Hey you!

This week I’ve got a collection of some cool insights I read/saw. I couldn’t pick just one so I’ve included them all, as well as top-tier YouTube advice (as usual) 🔥

Here's what we're diving into today:

● Nike's Incredible Storytelling with Nadal

● YouTube's New Creator Feature

● How Poppi is Winning with the Lakers

● The Ultimate Strategy for Converting Short-Form Viewers

Let's get into it!

Some Cool Finds This Week

When The Dust Settles…

Remember how I always talk about the power of authentic storytelling? Nike just dropped another masterclass that proves exactly why.

They've paid tribute to the “king of clay” (Rafael Nadal) with a chilling voiceover by Phil Knight.

It's a 60 second dive into the emotional journey of one of tennis's greatest legends. 

The close-ups, lighting and gritty sounds…

It’s almost like you can feel every gruelling win in his career.

Definitely give it a watch if you haven’t already!

It's raw, it's authentic, and it makes you feel something.

It’s pure greatness.

YouTube's Game-Changing Creator Feature

YouTube's about to drop something that's going to be huge for creators. 

Their new "Jewels" feature will transform how creators monetize live streams.

Here’s how it works (from YouTube):

“Gifts are engaging animations that viewers can send on your vertical live streams, showing their appreciation in real-time. Jewels enable real-time engagement through bundle purchases, removing the need to purchase more every time viewers want to express themselves in the moment and send a gift.”

“When viewers use Jewels to send gifts, you get Rubies – which represent your earnings. 1 Ruby = 1 cent. So for every 100 Rubies you receive, you get $1!”

This is exactly the kind of innovation that's turning YouTube into a full-blown business ecosystem.

Another revenue stream that lets fans directly support their favorite creators. 

Pay attention to these moves if you are a Creator!! 

Poppi's Lakers Partnership

Poppi, a prebiotic soda brand, just made a move that screams smart marketing. 

They've partnered with the Lakers to target Gen Z males.

“Social Media congruency” is one of the biggest components of the partnership.

Poppi has an enormous social media following at 434k on Instagram.

Just take one scroll through their page and you’ll see how good their content is.

Interviews with famous influencers…

Viral recipe videos…

Vintage aesthetic…

It’s fire.

And it's the same strategy we see time and again - connect with your audience by understanding their culture and speaking their language.

I wonder if we’ll see Lebron James, Anthony Davis or any of the Lakers roster in Poppi’s content in the future 👀

Converting Short-Form to Long-Form: The Ultimate Creator Hack

Look, short-form content is great for getting attention on mass…

It’s how we’ve generated over half a billion views for TDAY and our brand sponsors.

But if you want to convert, nurture and build DEEP relationships with your viewers, you need to be pushing towards your long-form content.

So, how do you turn those quick scroll-stopping shorts into dedicated long-form viewers?

Here’s Our Tactical Conversion Strategy

1. Crafting the Short-Form Script

• Create an original script specifically for short-form

• Develop a compelling hook that stands alone

• Ensure the story is complete yet intriguing

2. Building Curiosity Mechanics

• Incorporate 2-3 strategic music shifts

• Use a riser sound effect

• Add text overlays

• Include visual captions (50% watch without sound)

• Create emotional narrative arcs

3. Call-to-Action (CTA) Optimization

• Verbal CTA: Maximum 2 seconds

• Visual CTA elements:

• Red arrow pointing to long-form video

• Display full video title

• Text: "Watch full video"

• Sample CTAs:

  • "Click here to see what happens!"

  • "I can't fit the rest of the story here..."

  • "Tap here for the full story!"

All this put together will get viewers to stop, watch and click through to your longer form content.

I’m putting something exciting together on this that I’ll be releasing in the next few weeks.

But until then…

If you’d like to work with TDAY to reach your Gen Z audience, tap the button below to chat with our team - Let’s see how we can work together!

A Major TDAY Milestone 🚀

I think I just "exited" my company?

Let me explain…

After 4.5 incredible years of building TDAY, I'm making a strategic move that's going to change everything.

Grant Sheets is stepping up as President of TDAY Production.

Our journey goes back to freshman year at Penn State's DCF (shoutout to the campus ministry that connects legends). Grant started as a voiceover artist - yeah, you read that right.

I was this super shy kid desperately looking for sports voiceover talent, and somehow mustered up the courage to ask him to join the team.

Fast forward, and this guy's been a true definition of a grinder:

● Voiceover artist (Aug 2021 - Oct 2022)

● Content Creator (Oct 2022 - May 2023)

● VP of Operations (May 2023 - Dec 2023)

● Chief Operations Officer (Jan 2024 - Oct 2024)

● And now... President of TDAY Production

Sound familiar?

It's giving major Nike CEO vibes - patient, hardworking, never afraid of the grunt work.

This move lets me double down on what I love most…

Creating epic Gen-Z sports content at TDAY Sports.

Grant Sheets, you're the real MVP. 🏆

That's all for today. If you want to dive deeper into these strategies, hit reply and let's chat!

Stay blessed,
Justin

P.S. I’m working hard with the TDAY team to release a few guides in December that will help you 1. Create fire content and 2. Help you find sponsors who want access to your audience.

These guides will be completely free, but in exchange, I’d love for you to share this newsletter with anyone you feel may benefit.

That way everyone can benefit from the insights!

Keep your eyes peeled 👀