Welcome back to "The Microdose Diet" newsletter, your trusted source for achieving success, passion, and happiness in life and career through alternative medicines like microdosing psychedelics. 🍄
Last week, my book and my masterclasses came out.🎉
You now have the tools and are fully empowered to introduce microdosing psilocybin in your personal and professional development routines. Hello More Success, Passion and Happiness!.🙌
This calls for celebration. WOUHOU! This launch also calls for reflection on the lessons I learnt and the myths I busted along the way.
These insights are relevant for anyone starting a new endeavor, may it be writing a book, launching a software company and anything in between.
It is true that my specific platform of microdosing psilocybin for personal and professional development might seem at first glance a particularly challenging one due to the stigma and in some places illegality of the medicine. However, I’d like to think that most of you are looking for new solutions after facing many walls when looking for more success, passion and happiness in your life and career. So it is not that far fetched after all!!
Here it is; the good, the bad and the ugly of marketing a new platform, whatever it might be.
👍Going Viral on Social Media Platforms
This has probably been the greatest area of frustration for me and also the biggest myth I busted in this last 18 months.
First, by getting multiple times this well-intentioned but really stupid advice of: “Why don’t you just publish a viral video?!” Gosh I never really thought about it!!! I have always aimed at getting 50 views on my videos rather than 500,000. 🤔
Second, this perception that there is a “recipe” for virality, for success on social media platforms.
Truth is, like casinos, the ultimate winner of social media platforms is themselves. But you are going to tell me, look at MrBeast he is making a killing at it. Yes, indeed. He also started in 2012 at 13 years old. Now he spends an average of $2M per video. And the methods he used at the time and along the way do not work anymore for someone starting NOW.
In the last 12-18 months the average number of views for my weekly videos on my YT channel went from 200, to 1200, to 20. I have no idea why. Same content, same keywords and better thumbnails actually. Algorithm said so! Social media platforms make money out of ads. They have zero interest in keeping the playing field accessible and constant. By frequently changing opaque and inane rules they insure that new-comers’ money flows to their ads versus developing content. There is already enough content on socials to keep users entertained for the next 20 years. Platforms don’t need new players. Their rules favor long-standing successful creators. They do want to keep you on the treadmill of creating though. 😏
As with most things, everyone has an opinion when it comes to social media success and very often these opinions are not based on facts but on perceptions. This is even truer for social media marketing and what one “should do”. It is a lot of the old “build and they will come” mindset that I experienced in my previous life in software.
Takeaway: Keep your head clear from the uninformed influences. You absolutely need a social media presence, for credibility, for relatability, but the chances your next clients will come directly from there are pretty low. And when you factor the time, efforts and resources you invested in social media and could have invested in actually selling, the business case doesn’t really fly. Last, spare yourself the heartache, headache, walletache of working with social media management agencies, most of them have no ideas what they are doing.
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📺Public Relations and Media Will Sell For You
My frustration here is a close second to the social media platforms. After the “Why don’t you just publish a viral video?!” the second most kindly administrated advice was “Why don’t you just go on Oprah?” You guessed right, this was usually coming from the same people, going from one pearl of advice to another, in the same breath.
So, I have news for you, first you don’t “just” get on a show like that. Your well-paid (by you) publicist will pitch you and your platform to the media. Then you see what sticks! Usually you start with small shows and then hopefully you graduate to bigger shows. Of course some people without a publicist have been able to go on massive shows and very quickly with that. My friend Tracey Tee from MOM (watch her interview here) is an example of that. Have a look at her press page if you want to dream a bit.🙂
Also, journalists are fickle creatures, one day they are interested in you the next they are not. Or their editors shelve their articles. And they most definitely don’t come back to you to let you know. Sometimes they just don’t show up for the scheduled call and that is how you have to guess that the wind has blown in another direction. Podcast hosts are very similar. For some podcasters, this feels more like a hobby than a business. And for most of them, it is!
Of course if you are Michelle Obama or Prince Harry you won’t have any issue promoting your last endeavor. If you are already a safe bet guaranteeing eyeballs this will be a win-win. Media is a business too. To stay in business they have to show what their audience wants to watch, read, listen. Hence the incredible amounts of click-bait articles even in reputable publications. They also have shareholders and this reality trickles down the line.
Now let’s talk business case. What really is the ROI of media relations? Based on my experience so far the value is mostly on credibility and validation. By definition, the direct correlation between sales and media appearances is notoriously difficult. As an example I was featured in one of the top 10 WSJ articles 3 weeks ago. There was a big picture of me speaking at the conference Wonderland, the journalist even mentioned the name of my book, the release date and that it is distributed by Simon & Schuster. Naturally, I expected to see a larger than usual number of visits to my website, as well as additional orders for my book and potentially my microdosing product. But none of that happened. Still I do see value in having these logos on my website and other social medias. Like testimonials, they provide social proofs.
Takeaway: Investing in public relations whether directly through a publicist or through one’s own efforts is a tough calculation to make. First, you have no guarantee that you will even book an adequate media appearance. Second, if you do, the conversion rate is likely going to be pretty low. In a world of finite resources I believe that allocating these resources directly to selling is the best approach.
🧑🤝🧑The Real Value of Followers
Like most new platform I went all guns blazing to “build a community of followers;” It did have a nice ring of guru leader to it and I had always dreamt of wearing a long white gown and a braid of flowers!
I wrote above about the conundrum of allocating adequate resources to social media. Building a following is obviously linked to your success on social media but not only. Anyone can view and like a video of a cat in a hat, starting with me, but that doesn’t make a follower. A follower is someone who resonates with what you stand for. They are more likely to become a client than just a casual viewer and they are also more likely to recommend you and your products to a friend.
And this is where the confusion and complexity arise. Yes technically the more followers, the better. If you are monetizing your socials you are likely to see more engagement if your number of followers is high. Also you are way more likely to be offered a book deal, media appearances, speaking engagements, and so on if you have a huge active following.
However the “quality” of your followers is what makes the difference. First anyone can buy passive followers. If you ever picked up the book “1 Million Followers in 30 Days” this is basically the bulk of the author’s strategy. I have to say I did admire his cheek in tongue attitude when I read his book. It made me think about the revolutionary weight-loss programs that recommend to stop eating any food with sugar, fat, wheat and dairy to loose weight. Hmm, what a revolutionary approach! I definitely needed your book to come to that conclusion.🙄
And this is where the mind game starts. A person who is engaging with your content might be interested in your platform or might be interested by your platform. What I mean by that is that some of the followers (or even non followers) who enjoy your content might never engage or actually even follow you. While people who absolutely don’t care about your platform but see a potential benefit in connecting with you will be all over you and your content. The ultimate bait and switch!
Your friends and family are a great example of that. They might like your content, sometimes comment, but they are not likely to become your clients. No man is a prophet in his own land (and they expect free stuff ;-)). This still helps the evil algo but doesn’t bring you any sales. While, especially for topics stigmatized such as mine, most of the comments are made in private or not made at all. Which makes it very difficult to gauge the real interest of your platform, and doesn’t play well with the omnipotent algo.
This is why you saw the raise of micro-influencers; niche platforms with a small number of very committed and engaged followers. When it comes to followers more is not necessary better, contrary to popular belief.
Takeaway: To build a quality following (aka engaged) takes a lot of time, efforts and resources (back to Point 1). The question is, does it worth it? Depending on your business model it might or might not. If you are running a media company for sure it is, content is your business! If you are selling software or even books however, resources are better allocated elsewhere. Whether running PPC ads, going to a trade show or wining and dining a buyer. 😏
In summary, there is a lot of misconception when it comes to marketing especially social media marketing for emerging platforms. What was a great option for a company even 2 years ago is already not relevant anymore. It is important to have a social media presence for credibility and visibility. The question of the ROI however should be asked (and answered!) more often. In addition enjoyment is also something to take into consideration especially in tiny structures. If you are drained when putting together content then the value is likely not there. Personally, I love writing and interviewing great people. So that part of the job is fun. But the moment I am supposed to edit a video, a picture or an audio I tune out. I am not a graphic designer, nor a video editor and don’t aim at becoming one. Until someone can prove to me that there will be a ROI in me doing so, my resources are better allocated elsewhere. Even if that means playing with my cats, versus editing a video.
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😎 About The Microdose Diet
I'm Peggy Van de Plassche, a former banker and VC with 20 years in financial services and technology. "The Microdose Diet" combines alternative medicines like microdosing psilocybin for personal and professional growth.
Pre-order my book, "MORE! The Microdose Diet - the 90 Day Plan for Success, Passion, and Happiness," available on Amazon.
🧠 The Brain Power Microdose: Supporting Cognitive Health and Stress Relief
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