TPD final assignment. Bring it together.
It is only when we know we are lost, that we can be found.
Why did we do the video? Why is/was that important?
I have used personas, field interviews, business model and value proposition canvasses for many years. While they are good for building an initial understanding of customers, first time users struggle with adding depth to customer profiles.
It is not that your videos are deeper. It is that between three iterations of your story board and three iterations of your video cuts you have gone through six cycles of thinking through the lives your customers lead. Iterations are good. Showing tangible stuff (a video) you have made to your network for feedback is good. Crafting stories is also good. Thinking about what you could do to make both stories and launch videos relevant to your customers’ lives across six iterations is better.
Don’t be good. Be better.
Compare this to a typical business model or value proposition canvas. We focus on jobs, pains and gains. We map those to customer profiles, needs and wants. Which is great, but how do we know we have it right? What is a good test for assessing a value canvas in one glance?
As we run multiple iterations and reviews, our canvas may improve. But do we see, sense or feel that improvement as it happens?
With videos, you either get it, or you don’t. It works or it doesn’t. If you connect, you connect. If you don’t, you know.
The videos are done. What next?
Now that you have something to show and have a stronger connection with your target customer segment, write a three-paragraph pitch for your product.
You are not trying to sell it. You don’t want them to buy it. You are not doing the “look what a cool thing I made”, world.
You are just trying to answer a simple question. Why? Perhaps even who?
Why should your product exist? You still can’t talk about product features. You can only express rationality of existence in terms of customer pains and lives. Pre and post your product.
Focus on why? Focus on before and after.
There are also certain rules and guiding principles for crafting short introductions that I have covered below. In essence, stay credible, relevant, interesting and engaging. And don’t insult my intelligence as a reader.
There are certain things you should not do, covered below. In essence, don’t be boring. Don’t ship your first shot. Run iterations. Start early.
Between these two lectures and the 14 weeks we have spent together you have everything you need to do this last and final thing.
What you seek is already within you. A hint. We started with a story. End with one.
Your final deliverables?
a) A medium post with a three-paragraph pitch that wakes me up and shouldn’t put me to sleep.
b) It is about your product, but it cannot be about your product.
c) The final cut of your video.
d) You can use what you submitted, or improve it, or do a brand-new edition. If you shot two videos or used two different boards and are confident that they are both relevant, include both.
e) If you have a sample product / concept / landing page, a call to action to that page.
Your deadline?
May 1st, 2023. 6 pm.
Email me a link to your final medium story to the mailing address you have been using so far in this course.
Parting words.
The first step in mastering any craft is walking through the process of learning. So we understand the journey we are about to take as an apprentice.
A few within our group managed to get to an end product in this course. Some found out that what you wanted to make or do wasn’t possible. A few reached midway and hit a wall that couldn’t be disassembled in 14 weeks. A handful didn’t know where to start, or why?
All of these are valuable results and lessons. Knowing something can’t be made in a certain fashion allows you to rule that path out for your next iteration. Running into a wall is good for building character and charting your next run. Getting to a product in your first run is great, but don’t get used to it. (It’s called beginners luck). Even not knowing where to start or being lost, is the first step towards our self awareness journey.
The product was never the end goal. The journey to the product was. Even the story and the video were hacks to get you to figure out and accept how lost you were.
Because it is only when you realize that you are lost, that you can be found.
I will leave you with lyrics from my ever green, favorite track from David Gray. Remember when all else is lost, you will always have YouTube. Feel it now.
And if you want it
Come and get it
Crying out loud…Let go your heart
Let go your head
And feel it now…
I look forward to seeing your work. You have no idea how much seeing the distance you have travelled in three months means to me.
Go forth and write. Live long and prosper.
Ps. Here is your chance to tell me how badly I sucked at teaching this course and what did this experience taught you. Feedback is a gift. Good or bad, always appreciated.
