We haven’t gotten any rain in awhile, so it was fun getting up early in the morning to take a little photo walk and capture this scene.
Category: Photography
FEW WORDS
A few words can change your life:
- “Will you marry me?”
- “You’re hired.”
- “They’re gone.”
Say it, and be done.
LIGHTS AND BLUES
Night walks and chasing lights and shadows, always looking for that perfect sky as a backdrop. Always fun just getting out for a bit with a camera and seeing what you find.
HOLIDAY SELLING
Photo by Seth Werkheiser
Recently I did a Klaviyo “check-up” for a record label and found they had two abandoned cart flows going at the same time (which meant every user got TWO emails to remind them of items in their cart – ooops).
I’ve been using Klaviyo since 2020 for music labels (including Death Row Records).
The holidays are coming up – if you need a second set of eyes on your email marketing setup (Klaviyo mainly, but I work in Mailchimp a bit, too), let’s connect: hey@sethw.xyz
FLAMES
Had a nice morning walk in the 50s today, but I didn’t realize it was the 1950s.
MORNING LIGHT
Photo by Seth Werkheiser
There are so many distractions, so many shiny objects to chase. A splash of inspiration came way this morning, but had a good grounding call this afternoon to set me straight, a reminder to stay true to my own mission and style.
START OVER
Photo by Seth Werkheiser
If an unpaid intern could write it, start over.
There are things can could be written by someone else on your behalf – announcing a new product, an upcoming tour, a fancy new something or other.
Lay out the facts. The dates. The logistics. “I’m really excited about this,” you say – gee, really?! Tell me more 😕
There’s enough safe, boring, dry text out there. Throwing chatGPT into the mix makes it even less spicy.
Your creativity is your magic. But please, don’t stop using it when it’s time to talk about the things you’re doing.
I wrote about this in ‘Find social media success by occasionally riding a horse,’ where I say:
“If all you can muster is “I updated my site,” lower your expectations. The algorithms are cruel, but it’s nothing personal. Is this fair or kind? No. But playing this game is a choice, and hardly anybody wins.”
GRABBING NOTHING
Photo by Seth Werkheiser
All the hours spent on social media over the last several years – it stings. Hours I could have spent walking around town with a camera, or just sitting on a bench thinking about nothing.
Nothing, space, the void. Right now these are the most important items on my daily to-do list. Mind you, this doesn’t mean I spend 75% of my day in meditation, or staring at the walls while ignoring my cat, or my work stuff. I just mean capturing moments of nothing / space / the void when I can get it.
This means hour long runs with no music. Walks around town when I’ve completed work tasks. Leaving my phone outside of the kitchen when I’m making and eating lunch.
The goal each day is to grab as much nothing as posslb.e
HALFWAY THROUGH 2024
Photo by Seth Werkheiser
It’s been way too hot lately, but a few nights here and there it drops to 70F and it’s tolerable enough for a photo walk.
I mean, who likes talking about the weather? What a cliche, right? But my god, the weather is becoming so unbearable, and it’s only the first of July.
Someone in town who I chat with now and again asked me, “do you just walk around all day?” To which I replied, “yep.”
My new work process is finish something, then instead of clicking around the series of websites I frequent, or checking email for the millionth time, I go for a walk, even if it’s just around the block. I think I’m at like 20,000 steps a day.
Oh, and I ran 100 miles in June, which is the highest I’ve run in a long time. I can’t believe I ran 1,100 miles in 2020, but I’m getting back to it. I’m at 262 miles so far this year, but I only really started on April 19th. That was my “okay, I’m tired of being tired all the time” moment. And my favorite winter jacket didn’t fit anymore. Tonight I ran eight miles. ON A MONDAY NIGHT.
TOO MANY OPTIONS
Photo by Seth Werkheiser
The more I think about the marketing machine, and the how and the why and the strategies involved, the more it all seems impossible.
Like, everyone who wants to “get the word out” about their thing is competing with a million other people doing the same thing. Some of it rises to the top because it’s what everyone is talking about – tech reviews, AI, sports, Star Wars, etc.
Other folks who do stuff that’s not quite as “big,” well, they’re lost in the fray, unless we’re talking about BookTok, of course.
But like, do “we” need to be in all these popular online places to make it? Is it required?
I think about the tiny Chinese restaurant I visit in Palmerton, PA. They’re not on social media, nor do they need to be. People in that town (or people passing through, like me) want Chinese food.
They have it. That’s a simple and direct choice.
And I feel like when you have that immediate want, say, for Chinese food, you’re going to look locally.
And if the grass is getting too high in your yard, you have to get someone to cut it.
But a lot of other things – how to draw, people who talk about email newsletters with creative people (that’s me!), how to write better… there are a zillion options for everything out there, and no real guarantee that any of them are going to help in the end.
Chinese food? That’s simple. You can solve that problem in an hour.
All the other creative / strategy / marketing stuff? Endless variations of possible solutions, directions, and options.