So, I kept hearing this name floating around, Keenan Beasley. Not sure where exactly, maybe some online forum or a podcast I half-listened to while doing chores. Anyway, the name stuck in my head for a bit.
What got me curious was some talk about his approach to, I guess, putting yourself out there? Like, building a brand or something, but doing it in a way that felt more real. Less corporate speak, you know? I run a little side thing, just a small online shop selling handmade stuff, and honestly, shouting into the void about how great my widgets are felt kinda gross and wasn’t working anyway. So, I thought, okay, let’s see what this is about.
My Little Experiment
First thing I did was try to find some solid info. Spent a couple of nights searching around, reading bits and pieces attributed to him or discussions about his ideas. It wasn’t like finding a step-by-step manual, more like piecing together a philosophy.
The core idea I latched onto was about telling your actual story. Not some polished marketing version, but the real deal. Why you started, the struggles, the messy bits. Sounded good, but way harder in practice.
- I sat down with a notebook. Tried to jot down why I even started making these things in the first place. Remembered messing up the first few batches entirely.
- Then I tried writing a couple of posts for my shop’s social media page. Instead of just “New Product Alert!”, I wrote about a specific challenge I had that week, like running out of a key material and scrambling to find more.
- Felt super awkward hitting ‘post’. Felt like I was just complaining or making excuses.
- I forced myself to do this for a few different posts over about two weeks.
What Happened Next
Well, it wasn’t like magic. Didn’t suddenly get flooded with orders. But something different did happen. Got a few comments, more than usual, from people saying stuff like “Oh, I’ve had that happen too!” or “Thanks for sharing that”. It felt more like a conversation.
One person even emailed me asking about the material I had trouble finding, and we had a nice little exchange. Didn’t lead to a sale right then, but it felt… better? More human.
Honestly, the main thing I found was this:
- It takes way more effort to be “authentic” than to just copy-paste marketing lines. You actually have to think and be a bit vulnerable.
- It doesn’t guarantee instant results, not by a long shot. Maybe it builds slower, deeper connections? Too early to tell for sure.
- It made me rethink why I was even doing the side project. Was it just for cash, or something else? That got me thinking way more than the actual posting strategy.
This whole thing reminded me of when I tried learning guitar from online tabs a few years back. I followed the tabs exactly, note for note, but it sounded stiff and soulless. Didn’t sound like music until I started just messing around, finding my own rhythm, hitting wrong notes but figuring out why they were wrong. You can follow someone else’s map, like whatever Keenan Beasley might suggest, but you still gotta walk the path yourself and figure out how it fits your own stride. Still figuring that part out, to be honest.
