Community vs. Competition 📙

[@somberhoney]

my constant reminder to myself is that art is not a finite resource. an audience presented with two cakes isn't gonna be like "well this cake is so much better for xyz reasons so we're not even gonna look at the other cake", they're gonna be like "holy shit two cakes!" and be excited about it

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

👏 Art is not a finite resource 👏 love that!

[@jen-x-erplansstuff5407]

THIS!!!!

[@helluvawren6419]

I was planning on posting a comment about the two cakes thing right before I saw this comment!! I’m glad that other people view this in the same way ✨

[@terrimccharles7747]

The two of you have given my days new meaning and have help me not be so overwhelmed that I don’t want to get out of bed ❤❤❤

[@mahroutabesh]

the fact that you openly talk about the first jealousy rush you get with different creators and take responsibility of not acting on it, made my respect to you ten times more 💞

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Thanks Mahroo! 😊

[@CrisOnTheInternet]

Guys you make great thumbnails, I mean you're in different locations but the editing is flawless.

[@markyourpages]

Shout out to Jess for that great work 👏

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Haha thanks! 😄 - Jess

[@CrisOnTheInternet]

@@PlannerPalsPodcast no need to ask whose idea was that Jess made a funny face 🤣🤣🤣

[@megolson9888]

Thank you for sharing this Mark and Jess. I use a bullet journal for personal and business use and while I need it to do certain things for me (AKA keep my notes in one spot, generally), at first, I really wanted to have the aesthetic journal to "keep up" with everyone. Now that I've grown up a bit with my bullet journal, I've realized that it was never about keeping up with anyone, it's about maintaining the system I developed myself and not trying to one-up anyone.

[@markyourpages]

Yes to this 🎉!! It takes a bit of mental maturity that we all need to go through to get here.

[@SarahAsher]

Based on this conversation, I had an idea.I would love it if the Bullet Journal creators could come together (virtually through something like discord) and create a mini (or series) competition, challenge, game show, or something else that can be adapted to bujo'ing. Many of the creator communities that I follow have done similar events (see Stardew Valley or Sims challenges). It would be a nice way for the creator community to come together and learn about and lift up each other.

[@low8739]

That’s a wonderful idea! I’d watch or go.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

OOOO I like where this is going. - Mark

[@pamelawilloughby8004]

What an informative, honest conversation! Thanks for sharing, Jess and Mark!

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Most welcome! Glad you enjoyed it 😄

[@abbaschild2499]

Great post! We needed this. Competition (the toxic kind) is an invented but visceral construct. You do not have to compete. Just improve. Step back. Post. Give credit when you know it's not yours. There's absolutely room for everyone. Do the things. As with everything in life, it's a choice. Collabs rock because it gives everyone the best of two creative minds. Thank you two for being an example of what we can have IF we're intentional and co-operative🌹!!!

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Most welcome! And fully agree, there's such power in collaboration 💪

[@melnorman350]

Hey Jess it’s the teacher in you I relate - I get joy out of imparting information (not on KZbin but in other contexts) I love your content. ❤

[@annettefertitta6868]

Same here!

[@bonnief1025]

I’d like to shout out Gracie Creates. She is sooooo talented and creative. Her style is very unique and original and I’ve never seen someone whose journal perfectly fit their aesthetic or embodies their personality more than her! She’s very sweet and genuine and I look forward to her videos every month

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Having a look through her stuff I fully see what you mean! Great shout out 😄

[@annettefertitta6868]

It is interesting to hear your perspectives on this. When talking about social media in general with our 30 year old son, he likens it to “being controlled or manipulated by the algorithm.” The initial thought that you have demonstrates this - but what you do with this is up to you! From my perspective as a KZbin watcher, it’s almost happenstance to find that persons video to begin with. What keeps me coming back is the content and genuineness of that person. I found Mark when he did his post about Archer & Olive’s green fountain pen… what I watched others videos was the clarity of information and your personality- found Jash through mark when I saw Mark’s video about your Go Wild gift. I knew that you must be special for Mark to come up with such a really cool, well thought out gift (BTW - I was so excited to see that Iris pen highlighted!

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Thanks for all the support and I am so happy to know that we have found one another through different channels and ways. It makes it so much more fun i feel like when someone can introduce or recommend one person to another. - Mark

[@theusefuljournal]

I really enjoyed this conversation and found it helpful. I’ve been building a channel for the last six months and like you Jess, I do it because I want to share what I’ve learnt and inspire people to be creative. My love for what I do has kept me going despite slow growth, and I don’t resent any other creators because I often find them inspiring myself. Wow Mark, 2-3 hours? I really need to reduce the time I spend researching, creating, writing, videoing and editing my videos! My main worry is that I’m too old at 49 for most of the BUJO community to relate to me 😏

[@beingoutstanding]

I'm 49 too, so fear not!

[@Siferiax]

❤ love listening to you two talking.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Thanks! Glad you enjoy it 😄

[@annettefertitta6868]

Can’t wait to see Jess try out her new fountain pen!

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

It was very exciting. - Mark

[@andream3568]

Mark, your non perfect- minimal art- just play, try it and have fun approach was what drew me to your channel long ago. I abandoned bullet journals bc of the pressure of artsy themed months with elaborate esthetics that i just didnt have time for.. then bc i didnt have the look, i didnt want to do it all together and lost the habit of productive planning. Your approach brought me back around, so yes, you are reaching people!! I found you, Jess, when you were sorting markers and rearranging your office, twice lol 😆 you two are an inspiration on your own. As a team, even more so! Keep being "you".. both of you.

[@Cora68]

Yes, this! ⬆ The 'perfect' artsy esthetic video's just feed my perfectionisme and fear of failure.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Thanks for the love and for that extra boost of confidence to keep doing what we are doing. It’s great to hear - Mark

[@Jojournals90]

Thank you so much for having this conversation, I needed this. I’ve just started my KZbin channel a few months ago and I am regularly thinking “what can I do to boost engagement, am I copying this person?” When all I really want to do is have fun and make videos about my planners and journals. The thing I am also battling is the desire to use a system such as hobonichi because I know that those videos have more views rather than being authentic and using the system that I know works for me. It’s a struggle and I don’t even run my KZbin as a source of income but just for fun! The thing that keeps bringing me back though is the comments and community I feel part of, no matter what content I contribute. loving this podcast, keep it up!

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

I battle with the same things you do with content types. I know people are watching “these” videos, but I don’t feel like I would enjoy actually making it as much as another one. I think that it’s a balance we have to strike, but it all depends on each persons goals. Thanks for the comment and keep having fun! - Mark

[@BNris]

You two keep it so real and I love that! I'm watching these videos all out of order, but my second watch thru will be chronological, I swear 😅😂

[@Deboraha5903]

Recreating something someone else did is the highest form of flattery

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

I agree. - Mark

[@annaroland5269]

Mark you were the person who made me feel not weird for Iiking pens and stationery! Jess you were the person who didn’t just say goals are great but actually taught me how to achieve them. Yes I don’t comment on all the videos but know what you both do makes a huge difference in many little and sometimes big ways. Keep up the great work

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Aww, thank you so much for that! We appreciate you!!!! - Mark

[@Deboraha5903]

You both are so different I don’t see you as competitors. You each bring your own “flavor” to BUJO. You each teach us something different. I love you both. ❤💜

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Thanks Debbie! 😄

[@KellyRossouw]

I resonated with literally every word spoken in this episode! It was so great to listen to! Ive just released a VERY different video on my channel, and like you said - it didn't perform as well as Id hoped, but Im still hoping it might. But even so - Im still ridiculously proud of that video and will continue to make more like it. I also love the community vibes, and although I am not deeply ingrained in the Cricut Creator community, I love to see how collaborative they all are. It definitely does feel more like a community and less competitive!

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Congrats on your awesome video. Sometimes you have to make what makes you happy because at the end, being proud of that is worth more than a like or a comment. An easy thing to say, a little harder to live, but I think it’s worth the time. - Mark

[@KirstenTebbens]

These are getting better and better! Shout out to the both of you! It's so refreshing to hear that ya'll have the same insecurities as everyone else. Thank you for that. It is so easy to let numbers get to you. Lol, I remember when I posted my first pwm that it was instantly going to blow up because it was such a cool theme 🤣🤣🤣 silly Kirsten. Humbling experience. I'd like to shout out, and she was already mentioned but deserves at least one more: Julia Royal. I think she is one of kind, always has unique themes and interesting new ideas to try.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Thanks so much!! Everyone, I think, has this level of “this going to be my time” when we start. Just turns out that it will eventually come, but overnight success is rare. - Mark

[@raelenepurtill1729]

Thanks for this discussion. I admire all the content creators out there who deliver consistently and inspire the rest of us. Even those of us who are doing if for ourselves feel the competition when we see others’ pages in the groups. I have had to learn just to enjoy my own creativity for myself without comparison.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Our pleasure! I am so happy that it’s helpful. - Mark

[@nightwolfs_den]

The community vs competition reminds me of the blogging world. There was so much competition a few years back but now there is lots of great community and collabing. on another note, bought my first fountain pen thanks to you both ;)

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

It’s so interesting how all these different pockets of the internet have the same things happening. I’m so glad that it’s moved towards a more positive space. - Mark

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Also YAY to getting a pen - Mark

[@low8739]

Because of both of you, I changed how I configured my months. It really works for me to draw a weekly calendar where I see appointments and to dos right away.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Oh nice! All about people finding systems that work for them 💪

[@julia-here]

I'm just going to be commenting here as I listen in chunks, lol 💕. Can definitely relate with "first comes competition, then comes love" haha. Great point and observation.

[@julia-here]

(totally lost the timecode LOL) - Agree with Jess here - very much so hardcore comparison trap in the beginning but now it's fewer and far between (and honestly, a more 'what will be will be' attitude has made creating content so much for fun for me and has seemingly worked well on the analytics side of things); I know it's different when it's your full time job (and you HAVE to think of the income side of things), but definitely feel ya.

[@julia-here]

21:05 - Feel you here, Mark; the monthly plan with me videos are such a hard one; they feel like SUCH a staple in the community, but the viewership (for me) was just all over the place; I haven't made it a priority this year to get one out, but now I have people reaching out wanting them?? It's a hard space to navigate for sure.

[@julia-here]

36:29 - you totally don't have to tag me anymore, haha 💜 always appreciated but you run with it! - totally get it though; I mentioned Jess with my vertical calendar spreads for months and months and months because I didn't want her to think I was "taking" her idea and I didn't want viewers to think I was "stealing" ideas. That's why we share these things - so people are inspired and take on what resonates with them. Just so happens, some of those folks are ALSO share their work... plus, like.. everyone should swatch with a spoon 😆

[@julia-here]

49:14 - The community I felt watching back that bujo collab video was unmatched. Super fun (and organized 👏🏽) project!

[@julia-here]

52:03 - in the fountain pen space, I HAVE to shoutout Grace at @wildlyimaginable, such a joy! Also Journal with Tiff - love them and they both deserve more eyeballs!

[@christinahatten9844]

Great conversation! Also, I love Matt Ragland too!

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

He makes great videos 😄

[@Kreageek]

Another level to the credit and copying talk, is the when you have an idea on your own and therefore don't credit anyone, but then you find out that someone else came up with it before you, so now you are scared that someone will think that you copied theirs

[@Kreageek]

To the point of being scared to share anything, for fear of accidentally "copying" something you didn't even knew were out there

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

OMG yes!!! Happens all the time. - Mark

[@PaperPensandCoffee]

I wanna shout out to myself. Gone through a dry spell of creating videos and getting them out on my channel.. Then I got opportunities to get creative again and I'm looking forward to creating even more videos For this fabulous creative community We are all connected to worldwide.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Hell yes to celebrating yourself! Keep up the great work. - Mark

[@mslwoods25]

Loved this episode 😊

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Glad you enjoyed it! 😄

[@amandafoxton6463]

Hi Mark and Jess, once again thank you for a very interesting and in depth discussion on competition and connections. Effectively you are all running your own business and in the physical world of business it is the same. I love the idea that instead of competition, connection becomes the goal. From a non content person, I enjoy many different content planners, you ALL have very different styles, the way you present your content, the way you speak. We are all different and if this community could embrace the connection what a fabulous outcome that would be. I am an idealist as you can see. I thoroughly enjoy Laura from Art and Foxes. She is pretty new and is getting so discouraged with her views. I am sure you both know the feeling. So looking forward to your Go Wild podcast! 😊

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Laura does great work! Was cool getting to collaborate with her on the recent bullet journal ideas video 😄

[@trippingthewasteland]

Totally agree on Art & Foxes. She's definitely inspired me some of my themes.

[@low8739]

The “celebrities” ruined scrapbooking for me. If you didn’t spend a $100 on a page or weren’t published, you were definitely treated not good as anyone else. I prefer to write the story than add a hundred embellishments. I got so disappointed in the whole community. Except for Stacy Julian. She is the sweetest person. I had to drop out of her online class when my husband died. In a day or two I got a huge box from her and a sweet card.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Aww that’s such a kind gesture! It’s always nice when people go above and beyond like that 👏 sorry to hear about your husband 😔

[@low8739]

@@PlannerPalsPodcast Thank you. I’m loving the podcast!

[@annettefertitta6868]

I had somewhat of a “forced” experience- as a speech pathologist, our school district was forced into an emergency plan of how to provide some sort of services for students during the Pandemic- we had to divide up topics and types of students I chose pre-school to 2nd grade language (for non-SLP’s probably the broadest category ever). It took lots of prep and they came out pretty well but at the time none of us really knew what we were doing… we had to create three per week I had to start over with any large mistake, it took several hours per video then the district insisted on completely private channels by invitation only, we had to send out “digital links” for each video - logistical nightmare. But it gave me a great respect for the efforts put in for these videos. Baptism by fire was a nightmare but I have great respect for all of the work you all do… I never bash anyone’s videos because of all of the work involved but I do choose who I watch another video. If I don’t like someone’s video I simply move on.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Oh wow, that is a lot, especially if you aren’t used to making that kind of content - But I love that you figured it out. I think that it’s so important to try things out if you dont understand to get a better respect for the process. There is so much that people don’t see behind the scenes. It’s probably better than way :-) - Mark

[@tsmith6250]

I personally love to see content creators support each other. It may be a mention in their content or a collaboration. It opens doors for me to see other channels, and I do watch several, and enjoy the different styles. Jess introduced me to Mark and now a faithful viewer.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Heck yeah 💪 I’m much the same; will find new creators from the recommendations of ones I already watch 😄

[@PlanYourOneLife]

16:01 😂😂@mark! Matt has great content, but so do you! ❤

[@teabean7]

The community is the best perk. I would shout out Erin Floto. She is taking a bit of a break this year but her stuff is great.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Erin's a gem! 😄

[@mopete9830]

Yeah I create templates for digital bullet journals and I've tried to make actual bullet journals complete ready to go and I'm competing against good notes because I use a eink tablet that runs on Android and there are so many good notes journals doing well and mine have a few sales and I get really discouraged. But then I remember I'm brand new and I'm still learning about this and so it's really just I'm still learning and shouldn't compare myself to other shops like that.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

That’s really cool that you are doing that. Keep at it and you can always evolve over time with it to meet your customers needs. - Mark

[@PaperPensandCoffee]

Another great show Mark and Jess. I hate when I do post something in which I learned or did a long time ago. Then some people will message me asking why I didn't give that person credit for teaching me that. I try to explain in the nicest way that I already knew xyz long before you shared it. 😑I just get it. . Mark I hear you on the videos. I just recently did two different type of videos yet sharing about two shops I am representing and one of them didn't get any views at all for a few days while the other one got views right away. very interesting.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

It's always interesting to see what hits with your audience, yeah!

[@iheartmanythings]

You two are my faves, but others that I really enjoy include: Scrappy Wife, Amy Plans Things, Plan with Illyse, Planning with Bumble, and Kendra with a Plan

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Great recommendations! 😄

[@PlanYourOneLife]

14:14 😅 I've felt this way before and have unsubscribed from some Yters before because of that reason. But, now I've matured too.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Glad you can still enjoy their content despite the comparison monster! 💪

[@carlacaldwell1719]

You could have a page of credits a one just refer people to that page which you can update

[@carlacaldwell1719]

My spelling sucks *and just..

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

That’s a really smart idea. - Mark

[@annettefertitta6868]

Historically speaking, even in research ideas are often presented as new and and are really just old ideas given a new name - just a semantic switch!

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Good point! 😝

[@lulugregory3246]

I’m so happy you mentioned bright violet arts, I found her completely randomly a month or two ago and I think her art is amazing, was just about to come here and say so and you did it! (Now I feel like I’m copying lol lol) xx

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Haha, we can both give her a shoutout 😝 - Jess

[@nt0020]

Presentation matters... love you guys

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Thanks! 😄

[@Deboraha5903]

Content creator suggestion to look for about Creating Dutch Door Spreads: The Useful Journal by Ruby. She is so creative. The last video I saw she started her plan for the Dutch Doors in Procreate. So incredible!

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

I'll check it out. Thanks - Mark

[@rileytouris2016]

Shout out to Simie Iriate. Very minimal spreads. Super funny!

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Simie is great! 😄

[@ThaBloodWitch]

Regarding inspiration vs. theft, I think that unless someone outright says I came up with this, you can probably assume that what they're doing was inspired by someone else. Maybe like Amazon storefronts, we should just have Inspiration Lists that contain the content creators that inspired pieces of our styles that are just permanent and free standing for people to peruse when they get curious.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

I love an inspiration list! Great idea. It’s like a MySpace top8 of inspiration. - Mark

[@thejournalcorner]

Crediting the inventor of the paper 😂😂

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Gotta give credit where it's due 😂💪

[@nurseelle]

Even for viewers the struggle can be real. Sometimes I find myself thinking my bujo should look like the "trending" person because it's so popular it must be the "right" way 🤷‍♀️

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Very fair, and I think that's the bonus of having an "all types" mix on KZbin. Love seeing people who plan differently to us to give people a different take on things! 💪

[@JoyG-fg7qi]

Shoutout to @ Claudia Spaurel here on KZbin. She got me started in this BuJo rabbit hole. 😂

[@nt0020]

Alot has just to do with what KZbin pulls randomly... I end up sorting through alot of presentations...

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

That's fair 🤙

[@littleword1]

No expert here, but I wonder if this community is like good restaurants (see below). Viewership for all may increase as creators grow closer. I had discovered you each before you got together. And when you did, it was, "Squeeeee! I'll be getting a 2-fer with Planner Pals." When a creator I like mentions another, I go check them out. And I wind up watching both. I get excited when I see someone I follow commenting on another's video. These are good hobbies (planner/fountain pen) for broad viewership. I watch while swatching, or doing page set up, etc. In fact, I picked up the fountain pen hobby from watching planner content. Personal experience: Surprisingly, the more good restaurants there are in close proximity, the better ALL of them do. Seriously. In DC (where I used to work as an accountant for, you guessed it, a lot of award winning restaurants), areas like Adams Morgan were destinations... people would go, not necessarily having a clear idea of which good restaurant they would wind up at. And they might stop in at more than one place while they were there. If one restaurant had a huge wait time, they might refer the customer to another nearby, gaining tons of good will. The restauranteurs welcomed new (good) businesses with open arms and befriended them. That's how our accounting firm wound up with so many good restaurants as clients... they'd refer the new guys to us. 🙂

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Referrals are a great community builder 👏 love the example 😄

[@Mellylein]

Thank you very much for your video 💐. Community vs. competition... I think it's a relationship where you can inspire each other. Everyone has their own personality and puts their uniqueness into their work. In addition to Jess from JashiiCorrin and Kayla from @planningwithkay, I would like to make special mention of a few German content creators. Firstly Jenny from @einzigheartig, secondly Laura from @ArtnFoxes and thirdly, Nicole from @LadiesLounge. Laura even makes her content exclusively in English. I hope the translator did a good job. Kind regards from Germany from Melly ✨

[@planningwithkay]

I appreciate the mention so much!

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

I love the international love! Thanks for checking out the video and for your amazing shout outs. - Mark

[@chfr1967]

My loyalty is won my humor, and attitude. Part of it is voic, some voices are hard to listen to. The two or you are fun and Interesting to listen to. Entertaining education, that is the key for me. Christina 🦝❤ p.s. there are other men out there? I have only seen Mark and Ryder Carroll. P.SS Regarding the sharing credit: You could use the community pages and create a listing of the others you follow and list there where you have received inspiration from.

[@PlannerPalsPodcast]

Certainly other guys out there! They are just hiding 👀 haha, we're for sure going to have to talk about them on a future episode!