Ten people a day. Every day. For seven months. That’s the math I’ve been avoiding. That’s not light math. That’s heavy math. Brick-heavy. 3,000 minus 933, divided by seven months. More than ten a day. That’s the goal for Social Media Marketing World. And “every day” means every day. Mondays. Tuesdays. Holidays. Here’s what the math did to me: it’s not going to be one big idea that moves the needle. It’s going to be lots of ideas, working together, to get this done. But here’s what I know. We’ve had well over 3,000 people at this conference before. It’s not impossible. I know it’s possible. I also know I’m going to need help. So if you missed yesterday’s video, here’s the deal: → Drop one idea in the comments, starting with “I’d...” → See an idea you’d back? Reply “yes” under it → The ideas with the most yeses are the ones I try first What can we do to move the needle on this conference? Let’s do this. This is Mike’s Thoughts from the Porch. Let me know what you think 👇 #SocialMediaMarketingWorld# #FounderLife# #MarketingTips# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Social Media Marketing World hasn’t had 3,000 people at the conference since before COVID. I have 7 months, 933 people committed, and no idea how to fill the gap. So I’m coming to you. I met with my director of marketing this week, and it became pretty obvious we need to try something different. Then it hit me: some of the wisest marketers in the world are watching this series. Why not just ask you? So here’s the favor. If this were your conference and you wanted to get to 3,000, what would you do? → Leave one sentence in the comments, starting with “I’d...” → Read the other ideas, and if you like one, reply to it with the word “Yes” → Friday I tally the results And to make it a little fun: if I use your idea and it actually moves the needle, I’ll take care of your ticket and your hotel. I’ll be talking about the winners, and all the great ideas, right here on the porch. This is Mike’s Thoughts from the Porch. So, what would you do? “I’d...” in the comments below 👇 #SocialMediaMarketingWorld# #MarketingTips# #FounderLife# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Today is the last “Mike’s Thoughts from the Porch.” For more than 60 days I’ve shown up here every single day with whatever random thought was rattling around in my brain. Here’s the truth: it’s not doing what I hoped it would do. What I pictured in my head was a show. Something you’d actually want to come back to every day. That’s not what I made. I made 60 days of thoughts. Admitting that out loud is harder than it sounds. I’ve been in marketing a long time. I’m supposed to know how this works. But that changes tomorrow. Tomorrow I’m going to ask you for something I’ve never asked for before. And then I’m going to run with it for months — in public, on this porch, where you can all watch whether it works or it falls apart. I’m not telling you what it is today. I just hope you show up tomorrow. If you’ve been here for any part of these 60 days, thank you. The next thing is going to need you a lot more than the last one did. See you tomorrow 👇 #AIinMarketing# #FounderLife# #MarketingTips# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Killing fish. Stealing ideas. That’s what I’ve been told because I use AI every day. Here’s the thing: I’m a marketer. In my world, using AI is normal. A brand-new three-year study says 73% of marketers use it daily and 84% of us plan to use it more next year. But step outside marketing and confess you’re using it, and you’re going to get flak. Sometimes from people you care about. Sometimes from people you really respect. And I don’t know what to do with that. It takes me back to the early internet, when people said you were stealing jobs by using it. Now nearly every job runs on it. Same thing when social media showed up — I took plenty of heat for being active there. Now it’s AI. Just about everyone is using it in some capacity. But disclose it, which is exactly what we’re encouraged to do, and the flak comes. If we’re intellectually honest, most of us in marketing are using it every day and plan to use it more. Not because it’s trendy. Because it actually helps. We’re learning things, discovering things, doing things we couldn’t do before. So how do you handle the people who don’t understand? Are you using AI every day? Do you plan to use it more? And how do you deal with the pushback? Tell me in the comments 👇 This is Mike Thoughts from the Porch. #AIinMarketing# #MarketingTips# #FounderLife# #SocialMediaExaminer#

My rant was killing my video. I almost scrapped the whole thing. I recorded a ranty video about something I saw in the news that I just thought was crazy. I wasn’t super pleasant in it, but in my mind: “This is going to perform!” I spent a lot of time in the edits app, polished it perfectly, and published it as a trial reel. The retention dropped like a cliff. So I tightened it up even more, convinced this time it would perform. It did absolutely nothing. I was pretty much ready to call it quits. Then I had one crazy idea: What if I edit out the ranty stuff — the stuff I thought was amazing? Boy, am I glad I did. The retention graph turned really, really good. People are commenting, engaging, and it’s getting lots of views. I am so glad I didn’t delete that video. Here’s what I realized: the rant I thought was amazing was actually the thing holding me back. This isn’t really about editing. It’s about taking what you love, testing it, and if it doesn’t work — getting rid of it. Because in the end, we all want our ideas to succeed. Is there something in your content that you love, but it might be hurting you? Let me know in the comments 👇 #ContentCreation# #MarketingTips# #CreatorTips# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Ever feel like your brain is a dry sponge? You squeeze and squeeze, and nothing comes out? That was me recently. I’m getting ready to promote my conference, and my ideas just weren’t going anywhere. Stuck in my own head, not sure where to go. Then I got on a call with my coach — just to talk about next quarter. I wasn’t even asking for ideas. Out of the blue, he starts popping out ideas left and right. Really creative stuff I hadn’t considered. And here’s what happened: my brain felt like it was receiving water. It became malleable. It started expanding. “Oh, that’s a good idea. Oh, that’s a really good idea.” It was as if a dam broke. I got excited again. The realization? I had been working alone. That was the problem. I just needed to talk to someone outside the box — and be open to ideas I didn’t even ask for. I’m learning I need to stop being stuck in my own brain and start talking to other people. When I do, the dam breaks and the ideas come. So here’s my question: where are you stuck creatively? Have you talked it out with someone lately? Let me know in the comments 👇 This is Mike Thoughts from the Porch. #CreativeThinking# #FounderLife# #MarketingTips# #SocialMediaExaminer#

I hurt my shoulder picking up a case of soda off this very porch. The doctor’s answer surprised me: physical therapy. 25 minutes of exercises. Every single day. For five weeks. I started doing them. They’re not fun. And I was very tempted to stop. What kept me going was the doctor’s promise — keep at this, and your shoulder fully recovers. Then it hit me: nobody’s making that promise about these daily videos. There’s no doctor telling me what’s waiting on the other side if I stay consistent. So I have to tell myself. I’m doing the shoulder exercises to get full mobility back. I’m doing these videos to build a platform and make deeper connections with people. Maybe that’s what’s stopping most of us. Not the work — the missing promise. → Nobody will tell you what’s on the other side of your daily practice → So tell yourself, and believe it → Then do the reps, especially on the days it doesn’t feel like progress What’s the practice you’re avoiding because no one promised you the payoff? This is Rainy Thoughts from the Porch. Let me know in the comments 👇 #FounderLife# #ContentCreation# #MarketingTips# #SocialMediaExaminer#

I didn’t know if this was possible. I didn’t even know who to ask. So I asked Claude. A couple of weeks ago we published our AI Marketing Industry Report, and we gated it. No cookie on the site, you get pushed to a register page. But we’ve got a whole bunch of people already on our newsletter who’ve opted into our other free resources. Making them register again felt wrong. So I asked, “Claude, is this even possible? Can we give those people a special key that opens the report with no extra steps?” “Oh, of course it is.” And it figured out a little something we append to the URL. Then I pushed: “Can we hide that key after the page loads?” “I’m one step ahead of you, Mike. I’ve already figured that out.” It handed me a clear set of instructions for my marketing team on exactly how to add the parameter to our email links. If the key is there — click — you’re in. No register page. In the past, this would have been completely impossible for me. I wouldn’t have known where to start. All I did differently this time was ask, “Is this even possible?” A little side project before the end of my day. I couldn’t believe it. So here’s my question for you: is there something you’ve been thinking about doing, but you have no idea who to ask — because maybe you don’t even think it’s possible? This is Mike Thoughts from the Porch. Tell me what you’ve done that you thought was impossible in the comments 👇 #AIinMarketing# #ClaudeAI# #MarketingTips# #FounderLife# #SocialMediaExaminer#

I didn’t think I could publish 30 videos in a row. I’ve now done 57 — and I’m committed to 90. Here’s what I’ve learned along the way. Practice makes perfect. Putting in the reps has made this so much more effortless. I still do practice runs — this video took three or four takes because I hadn’t found my stride yet. Editing matters more than I expected. I didn’t want to do any editing at all at first. Now I pull each video into the Instagram Edits app, chop the front and back, and add captions that pop up one word at a time. That’s it. Minimum viable — and it makes a difference. But the bigger lesson? Engagement is absolutely essential. I always ask people to share something valuable in the comments, and I try my best to respond to everyone. I’m publishing these across six platforms, and it’s a lot of work. I’m still learning the tricks of the trade. So if you’re making videos on a regular basis — what little tips and techniques have worked for you? Share them in the comments below 👇 This is Mike Thoughts from the Porch. My lesson to myself: keep practicing, keep doing it. You only get better with time. #AIinMarketing# #MarketingTips# #VideoMarketing# #SocialMediaExaminer#

I let AI take control of my browser. Here’s what happened. My editorial director and I decided to start publishing our email newsletter on our WordPress website. She got it over there, but something was off — the margins weren’t right, and it just looked kind of thrown together. We went back and forth, and back and forth, until she hit her limit: “I can’t really go any further.” So I asked her to put the source code into a Google Doc. I looked at it. I didn’t know what I was looking at. That’s when I fired up Claude Cowork and said, “Go look at the code, go look at the preview of the article, and tell me what’s wrong.” It came back with “I found it.” A margins issue. Fixed relatively quickly. But here’s the big unlock. I then said, “Put together a detailed document I can give to my editorial director so she can understand how this happened and how it will never happen again.” It wrote a multi-page document in everyday English. She’s not techie. She’s not a developer. And now she can fix this herself, time and time again. AI didn’t just solve my problem — it helped me communicate it clearly to my team. So here’s my question: What’s the thing you don’t understand that you haven’t handed over to AI yet? This is Mike Thoughts from the Porch. I’d love to hear your stories in the comments 👇 #AIinMarketing# #ClaudeCowork# #MarketingTips# #SocialMediaExaminer#