30-Day Recap

Can I be 100% with you for a minute? I want to come clean about something. Real talk. You & me.

Everything you’re reading—all these lines—I didn’t write them…

*wait for it*

…Today.

See, I’m a few days ahead of what you’re reading. 8 days ahead, in fact. I was debating if I should tell you this, but I think it’s important. Because it’s part of the learning.

Here’s why I’m telling you now.
When I started this wacky idea, I wanted to get a few lists under my belt. Partly for practice and to ensure I could do it, partly to give myself some wiggle room if I missed a day. (More on that at the end.) So I wrote 500 lines. Rather than restart at launch, I just kept going. I got 3 more in before the site went live. So I’m still writing 100 lines a day for 100 days, but I’m writing day 40 while I recap and post day 32.
Kind of like how when you watch The Bachelor, they’re all really in some hotel room—lonely, drunk, and roseless—waiting for their episode to air.

And here’s the big lesson:
As I write each list, I’m disappointed by every one. I like maybe 4 at best. I’m mostly just happy to be done with them. But when I revisit it to write the post and I see my notes, I’m finding my initial reaction is really harsh! After a week away it, the lines seem way better.
Now, there are still some cringe-worthy lines—which I do not edit out, by the way—but I like them a whole lot more.
The Facebook list (#21) brought this to light. I hated this one. I was tired, burnt out, and I thought the lines were snarky garbage. Now I see they’re funny! And that’s what I was going for. I’m so glad I didn’t post the day it was written. It would’ve felt gargantuanly different.

So, are we cool? No harm, no foul? Promise you’re not mad. No more secrets. I swear.

Oh, I’ve also added a Table of Contents page so you can find posts easily. It was selfish of me to keep that to myself for so long. Sorry ‘bout that, amigo.

More lessons below the list: 

21. Facebook: This is the one I was talking about. It came out way different than planned. Its snarky tone wound up becoming funny, and very Justin-y. Now it makes me laugh. Favorite lines include:

• Find out which of your friends are racist real fast
• Where great headlines lead to disappointing articles

22. Teeter Hangups Back Pain I chose this because I use the product. The challenge hit when I saw the target audience is significantly older than expected. That changed the tone, and it didn’t end up as great as I was hoping, but I still like it.

• Unscrunch your back
• Flip everything you know about back pain on its head

23. Whiteboard Animation Agency I wanted to nail this one, but there’s still room to dial it in. Wish I had the time. Even as I’m looking at it now, I see things I’d like to clean up. Close, but no cigar. We’ll get it next time.

• In 5 weeks, you’ll have a fully-animated explainer video, created by award-winning screenwriters, animators, editors—and you.

24. Potato Parcel I loved this one! It was a good match for my style and I genuinely made myself laugh as I wrote it. The reviews were gold. My new favorite post. I’ve also started using the service.

• Once you potato, you’ll potato again.
• When you love her, you tater

25. Bild Kickstarter Campaign I chose a struggling IndieGoGo campaign. Funding is an interesting playground that you’ll see again next. Good practice, but I may not be setting myself up for future clients since they’re 99% below goal. Maybe if they had better copy…

26. WetSleeve IndieGoGo Campaign These guys crushed their funding goal. Seems like a good product. I had luck writing about sporting equipment before and it continued here. I like this topic. Glad I tried it.

• Arm yourself for exercise
• Ditch the bottle, bring the water

27. Firefighter Turnout Bags Back to Shark Tank. These are handbags and packs made from firefighter jackets. I loved combining the hero & pride angle with fashion. The last time I tried a feminine product (not that kind of feminine product), I stumbled. Some lines may be a little obvious, but I think I redeemed myself.

• Fire up your style
• Redefining “The fireman’s carry”

28. IHG Rewards Club Dining My second attempt at writing new headlines for my existing content. I hated this one even more. I know I’m biased but this felt like clickbait drivel. I phoned it in. Garbage. Next.

29. PredictN Prediction Software Back to tech. This startup has a pretty basic page. I had trouble figuring out exactly what they do, but had a good time guessing. The lines turned out better than expected—and I like the post. But I’m not sure I got it right.

• Zig before your customer zags
• Predict the value of each customer and spend accordingly to keep them

30. NatureBox Snack Subscription Potatoes were easier but this wasn’t half bad. Different audience. More work force than consumer. Still fun.

• Rough days at the office call for Cocoa Nom Noms
• We can’t help you reach you step goal, but we can make your break room worth walking to.

Some cool back-end stuff.

• I can now knock out 50-60 lines without the template. They still need fine tuning, but this is a huge jump from 15 on the first few posts.
• I’ve gotten quite good at visualizing value very quickly. I imagine myself using the products and it makes the benefits more tactile. This has been become super useful for all of my writing—not just this project.
• I’m making lightning-fast mental connections. I feel the synapses firing as I’m pulling from my back catalog of lines. Very cool to be able to link so many things already.
• I still struggle to find new topics each day. I thought it would be easier. No such luck.
• Over the next few days, you’ll see topics and pages people have submitted for help. It’s rewarding to do this. Contact me anytime if you’d like to add to the list.
• I love the notes! Thank you to everyone who has reached out. Y’all make this worth it.
• Not much engagement on the posts. Daily views continue to rise. I still need to figure out the SEO aspects before it’s too late.
• Oh, and I was invited to speak during an upcoming online event. I’m pretty excited about that. I feel like I’ve got so much to talk about already.
• I’m glad I’m doing this. Thanks for following along.

Warm & fuzzies,
Justin

P.S. I almost forgot! You may be wondering if I’ve missed any days since I started. 100% honest truth. Yes. I needed a mental health day and cashed in one of my 8 days. Then I felt so damn guilty, I wrote 200 lines the next day. So we’re still at 8.