It's been a nutty week, and if you're not following me on Threads, you should because, WOW, I have stories to share!

My Unofficial Guide to Threads

When I first joined Threads, I started with approximately 560 followers that came directly from Instagram, although most did not interact.

• It took me three weeks to hit 600.
• After nine weeks of being on the platform, I hit 700.
• Things went stale for a bit, and it took three months to hit 800.
• 900 came two weeks later, and 1,000 three days after that.
• It's been a week now, and I'm at 1,250.

I'm not sharing this to boast but because there's an opportunity on Threads right now, and most of you have already given up on it.

My account grew 200% in just over three months, and all I did was show up.

I have thoughts on how this happened, and if you'd like me to write about my strategy in detail, do me a favor and tell me by clicking the button below.

YES, I want to WIN on Threads!

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Smarter Faster

As a fellow creative, I know you likely struggle with getting your mind straight around what you want and need to accomplish. Often, you don't even know you're standing in your way, and you need a devastatingly handsome man with six-pack abs to help you figure your shizz out.

No, it's not me, but I understand why you'd think that.

]Actually, it's Sahill Bloom, and after you stop drooling, you can read what he has to share. During the pandemic, while dealing with his stuff, Sahil started sharing on Twitter, grew a huge following, and started sharing his personal strategy and learnings with the world. Wipe your chin and subscribe.

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ICYMI

This week began the official start of The Hungry, going twice weekly, featuring a deep dive on Tuesdays. If you didn't catch it, this week I talked about Danny Gregory, a former advertising executive who put his art pens and pencils down during high school and didn't look back…until tragedy struck.

Danny's wife suffered a terrible accident, and while he sat by her side during her recovery, he had an impulse to start sketching again. That impulse turned to creating an online art community, writing books, sharing video instruction, and building a cottage industry of art creation.

Now, he makes hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from his business, starting with a pencil and a sketchbook.

[ READ MORE ]

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Art Snacks: Kim Winberry

I've met a lot of artists in my lifetime, but very few have the nose-to-grindstone hustle quite like Kim Winberry. On top of being a talented artist, a devoted single mom of 3, and a loyal friend who will drive hundreds of miles to see a show, she's also a near-tireless entrepreneur who chases every opportunity to get her art in front of people.

Kim is also tremendously generous with her time and gifts. Yes, she is a friend, but she deserves to be in this spotlight regardless of that connection. Please check out her work and tell her I sent you.

​Website | Instagram​

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Biz Bites

• Social Media Today offers 34 predictions for the social media landscape; big surprise, many involve AI.
• This is how good Apple is at branding. They change the color of the Macbook, and people lose their minds (present company included).
• Meta announced they will implement a paid tier to remove ads from any EU accounts. Meta is under tremendous scrutiny from the EU for their advertising practices. If you advertise to people in any of the 30 countries within it, this WILL affect you.
• On the other hand, TikTok is welcoming your e-commerce dollars. They want it so bad they're actively publishing How to Win guides.
• If you're looking for meteoric growth for your newsletter, Alex Brogan of Faster Than Normal has some tips.
• Do you run a podcast? DTC has a super secret guide for success.​
• If you have any business doing mockups for devices (phones, tablets, laptops), then you'll love Shot.so.
• Last week, I wrote a post on Threads about storytelling. It went pretty well, but a lot of people had questions. Thankfully, there's a guide on storytelling through content. ​

Art Bites

• It's time again for Hyperallergic's November Opportunities. Get that money!
• I know this article by Creative Boom expressly calls out designers, but when it comes to rekindling your creative spark, these tips are universal for all creative types.
• One item on my bucket list is to do at least one large public installation, but where do you even find information about that, and what is the process? Artrepreneur has some tips.​
• ​Toxic Art is a new documentary that follows Ohio environmentalists making paint from toxic mining runoff.
• ​Doodad Pattern Generator is a free tool to help you create seamless patterns through a synthesizer-type interface. Warning: you could get lost here forever.
• Burger King always rides the edge of absurdity with their ads and social media battles with other fast food chains. Now, they're mocking the absurdity of AI art by using horrifying images in their ads.
• I struggle with attention when watching Sofia Coppola's movies, but her soundtracks are always on point.
• The USPS is down with RBG.

Desert

• ​I'm not responsible if this online trivia game steals all your time.​