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The Midlife Remix

Hi there, I’m Kirby Ferguson! I’m best known for the series Everything is a Remix. I’m pivoting away from free content creation for financial and personal reasons. I’m seeking financial stability and personal fulfillment in the second act of life. I’m thinking aloud about all of this here. I might later revise, discard or ridicule anything said.

It's make-or-break time

Happy Monday everybody!

I’m going to talk about two things.

1. How I found The Next Thing

2. How it will either make or break me

A couple weeks ago, I started selling pre-orders for a new AI video course. (You can still pre-order it for half-off!) I had a goal of selling 40. If I didn’t make that goal, I’d refund everybody and move on to something else.

I sold triple the goal, 120 sales.

Here’s its sales this year versus everything else.

It’s not a huge hit (yet), but it’s definitely a hit. I’m onto something. This AI video course will be The Next Thing. Here’s how I got there.

How I Found The Next Thing

It was a series of small but growing successes that led to the AI project, starting with an idea from Nora.

A couple years ago, Nora proposed selling downloadable guides. We took existing content and turned it into guides and worksheets. These were the first swing at selling educational content.

Over time, I sold a couple hundred. That didn’t add up to much money, but they were profitable. In my eyes, this was a spark. A teeny-tiny spark.

After I stopped making free videos, I launched what I called Stage 1. As I wrote at the time, “The purpose of Stage 1 is to build a foundation and launch some experiments.” The purpose of Stage 1 was to run tests and scale up the successes.

I chose these four areas as possible future paths for my career.

• Education

• Video production

• Marketing

• Writing

Education was the one I found the most promising and compelling. I chatted with dozens of teachers and developed some possibilities. But I quickly realized there was a bottleneck: I needed curriculum.

Video is costly to make. How do I create new material that’s not video? I’ll do new guides. I updated and overhauled the original two guides and started working on ideas for a new one.

Somehow, a very obvious subject was missing from the list above: AI. I’d just finished Everything is a Remix Part 4, I’d done lots of research, I knew it was a growing realm and yet I didn’t include it. Nonetheless, AI remained on my mind, because the next guide would be about ChatGPT.

The Growth of AI in my work

The reason I didn’t include AI in my list of possibilities was simple: in my own work, I wasn’t finding AI that useful.

I initially used ChatGPT for two fairly minor tasks: research and editing/proofreading. For me, it was like Google crossed with a Super Spellchecker. It was handy, but it seemed like small potatoes compared to the first time I used Photoshop or Final Cut Pro. Those were explosive technologies that upended how I worked.

But I kept coming back to AI, in particular to ChatGPT. Its limitations initially frustrated me, but I found ways to work with them. Its role in my work grew. I realized I could share what I’d learned about ChatGPT in a new guide, and developing this guide would help me raise my AI game further.

Write Now With ChatGPT was my second swing at selling educational products, and my biggest and best guide to date. I produced it in 25 hours and I’ve sold 93 of them. It was profitable and it outsold the previous guides.

Again, this wasn’t a big success, but I found something vital. I found growth.

The Video Itch Returns

Video as the media format for the new course happened for a few reasons.

• A while ago I asked all of you how you like to learn, and about half of you said video. (Shocking that people reading the newsletter of a filmmaker would like video!)

• I started to miss video. The itch had returned.

• I’m already fuckin’ great at video.

I researched video courses on ChatGPT and concluded: they’re trash. I knew I could compete, and I believed my combination of AI instruction with creative instruction could be unique and exciting.  

I had a conversation with my buddy Jay Acunzo (who you should all follow) and this chat solidified my next steps. He helped me settle on selling pre-orders and having a sales goal. This was another way to test the waters more before wading in.

The Path That Led to The Next Thing

So here’s the path that led to my upcoming AI course, aka The Next Thing.

• Nora’s idea to sell guides.

• New guides would support the development of curriculum

• AI guide performed better and demonstrated market interest in that topic

• Reader feedback and personal reasons pulled me back to video

• AI video instruction becomes The Next Thing… or at least The First Next Thing

Throughout this time there was an influence too pervasive to list: you guys. All your replies, form responses, video chats, what you do and don’t buy — my path forward has been deeply, deeply influenced by this ongoing communication with you. It’s trite to say but true: I couldn’t do this without you.

Here’s a funny note I just stumbled on from a chat with Peter Nilsson.

AI, video, and education < intersection, what are opportunities there?

That’s from… May 12.

I mean, that’s The Next thing, right there. Upon re-reading that I initially thought, “Man, I coulda saved some frickin’ time if I’d just moved on that then.”

But having the answer isn’t enough. You have to know why it’s the answer and you have to know what the answer means. 

I didn’t then. My knowledge needed to grow and a lot of other pieces needed to fall into place. You get where you’re going one step at a time.

The Next Thing is the beginning or the end

The stakes are high for the launch of this AI course. It needs to be successful and perform like a real business. If it doesn’t, running my own business as my occupation doesn’t work. I’ll need to find a position with a company. 

This is it, folks. It’s make-or-break time. If this works, Stage 2 begins. The Next Thing will be video education about AI and creativity.

Right now I’m busting my ass to make the best course I can. In the new year, I’ll be busting my ass to market and sell it. I’m going to put as much time, energy, and creativity into selling it as I put into producing it. I’ll probably keep these emails brief in the coming weeks. 

Wish me luck, folks! Hope you’re all doing awesome!

k

P.S. You can pre-order AI For Creating Content 2024 right now for half-off!

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