I wasted 5h today working on these 2 lead magnets.
I will share the exact mistake I made.
Why I think it is a mistake.
And the framework I learned from it, that will help me easily prevent this in the future.
So if you want to prevent wasting time, money AND reputation, I will give you my wisdom without the pain. If you’re new here, I am Jordan, 23 years old, make videos on YouTube since 2012, have done over $4M in Revenue & hired over 50 people.
I am currently looking for the most EFFECTIVE ways to grow my email list.
BUT I made this ONE mistake today:
I focused on the PACKAGING over the CONTENT.
Imagine receiving a beautifully packaged gift from your parents,
But it’s a horse riding book…
You wouldn’t care, right?
Unless you ride horses…
More so, your association with your parents & their gifts is WORSE than it was BEFORE.
Your parent’s reputation around gifts DECREASED in value.
Your parent’s overall brand DECREASED in value.
The lesson?
Don’t give, unless it’s good.
EVEN IF you already spent money or time on the thing!
You know the sunk-cost fallacy?
It’s the mistake of CONTINUING with something because of what you’ve already put into it, rather than considering ONLY the future costs and benefits.
Imagine you’ve waited an hour in line for a restaurant, but then find out the food is terrible…
Will you still go inside?
After 4,5 hours working on my lead magnets, I found out the content itself is NOT SOMETHING I WOULD VALUE.
And since I AM my ideal follower,
I know that IF someone else like me would receive the lead magnet,
He or she would be less likely to ENGAGE in ANY WAY / SHAPE / OR FORM.
Because the link is there…
I see Jordan → I did not use his thing from last time → not so valuable → scroll / skip / opt-out
This would be a ripple effect.
Your followers are less likely to engage with your organic posts, paid ads, newsletter, etc.
UNLESS you get the chance to PROVE their assumptions wrong next time.
But why make negative associations with your brand when you can prevent it?
Next time when you work on marketing stuff, you may start with the CONTENT instead of the PACKAGING. If I did that today, I wouldn’t have made what I made, because I would quickly see the content wasn’t good enough.
“Quality is more important than quantity.
One home run is much better than two doubles.”
~ Steve Jobs
You may say, but Jordan you can still promote the lead magnets you created today…
You may tell yourself:
“If I offer many different lead magnets on my website and my bio’s than sure someone likes at least ONE of them…”
What are the consequences of that belief: that more is good?
Please read that again and think about it.
If you could choose between the highest quality most delicious food restaurant in town,
BUT they only serve 1 plate
OR an all-you-can-eat restaurant with unlimited food
That causes toilet problems for 7 straight days after.
Which one would you pick?
Would you buy the $1,000 course with 50 hours of content?
Or the $1,000 course with 2 hours of content offering the same result?
MORE IS NOT BETTER, my friend.
It seems like humans do not GET this point when they GIVE something.
But that they only SEE this point when they RECEIVE something.
May you REALIZE more of your stuff is not better BEFORE you give it away.
So that’s what I did…
I thought about the lead magnets I created…
And I wouldn’t use them myself.
And that’s the framework I will use moving forward.
A very simple but effective framework.
“Will I USE it myself?”
If you are not your ‘ideal customer persona’, don’t sabotage yourself by saying:
“Some of my followers would probably still like it.”
You know very well, what is GOOD and what is NOT.
And if you give the bad, only the people who are interested in bad will show up.
May you pick that ONE LOYAL FRIEND.
Instead of the 20 fake ones.
May you only share the good from now.
If only for your sincerity.
Which brings me to another important lesson of today:
If I create assets that we can use internally ourselves, it can never be a waste.
From:
“What would be a good lead magnet people are interested in?”
To:
“What would be an asset to create that helps our own company?”
PS: you can still create lead magnets that you don’t use internally.
Just look at the time it will take and the perceived value of it from your IDEAL follower.
So you don’t waste your time like me…
Were my 5 hours completely wasted?
No, because I could write this letter about it.
And you may do the same for mistakes you make.
Repurpose them for anything you like to create or see a use case.
Maybe you noticed I also used the Proof – Promise – Plan Framework at the beginning of this letter. Lastly, I am able to re-use some of the design assets I created for future lead magnets.
If you can see your own mistakes from this perspective.
That is: not everything is a waste.
It may become easier to make that decision to NOT go to the all-you-can-eat restaurant.
May you find your way to the good and away from the volume.
And good will come to you.
Talk soon
Jordan
If you want to learn more about how I manage my content creation with many different interests.
You may watch this video next.
But if you don’t create content, then here’s my poem about the essence of this letter.
A Powerful Poem about Quality
Quality over quantity, you’ve heard it so many times,
I can write a thousand okay poems or a few great rhymes.
Packaging is important, but it’s not enough,
If what’s inside isn’t valuable stuff.
Create things that serve, delight, and represent,
The BEST of your brand…that’s time wisely spent.
Just like the clouds are white and the sky is blue,
Your followers know what is REAL VALUE too.
When you ask: “Would I use it” and it doesn’t pass this test,
Rethink, refine, reword, but don’t settle with less.
Because what do you want?
1 Apple Tree or many plants?
Watch The Full Message here:
PS: If you want to work personally with me one-on-one, physically, or virtually, then you can email me ([email protected]) or schedule a call here. But I only work with someone to whom money is not a problem and who is serious.
