👾 Leveling Up 👾

Welcome to Leveling Up. We’re now sending on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Today’s newsletter is a 4-minute read. 

Here’s what we’re going to cover: 

• ChatGPT’s huge new update

• How a business went from $8M to $0

• Google teases a paywall for a new search engine

• And how to measure the ROI of short-form videos

Just so you know, the Agency Owners Association (AOA) is hosting another Q&A soon, so make sure you join today not to miss it (join here). 

Thanks,
Eric Siu :)

Actionable Tip: How to Use ChatGPT’s New Image Editor Update

This week, ChatGPT released a huge update. 

As of April 3rd, you can now edit your images in ChatGPT.

1. Create your image: Go to DALL-E and enter your prompt.

2. Use the ‘Select’ tool: Click on the photo, and you should see the ‘Select’ tool on the top right. 

3. Paint the area: Paint the area that you want to change or add to.

4. Describe the changes: On the bottom right, you’ll see a prompt come up of ‘Edit Selection’. Click on this and describe the changes that you would like to make.

5. Voilà!: ChatGPT will edit the image for you, and add or edit to the highlighted section.

Before, edits to the photos would often be hard to make without changing the entire image. 

Now, ChatGPT is becoming a tool for photo editing.

Best Links

Here are some of the best links I’ve found since our last email.

💌  Email marketing 

• Three new email marketing rules from Google have just dropped (link).

📤 Direct mail 

• Why direct mail still has its place in modern digital marketing (link)

💰 $8M mistake

• This one business went from $8m per year to zero overnight because they made one simple mistake (link)

🤖 AI

• Could AI songs be used for digital marketing? (link)

🗞️ News

• Google teases a paywall for its upcoming AI-powered search tool (link)

Deep Dive: What’s the Actual ROI of Short-Form Video Content?

Let's say you get 100s of millions of views per month from YouTube Shorts, IG Reels, or TikToks.

What's the ROI of short-form video?

We know that YouTube long-form videos help many creators earn hundreds of thousands of dollars annually (if not more). They have one of the best revenue-sharing programs out there.

But for short-form video, the revenue-sharing is either nonexistent or negligible. 

Short-form is already a non-starter from an ad revenue standpoint for both creators and business operators.

I know of some people spending $45k/mo to produce thousands of short-form videos monthly. In fact, I just spoke to one today and asked them what the ROI is so far.

They said it's too early to tell because they've only been doing it for 4 months. But they're going to see it through for an entire 12-month cycle before deciding where to go with it next. 

But they are getting 60M+ short-form views per month.

I also had a conversation with @garyvee last week asking what the ROI of 100s of millions of social media views is.

His answer?

"I want all 8 billion people in the world to know me."

When I asked him for a specific example of how large audience, short content has led to an ROI for him, he didn't blink.

He said that he made a video on Facebook ages ago and it got around 500 views. A Facebook developer saw it and invited him to speak at their headquarters. Zuck asked if he had time for dinner afterward (he didn't) but of course he said he was free because it's Zuck.

That eventually culminated in him making an investment in Facebook before they went public. To this day, he still hasn't sold a share.

Is that duplicable for everyone? No, but see my second point below.

So what's the actual ROI of short-form videos? 

A few thoughts:

Measuring is important. But trying to measure every single metric has diminishing returns and increased anxiety.

You can't possibly measure everything.

For example, I downloaded a habit app because of an Ali Abdaal YT Short. I bought  Moringa Powder because of a FoundMyFitness YT Short. 

The list goes on.

People on this platform like to talk about increasing their 'surface area of luck'. This is exactly what it does. 

If they watch your content on another platform, these are simply ad impressions to stay top of mind.

Think about the 'rule of 7' when it comes to marketing. It takes someone 7 experiences before they take an action with you. Short-form is just one of those experiences.

Sometimes, it takes a while to see a return. Investing $45k/mo for 12 months is $540k, which can be painful. But not experimenting with channels that are working might be even more painful long term.

Remember, organic reach doesn't stay forever. You have to strike where it's hot, when it's hot.

I'm not saying to go spend $540k – but at least test with an open mind before dismissing it too early.

For us, we're constantly iterating on our socials and it takes time to grow.

Last month we grew to 11.4m views from 5.7m views (99.52% increase). I think this can go even higher.

But it's still too early for us to determine a direct ROI.

We've started doing this for clients and we're also getting more inquiries for this type of work so at least one thing is for sure: people will always migrate to wherever the attention is.

Will keep you all posted.

How I Can Help You

If you like this newsletter and want to work with me, there are a few ways we can do so:

1. You can apply to work with my agency (link)

2. You can join my Skool community (link)

3. You can apply to join my mastermind (link)

Or, you can just reply to this email.

I respond to everyone who replies.