Archive of posts from July 2024

This might work…

But it really annoys your customers:

• Making it hard to cancel
• Jump-scare annual renewals
• Collecting CC info on free trials
• ‘Speak to an agent’ for billing help

Not all sales are made equal.

How I made a popular trading card game at 13 years old.
And how we can apply those lessons today.

I posted this video on LinkedIn, check it out:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/adamfairhead_how-i-made-a-popular-trading-card-game-at-activity-7224021342478577666-DE40

Many institutions prefer that you open your mind, then close it again.

Brands want you to open your mind to their offers… then close your mind to alternatives.

Churches are the same; open your mind to our deity… then close your mind to alternatives.

Our own minds are the same: we want to be consistent with our past decisions, and so we close ourselves off from options we feel differ to previous decisions we’ve made. Even the choice to listen to a rock song when you only listen to classical music, can feel alien and impossible.

Try changing your mind, even if it’s just to see what it feels like.

AI isn’t coming for your job.

Unless your job is to be generic, replicable, soulless and commoditised.

In which case, yeah, it’s coming for your job.

So don’t be those things.

AI is really good at producing things that have happened before.

It has been trained on our history, and so is pretty good at predicting our future.

Unless we dare to bravely produce outlandish new bodies of work.

Things that haven’t been done before. Things that seem not to make much sense from the outset.

Doing the predictable and programmable is the work of machines.

Doing the crazy brave impossible stuff? That’s where humans shine.

What makes a perfect website offer?

Is it to take a 30 day free trial?
Nope. Most people don’t trust you enough to enter CC information.
Marketers have messed it up with their silly games.

Is to register for plans & pricing?
Nope. Gatekeeping information essential to the buying decision is just silly.
In no known universe is “make it harder for them to want your thing” a good idea.

Is it to book a discovery call?
Nope. Enough businesses have conflated ‘discovery call’ with ‘sales call’ to have ruined this.
People want a sales call like they want a hole in the head.

Here’s what makes a great website offer:
It’s what they ALREADY want, but given to them how they’d love to receive it.

I explore this topic in more detail in this week’s issue of The Productoon newsletter. Check it out!

It’s OK to stink at finishing projects.

Why?

Because it’s a skill.

Starting, creating, and finishing projects is a skill.

Don’t practice it, and you won’t get better at it. Worse, you’ll lose your edge, and find them more difficult the longer you squander your streak.

Practice it, and you’ll get a little better at it, each and every time.

Starting (but stinking) at finishing projects is the first step to shipping great work.

Stink away, champ.

The problem with:

• irresistible offers
• website optimisation
• marketing automation

…is that they’re normally optimising the wrong thing.

You don’t need to:

• Make bigger promises
• Hound them over email
• Convince people to click

You simply need to:

• Give them what they want
• Make it enjoyable for them
• Make it so good they tell others

Optimise for that.

“Thanks for asking, that’s not what we do.”

This sentence (or a derivative of it) needs to exist in every business.

Even if you’re short on work right now.

Even if you’re scared to turn down accounts.

Even if you’re not sure what happens next.

Do what you do. Master what you do. Create an experience that is intentional, thoughtful, and exquisite. Learn how to make it better and better for those who need a master at what you do.

And don’t dilute your craft by trying to serve everyone.

Saying No to the wrong folks is as important as saying Yes to the right ones.

Avoid marketing automation, unless it achieves these things.

Users should feel it results in:

• Greater user context
• Better experience
• More enjoyable
• Faster service
• Easier to use

And never feel:

• Unseen/unheard by the business
• Like it’d be more fun if manual
• Like no one cared to show up
• Like it’d be easier if manual

Automation should be “you, but better”.

In business, we’re told to

“Work on the business, not in the business.”

True for entrepreneurs, less so for artists and indies.

And even less so when appropriating lessons to productivity.

“Work on your productivity system, not in your productivity system” would be terrible advice, when in fact the opposite is true.

Advice is not universally ‘true’.

Advice is simply a reflection of what has worked before in some circumstances some of the time.

Take it with a pinch of salt.

And be OK with doing the opposite.

We think we want to make things easier.

But do we, really?

When a writer gives their writing to AI to do, it becomes easier.

Except a good writer looks upon the result and sighs.

Perhaps they could doctor the resulting prose into something acceptable. But the heart of the piece never really starts beating. They long for the discomfort of a blank page, where they can go to war with words and write something full of life.

Perhaps they could avoid writing with it and just use it for research. But the clinical, sanitised output lacks so much context. They long for the memories of toiling for the information they need, the kindling from which sparks fly when it’s time to write.

Maybe we didn’t want to make things easier after all.

Maybe it sounded better in our heads, but reality lacked humanity.

Maybe it being hard is what distinguishes coal from diamonds.

Maybe we should be glad hard things are hard.

Potential customers have a problem.

And they want to get to a solution.

So what do marketers do?

They say, “Forget about all, that look at my cool product!”

And that is why marketing is hard for them.

They try to close sales by doing things such as:

❌ “Make a super-irresistible offer so scrumptiously delicious they couldn’t even entertain the very possibility of doing anything other than exactly what you tell them.”

The problem is, that’s not how people work. How often do you click on a page, then feel a magical marketing force rip your credit card out of your pocket against your will? Causing you to feverishly spend thousands of dollars on a service without any of the senses nor faculties you’ve used both your entire life prior to now? Exactly.

Here’s another:

❌ “Meticulously A/B test every aspect of the page to make the leap happen, like a hunter carefully aiming his weapon at unsuspecting wildlife, to make sure he paints the meadow with the maximum amount of brains.”

The problem with this one is two-fold. First, it’s a little bit gross. Second, it puts a lot of pressure on your materials to compress what could have been a really enjoyable user experience into a desperate pitch-fest graded by analytics rather than whether or not your target market actually likes it.

That is making marketing hard.

I explore this topic in more detail in this week’s issue of The Productoon newsletter. Check it out!

Although marketing keeps evolving,

Don’t forget what matters most:

• Knowing those you serve
• Creating things that they want
• Giving it to them in ways they love
• Doing that to the very highest quality

The rest is just cherries on top. 🍒

This one came up in a handful of conversations today.

There are a few shortsighted theories on how to improve your marketing that you may have heard before.

One is:

Make a super-irresistible offer so scrumptiously delicious they couldn’t even entertain the very possibility of doing anything other than exactly what you tell them.

The problem is, that’s not how people work is it. How often do you click on a page, then feel a magic marketing force rip your credit card out of your pocket against your will, as you feverishly spend thousands of dollars on a service without any of the senses nor faculties you’ve used both your entire life prior to now?

Exactly. You might catch some folks who haven’t heard it all before but that’s not it, is it.

Here’s another one:

Meticulously A/B test every aspect of the page to make the leap happen, like a hunter carefully aiming his weapon at unsuspecting wildlife, to make sure he paints the meadow with the maximum amount of brains.

The problem here is, that’s both a little bit gross, and it puts a lot of pressure on your materials to compress what could have been a really enjoyable user experience into a desperate pitch-fest graded by analytics rather than whether or not your target market actually likes it.

The solution is simple:

Fill the gaps with what they want, how they want to receive it, and do so with un-ignorably good materials.

Easier to say than to do.

But these are the fundamentals that make all the difference.

Don’t lose sight of them in pursuit of fancy marketing tactics.

When two marketers disagree,

They have this in common:

They’re both revealing their lack of experience.

Example 1:

• ‘Test everything, it’s the only way’
• ‘Test nothing, they need you to decide’

What page? For whom? What stage? What campaign?
The argument simply reveals inexperience.

Example 2:

• ‘Social images good, videos bad’
• ‘Social videos good, images bad’

What medium? What platform? What audience?
The argument simply reveals inexperience.

Good marketing isn’t about using dogmas to sell services.

Good marketing is what users want, how they want it, done well.

Now you can ignore the dogmas and focus on what matters.

What do you think?

‘Vanilla content’ is misunderstood.

Why you should be making ‘vanilla’ content:

First, understand ‘vanilla’:

• Vanilla is the best selling flavour in the world.
• Vanilla flowers bloom just one morning per year.
• Vanilla must be pollinated that morning, or it dies.
• Vanilla is the 2nd most expensive spice in the world.

With that in mind:

• Know what your market wants.
• Know how they enjoy receiving it.
• Make something rare & un-ignorably good

Vanilla has a bad reputation.

But if understood, you’ll never run out of sales.

If you read what everyone else reads,
you’ll have everyone else’s ideas.

If you use what everyone else uses,
you’ll see what everyone else sees.

If you install what everyone else installs,
you’ll have everyone else’s limitations.

It’s neither good nor bad,
but it’s worth being aware of.

Advertisers used to dare.

They dared to run ads that tickled their target demographic’s funny bone, instead of just copying their peers.

They dared to tell stories that touched their market’s imagination, instead of leaning on sensationalism and celebrity.

They dared to make things that were actually good for brand, rather than merely good for the performance marketing agency of record.

Advertisers have lost their nerve.

Have you?

I’m going to go out on a limb here.

I’m assuming you’re not making landing pages for the “Institute of Self-loathing.”

Oh that’s correct? Hah, what a relief. Okay good.

In that case, question for you:

Do your landing pages know that?

Because most landing pages are:

• boring
• salesy
• not what we wanted
• not how we wanted it
• low-effort
• forgettable

And yet brands spend huge sums of money ‘optimising’ these things.

It’s like trying to ‘optimise’ a dead twig into a Giant sequoia.

So next time you build a landing page, consider:

• do I understand my audience well enough?
• is this what my audience actually wants?
• is this how my audience enjoys consuming?
• is this solving a problem for them before they signup for anything?
• is this unignorably well produced?
• is this unforgettably memorable?

I explore this topic in more detail in this week’s issue of The Productoon newsletter. Check it out!

“Marketers ruin everything”

I 100% agree with this, unless:

They STOP doing this:

• Building faux-connections to pitch us from
• Following us around the web with ‘offers’
• Optimising for clicks not user delight

And START doing this:

• Building real connections we’re drawn to
• Building unignorably good experiences
• Optimising for long-term fans not mere clicks

We want things to look forward to.
We want to be seen as people, not clicks.
We want great experiences that make us better.

When you plan a landing page…

How do you make sure it stands out?

The Internet doesn’t have a landing page shortage, y’know.

And it doesn’t have a mediocre offer shortage, either.

But it does have a shortage of memorable experiences that make us better…

So much better that we had to tell others about it so they could receive those same benefits for themselves.

Know what they WANT.

Know HOW they want to go there.

Then make that thing unignorably good.

The web many not have a landing page shortage…

But it sure-as-the-rooster-crows has a shortage of great experiences that make you better.

I’m about to save you a load of time, friends.

Replace your productivity hacks with this:

• I learned this through trial and error
• I had gotten really ‘productive’
• But I didn’t get more effective

Here’s what I realised:

• Better than email hacks? Having fewer emails.
• Better than calendar optimisation? Having less to do.
• Better than meeting schedulers? Having fewer calls.
• Fewer emails won’t cost you. Most of them are’t important.
• Less to do won’t cost you. You already know you waste time.
• Fewer meetings won’t cost you. Tire-kickers weren’t worth it anyway.

Now, TAKE that newfound time and:

• learn what your customers want,
• learn how they love to receive it,
• then making it un-ignorably good.

Don’t be a super-organised silly-sausage,
Be a creator of amazing customer experiences.

Isn’t that better, champ?

What personal brands are getting wrong

(And why it’s getting worse)

1. Everyone’s just using templates
2. Everyone’s recycling the same topics
3. Everyone’s afraid to be unique ‘because algo’

The result?

You cannot stand out.
(How can anything stand out by blending in?)

Ring ring

Oh hey, the Universe is on the phone!

Hello? …

It says:

Show us your art.
Show us your heart.
Make things you’re proud of.
Make things that last beyond the algo.
Make what they want, how they want to receive it.
Make unignorably good experiences they’ll remember.

OK thanks for sharing Universe, bye click

…

I guess we should listen, huh?

Technology moves quickly…
But it also moves slowly, if you want it to.

Take email for example. There are hot new subscription-based options if that’s what you like, but there’s also very capable text-based alternatives that have been around since 1995.

They still work fine.

Or take website builders as another example. There’s fierce competition between the big players at the moment, yet this site is currently powered by a framework created in 2008 (and loads faster than all of the newcomers too). And every line of code was written in an editor built in 1991.

Things don’t have to change for the sake of changing unless you want them to.

And the same goes for your craft: change the things that need changing, if it makes your work better.

And don’t feel bad about keeping other areas of your craft the same as they always have been, if it works well for your process, and produces beautiful results.

You’re in control.

Sometimes ‘Done’ isn over-done.

‘Done’ means we’re totally happy, we’ve manicured every nook and cranny.

But ‘ready’?

‘Ready’ means we may not be totally happy, because that would take weeks when we only have days.

‘Ready’ means we brought our skills to the work both in production and in planning.

It may not be the very best loaf of bread we ever baked, it may not be ‘done’ in that sense, but it can still be ‘ready’ for us to all enjoy.

Allow yourself ‘Done’ if ‘Done’ will ship on time.

Otherwise, learn the power of ‘Ready’.

Why are you sitting in a box?

Silly, let me help you out of there.
Feel better?

You might be wondering why you were in a box at all.
That’s okay, it happens all the time:

Spend time in any industry and it’ll build itself around you.
‘Best practices’ show up, corrugated and firm,
Giving you paper cuts as you defy them.

But the problem is, from the outside?
You just look like a cardboard box.
In a warehouse of other boxes.

Boring.

You can’t stand out while blending in.
Or while sat hidden inside a box.

So while your competitors are busy blending in,
And A/B testing for which variation of mediocrity is best,

You can be learning what customers actually want, how they enjoy receiving it.

Get ‘what’ right and they’ll:

• Feel attracted to you, because you’re the one who understands.
• Feel seen and heard, in a sea of blind alternatives that won’t listen.
• Sign up with you, as if you know the problem, you surely know the answer.

Get ‘how’ right and they’ll:

• Notice you, because everyone else blends in together.
• Watch your videos, because they’re just like their favourites.
• Click your links, because they’ll surely be even more of the same.

You’d think your competitors hate the idea of distinctive brand presence, increased engagement and loyalty, more organic reach and shares, a fantastic reputation, repeat business and word of mouth.

I explore this topic in more detail in this week’s issue of The Productoon newsletter. Check it out!

When there’s so much to do,
We forget to look and see how far we’ve come.

When everyone wants our attention,
We forget to give ourselves much attention.

When we’re working on lots of projects,
We forget to work on ourselves.

Take a day.

Not because you ‘deserve it’.

But because you earned it.

I’m about to save you a load of time.

Replace your productivity hacks with this. I learned this through trial and error
• I had gotten really ‘productive’… But I didn’t get more effective.

Here’s what I realised:

• Better than email hacks? Having fewer emails.
• Better than calendar optimisation? Having less to do.
• Better than meeting schedulers? Having fewer calls.
• Fewer emails won’t cost you. Most of them are’t important.
• Less to do won’t cost you. You already know you waste time.
• Fewer meetings won’t cost you. Tire-kickers weren’t worth it anyway.

Now, TAKE that newfound time and:

• learn what your customers want,
• learn how they love to receive it,
• then making it un-ignorably good.

Don’t be a super-organised silly-sausage,
Be a creator of amazing customer experiences.

Isn’t that better, champ?

Do you use landing pages?

A simple formula to know when you need one:

1 audience + 1 message = 1 page.

Better to have ONE unignorably good page for each than a dozen ‘meh’ pages for each.

More is not better.

Better is better.

Best practices aren’t best.

They’re just:

• Most quoted by the uninitiated - Most common in an industry
• Most frequently sold

That doesn’t mean they’re:

• Actually best


Keep that in mind next time you reach for best practices.