. I’m more interested in producing my own. Snapchat in a way forced it on me with these rolling stories that just wrecked my head but I’m more of a producer than a consumer anyway. It’s my mindset. I watched from the sidelines for a little bit; see what other people are doing. Done. I’m in. I wanna have a go at it myself now.

So, yourself, if you’re consuming this, are you also producing?

Tractor, two scooters and a bike. A bit small for him now.