brain pickings are are short and actionable advice on marketing, productivity and humaning. I write them daily'ish, sometimes insightful, sometimes personal, always humurous. happy scrolling!
if you were to start a business today, you have a:
20% chance of failing within the first 2 years;
45% chance of failing within the first 5 years,
65% chance of failing during the first 10 years.
843,320 businesses were started in 2021 in the US.
statistically 168,664 will close shop by the end of this year (2022)
inspiring prospects.
it’s very tempting to sit here and offer broad reasons as to why this happens:
poor management,
lack of financing,
bad karma…
ultimately, the most important thing to understand is this:
most people don’t plan to fail,
they just fail to plan.
(yes, even for bad karma)
you don’t have to be the CEO of doing things the hard way,
for every 3 out of 4 businesses that fail,
1 thrives survives for 14+ years.
find out what they are doing,
and do the same thing.
I’ll see you tomorrow.
today is day 238 of the year, there are 128 days remaining of 2022.
the school you went to, was it your idea?
the city you now live in?
the car you drive, the place you live, the socks you’re wearing?
how about your job, was it your idea?
if it wasn’t your idea, did you, at least, vote for it? did you have an opinion? did you fight for it?
your life is a combination of all of the choices you make,
how much of your life was your idea?
I’ll see you tomorrow.
today is day 237 of the year, there are 129 days remaining of 2022.
email marketing is dead.
it’s supposedly been dead for a decade now.
for a dead practice, it sure is breathing very heavily.
333.2 billion emails are sent per DAY.
if you’re like most people and breathe 12 times per minute,
that means 17.5 million emails will have been sent by the time you take in one breath.
(possible mantra for my next meditation)
I’d be curious to know how many of those emails are spam,
how many are promotional,
and how many are from your accountant that hasn’t yet learned that emails have a “body” and not all of the information needs to be written in the subject line.
or is it just my accountant? 🙂
it’s not just email marketing,
it’s facebook advertising,
it’s search engine optimization,
and whatever new thing will be the thing when you read this picking.
it’s not the tool
it’s the consumer.
they’re getting smarter (as they should,)
they’re learning about the psychological tricks marketers use (as they should,)
they’re deleting, reporting and unsubscribing (as they should.)
people opt-in because they have a problem and they believe you have the solution.
they believe that once they leave their credentials, they’ll find closure and NOT a barrage of email sequences and invitations to BUY NOW before the offer goes away.
similarly to online dating, the email marketing bar is reaaaaally low,
next time your prospect opts-in, inspire them with something hopeful and give them something useful,
ideally the thing you promised you’d give.
I’ll see you tomorrow.
today is day 236 of the year, there are 130 days remaining of 2022.
I am not the kind of person that says “I’m the kind of person that…”
this expression genuinely angers me with the fire of a thousand suns,
as it usually comes with a bizarre sense of pride in a shortcoming:
“oh, I’m not a math person”
with little exceptions (e.g. dyscalculia) that’s usually code for “I can’t be bothered to think and don’t want to look bad.”
note: saying “I’m not the kind of person that enjoys killing” – is perfectly acceptable, and in fact, desirable.
you could very well say, “well, I just don’t like math, I’m not good at it, I prefer using a calculator instead”
ah, well…
having a preference and being unable to do something are completely different things.
you are exactly the kind of person you want to be.
having this awareness is immensely freeing, but also bears a hefty burden of responsibility,
“I am not the kind of person that…” then becomes “I choose not to….”
I choose not to be a math person is perfectly valid, you can’t be everything.
so, what kind of a person are you?
I’ll see you tomorrow.
today is day 234 of the year, there are 132 days remaining of 2022.
I’ve spent half my life getting in trouble
and the other half getting out of it,
nothing extreme or dangerous, just different.
(I take great pride in cultivating my oddness)
I did it because it was fun,
because I wanted to challenge myself,
because I wanted to be different,
because no one told me I couldn’t,
because my home was a safe haven.
I won’t bore you with examples, just a tip.
go first.
I wish I could go back in time to tell your parents to:
let you go to camp,
trust and forgive you,
give you more privacy,
let you go your own direction,
believe in you.
but I can’t,
so I will tell you this instead.
go first.
you don’t have to ask for permission to:
say hello first,
book the tickets first,
be kind first,
take the leap first,
make the change first,
choose yourself first.
go first.
being first allows you to:
set the rules first,
reap the rewards first,
learn the lessons first,
move on to the next thing first.
be first again.
indeed, if you never try first, you’ll never fail,
you’ll also never win.
who wants to be first?
I’ll see you tomorrow.
today is day 231 of the year, there are 136 days remaining of 2022.
everyone loves a good hero’s journey:
writers, poets, composers, filmmakers, actual heroes…
and marketers.
think of Robin Hood for a moment,
as classic of a hero’s journey as they come:
I. nobleman gets captured in a fight;
II. he returns home after some time, expecting to find things as he’s left them;
III. instead he discovers an usurper had taken his place;
IV. the sheriff is also taking advantage of the people;
V. he then decides to become a vigilante and fight against those forces.
your garden variety “good versus evil” storyline we all know and love.
why do they work so well?
it’s hopeful, it shows that change is possible (even for little ol’ you,)
and that you can overcome great obstacles, defeat your enemies and get the girl, on your way to achieving your goals.
who wouldn’t want some of that?
now think of Robin Hood, the marketer…
“this is what’s happening to you and you might not even know it! join me and I’ll help you against the bad guys!”
meaning…
“mainstream skin care is mass produced, packed with harmful ingredients and they even test on animals! buy from me and your skin will thank you for it. I hike 20k and handpick the ingredients myself, play classical music to relax the leaves and manually grind them with the mortar and pestle.”
you’ve seen a million of these examples online, especially in small businesses,
a lot of influencers seem to be latching on to this arch as well.
it works.
it works well.
it provides a narrative we naturally understand and can get behind.
there are hundreds of tropes you can draw inspiration from, which one’s yours?
Sidenote: Story selling is a new buzzword to mainstream marketing, but the concept (to my knowledge) was first popularized by Colin Theriot, one of my mentors, who I’ve learned this from in 2017. Check out his work if you want to learn more.
I’ll see you tomorrow.
today is day 230 of the year, there are 137 days remaining of 2022.