Archive of posts from November 2024

Some people work hard because they want more, and want to use their work as a means of getting it.

Some people work hard because they have plenty, and want to use their work as a means of expression and joy.

The second crowd tend to create much better work.

And the good news is, most of us can simply choose to be in the second crowd. Plenty is a mindset, not a number.

Ever feel like you’ve got too much to do?

So much that you don’t know where to look next?

Try putting it all in one list.

Everything is there, in an order, from top to bottom.

Great. Now you have one thing at the top.

And just like that, everything else falls away into the background. They’re still there, they still want your help, but they’re not for right now.

There’s only one thing for right now. The one at the top.

So next time you feel overwhelmed, drowning, too much to do…

Just do the one at the top.

When you’re building a project with a team?

You might think the smartest thing to do is trust your team. To “get the right people onto the boat” then trust that they’ll right by you and the project. That they’ll treat you like you expect to be treated.

And if you think that way, you might even be right.

But I find a better route is to learn to trust yourself. To trust that you are reliable, strong, focused, committed, able, skilled, and worthy of everything that lies before you.

That way, if others pull through, lovely.

If they don’t, you still have everything you need, without the sting of disappointment, or worse.

It requires learning to trust yourself. To love yourself. To have confidence in yourself.

For many of us, that’s one of the hardest lesson to learn of all.

Learning it is a life skill that won’t let you down.

Edutainment is not:

• adding cringe jokes
• dancing on TikTok
• novel distraction
• just being silly

Edutainment is:

• increasing ‘attention quality’
• easier user deplatforming
• sustainable acquisition
• higher ROAS potential
• higher CRO potential – brand moat buildin

Brands are only starting to notice.

Not all “hard work” is created equal.

If you find yourself working on…

• Abandoned intent sequences
• Redeeming bounce rates
• Struggling for ROAS
• Fighting low CTRs

That’s not working hard.
That’s making work, hard.

Consider instead working on…

• Listening to customers more
• Making what they actually want
• Making it fun for them to experience

That works hard.
Even when you’re hardly working.

Isn’t that better?

Can ‘edutainment’ improve your cold outbound?

You bet your booty it can:

Bad outbound:

• Is pushy
• Is boring
• Pitches product
• Same for everyone

Good outbound:

• Attracts
• Is enjoyable
• Fixes a problem
• Made just for them

The ultimate response of bad outbound:
= “OK fine”

The typical response of good outbound:
= “Thank you so much this is great”

You get that by sending:

• What people actually want
• How they want to receive it
• Un-ignorably well-executed

Isn’t that better?

If you use Gmail and get marked as spam by 0.3% of email receipients, you’re done.

Some find this terrifying.

I think it’s liberating.

If you don’t spam, only mail people who want to hear from you, you always send great things, and you always make it clear how to stop receiving mail, you have no problem.

If you’re thinking of breaking any of those rules, you should be terrified.

Or, better yet, you should consider doing better.

That thing you want to make?

The bad news is, someone probably already made something just like that.

The good news is, that’s all the belief you need to know you can do it too.

Permission granted.

Black Friday is a trick

Your brand must avoid these pitfalls…

• Deep discounts
• Flash-sale language
• Pre/post event price manipulation

These things teach users you’re overpriced.

Try this instead…

• Offer a seasonal/event bonus
• Make the bonus limited-edition

These things build excitement & add value.

Isn’t that better?

Daring to try something new is only increasing in importance.

Throw a dart at ANY marketing metric.

Wherever it lands, you’ll likely find a ocean of opportunity.

Algorithms punishing you? Creative is the variable, so dare.

Email open rates low? Value or novelty is lacking, so dare.

Prospecting got harder? Brand affinity is down, so dare.

Get out there and dare to try something new.

Good sales is helping people move forward.

Good content helps people move forward.

Good sales is forcing people to do something they don’t want.

Bad content is forcing people to do something they don’t want.

They’re different, but they’re also samesies.

Hey. Don’t compare.

Do this instead:

• Listen to your audience,
• Give ‘em what they want,
• Give it to ‘em how they’ll enjoy it.

That’s all we need.

Which is easier: OK marketing or Great marketing?

Let’s compare them:

OK marketing:

• Just copy others
  
• No need to talk to users
  – You can’t stand out
  – You must fight for attention

Great marketing:

– Needs fresh ideas
– Must talk to users

• Higher chance of standing out
  
• Easier to get attention

So which is easier?

I’d say Great marketing is easier.

How about you?

I love the word “Poka-yoke” (ポカヨケ).

It’s a Japanese term that means “mistake-proofing” or “error prevention”.

It’s a design philosophy that makes your products obvious enough that users don’t use it incorrectly.

It’s a system philosophy that makes your processes thorough enough that they don’t allow errors.

It’s something we see a lot in children’s toys. Much less so in tools we use as grown-ups.

Grown-ups need more Poka-yoke.

At first glance, people think these things are bad, but they’re actually great:

• “Nobody cares”
• “There is no point”
• “There is no hope”

Nobody caring means you’re free to do whatever. Try things, win, fail, try something else, change your mind, create, play. Nobody cares.

There being no point means you’re free to make your own. Play the game you want to play, instead of being bound by someone else’s rules.

There being no hope means you’re free from it all being accounted for. None of us get out of this alive, so spend your time pursuing the meaning you give it, not a meaning you were prescribed.

How empowering is that?

Q: What do social templates and brand templates have in common?

A: They both stink. You can’t stand out by blending in.

This is your Friday reminder to:

• Learn your audience’s weird quirks
• Make those your weird quirks
• Amplify those weird quirks.

So.

So in this week’s newsletter:

• More on this topic
• Syed drops wisdom
• Sedgwick works out LinkedIn

Drops in a few hours at https://theproductoon.com.

This is what your competitors think is a great ad.

So it begs the question:

• Why not create what buyers actually like seeing?
• Why not do what the competition are afraid of?
• Why not stand out instead of following trends?

The biggest players in your space are afraid of crazy-good experiences you could make.

Make ‘em sweat.

Good marketers VS Great marketers

The great ones do 3 things differently:

1. They learn WHAT the audience wants
2. They learn HOW they want to get it
3. They SMASH the two together

And they have PROCESS for it.

E.g. I use edutainment frameworks like:

• “Dirty Taxi” structure
• “What they’d rather be doing” method
• “BBQ Chip” formula
• “Dead Fish” funnel
• “Lesson Arc”

But there are many ways to get it done.

Just get those 3 things right, and put some process around it for consistent results.

Boom, welcome to the Great club.

“No work is beneath me.”

The funny thing about this quote is the unit of measurement.

Normally, the unit is determined by peers, culture, gurus… pressures. External pressures. Pressures that have nothing to do with you, your desires, your enjoyment, your life.

Where things get good are when you choose your own unit of measurement.

Then, you can be doing something ‘beneath’ for someone else, and love life.

Then, you can be doing something ‘above’ for someone else, yet still hate it.

The best thing we can do with a career is remember to choose our own unit for measuring our lives.

Nobody else cares. They only ever look to compare themselves, as a salve to their own insecurities.

Micro-managers say: “This might not work, so I need to get involved and ensure it won’t.”

Leaders say: “This might not work, so I need to get out of the way and ensure it will.”

Smart people often look dumb at first glance.

They’re busy saying “I don’t know, I’ll go find out” all the time.

Dumb people often look smart at first glance.

They’re busy saying “I know everything” all the time.

I like it when things are ‘hard’.

‘Easy’ means there’s a mad rush of craziness… then it’s back to hard again.

‘Hard’ is calm. ‘Hard’ has low competition.

‘Hard’ is the new easy.

The reason

• cold email is easy…
• cold dms are easy…
• cold calls are easy…
• paid ads are easy…
• sponsors are easy…

(at least, from personal experience…)
…is because no one is prepared to lead with real value.

People want to SEND fast, automated, and scalable

But people want to RECEIVE what they truly want, how they enjoy receiving it, un-ignorably well built.

It’s not as fast. Or as automated. Or as scalable.
But when you hit 1/10 instead of 1/1,000, does it need to be?

Marketers like to talk about “owned audiences”.

They think because they have an email addresss, it’s an “owned audience”.

They’re wrong.

Having an email address in your database hasn’t “earned” you the right to be heard. Or liked. Or bought from.

You “own” the database… but you don’t own the records.

So put on a show worthy of their attention, affection, and consideration.

Savvy buyers hate upsells.

Savvy buyers love getting more of what they love.

What’s the difference?

It feels like an “upsell” when the seller:

• asks for more than they gave (so far)
• still has promises outstanding

Its feels like “more of what they love” when they:

• ask for less than they gave (positive balance)
• overdelivered on all past promises

So give ’em what they want. Give it how they want it. And let ’em ask for more.

We ASSUME great marketing spreads everywhere.

But it actually does the opposite:

It focuses on:

• Being only where your people are
• Showing up in ways they’ll enjoy
• Doing that again tomorrow

Think about it:

• Your people already consume for fun.
• Your people already want to grow.

So why not put the two together?

Most social posts call into 1 of 5 categories.

2 are healthy. 3 are insecure:

• “Acknowledge my progress so I’ll feel worthy”
• “Agree with my thinking so I’ll look clever”
• “I’m making something cool, check it out”
• “Buy my thing so I’ll feel good at this”
• “Here’s some encouragement”

Can you spot the healthy ones?

What do gardening & bizdev have in common?

An important lesson for us all:

Question:

• If the grass needs cutting again next week…
• If you can easily “leverage it away”…
• Then why ever cut the grass?

Answer:

• Because you want to!

Derek Sivers (CDBaby) delegated bizdev so he could code.
Jason Fried (37signals) calls ‘CEO’ a ‘part-time role’.
I illustrate our ideas because I enjoy it & want to.

Your business, your rules.
Shape your day your way, friends.

A good marketing message knows 4 things:

1. WHO it’s for
2. WHAT they want to hear
3. HOW they want to hear it
4. WHEN in it fits their journey

Remember to be specific, friends.