3.2 Reflection on Content Creation - End of Year
Preramble: That's a wrap on another year of this newsletter. The first year with its new look as 'EduScriptive' though. Can you believe there are now 33 editions?! It all started in 2022FEB with this article on the fact that I wasn't writing under the then-known 'Freeform thoughts in education'. How far we've come!
As ever I have learned some, I have grown some and I have groaned some. So let me share with you a little of that below.
Shoutouts to my luminaries
To those who engaged with me in the comments on these articles, I cherish these interactions that help me crystalise my thinking! Thank you:
Gilbert Halcrow , Ben Henry ,Yao-Jin Choong, Sam Brightheart , Sarah Aldous , Deb Palmer , Craig Kemp , Nancy Lefebvre , Tim Vaughan
Learnings
The first is a very basic one. When posting on LinkedIn you can choose whether the article is published in your newsletter or independently. For those of you who saw my take on EDUtech, that was meant as an independent article. Apologies for the aesthetic break in the green :)
The Carousel productions haven't quite had the impact I intended this year. It's still difficult for you to find this resource after I've posted them. Even with my little video how-to's for getting to it in the documents section on my profile:
I imagine I would do better hosting this content somewhere other than LinkedIn. Potentially I use my own site?
I'm becoming addicted to the content output. Whenever I post something my time spent on the LinkedIn mobile app is unhealthy. I argue to myself that I need the app to know what you are experiencing when consuming my content on a mobile, which is most of you. I have tried to find a way to see the mobile perspective on my desktop but with no success. But I need to get LinkedIn off my phone. It's the last social media I have left on there and I'm witnessing myself zombified checking it like I would an empty fridge.
Pats on the Back
The re-brand has gone well. Articles are easier to sift through since the image now includes the title., I have more of a flow in my writing and I've decreased the variance in writing style from last year's content.
I managed to produce 5 carousel series this year. These haven't been easy to produce at a weekly release date. Hence why this stopped in October. I really think this format has the potential for creating bitesize PD tasters before educators commit too heavily to individual pedagogical models. Hence why my pedagogy series outperformed the specific model series on Blending Learning and Project Based Learning.
Let's Review
Hypotheses & Questions
Hypothesis 1 is that the algorithm no longer favours carousels and is boosting video content. The leading theory is that as a new feature, LinkedIn is trying to market the medium more than others. I think I benefitted from this strategy of LinkedIn when newsletters came out so not complaining just observing.
What am I trying to achieve with this newsletter?
I hope to share something insightful with you. Maybe it's an idea you haven't seen before. Or a different perspective on what you already know. The problem is the best way to do this is to have a one-to-one discussion. That way I could know what you already know before committing to writing an article on it. But there's now 650 of you.
So the only realistic way of doing this is via a poll. Which narrows down how you can respond.
My current knowledge and skillset pertain to:
- Pedagogical breadth, though not necessarily depth unless we're talking mathematics.
- A business acumen I've been fortunate to learn in my roles over the last few years.
- AI in education, hopefully this one is obvious by now, though I try not to blow that trumpet too much in this newsletter given the stereotype of the AI guys currently.
- And a relatively well-examined life at my age given I've been consistently journalling for 16 years and have 17 journals.
Poll Results
Caveat: These results are statistically insignificant and merely serve as a thought provocation.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Final Stats on Goals
We improved on the growth metrics from last year in all but one goal, which feels pretty good. Additionally, it's nice to see more green than red, seeing as though we managed to hit three of the goals I set out at the beginning of this year. Of note, though, is the lesser ambition I had for 2024 than 2023. I thought this might help me keep a positive outlook on the data. But if I'm honest, I'm still frustrated that the growth isn't steeper.
I reckon it might help if I can see how I'm faring against the average newsletter. I can't tell if my expectations are rational.
Typically my increased subscribers originate from activity outside of the newsletter rather than the quality of the articles themselves. In recent memory, the largest bump I've had in subscribers correlated with physical events I spoke at. I confine my output to online activities typically though, so won't be planning physical events due to this fact. An interesting observation though.
I'm glad the average views came in above 250...just. But by using the mean this has been skewed by a couple of high-performing articles at the latter end of the year. I'll be using the median going forward and trying to figure out why these high performers got so many views.
My impressions tanked from last year and didn't get close to my goal. I do believe that this is linked mainly to the LinkedIn algorithm. Of which I've been lackadaisical with my sacrifices so maybe I'm being punished? I suspect that the new video content is being prioritised which is affecting newsletter numbers.
A double-edged sword it would seem. Since with an increase in average views and fewer impressions, I find the ratio of seen to read is much better. Ultimately if I could have a small but engaged audience I'd prefer that to landing on everyone's feed and intriguing no one.
Upon reflection, I might remove impressions from my metrics. I want to write to engage. Notoriety is not fame after all.
Armchair Advice
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”- James Clear
This newsletter is not the most subscribed, viewed, or read. But it has been in circulation now for two years and is steadily going from strength to strength. At the beginning, it required a gargantuan effort to learn how to write, what to write, and when to write. But once that learning curve was summitted the success of it was rooted in the systems.
This isn't just a lesson from the newsletter either. The longer I work the more I believe that we are able to exponentiate our impact more by establishing systems than anything else. It's not how charismatic you are, how clever you are or how large your network is that contributes most to your competency. It's how consistent you are. And consistency is all about the systems you create.
The Last Word
For those "day one's", you cannot know how much I appreciate you. We started with roughly 50 dedicated friends who humoured me whilst I tried to figure out this whole writing thing. The beginning was the hardest part and you encouraged me to keep going with your readership. By writing these articles I have improved my writing in general across my career. You can not know how much of my career I owe to you.
And to the newcomers. A big thank you too. You found my little corner of LinkedIn and decided to hang out here with an open eye and mind. I know I need to focus less on the numbers, but I check constantly on new subscribers and every time one of you pops up on the list it makes me feel good about continuing to produce these articles.
But it's the end of the year. So go celebrate that fact! See you in January :)
Top Performing Articles This Year
Most Impressions i.e. winner of the algorithm award
Most read and the highest ratio of views to impressions i.e. winner of the lurker reader reward
Most reactions i.e. winner of the human award
People-centered IT management
4moLoved the targets and what was achieved. I know nothing about writing stuff on the internet, but if you're looking for new areas to write in - is Medium a go? I find lots of thought-provoking stuff there.
Drawing out the best in leaders in education through coaching and training. Co-Founder, The Bright Side Coaching and Training; ICF ACC
5moFascinating. We have published only two editions of our (email) newsletter so far and so I can't yet comment on our stats... but your point is well taken about consistency. Setting in place systems that keep you writing and publishing has been a key of your success. That and your thoughtfulness and openness. Thanks for the reflections and for "exposing the scaffolding."