DO PARK HERE:

DO NOT PARK HERE:

*sound of crosswalk button being pushed*

“I love this place.”

If you watch this video you’ll get to see the Carmel High School Principal jump around in the parking lot, showing the kids where to park. 

There are also informative segments on crosswalks and drop off/pickup. 

This is another good one about an app called Saturn and why you and your kids do NOT want to be using it. (It’s also super funny.)

This one is adorable and makes me miss 5th grade.

I don’t have a child in school. 

I don’t live in Carmel, Indiana.

I’m starting to sound like a very creepy human. 

I promise I’m not! 

(Isn’t that what they all say?)

They’re a little “behind the scenes” of a world I don’t live in.

(HOT TIP: SHE SAID SHE’S DOING ONE ON SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS THIS WEEK. TUNE IN!)

It shouldn’t surprise me. 

My favorite parts of Dancing with the Stars were always the behind the scenes sections. 

Someone dropping their partner. 

Crying. Lots of crying. 

And, my favorite: costume fittings!

I loved watching Dirty Jobs. 

I enjoy “How it’s Made.”

I have shelves devoted to micro genres of books about worlds I’ve never lived in:

– Boarding school novels
– South pole adventure and/or research novels 
– Distance swimming memoirs
– Ballet memoirs and novels
– The circus
– Horse girl novels and memoirs
– Mermaids
– Space travel, but, like, near future

And that’s just the things I pay attention to that I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH. I simply find them interesting.

To say nothing of the hours and hours and hours of saved instagram reels showcasing people painting – with watercolor, acrylic, gouache, or d. all of the above.

You know, my actual hobbies.

Pass, pass, SMASH

I didn’t know how bus routes were made until I watched one of Emily’s videos. 

I didn’t know how school budgets are calculated until I watched one of Emily’s videos. 

I didn’t know that students nominate teachers of the year and how much that means to the teachers of the year.

Honestly, I didn’t think much about our schools at all.

Until writing this newsletter and suddenly feeling really irresponsible and also like I might be missing out on local things! Like the high school musical! And appropriate school funding!

[AI BREAK]
Here’s where I tell you that I started writing this newsletter with a very different goal than I ended it. But I write to think and think while I write, and by writing I did more thinking and realized things I would not have if I used a bot. 
[END AI BREAK]

I’m not proud to admit I haven’t paid a lot of attention to school policy, but I’m also tell it like it is, so there you go. The world is overwhelming sometimes and it can be hard to care about people on the other side of the world AND people close to home, but it’s easiest to create positive change by starting locally.

*****

I asked my sister about the videos. She said, 

“My favorite thing is seeing actual teenagers starting to follow the account. I actually got a kid who stopped me in the hall and said he recognized me and said my videos are good. So I like that I’m hitting multiple audiences.”

Now people can see what’s going on in the schools from someone actually working in the schools. Not randos on the internet. 

Bonus that she’s funny and approachable and not simply reading legal-approved press releases. 

She’s, ya know, human.

PUT DOWN THE EPSOM SALTS

At the GardenComm conference I got to meet Derek Haynes, The Chocolate Botanist™ and bless him he has devoted his life (currently) to debunking baloney plant myths peddled by 

you guessed it

RANDOS ON THE INTERNET. 

And people frickin’ love his videos!

You, TOO, can take back your space from randos on the internet.

You, TOO, can get people interested in plants. 

You, TOO, can put your human-ness to work for your business and leave the suit at home.

Here is how to do that.

TL;DR: Share behind the scenes content

This is the most self-indulgent, long-winded newsletter ever to encourage you to mine the VAST WEALTH of content that is hiding behind the scenes. 

• Unloading a truck? Take a video
• Recording a podcast? Take a picture
• Prepping cut flowers for sale? Take a picture
• Weeding? Make a reel
• Watering? Take video
• Going to market? Make a reel

Everything you do that you think is incredibly boring is going to be interesting to your customers and, possibly, to potential customers. 

The other thing that writing this newsletter made me realize is that YOU showing WHAT YOU DO is important to your community and to our world. 

Nobody knows what anyone else does for a living anymore. There are plenty of reasons why that’s an issue. 

One: If people don’t know what it’s like to do your job, how can they picture themselves doing your job? And we all know that horticulture needs more people in the field!!!

Two: When it’s time for budgets, for decisions about zoning, for referendums, for agricultural policy, for setting visa caps and tax adjustments, the “behind the scenes” that you’ve shared just might be enough to make a difference. 

(Even though this might not be strictly fact, this bit from the movie Oppenheimer makes a point.)

Fantastic Examples

(Some of these are GOW clients.)

A Plus Garden Center showing off their seasonal crew in their regular consumer-facing newsletter.

Qualitree showing behind the scenes of plant racks AND of team building. I’d be intrigued about working there if I saw those pictures.

Aurora Flora in Mooresville, NC showing how to prep flowers. 

Jennie from Jade & Co and her “Plant Nurse” videos.

Murphy Citrus Nursery showing how they bud rootstocks. (They are getting POUNDED by the hurricane today. I’m worried about them. Send good thoughts.)

Potted Charm doing. . . everything! Seriously, follow her on Instagram. She’s great at turning her everyday work into content.

There are Brie Arthur’s time lapse videos on making new garden beds, planting, etc. 

Groovy Plants Ranch on watering houseplants.

You gotta watch this one of a behind the scenes at a food photo shoot.

And here’s a time lapse video I made TODAY showing me sketching this morning. (Baby’s first time lapse video. I recorded it on my phone, put it in iMovie and sped it up 20X, exported it and uploaded it as a reel sped up 4x. If there’s a better way, please tell me!)

I could go on and on and on. Some of these are huge businesses. Some are tiny. 

They are ALL sharing behind the scenes photos and videos.

You can, too. Start snapping some pics!

Is there someone doing a great job at behind the scenes content? Hit “reply” and send me a link! I’d love to see it!

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Handy Links

Each newsletter always has a mix of fun and functional links.

What is non-disruptive innovation?
(Spotify link) This is a fascinating concept and one I want to explore more. 
A service that GOW offers that is nondisruptive is our “Last Mile” email service. In that, you create the content, and we keep you on schedule, build your marketing email or newsletter, proof, QA, and send (with your approval). It’s nondisruptive because FEW agencies, if any, that I know of, offer an email marketing service to very very small businesses. 

Speaking of dog portraits.
Now this is a fun nondisruptive business idea.

How to prepare your website for voice search
LinkedIn article

How to use the ChatGPT Code Interpreter Plugin
I have followed these instructions and they work.
REMINDER: Strip out ANY IDENTIFYING information from data before uploading it. Company names, email addresses, Klaviyo IDs, subject lines. Upload only numbers, and reserve the spreadsheet with identifying data on your desktop for comparison. 

Cool book on the right ideas at the right time

Consistency vs. Innovation in Design
Tip: Turn on the closed captioning
Tip 2: In what other areas can you apply these principles?

Housekeeping

Need help? We are available for projects and also enjoy getting to know you and referring you to trusted providers if we can’t help. Grab a call slot here. (If you need 2024 help, THIS is the time to get on our radar. Q4 will go FAST.)

I’ll be out September 9-25 in Portugal and getting over jet lag. I will not be responding to email. Tracy will be watching my inbox and routing items to the team. You’re in super capable hands!

And *I* will be back in your inbox when I return home.

(Have Portugal tips? Send ’em my way, please!)

Art P.S.: Recent arts! A sailboat I painted for Maria Zampini (from one of her photographs) and a pet portrait from my Badly Painted Pet Portraits fundraiser with JEMS of the Sea. Watch the reel of all of the doggos here. (I had painted 2 dogs before this. Turns out that practice does make you . . . better!)