The things we do for the sake of content

Have I got a story for you. Well, kind of. In my head, it's an epic adventure of one man desperately trying to realize a creative vision for promoting his debut novel through a short video. To the average viewer, however, it's a short clip in a sea of churning content.

Here is the context: I recently ordered stickers to use for potential giveaways and for future author events, such as conferences and book signings. While many authors will create a sticker or three for each novel in their portfolio, I wanted to do something a little different.

Instead of settling on one sticker for Legend Has It, I created a sticker that represents an element from each floor of the haunted house in the novel. There are 10 floors, so that meant 10 stickers.

Next, I had to decide how to promote these stickers. Several options came to mind, such as posting a gallery on Instagram, sharing an all-encompassing shot on Facebook, X and Bluesky, or taking a photo of each sticker on an every day object for 10 days.

While each option had potential, I wanted to use a little more flair with my approach. And then it came to me. The characters in the novel sometimes use an elevator to move from one floor to the other. Why not create a reel of an elevator moving from floor 1 to floor 10, opening to each sticker that represents the floor its on?

The next step was finding an elevator with at least 10 floors. Easy, right? Well, I thought so too. It turns out that Milwaukee has plenty of tall buildings downtown, but not all of them have 10 floors. Some of the ones that do have 10 floors don't allow public access, such as businesses and rental properties. Some of them have more than 10 floors, but not every floor is accessible. Some of them even skip a few floors, jumping from floor 7 to floor 11.

My adventure began at the Pfister Hotel. I targeted this place because I knew it had at least 10 floors. The hotel, a historic staple of Milwaukee, features a cocktail lounge (Blu) on the 23 floor.

I felt like I was set. I would go there either midday or late at night to avoid the high-traffic times. After all, I had to film an elevator ride from floors 1 to 10 and I doubt many people would have the patience to join me on this excursion.

I went to the Pfister in the early afternoon on April 15. I walked in and noticed a sparse lobby. My timing couldn't have been any better. I approached the elevators and stepped inside the first one that opened.

Surprisingly, I didn't see a complete set of buttons. The lower floors were there, but the higher ones had some gaps between them. I needed a clean set of buttons to make this work. Begrudedly, I stepped out of the elevator and out of hotel.

I know Milwaukee well enough to navitage it without a map. My instincts kicked in. What nearby buildings within walking distance were accessible to the public and had 10 floors? I set my sights on the Milwaukee Marriott Downtown. I wasn't sure if it had nine floors or 10, but it was close, so it was worth checking out.

Upon arriving, I was thankful there wasn't an afternoon rush. The lobby was quiet and serene. If I had the time, it would have been tempting to pull out a book and read or knock out a quick writing session. I passed through the lobby and stepped inside the elevator.

Nine floors. Not 10. Nine!

I walked outside and recalibrated. There were plenty of tall buildings nearby, but so many required security clearance. I had to find another hotel with some height. The Third Ward, the southern segment of downtown, called to me. I had been to the Kimpton Journeyman Hotel multiple times, especially in the summer. The top floor features The Outsider, a bar and lounge area with a large balcony that overlooks the city.

I made the short trek and stepped inside the elevator. Before me was a beautiful set of elevator buttons. I thought The Outsider was on the 10th floor, but soon realized it was on the ninth floor. There's nothing above it.

Dejected, I stepped out and plotted my next stop. So many buildings, but which ones had 10 floors that would allow me to use the elevator? I looked north and saw one of the newest structures to grace the Milwaukee skyline - 333 Water.

This one would be a little trickier. I would need to get permission to use the elevator as it was a luxury apartment complex. I stepped inside and greeted an employee at the front desk. The conversation went something like this:

"Hey, I have a request, but it might sound kind of weird."

"Okay?"

"I wrote a horror novel that comes out in September. It's a haunted house story that has 10 levels. Anyway, I'm hoping I can shoot a video of me riding an elevator and visiting 10 floors. I just need to record me pressing the button for each floor and the elevator doors opening and closing."

Blank stare.

"Would that be possible? Like I said, I know it's strange, but it will make sense after I've shot it and put it all together."

We spoke for a bit after this, mainly discussing how long it would take and him checking my socials to gauge my reach. He eventually left to check with a manager to see if they could allow it. The manager wasn't available, so he told me to check back later.

I thanked him and left. There wasn't time to wait and the afternoon continued to tick away. I looked further north to find a place that could work. Chase Tower, the former Bank One buidling, was a place my dad used to work out of when I was younger. Maybe I could get permission to use their elevator?

As I neared the building, I spotted another tall hotel that I forgot about - the Drury Plaza Hotel. I wasn't sure how many floors they had, but it looked taller than 10. I had to try. I walked inside and stepped into the first elevator of the four that opened.

I step inside. I turn around to face the buttons. Nine floors.

No, I'm kidding. I saw 15 floors. Woo hoo! I finally had my elevator. Now came the fun of filming the experience. I used TikTok's app for this. My technique came down to filming different button presses, stepping inside the elevator and each floor as the doors opened and closed.

Fortunately, it wasn't too busy by the time I arrived (around 4 p.m.), but traffic was picking up. I had to pause a few times as a few hotel guests jumped in the elevator as I was filming. Overall, the total film time was about 15-20 minutes. But the total investment was far greater, as this story reveals.

After getting all the footage, I still had to edit the clips, add the proper transitions and overlay the stickers for each floor. I lost track of the total amount of hours invested, but it was more than I anticipated when I started.

I was thrilled when I finally shared the video on TikTok, but a little disappointed with its reach. I know there's no guarentees with social media algorithms and time and effort don't promise viral results. I was just hoping for more than 198 viewers and 6 likes for something that I contend warrants better engagement.

But that's the joy of creating content right? It's value isn't determined by the masses. It's determined by the creator. I still like it and I did get a few comments on my other social platforms regarding it. And if nothing else, I got a fun story out of it.

To view the TikTok video, click here. To view the rest of the stickers, check out my Instagram.