RNTBLE

Author: Mak Pastrana

  • Road-Test Your Process and Tools: What To Bring For Every Trip

    Road-Test Your Process and Tools: What To Bring For Every Trip

    Keep shipping until something breaks.

    Eventually something will — that’s how you find your weakest point. Fix it and run an improved version.

    I apply the same philosophy for process and tools. When I travel, I take it as a chance to stress test my work process and gear.

    If your workflow suffers and your output dips because you’re in a different environment, then it’s not sustainable in the first place. The same goes for creativity as well.

    The goal is to produce the exact same quality of results regardless of where and how you’re working, so it frees you to just focus on getting better each time.

    Outsized rewards go to people who figure out how to master a skill or a point of view, and then commit to doing it again and again.

    Seth Godin

    Road tested, must-bring tools for every trip:

    1. Royal Kludge RK61 mechanical keyboard — affordable, durable, works anywhere and gives you a tactile feel to typing.
    2. Apple Magic Mouse — glides smoothly across any surface
    3. Foldable laptop stand — adjustable, stable and lightweight so you can avoid the neck strain when working on any table.
    4. Wrist rests — prevents wrist strain from typing for hours

    And always bring an extension chord — hotels are notorious for limited power outlets, always putting them in unreachable spots.

    Photo by manny PANTOJA on Unsplash

    About the Author

    Mak Pastrana

    Top rated digital marketing consultant. I help architects, designers and personal brands get 2X leads from social media. Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter.

  • Today’s Idea: The Quickest Way to Learn Essential Digital Marketing Skills

    Here’s a list of digital marketing skills you need to know to successfully promote your business:

    1. Buyer Psychology
    2. Copywriting
    3. Content Marketing
    4. Search Optimization
    5. Social Media Marketing
    6. Funnel Building

    The benefits of digital marketing are numerous but what’s the fastest way to learn all of this skills? Just get started.

    If you want to learn sales and buyer psychology, talk regularly to your ideal customers.

    If you want to learn copywriting, write a weekly newsletter.

    If you want to learn content marketing, write a monthly blog.

    If you want to learn search optimization, start a website and try to rank for keywords.

    If you want to learn social media marketing, post everyday on Twitter/IG/LinkedIn.

    If you want to learn funnel building, find a way to use all of the above to get leads and clients.

    You won’t be good right away but here’s a guarantee of what will happen if you start NOW:

    1. In a month, nothing much. You will think this was a waste of time.
    2. In 6 months, you will be better at it and start to see results.
    3. In a year, it will change the way you do business.

    Just dive in and get started.

    About the Author

    Mak Pastrana

    Top rated digital marketing consultant. I help architects, designers and personal brands get 2X leads from social media. Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter.

  • Daily Tech Stack

    Last Updated on April 6, 2024 by Mak Pastrana

    UPDATE: Here’s my current daily tech stack (2024)

    • Gmail
    • X / Twitter
    • Instagram
    • Reddit
    • Facebook (mobile)
    • Discord

    We spend majority of our time online. The internet didn’t come with a user manual — we just kinda figured out the basics and have been playing around with it since.

    We all use it differently but we never really think about how much our user experience is personalized just to us nor how much our use has changed in the past years.

    For example, here’s my top 6 most used apps for 2022:

    1. Gmail
    2. Tweetdeck (browser)
    3. Feedly (browser)
    4. Instagram
    5. Facebook (mobile)
    6. Whatsapp

    To compare, here’s my daily tech stack in 2012:

    1. SMS (mobile)
    2. Google Reader (browser)
    3. Facebook (browser)
    4. Gmail
    5. Evernote
    6. Delicious (browser)

    And my daily tech stack in 2017:

    1. SMS (mobile)
    2. Tweetdeck (browser)
    3. Gmail
    4. Feedly (browser)
    5. Facebook (mobile)
    6. Skype

    Observations:

    • No one texts anymore. Everyone’s on messenger apps.
    • I miss google reader. Everything on the web went downhill once it shut down.
    • I used to upload everything on Evernote until they got greedy and limited the free plan.
    • I can’t believe I used to talk to clients via Skype.
    • I only open Facebook on mobile now with a “10 scrolls and then stop” rule.
    • I suspect the Twitter mobile app will be in my top 3 by next year.

    About the Author

    Mak Pastrana

    Top rated digital marketing consultant. I help architects, designers and personal brands get 2X leads from social media. Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter.

  • AI and the Creative Industry: How to Future-Proof Your Career in the Age of Automation

    AI and the Creative Industry: How to Future-Proof Your Career in the Age of Automation

    Change comes slowly, then suddenly, then all at once.

    There’s a big generational shift happening in tech. Here are 3 things that will drastically impact the creative industry (and your paycheck) in the next few years.

    Background: December of last year, I wrote that “there is no going back to ‘normal’ or whatever it was that we called life before the lockdowns.”

    I was convinced that we stepped into an entirely new world, that if you didn’t spend all of last year trying to find out how to move a significant part of your job, career, store, service, company or brand online then you’re already behind.

    There is no going back to ‘normal’ or whatever it was that we called life before the lockdowns.

    4 months until the end of the year and were starting to see glimpses of it:

    1. Employers realized that a physical office is an optional expense.

    During the lockdown, everyone worked from home but deadlines were still met, products were shipped and projects were completed. If your employer can pay you to work at home, then they can find either a better or a cheaper version of you somewhere else in the world.

    2. Remote work was normalized for employees.

    We all realized that we don’t have to bear the daily commute to earn a living, that we don’t even have to live near the city to work and get a paycheck. The job market for anyone with a high-level skill just got bigger

    3. AI is going to flatten entry-level jobs for the service, creative and design industry.

    If you want to get your mind blown, check this out:

    Now, imagine how much better AI-generated content will be in a few years.

    If it’s still not clear to you, let me spell it out: in the next few years, creative professionals will be competing for work not just with every other designer from around the world, but with quality AI-generated designs that can be produced cheaply.

    If you’re not preparing for this eventuality, you’re also not opening yourself to the opportunities that this change will bring.

    Upskill, build an audience and work on your brand. Start now.

    Featured image under copyright © DeepMind on Unsplash

    About the Author

    Mak Pastrana

    Top rated digital marketing consultant. I help architects, designers and personal brands get 2X leads from social media. Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter.