Tag / twitter

by Nathan Coumbe

Freedom from consequences

Trevor Noah recently said something I feel very strongly about. I’m paraphrasing a bit:

“People who are pro-free speech [at all costs]…are only really pro-free speech about their speech that might offend other people.”

Or, I might add, that may be despicably untrue…then an algorithm picks it up and spreads it to gullible or ill-informed victims…

But here’s the thing: freedom of speech protects you against government intervention.

It doesn’t give you the right to be an asshole (or evil) without consequences.

It also doesn’t protect you from businesses, corporations, or individuals limiting what you say.

You can’t say “bomb” in an airport without being tackled by TSA agents.

You can’t tell a restaurant owner to “eat shit and die”—then expect to be allowed back in to eat.

You also can’t say terrible things to a person and force them to stick around and listen… At least not in the real world (but apparently we expect others to do just that online).

That’s not free speech.

Somehow we’ve conflated (incorrectly) the idea of “I can say whatever I want no matter what,” with part of the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

But:

Everything you say or do has consequences.

They might be good OR bad, but consequences of some sort will ensue regardless. That’s a natural law of the universe. And it’s immature to say or do something awful, then get upset when it has negative consequences for you.

This argument we’re having about what’s “allowed” to be said on the internet—it isn’t an argument about free speech.

Rather, it’s a conversation about actions and their consequences.

Our desire to avoid taking responsibility for those actions…and who determines what those consequences are.

You can do whatever you want…

You just can’t control the outcome of whatever you do.

“When you pick up one end of the stick, you pick up the other.”

—Stephen R. Covey
by Nathan Coumbe

Don’t Try to Be Famous—Solve Problems Instead

Controversial Opinion: Becoming a social media influencer is NOT the best way to thrive in today’s economy. 

Yes—there are people on TikTok, Instagram, and all the other platforms making a fortune. 

Social media influencing is the new Hollywood. Most of us only see the handful of big-name players making fortunes, and we assume we can easily do that too.

What we miss are the hundreds or thousands of actors making little to nothing in the entertainment industry or working odd jobs to pay the bills.

There isn’t anything wrong with that, but our culture is telling us we can all do this on social media now. 

Ever heard of the long tail? Here’s an example (about podcasts):

50% or more of all podcasts have only been listened to by 124 people… Which is not a sustainable business model. 

This is a power-law curve, and it applies to just about everything.

If you solve problems for people by BEING one of those influencers, that’s a different story.

But measuring your success and hoping one of these companies will pay you a fortune for hits on your content is a bad way to live your life.

Commonsense, fundamental money principles combined with a steady income from solving problems for people over a long period of time.

This is the way to make a fortune. It’s just not slick or instant, so it isn’t sexy. 

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by Nathan Coumbe

Who’s It For?

Jason Bradwell tweeted this a while back:

“Too many businesses suffer from FOMO [Fear of Missing Out] when it comes to their marketing. ‘We NEED a podcast!’ We NEED to be on TikTok!’

We’re all marketers now, trying to change the culture and influence others (hopefully for the better). But we have a problem: we get so caught up trying to figure out the tools and tactics, we stop focusing on the people!

What if your target audience isn’t ON TikTok?

What if your ideal customers don’t LISTEN to podcasts?

Why use those platforms if they aren’t helping you reach the right people?

“Who’s it for?” is the first question we should be asking.

H/t to Seth Godin for teaching me what’s most important in marketing.

(Here’s the original post if you’re interested.)

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by Nathan Coumbe

Should You Get Paid Every Time You Send an Email?

Wouldn’t it be great if you got paid every time you sent an email? I dunno about you, but I’d love to live in that world. 

I send hundreds each week. If I earned the price of a postage stamp on each one, I could make a pretty easy living.

Am I Devaluing Myself?

I’m an up-and-coming copywriter. To make a living, I spend several hours each week reaching out to potential clients, offering them my services as a writer and marketer. I do this because I’m a salesperson. And if you’re trying to make a living in a similar way, so are you. 

I recently came across a Twitter post telling me that I was devaluing my work by selling myself. To sum it up, the writer said I should either:

  1. Have clients beating a path to my door willing to pay me, OR 
  2. I should get paid every time I send an email, proposal, or pitch to a potential client before any work is done. 

I understand the author’s point. My time is valuable, and it stinks when I feel I’ve “wasted” my time pitching to someone who doesn’t buy. But I 100% disagree.

Sales Professionals Don’t Get Paid to Prospect

How do professional salespeople get paid? They sell a product and get paid a commission. They don’t get paid when they prospect or send proposals to customers. The only way they make money is by closing a sale. 

I sell a service, and I only get paid if I provide that service. And that service is not pitching ideas. If it was, I’d be a billionaire right now because I have a few thousand ideas each day, and most of them are awful.

Selling Your Service Is Like Applying for a Job

Each time I pitch a client, I’m putting in a job application. Think about all the jobs you’ve applied for in your adult life. What if you got paid for every job application you ever completed? Wouldn’t that make for an awesome career?

Often we don’t have a lot of experience for the jobs we are applying for, especially if we are new to the workforce or a field. When asked what a beginner should do, the Tweeter said, “get paid to pitch.”

We’ve all gotten those phone calls from sleazy salespeople. Does this sound familiar?

“I’ve got this great new system that will keep you from paying any taxes this year. But I can only tell you what it is if you sign a non-disclosure agreement and pay me $2,000 upfront.”

You know you’re losing money and going to jail if you get in bed with that guy. You don’t want to have anything to do with an idea you can only hear after signing an NDA and paying upfront.

How to ACTUALLY Get Paid to Pitch 

There are two parts to this tactic:

  1. Charge higher prices to compensate for the inevitable rejections you’ll get.
  2. Overdeliver to your clients and customers so it’s worth paying you higher prices!

One of my favorite phrases comes from the marketing genius Seth Godin:

“You’ll pay a lot, but you’ll get more than you paid for.”

That is the only way this guy’s Tweet works. 

Selling Is Tough

I get it. Creating proposals, pitching to customers, and facing possible rejection—it really stinks. It takes a lot of time and hard work. It’s frustrating. 

But let me be clear: THAT DOESN’T MEAN ANYONE OWES YOU ANYTHING!

The world doesn’t work that way. We are all in sales, and much of that involves reaching out to others. It means facing the very real possibility of rejection coupled with no monetary gain. 

So go ahead and pitch. And if you want to get paid for that, build the cost into your pricing structure. 

But make sure you overdeliver on that promise to your customer. 

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by Nathan Coumbe

Networking is terrible, but there is a better way.

Networking – the idea of surrounding yourself with lots of people who might be able to open doors for you and help you get jobs – is a terrible practice.

It sucks.

The premise is flawed; it goes against every notion and every principle of decency and humanity. To effectively network, it seems one must adopt the mindset of, “What can this person do for me? How can she connect me with the HR department at [insert famous company]? What resources can she offer me so that I can get better (more marketable and attractive to potential employers)?”

Take, take, take, take. It’s a very common practice in Social Networking – some will say, “Use [pick your Social Media poison] to grow as many potentially helpful connections as possible so that maybe one of them can help you get a job at a certain company.”

The selfish focus, the mindset of “me,” is horrid. What is worse: it often backfires and alienates those you are attempting to use for your own selfish gains.

You think these “connections” can’t read right through your message? You’re wrong.

A new way to network

I propose a new way to network – go on your LinkedIn profile and start going down the list of connections. For each one, ask yourself this question: “Can I make a contribution to this person today, and if so, how?”

One important note: this requires a paradigm shift – a genuine change in your way of thinking (here’s a post about paradigms). You cannot adopt this posture while thinking in the back of your mind, “How can I contribute in a way that will get me something later?” You haven’t actually changed anything about the process that way.

If you really want to test this out, find someone in your list of connections who truly cannot “do” anything for you, in the sense of making a connection, giving a recommendation, or helping you get a job. When you find this person, ask yourself what contribution you can make: maybe it’s a simple message of gratitude for something they posted; perhaps it’s asking how their business is performing during the current crisis.

It doesn’t have to be much – it only has to be genuine. Only you will know if your intentions are pure.

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

–John F. Kennedy

JFK said it well, and the same message applies to networking.

Ask not what your connections can do for you; ask what you can do for your connections.

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by Nathan Coumbe

Why write?

Why would anyone start a blog in 2020 (or in my case, 2019)?

Nobody wants to read anymore; no one has the attention span to read anything more than headlines, bullet points, and headers.

If we want information, a lesson, or an explanation of an idea, we just go to YouTube. If we want entertainment, we go to Tik Tok for quick, random snippets or Twitter for messages. No more than 140 characters, thank you very much!

So why write?

For me, it’s to stretch a muscle. It isn’t to get someone to buy something; it isn’t to persuade the entire world to change how it operates. Writing helps me organize my thoughts. It allows me to practice putting messages and ideas into the world in a coherent form; it allows me to argue points and prove or disprove my ideas with my own gathered evidence.

“Writing is organized thinking on behalf of persuasion.”

–Seth Godin, “Even if it’s not graduation week for you…”

Perhaps I’m trying to persuade myself.

So this blog I write, or try to write, everyday – what’s it for? It’s for me to learn, practice, stretch, organize, and try and make sense of the world.

If it helps you, too, I am thrilled.

You should write something.

Maybe writing isn’t for you, but it is a uniquely human endowment, and I advise you try it. However, be clear on why you are writing. Don’t write to get people to read; don’t write to get a following; don’t write to get money. Write for yourself, at least at first.

Write to examine your thoughts. Write to examine what you are learning and check your understanding. Write to get the massed jumble of ideas out of your head and into a physical form – you’d be amazed how much anxiety that relieves. Write to try and persuade one person that your idea might help them get better.

It doesn’t have to be good; it just needs to be done. And the more you do it, the better it will get.

Write something.

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