This is a rare, self-indulgent, and self-centered issue. I wrote because I feel celebratory this week (my birthday is in two days). If you struggle with the choice between following the unwritten rules and forging your own path like I used to, this issue is for you.
OK, onto today’s topic:
Should you color within the lines?
TL;DR: yes, if you’re just getting started. No, if you have some experience.
Because you need to know the rules so you can choose which of them to break.
However, if everyone plays by the same rules, no one stands out. There are a few areas where I decided to throw the rulebook out the window:
Long-form writing when everyone tells you to go short
One paragraph? Too long! Can you trim it into a single line?
Well, no, Chad. Some issues are more complex than others and deserve more real estate. Turning everything into a one-liner doesn’t make that complexity go away.
On the contrary, it deceives people into thinking everything can be solved easily.
Should you do it? Yes, if you love writing. No, if you only do it because you have to.
Your audience will be able to tell the difference.
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Adding links to social media posts — the big no-no that angers algorithm gods
Doesn’t it kill your reach?! Why do you do it so often?
I get these questions at least once a week. The zero-click world is here: social media networks don’t want you to drive people away from their platforms.
Their goals are tied to the amount of time users spend on their platform.
My goals, on the other hand, are tied to how many people I can drive to platforms I can control and where I don’t depend on fickle algorithms.
Yes, adding links to social media posts hurts my reach.
But sending people to chase a subscribe link on my profile or in the comments hurts my conversion rate — by 40-70% based on my experiments.*
*Take this number with a grain of salt, it’s based on limited data. Organic reach depends on many factors, not just external links.
“Don’t build your home on rented land” is a hill I will die on. So I’m going against popular advice and adding links to at least 70% of all my posts.
In a shocking twist of events, my best-performing posts on LinkedIn are those with external links, too.
In all honesty, I think it’s gauche and it adds friction to send people link-hunting. I write for humans, not algorithms.
Should you try it? Yes, if you already have a relatively large, engaged audience. Experiment and compare the results yourself. My clients who have tried it all spoke of much higher conversion rates with links in posts but that may not be the case for everyone.
However, balance those out with zero-link posts, at least 30% of your time. Growing your social media audience is an important first step to de-platforming people.
I don’t “make them an offer every day”
I don’t know what guru is responsible for this “gem” I’ve seen everywhere recently but I’ll pass, thank you. Not only because it will annoy my audience but because I cannot be in sales mode all the time.
I’d burn out faster than you can unsubscribe at the umpteenth sales email.
Plus, I play the long game. I don’t want to squeeze every penny out of my audience NOW because I’ve been in marketing long enough to know that few things are more important than a consistently engaged audience that trusts you. Even if they don’t buy…yet.
Should you try it? Yes, please! There are subtler ways to make an offer, like talking about how you helped a client of yours achieve something and omitting the CTA every once in a while.
A good primer on repeating your core messages and offers without becoming a broken record.
On a similar note:
I don’t try to sell something to my audience the minute they have subscribed because they’re in “action mode”
I heard this gem a couple of times too, with several people recommending I should make sales pitches in my welcome sequence. I didn’t.
Yes, my products are linked at the end of my welcome email but they are not the main focus. My welcome emails read human and, hopefully, welcoming, not pushy.
Should you try it? Yes, if building an audience or a newsletter is your main focus. No, if you build an email list with the sole purpose of selling stuff to the people on it.
There’s nothing wrong with the latter, it’s just a different approach from mine. In this case, people expect to be pitched something, especially if they already know you well enough from another channel.
I don’t always chase profit maximization
I saved this for last because it is, perhaps, the most controversial. Last week, I told you NOT to buy my products yet because they would be discounted soon. It’s not the first time I’ve done it.
My friend Hannah noticed that no one else was doing it, though:
And for good reason: profit maximization is the lifeblood of any business.
So why even do it? For two reasons:
- It’s the kind of warning I’d like to get. “Can you wait for a week and save $150 on these red shoes?” is the notification I’d like to get from all my shopping apps. Because:
- If I did, I’d be their die-hard fan forever. It would show me that they care about their clients too, not just their bottom line. And, if we can both win, why not? That’s the sign of a healthy business deal.
All in all, I don’t see it as leaving money on the table. I see it as leaving $10 on the table today to get $100 tomorrow. Once again, your audience’s trust is essential if you’re playing the long game like I do.
Should you try it? Yes, sparingly and not necessarily in this format. If you have a bundle deal, a product that’s a better fit for your clients even if it’s cheaper, or another way for them to save money, tell them.
Do it sparingly because if you have a promo or a bundle deal every day, those aren’t excellent deals, those are just the regular price. A final word of caution
I stand by my choices because they make sense for ME and MY business model. They may not make sense for you, though, so, as always, exercise critical thinking before implementing them.
This is a conversation I have very often in my strategy sessions:
Client: “I’ve seen you do [that] and I want to do it too.”
Me: “Don’t. It won’t work for you. Do [this] instead.”
This issue is here to inspire you to find your own ways to rebel against trite advice and common practices.
Off to plan my birthday weekend. Spoiler alert: it will include a wine fair (so cool that they decided to hold it on my birthday!), a restaurant I’ve been dying to try for a while, and more.
Actual footage of me from the future:
What about you? Anything special planned for this weekend? Reply and let me know, I still have some time left to fill with exciting activities this weekend.
That’s it from me today!
See you next week in your inbox!
Here to make you think,
Adriana
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