I’ve sold in three lanes: Art (in person): I showed my photo art at a local gallery and in pop ups. What I learned: people don’t buy pixels, they buy meaning. When I told the story behind a piece, it moved. Price matters less than the why.

Licensed video ($120): A restaurant mini-doc I shot got strong saves/shares, and they licensed it for $120 as an ad. Lesson: don’t pitch “content,” sell the outcome (butts in seats). If the first 3 seconds hit, the owner sees dollars, not edits. Coffee (daily at the café): Selling drinks face-to-face taught me micro copy and timing. A simple line like “smooth, no bitterness” plus a clean visual beats a long description.

Biggest takeaway: clarity + vibe = conversion, online or offline.

Overall: story first, proof fast, one clear outcome.

Start with a problem, not a trend. I write one sentence: what pain am I solving or what feeling am I selling? Hook in 2 seconds. A bold line or visual that forces a pause. Outcome before features. I show the “after” fast (confidence, calm, time saved), then backfill proof. Shot list > script. Tight beats: A→B→C. I film talk-to-camera + cinematic cutaways (texture: steam, fabric, clicks). Edit for retention. New frame every 1–2s, remove anything that doesn’t move the story. Native CTA. One action, not three. Comment prompt > sales pitch. A/B the post. Two captions, two thumbnails/text overlays, same asset. Where I get ideas Friction. Anything I or my audience complain about becomes a video. Customer conversations. Running a coffee bar gives me daily “hooks” people actually care about. Comments & DMs. I steal questions from my own inbox and answer them on camera. Underdog stories. Immigrant lens + small brands doing big things. Reverse-engineering winners. I break down why a clip held attention (hook, stakes, payoff) and rebuild it for my niche. Sensory moments. Sounds, textures, tiny details (steam burst, watch click) that make a video feel real. If it doesn’t raise retention, saves, or sign-ups, it doesn’t ship.

My best-performing piece was a 30s mini-doc for a local restaurant, no ad-speak, just story: identity → flavor → why it matters. It pulled strong saves/shares, and the brand licensed it for $120 as their boosted ad. It worked because I sold the outcome (what you feel going there), not the menu. Native pacing, rich textures, one clean CTA.