This Isn't The Program Launch Newsletter You're Looking For

TLDR: Be intentional about building your network and investing into your community, and you'll create more value for yourself. I'm postponing my program's launch till next week, thanks for your patience. Also, don't miss your chance to win a digital copy of my 5-star rated book and a free shout out for your business. If my weekly newsletter "Hindsight Is 20/20" is helpful to you, please subscribe. This edition is proudly sponsored by the gamers at Stoned Ape, Inc., click here to learn how to level up your focus, mood, and sleep.

If you were hoping for details about my new program launch, unfortunately this isn't the newsletter you're looking for. Though, if you're thinking about starting your own newsletter: my 4th edition had a 9% decrease in impressions (1923) compared to my 3rd edition (2109). Even though my article reads decreased nearly 10% from my 3rd edition (1618) to 4th edition (1459), this newsletter has gotten more than 3900 subscribers since launching just over a month ago. I appreciate all of my subscribers for your continued support, and if you're new to this newsletter, thank you for subscribing too!

My goal is to keep the main newsletter under 3 minutes, so let's get into it. If you search online for the advice I shared in the image, it's attributed to a 2013 book title authored by Porter Gale (with a forward by Guy Kawasaki ). However, I first heard it from Curtis J. Williams , when we both attended Georgia Southern University between 2004 and 2008. I'm sure Curt could write an excellent book on the topic too, and his advice has been repeatedly true throughout my career:

1. Most of my professional opportunities in college came from volunteering as a "College of IT Senator" with GSU's Student Government Association.
2. When I graduated from GSU, I got my first full-time job with GSU's IT team, because I'd been working with them on projects for years via GSU's SGA.
3. As I said in the previous edition of newsletter, literally 95% of the gaming/sports consulting revenue I've made is from my LinkedIn network.

I can't overstate the importance of social media networking on platforms like LinkedIn. I've been bootstrapping my companies for 10 years, building them with spare time and money outside of work full-time jobs. Unfortunately, that meant that I rarely had the available time away from work or budget to travel to major industry conferences to network in person. I solved that problem by using platforms like LinkedIn as virtual conferences: adding value and building relationships like I would if I had the opportunity to attend in-person events. I highly recommend that you do the same.

Quick Note: I had to postpone the launch of my new program by one week. Thank you for your patience, and stay tuned for more details in next week's edition of my newsletter. I'll see you soon!

That's my hindsight advice for this week in about 3 minutes. How has investing value into your local and digital community helped grow your career? Let me know in the comments. Thank you for your time, and don't forget to subscribe, because I'll be back next Tuesday at 11am EST with more advice and stories (and the launch of my new program). If you want to learn how to get a free shoutout for your business, and other cool opportunities this week, please keep scrolling.

Cool Opportunities To Check Out This Week

This Thursday at 9pm EST, Amir Satvat is the special guest for episode 3 of the second season of the "Level Up Your Wealth Podcast", where my co-host Mario J. Payne, CFP® and I discuss financial literacy from a gamer's perspective. He's a LinkedIn Top Voice for Video Games, and Business Development Manager for Tencent Games . Join us for an awesome discussion about how to find a job in the gaming industry. We invite you to register here, and bring your questions and friends, because Mario and Amir will be answering your questions LIVE!

The "Level Up Your Wealth" podcast and this newsletter are proudly sponsored by the gamers at Stoned Ape, Inc. Whether you're a gamer, athlete, first responder, creative, academic or simply wanting to be better at being you, mental clarity, energy and optimism are critical to your wellbeing and longevity. You can learn more about healthy ways to improve your cognition, mood, and sleep here.

Those Are Cool Opportunities Marcus, But What's In It For Me?

Amir Satvat also recently published his updated resource catalog (image above), and you can learn more about the update here. I'll continue to share updates of his job resources in future editions of this newsletter. Best of luck on the next chapter of your career!

You can register here for Gamers Home's next Career Insight Webinar today (October 4th) featuring Tshepo Moche: Storylines & Narratives. We're also hiring! We're looking for passionate gamers and streamers who want to start their careers in the video game industry. If you'd like to make money selling game-branded merchandise from our store, sign up for our affiliate program here.

Avi Ghandi is the next winner of my weekly book raffle! He's on a mission to enable a million people to find freedom in the Creator Economy. He has 15 years of experience building and leading Creator-facing teams. Subscribe to his "Creator Logic" newsletter here, to see 1:1 interviews with full-time Creators about the tools, tactics and partners they use to grow and make money!

I invite you to share your candid feedback (positive, negative, or otherwise) about this newsletter in the comments, so I can continue improving it. Each week I'll select one person from the comments to receive a digital copy of my 5-star rated gaming and esports book for free (you can preview 10% of it here, if you'd like). I'll feature that person in next week's newsletter. Thank you for investing your time with me and stay tuned for more hindsight advice in next week's newsletter. Here's your friendly reminder to subscribe to my newsletter, and I'll see you in the comments section below, have a great week!

About the Author

Marcus "Esports" Howard is the CEO of MetArena, which helps brands authentically engage their customers and employees with fun, brand-relevant video games. A 2021 LinkedIn Top Voice in Sports, Marcus has worked in the gaming industry for over 10 years, supporting hundreds of indie game studios worldwide. You can DM him here on LinkedIn. Follow Marcus On LinkedIn