What Works

In This Episode: * Why Jessica Williams created #jesspicks, the curated weekly newsletter for sidehustlers who love their day job* How each edition of the newsletter is structured* Why going “all in” has been the key to growing her subscriber list* What her weekly workflow looks like to put the newsletter together* How curating the newsletter has helped her to find her confidence as a writer When you think about someone sharing their message, you think about the writers, the speakers, the artists. You think about people who are creating original work. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to constantly be creating original work and finding something new to say. After all, that’s how we prove how valuable we are, right? But creating original work isn’t the only way to use your voice. Curators use their unique perspective and keen eye for connecting the dots to create value. They build and share their message by surfacing the work of others. They tell stories through the relationships between the pieces they choose to display side by side. I see my role as the host of this podcast as one of a curator. The way we choose the topics we’re going to cover, the conversations we’re going to showcase, and the small business owners we’re going to talk to is all an act of curation. I take a lot of pride in curating this show and thinking through how each theme relates to the next, how each conversation builds on the last, and how each guest is the opportunity to highlight a different story. I also send out a weekly newsletter where, yes, I do write an original little piece as a letter, but I also share a set of links that have caught my eye over the last week or so. It’s an opportunity for me to show my point of view by highlighting ideas and voices that don’t necessarily “make the rounds” in the small business space. By the way, if you don’t get What Works Weekly, can can subscribe by going to explorewhatworks.com/weekly I was inspired to add curation to my communication and marketing strategy by Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger and currently creating & curating at Unemployable. Brian started talking about curation versus creation as a way to share your message and make an impact in the summer of 2019. He said that he had started to elevate the role of editor over writer because while there is a surplus of good writing, there was a poverty of attention. In that way, curation does double duty. It’s not only a way to share your perspective with your audience, it’s a way to do them the service of wading through the sea of original works to deliver what’s important to them. I’m all in on curating. And I think it’s something that most small business owners should consider as a potential way to use their voice and highlight their perspective. So to take things really meta, as I was curating this month’s Speak Up theme, I knew I wanted to include a curator. Jessica Williams came to mind. Jessica is the curator behind #jesspicks, a weekly newsletter for side hustlers. Jessica is herself a side hustler, working during the day at &yet,