Notes to Self - Jeff Sarris

NOTE: This hasn’t been updated in a very long time.

There are an infinite number of other bookmarking options. Enough so that I’ve become lost on how to organize things that I want to retrieve later.

Currently I have some articles on Pocket, some on Pinterest, some saved as browser bookmarks.

But moving forward I’m going to drop them here.

This page is for me, but maybe you’ll find it useful as well.

I also maintain a list of my favorite quotes.

Publishing

The 1-2-3-4 Formula for Persuasive Copy by Sonia Simone
I can’t remember where I first read a variation on this, but I always swing back to Sonia’s version when I want to share it with someone new.

The Formula
1. What I’ve got for you
2. What it’s going to do for you
3. Who am I?
4. What you need to do next

The two-review technique by Seth Godin
Are we writing for stellar 5-star reviews or to reduce the 1-star reviews?

Out with the long by Winston Churchill
A full piece with plain words.

Selling

Show Your Work: Letting a Great Product Sell Itself by Paul Jun
This article provides some great examples of companies who show their work. This is Austin Kleon’s stellar book, Show Your Work, put into practice.

Selling like Steve by Seth Godin

Have you thought about the fact that just about every time Steve Jobs appeared in public, he was selling us something?
And yet few rolled their eyes and said, “oh, here comes another sales pitch.”

Stone Soup by Peter Diamandis

I’ve come to believe that making stone soup is the only way an entrepreneur can succeed at the big and bold.

Surveys and focus groups by Seth Godin
Remember, just because people say they love it doesn’t mean they’ll actually purchase when given the opportunity.

Three Tier Pricing by Jeff Sarris
Three tier pricing is generally used to sell a single package. It may seem like excess if there’s only one package that we hope to sell, but it’s a simple psychological trick.

In a standard three tier pricing model the bottom tier and top tier packages exist only to sell the mid-range package.

The bottom tier should offer far less than the mid-range and only be nominally cheaper. With such an improved offering for only a small bit more those considering the bottom tier will feel the mid-range is a no-brainer.

The top tier should be priced at least 2 times as high as the mid-range, even if the offering is only marginally better. Some will always purchase the most expensive option, but for most it will be an anchor point making the mid-range look like a deal.

This structure ensures that the mid-range, the only package we actually want to sell, is the most appealing. It’s gives the customer the perception they have a hand at maximizing their investment.

No one wants to feel manipulated.

Making a new decision by Seth Godin
Don’t persuade someone that they’re wrong, tell a new story.

The Work

Uncommon Sense – live @ WDS (Video) by Derek Sivers
Derek is the man.

Being Successful vs Being Known by Paul Jarvis
Paul used to, like us, be a creator behind the scenes. His transition into having a megaphone and a platform has changed the dynamic of his work. Focusing on the being known part becomes the majority of the work once that’s the chosen path.

The Initiator by Seth Godin

For each person who cares enough to make something, who is bold enough to ship it, who is generous enough to say, “here, I made this,”…
There are ten people who say, “I could have done it better.”
A hundred people who say, “Who are you to do this?”
A thousand people who say, “I was just about to do that,”

This Is How Paris Hilton Fooled the Entire United States of America by Mitchell Sunderland
An unexpected master course in branding, by Paris Hilton.

Quantum content and blurred lines by Seth Godin

Yes, of course we need your post-categorization genius. We need you to blend and leap and integrate new styles to create new forms.
But while you’re busy not being pigeonholed, don’t forget that we pigeonhole for a reason. And if it’s too difficult to figure out how to pay attention to you, we’ll decide to ignore you instead.

SEO

THE Backlinking Strategy That Works – 2014 and Beyond Edition by Brian Dean
This is how I originally discovered Brian Dean’s work, through a guest post on SPI that’s a great example itself to deconstruct. He’s at the top of my white hat SEO list.

Here’s more of his work that I’ve bookmarked in the past, though I haven’t re-read any of it in quite a while. If I do I’ll add notes and remove anything that isn’t as on point as when I read it initially.

Community

1,000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly’s iconic piece. All you need are 1,000 true fans to support your work.

How to start a movement (Video) by Derek Sivers
The only difference between a crazy person and a leader is one follower.

Inspiration

Iron and the Soul by Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is a hugely inspiring speaker. But, to me, this is his best written work. It’s philosophy disguised as an essay about fitness.

Through the years, I have combined meditation, action, and the Iron into a single strength. I believe that when the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts. Time spent away from the Iron makes my mind degenerate. I wallow in a thick depression. My body shuts down my mind.
The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back.
The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.

Life is easy. Why do we make it so hard? (Video) by Jon Jandai
Jon was happy as a small town Thai farmer. But television arrived in his village and convinced him that he was poor. Years later, as he began living a “normal” life in Bangkok, he realized he was no longer happy.

Returning to his village he finally saw how easy life can be. Even he has a surplus, not of money, but a surplus of food, clothing, and homes. There is enough.

Arnold Schwarzenegger – Legend and Terminator (Video)
There are a ton of inspirational fitness videos, but the final quote from this one gets me every time.

“Never ever think small. If you’re going to accomplish anything you have to think big. You have to go and shoot for the stars. The biggest challenge most people have is because they think small. And the reason why people think small and why they choose small, little goals is because they’re afraid to fail. They know that if you shoot for big goals then the chances of failing are very high.”

Filmmaking

5 Essential Projects To Get You Started as a Weekend Filmmaker by Slavik Boyechko
This was the first time I saw anyone articulate a path similar to the one I took to filmmaking. I’ve referenced this many times and, looking back, it’s different than I remember. So here’s my 3 step path to non-fiction filmmaking.

How to become a non-fiction filmmaker

Music Video – This is the simple get your feet wet filmmaking style. This is a music video, not in the highly produced pop music sense, but simply footage with music over the top.

There’s a very low barrier to entry and this is why you start here. You don’t need to capture audio or even convince anyone to be involved in the project. Simply shoot your footage and lay a song over the top. This is where it all begins.

The first video I ever created was Thin Ice.
2. Seated Interview Documentary – Next comes the traditional documentary style film, or I should say short film. Ideally this will be less than 4 minutes, but this is when we introduce audio capture into our filmmaking process.

You find someone who’s doing something interesting. You interview them, capturing audio in a controlled environment. And then you lay the interview audio on top of your b-roll.

The first interview style short film I produced was about Jilz Crackers. All episodes of Paleo Porn TV are produced in this way.
3. Seated Interview with Live Action – Finally we want to tell our story with footage that was shot in realtime. This is similar to #2, but we’re also capturing audio in uncontrolled environments. As a result we can capture some great moments of dialog that otherwise aren’t present in controlled interview scenarios.

This, in my opinion, is the final step in the filmmaking progression. Combining the seated interview with realtime footage is complex, but creates the full documentary that I’m looking to achieve.

My closest experience to this thus far is using live action without the sit down interview component. This is what I do with the Paleo Porn and SPYR VLOGs.

Lessons in Shooting B-Roll by Slavik Boyechko
This was filled with some valuable tips when I was starting to shoot documentary style. It’s interesting looking back to pick out the things that I do similarly.

Ten Minute Film School by Robert Rodriguez
This series is so incredibly valuable.

Storytelling

Power Your Podcast with Storytelling by Alex Blumberg
This is a killer course. The second day gets a little slow since he works through cutting up an entire interview, but overall it’s really great.

The Formula for a Compelling Story

I’m doing a story about X and it’s interesting because Y.

Getting Constructive Feedback

Tell me when you’re bored.
Tell me when you’re confused.

F for Fake (1973) – How to Structure a Video Essay by Tony Zhou (Every Frame a Painting)
The key to storytelling is the use of therefore and but.

The Importance of Storytelling over Statistics. A Powerful Research Study. by Patrick Moreau

Life

Are you interesting? by Seth Godin
I’ve been saying that being interested and keeps things interesting for some time so of course this new Seth post about the same topic really hits home.

Having a Baby vs Having a Cat by The Oatmeal
Um, yes.

Advice for Amateurs, Addicts, and Orphans by James Altucher
I’m saving this just for the list. I wish I’d articulated these points myself.

Fly kites as much as possible. While they are in the air, they keep your feet on the ground.

NEVER read the newspaper. They sometimes breed the worst horror fiction.

NEVER do anything you don’t want to do. You will resent it. You will do a bad job. Others will be dissatisfied. And then you will die with regret.

FREEDOM is something you can have right this second. Else you lose the chance and this moment will vanish while you were waiting in prison.

DIVERSIFY everything in your life, including the people you listen to for advice. Including me, your father.

LEARN lots of games. They turn you into a hard-core killer without you ever having to hurt someone.

This is a cliché, but never listen to anyone who says “You can’t do that”. Those are usually the people who can’t do it. Not you.

Even though life is short, there’s also no rush. You have to put on a parachute before you jump out of a plane.

PREPARATION is the key to having good luck. And lots of it. People will never understand the source of your luck but will be amazed at it.

KINDNESS to others is a greater power than any god people preach to you.

Every day is an adventure. Every day you can squeeze art out of the day. And art causes delight and that delight compounds every day.

A 10 Step Guide to Zen Meditation by Charlie Ambler

This Is Your Brain on Silence by Daniel A. Gross

“Freedom from noise and goal-directed tasks, it appears, unites the quiet without and within, allowing our conscious workspace to do its thing, to weave ourselves into the world, to discover where we fit in. That’s the power of silence.”

Why suburbia sucks

Food

Lobster’s Delicious History Is Completely Insane by Éric de Benedictis
The title speaks for itself.

Health

New Study Finds Scented Candles and Air Fresheners Pose Dangerous Health Risks