how to find your unique storytelling style in a world overflowing with noise

In partnership with

Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here 🤙 

🧨QUICK FIRE

• Meta has announced a new AI tool that says it “can now predict which creators will be the most effective in driving results for an upcoming ad campaign.”

• Meta considers charging for ad-free Facebook and Instagram in the UK.

• #BookTok creator, Morgann Book (yes, that is her real last name!) has launched a book-to-film media company called Bookish Media.

You know what’s funny?

For years, we were told the key to success was having access to more.

More tools, more knowledge, more content.

Now? It’s all about what you choose to ignore.

Everyone’s got access to the same tools now. Your phone can shoot a 4K video. AI can now generate a simple image in seconds.

We’ve all got the same resources, so what’s the real differentiator?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I was chatting with a friend who always seems to cut through the noise in my own head, and he said something that really stuck:

"It used to be about acquiring more information. Now it’s about knowing what to ignore."

That’s the reality now.

We're drowning in content, in opinions, in noise.

Look, if you want to stand out, you’ve got to know what to block out.

Recently, I had to make a decision about my own work: do I keep following what everyone else is doing, or do I curate what I’m consuming and focus on what feels true to me?

I chose the latter…Creator Toolkit then grew in subscribers.

Less is more!

Here’s what’s really changing

What used to matter = Having access to everything.
What matters now = Knowing what to ignore.

It’s not just about producing more content anymore. AI is making it easier to create, but it can’t replicate the things that actually make you stand out:

• your taste

• your judgment

• your depth

As a producer working on other people’s content, it’s way easier for me to cut the fat and zero in on what the creator is trying to express.

I basically operate as a human filter.

Rather than stuffing more ideas in their brain, I ask more questions that refine and chip away at what we’re trying to get at. This is when the breakthroughs happen.

• What’s the central idea you’re trying to communicate?

• What makes this idea personal to you? Why does it matter?

• What’s the one thing you want your audience to take away from this?

By the way, it’s never about getting it perfect. The best ideas are always real, raw and unpolished.

That’s the power of filtering out the noise and focusing on what really matters.

So, what can you do about it?

1. Cut down on what you consume
   If you’re following every creator out there, it’s time to hit unfollow. Curate your influences carefully. If they don’t inspire you, they’re just wasting your time.

2. Own your experiences
   The secret to storytelling is leaning into your story. Share your lessons, your wins, your losses. That’s the stuff people connect with. It’s the stuff no AI can replicate.

3. Build in public
   I’ve been doing this with my newsletter and my work on Two Doting Dads and people resonate with it because it hits taste, judgement and depth.

Why ignoring is working for me so far

Well, for starters, I’ve cleared up some headspace, and it’s actually helped me get today’s newsletter out.

Cutting out the noise gives me more room to hear my own ideas. And when you're surrounded by so much content, it’s easy to get lost in what everyone else is doing.

But the real shift happens when you start focusing on your story and your voice.

It’s not about doing more…it’s about being super intentional with what you take in and what you ignore.

The more you focus on the things that really matter to you, the clearer your unique storytelling style becomes. That’s how you stand out in all this noise.

• now allows Page admins to create custom badge names.

Instagram 

• you can now watch Reels in 2x speed.

• will let users reshare posts and Reels to followers’ feeds.

• added an option to transcribe audio messages into text for DMs.

LinkedIn

• has added custom date ranges in analytics and expanded newsletter analytics.

YouTube

• announces it has changed the way it measures Shorts Views on the platform.

  Explained:

• This update makes it easier to showcase reach and attract brand partnerships.

• As a result, total view counts will be higher than before.

• The previous metric, now called “engaged views,” is still available in YouTube Analytics under “Advanced Mode.”

• Engaged views track how many viewers actively choose to keep watching a Short.

• This change does not affect monetisation. Earnings and YouTube Partner Program eligibility will still be based on engaged views.

  —

• now lets live streamers take 1, 3, or 5 min breaks with placeholder content and monetise downtime.

READ: These people have managed to find influencer level attention on…wait for it…LinkedIn. How did they do it? It seems they’ve found a way to mix personal with professional, and you can learn from that, too. While I’m here, my LinkedIn Partnership DMs are open.

LISTEN: Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel says that his goal for 2025 is to appear on more podcasts, and he’s just done that by guesting on Diary Of A CEO. Despite its underdog image, Snapchat maintains a strong user base, with over 50% of Gen Z using the app, and that number continues to grow! Evan gets into his business origin story, personal growth and answers whether Mark Zuckerberg pisses him off when he copies him time and time again.

WATCH: YouTuber Matt D’Avella was one of the first people to really challenge the idea of constant content creation, focusing instead on simplicity, intentionality, and quality over quantity. He’s now leaving the US for good and is settling into Australia for good. Watch how he came to that decision.

Let’s get serious

What’s the mark of the world’s best, most growth-minded newsletter creators? They’re all on beehiiv.

Why? Our entire platform exists to help serious content creators scale faster. We’re built for those who are ready to take their content and build it into a behemoth. 

It’s why we offer a no-code website builder. It’s why our ad network matches you with global brands like Nike and Netflix. It’s why we never take a dime of your subscription revenue. And it’s why Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ashley Graham trust us to connect with their huge fan bases. 

It’s all to put your hard work in front of more people. So if you’re ready to build, ready to grow, and ready to make the world take notice, beehiiv is ready for you.

Get started for 20% off with code BUILD.