Just 12 Funny Tweets About Millennials Killing Things
You might not know it by looking at me, but I am a bloodthirsty and ruthless killer.
That’s right, dear reader. That grinning exterior belies the horror of a murderer, born between the years of 1980 and 2000 and hell-bent on destruction.
That’s right: I’m a millennial.
Millennials — the enigmatic demographic marketers are desperately trying to decode and squeeze more money out of — are wreaking havoc on the industry ecosystem. With our smartphones, our laziness, and our avocado toast, we cruelly dash the hopes of anything surviving our wrath.
Bar soap, beer, and the movies — all dead at the hands of entitled recent college grads.
Have you ever enjoyed a glass of sparkling rosé on a rooftop patio, then saved the rest of the bottle for later by closing it with a wine cork? Tough cookies — we’re coming for wine corks faster than you can say, “Snapchat.”
Nobody should really be surprised at the wrath of millennials. We’re staring down the barrel of skyrocketing costs of living, crippling student loan debt, and the rising probability the world will go up in flames during our tenure as “grown-ups.” All that stress has bubbled over and made us vengeful, killing machines — and we’re unstoppable.
In light of these dark and difficult conditions, I want to personally apologize for my generation — and lighten the collective internet’s mood with these 12 hilarious tweets about the various industries, foods, activities, and ideas my people have killed over the last couple of years.
12 Things Millennials Have Killed
1) Marriage
Millennials are waiting longer to get married than their parents, and they’ve been accused of killing the sacred act. But some of us argue that we’re not anti-marriage — we’re just waiting until we have our lives a little more together before settling down.
“Millennials are waiting until their 30’s to get married” ya our 20’s are reserved for crippling debt and unpaid internships
— Eliza Doll (@itselizadoll)
June 22, 2017
2) Napkins
We’re not gross — millennials just aren’t buying as many napkins because we’re buying paper towels instead. Another one bites the dust.
I see articles about Millennials preferring paper towels over napkins, but no reports about me repping Gen X by wiping my hands on my pants.
— Amy Dillon (@amydillon)
October 11, 2017
3) Golf
Millennials aren’t hitting the links as often as other demographic groups. Maybe they just don’t like the great outdoors — or maybe the cost to play is too high for our tight budgets. Nobody tell Tiger Woods.
Sure, millennials are killing off real estate, diamonds, golf, and napkins, but at least we’ve kept #slime alive! https://t.co/SToGRMKeHA
— Courtney Shupert (@courtelizashup)
October 1, 2017
4) Applebee’s
I haven’t sampled the menu at Applebee’s enough to say what it’s most famous for. But evidently, it’s not enough to impress the most discerning of millennials — because they’re steering clear of Applebee’s and other fast-casual dining spots.
Article: “Millennials are killing Applebee’s”
Applebee’s: “Dollar margaritas.”
Me, a broke millennial: “LET’S GO GET DRUNK AT APPLEBEES”
— struggles & sass (@struggs_n_sass)
October 17, 2017
5) Homeownership
When an Australian real estate tycoon suggested millennials could invest in real estate if they were stricter with their discretionary spending — citing avocado toast as the main culprit — we revolted on Twitter.
While it is true that fewer millennials are buying homes compared to renting them, avocado toast probably isn’t the only reason why …
Alright, I did the math. If I stopped eating avocado toast every day, I would be able to afford a bad house in Los Angeles in 642 years. http://pic.twitter.com/nqhiqnQ07E
— Kaleb Scary Horton (@kalebhorton)
May 15, 2017
6) Diamonds
“A diamond is forever” — unless you’re a millennial.
Maybe it’s because we’re waiting to get married, maybe it’s because we’re still scarred from seeing the movie Blood Diamond, or maybe it’s the diamond’s traditionally high price.
Any way you slice it, we’re not buying, and people are confused as to why …
I work at a grocery store
— Barstool Disliker (@CowlonFullerton)
July 1, 2016
7) Department Stores
Millennials aren’t shopping at department stores like Macy’s and Sears as much as their forebearers — instead electing to shop online or not shop at all.
love 2 be a millennial sitting on my giant hoard of cash, willfully refusing to buy:
– diamonds
– houses
– department store things— tekla (@alketrolyat)
May 14, 2017
8) Cable
Everyone’s cutting the cable cord these days — led by millennials, who are opting to subscribe to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu in lieu of paying for traditional cable packages.
It comes as a surprise to some of us who remember being lectured about watching too much TV when we were younger …
1997: Son there are better things to do than watch TV all day and cable is expensive
2017: How #millennials are killing the cable industry— Aaron McRuer (@M_c_Ruer)
August 31, 2017
9) Yogurt
Yogurt — specifically light yogurt — is next on the millennial chopping block. Instead, we’re opting for Greek yogurt.
I don’t identify with millennials but I’ll dance on light yogurt’s grave with them, that’s for damn sure
— Elisa Gabbert (@egabbert)
September 23, 2016
10) Fabric Softener
Millennials aren’t buying fabric softener — and as it turns out, it’s partly because we don’t know exactly what it does.
me, sipping from a tall glass of fabric softener as I watch golf on the TV at Applebees: millennials really need to get their priorities straight
— DSA Teatro Grottesco (@costaggini)
October 2, 2017
11) Banks
Millennials are choosing other banking and lending solutions other than the traditional brick-and-mortar institutions — and some people aren’t at all surprised.
12) Grocery Stores
Last on the list: grocery stores.
That’s right — millennials aren’t cooking at home as much, so they’re bypassing the grocery store in favor of meal kit delivery services and dining out.
Why, you might ask?
need it to live. next question http://pic.twitter.com/PrkFHlhZ6U
— brian feldman (@bafeldman)
August 14, 2015
The 8 Best Startup Logos From Shark Tank, and Why They Work
If you’re a young startup just beginning to find your footing in the business world, having a quality, professional-looking logo can help you look great in front of potential investors and clearly establish what your brand stands for.
Designing a logo that is simple enough to be absorbed and understood quickly, but still conveys the many meanings a brand might depend on is not an easy task. Generating creative logo ideas can be very time-consuming.
On ABC’s Shark Tank, companies only have a few minutes to pitch their business to the panel of investors, which means their logo needs to say a lot about what kind of business they are.
I’ve examined 96 companies from Shark Tank, Season 8 (check the full list here) and selected the best Shark Tank logos, explaining in-depth why each logo works and which design elements make it great.
The process of designing a logo requires an enormous amount of patience and an obsession with getting it right. So whether you’re a designer looking for some inspiration or an entrepreneur looking for logo design ideas for your business — you’re in the right place! Check out my analysis of the logos below to inspire your own design.
8 Best Shark Tank Logos
- Toymail
- Edn
- Vibes
- LaidBrand
- RinseKit
- Chirps
- Tranquilo
- Biem
How do you judge a logo?
A good logo is distinctive, appropriate, practical, graphic, simple in form, and conveys an intended message. The most successful companies continue to say:
Simpler is better.
And these companies definitely made the right hiring decision, whether they hired an independent design or a design agency, their logos came out well executed.
I’m going to judge these Shark Tank logos only in terms of their pure visual aesthetics without discussing the whole identity system, and how these logos work on the applications like websites, stationery design etc.
Simple ≠ Easy
Remember that the simplest ideas often require many hours of tweaking design concepts. Simplicity is something that is achieved by eliminating unnecessary elements — going from a visual clutter to a visual essence.
Principles of a Good Logo
I have judged all the Shark Tank logos by the following five criteria:
- Simplicity: Is the design simple and clean enough to be flexible and easily recognizable? Is it not too busy, distracting, or confusing?
- Memorability: Is it quickly recognizable? Is it clever? Will people only have to spend a second or two thinking about it to get it?
- Timelessness: Will it still be a great logo in 10, 20, or even 50 years?
- Versatility: Does it scale to different sizes without losing quality or clarity? Will it work across various media and within different contexts?
- Appropriateness: Does it resonate with the desired audience and industry of the business?
The 8 Best Startup Logos from Shark Tank Season 8
1) Toymail
The pitch: Toymail is a toy with hidden components inside that allow you to send a message to your kids. With just a push of a button, kids can connect to Mom, Dad, grandparents, or friends at any time, from anywhere. Parents use the Toymail app to send messages. Approve your child’s trusted circle through the Toymail app.
The logo is attractive for its unique toy-contour and a modern geometric typeface. The icon and the wordmark use a one-weight line which sets a unified style. The bright pink color is appropriate for a toy-company.
2) Edn
The pitch: Edn is a seed pod to grow your tiny garden indoor. Now anyone can master growing herbs, vegetables and flowers within the comfort of their home. The Small Garden’s soil-free technology takes care of your plants, so you don’t need to. The seed pods are dirt-free, so there’s no mess to clean up.
The wordmark feels very light and clean. The line over the “e” adds some character to it and marks the accent. The turquoise color adds a sense of nature and an organic feel to this slim and elegant typography.
3) Vibes
The pitch: Vibes are designed to enhance your live music experience. They lower decibel levels of your environment without sacrificing sound clarity. You hear true natural sound the way it was intended: clear, clean, controlled.
The minimalist execution is perfectly calibrated with a sturdy sans serif, just the right amount of airy letter-spacing. The icon adopts the silhouette of the earplugs and highlights the first letter in a distinctive & unique way.
4) LaidBrand
The pitch: LaidBrand is a pheromone-enriched hair care. Pheromones are naturally occurring chemicals in humans, and to put it simply without getting too technical, pheromones trigger responses. Whether you are trying to attract a mate or just exude that extra boost of confidence, pheromones play a huge part in achieving those desires.
The new wordmark is quite elegant and striking and the characteristic cuts on both sides add some sexy touch to it. There’s a great harmony between the cuts and the middle “A” letters. Overall, a great logo that sets a strong tone and makes it feel like something completely different.
5) RinseKit
The pitch: RinseKit is the only portable shower to have the pressure of a garden hose without pumping or batteries. With up to 4 minutes of spray time, RinseKit’s 2 gallon system holds pressure for over a month.
Overall, this is a very bold and dynamic logo. I like the underline that symbolizes a stream of water. Very confident, flat design with a special treatment that makes it look unique. It’s a complete conceptual and graphic solution.
6) Chirps
The pitch: Chirps are chips made of bugs — crickets. When we first started Chirps, many people told us to hide the fact that our foods have bugs and just talk about the nutritional benefits. That’s not us. We started Chirps because we want people to know that bugs are delicious, nutritious, and sustainable.
It is a crisp and bold icon that has a great presence. Very impressive logo. The subtle modifications to the “i” letter turn it into a bug which perfectly embodies the main ingredient: bugs.
7) Tranquilo
The pitch: The Tranquilo Mat is a portable vibrating mat that soothes baby in the crib, stroller, or on the go! The mat helps baby transition from a mother’s womb to the world during the “fourth trimester” after birth.
The logotype is an expressive and playful script that embodies the feel-good of the soothing mat. The friendly curves of the hand-scripted font and the light green color create an approachable and optimistic vibe.
8) Biem
The pitch: Biem is the handheld device that transforms a stick of real butter to a spray in seconds, making cooking, home entertaining, and baking infinitely easier.
I like the concept of the “i” being a spray bottle with the spray beam coming out of it, which captures perfectly what it is about in a simple way. The beam is neither too big nor too small to serve as a graphic trigger for something memorable.
Feature image credit: ABC
Color Psychology in Marketing [Infographic]
Humans are visual creatures — so visual, in fact, that color plays a much bigger role in influencing what we purchase than we might think.
There’s a reason companies test the colors of things like advertisements, banner ads, and call-to-action (CTA) buttons. When we did a button color test here at HubSpot, for example, we found that a red CTA button outperformed a green CTA button by 21%.
In other words, we increased conversion rate without changing anything about the page except for the color of the CTA. That’s the power of color psychology in marketing.
Let’s explore the ways color psychology plays a role in marketing, with a quick vocabulary lesson and a visual guide.
What is Color Psychology?
Color psychology is an area of research that looks at how color influences our behavior and decision-making. When used in marketing, for example, different colors can impact the way buyers perceive a brand in ways that aren’t always apparent, such as how certain hues can increase appetite.
As you explore the below infographic from Iconic Fox, you’ll see why certain brands have chosen specific colors for their logos. Have a look, and learn more about how each color influences consumer emotions and purchasing decisions.
Your Coworkers Really Hate When You Use These 3 Buzzwords, According to New Data
Office workers can pretty universally agree that buzzwords suck, but we’re all still guilty of peppering them into an email or a presentation here and there.
There are certainly worse ways to bother your coworkers than corporate jargon, but intentionally cutting them out of your daily conversations can only benefit your company’s overall culture and your own work relationships. There’s almost always a better, more descriptive way to say something hiding behind the buzzword.
To find out which corporate buzzwords bother American office workers the most, the folks at Summit Hosting conducted a survey of 1,000 people across a number of different industries. Read on to find out which words you should steer clear of to avoid irritating your coworkers — or even worse: losing their respect.
How to Use Facebook Live: The Ultimate Guide
In April 2016, Facebook launched Facebook Live: a live video streaming service that lets anyone broadcast from their mobile devices straight to their Facebook News Feed.
Since its launch, live streaming video has grown in popularity, with 16% of marketers broadcasting it in 2016. Facebook Live is particularly popular — videos see 3X the engagement of traditional videos shared on the platforms, and millions of users live stream on Facebook around the world.
Why are marketers getting so excited about Facebook Live? Because it’s a fun and fairly simple way for them to use the power of video to communicate their brand stories, and build authentic relationships with fans and followers — in real time.
However, for such a simple concept, Facebook Live has a lot of little nuances that marketers will need to learn if they want to get the most out of the platform. This guide will help you learn the best tricks that can make a big difference in how many people see your live broadcast, how they engage with it, and how it performs.
In this post, we’ll walk through how to broadcast on Facebook Live, how to analyze your live video’s performance, and several tips and tricks for getting the most out of the platform. (Click here to skip down to the tips.)
How to Broadcast on Facebook Live
Facebook Live started as a mobile-only broadcasting feature, but now, Facebook Pages can broadcast from either mobile devices or desktop computers. We’ll go over how to broadcast from mobile and desktop devices in the sections below.
How to Broadcast on Facebook Live via Mobile
To get started, get out your mobile device and open up the Facebook app.
Step 1: Go to the News Feed, and tap the “Live” option denoted by the camcorder icon.
You can also go live on your own Facebook profile. Open up the status bar by tapping the text that reads “What’s on your mind?” Then, select the “Live Video” option from the menu.
Step 2: Give Facebook access to your camera and microphone when prompted.
You’ll stop receiving these prompts after the first time you use it.
Step 3: Choose your privacy setting.
If you’re posting for a brand, you’ll probably want to make it public. If you’re posting as yourself, you might want to reserve your broadcast for friends. But if you’re new to Facebook Live and want to test it out first, or want to see what something will look like, then switch the privacy setting to “Only Me.” You can find the “Only Me” option by clicking “More” and scrolling all the way to the bottom.
Step 4: Write a compelling description.
Give your broadcast a description, which will show up on people’s News Feeds like a status update above the video. To get people to tune in, write an attention-grabbing headline and help them understand what your broadcast is about. Check out the example below from The White House’s live broadcast.
Source: Facebook
Step 5: Tag friends, choose your location, or add an activity.
Tap the icons at the bottom of your screen to tag people who are in the Facebook Live video, add the location from where you’re shooting, or share what you’re doing in the broadcast. These touches can add more personalization to your video, increase discoverability, and make people want to tune in.
Step 6: Set up your camera view.
Before you click “Go Live,” be sure your camera’s pointing in the direction you want it to. The background of your setup screen will show you what your camera sees. If you want to change the camera view to selfie or vice versa, simply click the rotating arrows icon in the upper right-hand corner of your screen.
The video will be a square, so it doesn’t matter whether you hold your mobile device vertically or horizontally.
Pro tip: You can choose if you want the image to be horizontally or vertically mirrored, too. Tap the magic wand icon in the upper right-hand corner of your screen, then tap the tools icon at the bottom of your screen to film from a different view or to adjust the video’s brightness.
Step 7: Add lenses, filters, or writing and drawing to your video.
Tap the magic wand icon in the upper right-hand corner of your screen, and choose if you want to add lenses to your face, change the filter of the camera, or write or draw to make the video more whimsical.
Step 8: Click the blue “Go Live” button to start broadcasting.
Once you click it, Facebook will give you a countdown — “3, 2, 1 …” — and then you’ll be live. As soon as you start streaming, your live video will appear in your News Feed — and others’ News Feeds — just like any other post.
Your broadcast can be up to 90 minutes long. Keep in mind that the longer you broadcast, the more people who are scrolling through their News Feeds on Facebook will stumble upon your post.
Step 9: Interact with viewers and commenters.
To keep your viewers engaged, encourage them to interact with your live video (which will help your ranking in others’ News Feeds). You can also interact with them both by speaking directly to them in your video and, if you want, by having someone else respond to comments from a desktop computer elsewhere.
Where can you see these comments? While you’re broadcasting, you’ll see the time elapsed on the top left along with the number of viewers, and comments will show up live on the bottom of your feed. They’ll appear in reverse chronological order, like on Twitter, so keep in mind that the earlier ones may be farther down.
Source: Facebook Newsroom
Note: You can also block viewers during a live broadcast by tapping the profile picture next to a viewer’s comment and then tapping “Block.” You can unblock someone you’ve previously blocked, too.
Step 10: Click “Finish” to end the broadcast.
Once you do this, the video will stay on your Timeline or Page like any other video post.
Step 11: Post your reply and save the video to your camera roll.
Once you finish your broadcast, you’ll be met with a screen similar to the one I’ve screenshot below. If you want to post it, that will enable others to view your video once you’ve stopped broadcasting. Then, tap the download button to save the video to your camera roll so you have a copy of the original for safekeeping.
Step 12: You’re done.
You can always go back to the post on your Timeline or Page and edit the description, change the privacy settings, or delete the video, just like you would any other post.
How to Broadcast on Facebook Live via Desktop
If you’re an admin or editor of a Facebook Page for your brand, you can also broadcast live from a desktop computer. This isn’t as spontaneous as broadcasting from a mobile device (and, obviously, isn’t as mobile), but this could be a good option for filming more static broadcasts. For example, we recently broadcast a Facebook Live panel in celebration of International Women’s Day. The panelists and interviewer sat in place the entire time, an example of when broadcasting from a steadier device could be more effective.
Step 1: Go to your Page and tap the “Write something” box, as if you’re writing a new post.
Tap the menu option to “See All,” and click on “Start a Live Video.”
Step 2: Write a compelling description of your video that will appear on your Page’s Timeline and in the News Feed.
Choose a descriptive and enticing summary to draw viewers in and make them unmute your Facebook Live to start watching.
Then, click “Next.”
Step 3: Give Facebook permission to use your computer’s camera and microphone.
You won’t be prompted for this again once you do it for the first time.
Step 4: Check to make sure your description and video view are final before starting your broadcast.
From here, you also have the option to share live video from an external device, such as a video camera or other recording device. Tap “click here” to set up that connection.
Step 5: Press “Go Live” to start your broadcast.
Facebook will give you a “3, 2, 1 … ” countdown before going live. Tap “Finish” when you’re ready to end the broadcast.
Step 6: The broadcast will appear in the News Feed and on your Page’s Timeline, where you can edit it by tapping the drop-down arrow in the upper right-hand corner.
From here, you can change the description, change the date of posting, or create a new Facebook post featuring the broadcast. If you want a video to garner more engagement, you can also pin it to the top of your brand’s Page so it’s the first post visitors see when they visit.
Now that you know how to broadcast from all devices, let’s dive into how to analyze Facebook Live videos.
How to Analyze Your Live Video’s Performance
How to Access Video Analytics on a Facebook Business Page
To get started analyzing your Facebook Live broadcasts, head to the “Insights” tab at the top of your brand’s Facebook Page:
Then, head to the “Videos” section of your analytics on the left-hand side of the screen.
From there, scroll down to the “Top Videos” section, and either choose a video from that menu to look into, or tap “Video Library” to look at all of the videos your Page has ever posted.
Now, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty.
The performance analytics available for Facebook Live videos are similar to those of normal videos on Facebook, with some neat additions.
- For Pre-recorded videos: Facebook lets you analyze minutes viewed, unique viewers, video views, 10-second views, average % completion, and a breakdown of reactions, comments, and shares.
- For Facebook Live videos: Facebook lets you analyze all the metrics listed above, plus peak live viewers, total views, average watch time, people reached, and the demographics of who watched your video.
In addition to all of these static numbers, you can click into each metric to see how it changed over time when the video was live. For example, if we click into “Peak Live Viewers,” we’ll see this interactive graph of video viewers over time:
You can even see who your typical viewer was during your broadcast, based on their Facebook profile information:
Now that you’ve got the steps down, let’s get into some tips and tricks.
14 Tips & Tricks for Getting the Most Out of Facebook Live
There are a lot of little things you can do to squeeze the most out of your Facebook Live videos. Below is an example of one of the earliest Facebook Live videos from Refinery29. This was the first video of a five-part live video series called “Chasing Daylight,” showcasing a typical night out for women in five different cities around the world. My colleague, HubSpot Marketing Manager Lindsay Kolowich, tracked this one down, and we refer to it in some of the tips below.
Warning: Some NSFW language.
1) Test out live video using the “Only Me” privacy setting.
If you want to play around with live broadcasting without actually sharing it with anyone else, you can change the privacy setting so you’re the only one who can see it — just like with any other Facebook post.
To switch the privacy setting to “Only Me,” follow steps 1–4 in the instructions above.
2) Space out live videos with other Facebook posts.
Because Facebook ranks Live videos higher than other videos and other types of posts, we recommend spacing out your Facebook Live videos with other Facebook content you post to maximize your organic reach.
3) Keep reintroducing yourself.
When you first start the video, take a minute to introduce yourself and what the video’s about. But keep in mind that when you first start live streaming, you may have zero people watching. Even a few seconds in, you could only have a handful of viewers. As people find your video on their News Feeds, they’ll join in — but that means you’ll want to reintroduce yourself a second, third, and even a fourth time to catch people up.
For example, in the Refinery29 video above, the host Lucie Fink introduces herself three times in the first few minutes, and several more times after that.
One second in:
“Hello, Facebook Live! Hey! Lucie Fink here. I don’t know if we have anyone on the broadcast yet, so I’m going to wait about one minute to see who joins us.”
One minute in:
“Hello to the 309 viewers in here right now. I’m Lucie Fink from Refinery29. Just to recap what’s happening right now, this is Episode One of Refinery29’s new global initiative, ‘Chasing Daylight.'”
A few minutes in:
“Just to give a quick recap on who I am, in case you guys don’t know — I’m Lucie Fink. I work at Refinery 29. Today, I’m doing this whole new series, and this is essentially giving you guys a glimpse into the lives of women all over the world.”
15 minutes in:
“So now that we have 3.5 thousand people in this broadcast, let me just start from the top because some of you might not know what is happening. I’m Lucie Fink from Refinery29, and you might know me from some videos, you might not. Either way, it is nice to meet you. Today, we are starting a new video series on Refinery’s Facebook Live platform. It’s called ‘Chasing Daylight,’ and it’s gonna be on every night this week.”
25 minutes in:
“That’s what I think is so cool about ‘Chasing Daylight.’ For the people who are new and don’t really get why I’m sitting on my toilet, the answer is, I am Lucie Fink, and [this is] Episode One, the New York version of ‘Chasing Daylight,’ which is Refinery29’s new live Facebook series that’s starting right now.”
4) Make the video visually engaging.
You have to be visually engaging — not just at the very beginning of your broadcast (although that’ll be important for when folks view the video later), but throughout the video as more and more people join in.
The more visually engaging you can be, the more you can entice people to stick around. That means keeping the camera moving and not just sitting in one place — something Lucie did really well in that Refinery29 video.
Not only will you get more viewers this way, but you’ll also get your broadcast ranked higher in other people’s News Feeds. Facebook started monitoring signals of video engagement — like turning on the audio, switching to full-screen mode, or enabling high definition — interpreting that as users enjoying the video. As a result, they’ve tweaked the algorithm so videos that are engaged with in these ways will appear higher up on the feed.
5) Make it spontaneous.
What makes a live video special? The spontaneous, interactive nature of it. People love the ability to interact, and they love the novelty of viewing someone in a live moment when anything could happen. In many ways, it’s the new reality TV.
A big part of what makes Refinery29’s live video so great is how much Lucie and her friends embrace the “live,” spontaneous nature of it. For example, at one point, Lucie calls on her friends to reenact a scene from the Broadway show Hamilton. It was scrappy, unrehearsed, and really funny. Her other friends were laughing at her. It reminded me of a fun night with my own friends. “This is literally what we do at the office,” Lucie said about the performance through laughs.
These moments are what make live video special, and they’re exactly what differentiates it from scripted, edited, or otherwise pre-recorded videos. Embrace the platform. Banter is always, always good.
6) Don’t worry about mistakes or stutters.
Spontaneity works — even if your Facebook Live doesn’t go according to plan.
Let’s face it, we’re all human. And when humans and technology mix, there can sometimes be technical difficulties.
If you’re recording a live video, things might go wrong — your equipment could malfunction, you could lose your train of thought, or you could get photobombed by a random passerby. You can’t call “cut” if things happen — you have to roll with them and keep filming and talking.
The good news? These things help keep your broadcast human and real. If you wobble your phone while filming, laugh and call it out. If you forget what you were saying, make a joke. The key is to keep the broadcast like a fun conversation, so if mistakes happen, keep it light and keep the lines of communication open with your viewers.
For example, if you make a mistake during your Facebook Live, ask viewers to write in the comments if they’ve made the same mistake, too.
7) Encourage viewers to Like and share the video.
One of the primary ways Facebook’s algorithm ranks a post is by how many people Like and share it. The more people who Like and share your live broadcast, the more it’ll show up in people’s News Feeds.
But when people are watching a video, they may be more distracted from Liking and sharing it than they would a text or photo post. (That’s something the folks at Facebook noticed about video content early on, which is why they began monitoring other video engagement signals as well, like turning on the volume.)
In Refinery29’s video, you’ll notice Lucie explicitly asks viewers to Like and share the video many times throughout. Here are a few examples:
- “If you like this broadcast and share it right now, you guys will be part of this brand new series that’s starting right now on Refinery29.”
- “If you guys share this broadcast, you’ll be part of history. And what’s better than being part of history?”
- “Thumbs up if you like Hamilton.”
- “Thank you guys for all these Likes. My screen is absurdly blue right now because I’m getting tons of thumbs up.”
- “Share this with your best girlfriend who you think is strong and powerful.”
I like the last example the best because she’s asking viewers to share it with a specific type of person — in this case, a best girlfriend. This might prompt viewers to think, “Hey, she’s right, my friend Stacy might like this” and then share it with that specific friend.
8) Engage with commenters, and call them out by name.
The number of comments on your broadcast is another way to get Facebook to give it a higher relevancy score, making it more likely to show up on people’s News Feeds. So encourage your viewers to comment, and engage with people who are commenting by answering their questions and calling them out by name. Not only will it get more people to comment, but it’s also a fun way to include your viewers in the live experience, which could make them stick around longer.
Plus, your audience will be thrilled to hear you mention their name and answer their questions when you are live.
In the Refinery29 video, Lucie was constantly engaging with viewers and commenters. At one point, for example, she said, “We’re so excited to see you guys! Do you have any questions for someone who lives in New York City?” Then, she read a few of the comments that came in and responded to them — using commenters’ first names.
We do this here at HubSpot with our Facebook Live broadcasts, too. Check out all the chatter in the comments — we used those questions to keep our discussion going.
9) Have someone else watching and responding to comments from a desktop computer.
When you’re the one holding the camera for a Facebook Live video, it’s really hard to see the comments popping up on the mobile screen. If the comments are coming in fast, it’s especially easy to lose sight of them as they disappear below the fold. Plus, you’re probably occupied by recording and entertaining viewers.
Because of this, it’s always a good idea to have an additional person logged into the primary account to monitor the comments on a desktop computer. That way, they can take care of responding so the person recording the video can concentrate on creating a great experience.
10) Subtitle your broadcast in the comments section.
Your viewers may be tuning in and out to watch your video during the work day, or they might simply be watching your video without sound. Either way, periodically subtitling the video in the comments section is a great way to keep people engaged. This also allows people who are tuning in late to catch up on what’s going on.
Take some inspiration from Refinery29 — it captioned the video with some of the most snackable one-liners and quotes from the broadcast in the comments section:
11) Ask viewers to subscribe to live notifications.
In addition to asking for Likes, shares, and comments, ask viewers to subscribe to live notifications. To do that, all viewers have to do is click the small, downward-facing arrow in the top right-hand corner of the live video post, and choose “Turn On Notifications.”
You can also ask them to Like your brand on Facebook, which will make it more likely that they’ll be notified of your next live broadcast. Lucie does this in the Refinery29 video.
12) Broadcast for at least 10 minutes.
As soon as you begin recording your live video, you’ll start slowly but surely showing up in people’s News Feeds. The longer you broadcast — especially as Likes, comments, and shares start coming in — the more likely people are to discover your video and share it with their friends.
Because timing is such an important factor for engagement in these live videos, we recommend that you go live for at least 10 minutes, although you can stay live for up to 90 minutes for a given video.
13) Say goodbye before you wrap up.
Before you end your live broadcast, be sure to finish with a closing line, like “Thanks for watching” or “I’ll be going live again soon.”
Lucie from Refinery29 checked a few other engagement requests off the list at the end of her broadcast:
“So, we are about to sign off. It’s been such an amazing first episode of ‘Chasing Daylight.’ . . . Don’t forget to share this to your friends right now so you can always find this series and go back to it. . . . We’re so happy that you tuned into our episode in New York. . . . Goodnight from New York City!”
14) Add a link to the description later.
Once you’ve finished the live broadcast, you can always go back and edit the description, change the privacy settings, or delete the video, just like you would any other post.
Here’s where you can add a trackable link to the description in the post, which can direct future viewers to your live video series page, the site of whatever campaign you’re using the video to promote, or somewhere else.
To edit the description of a video: Find the video on your Timeline or Page and click the downward-facing arrow in the top right-hand corner of the post. Choose “Edit Post” from the dropdown menu, and edit the description accordingly.
We hope this has been a helpful guide. We’ll keep you posted with any new developments and tips for connecting with your audience in more cool ways.
8 Digital Marketing Trends Set to Expire by 2018
When it comes to marketing tactics, unfortunately there is no “Best if Used By” dates. But that doesn’t mean what worked last year — or even last week — will work today. In fact, some of the most popular digital marketing trends have reached the end of their shelf life and are well beyond their expiration dates.
As you are updating your inbound marketing strategies for 2018, consider tossing out these overused, under-performing marketing trends to make room for strategies that increase brand awareness, capture qualified leads, and help your sales teams increase revenue. Check out the infographic from the folks at Kuno Creative below.
13 Email Examples That Totally Nailed Personalization
If you’re anything like most people, you can probably rattle off 100 different things you’d rather do than dig through your inbox.
It starts to feel like a chore, because what’s in there isn’t very interesting. In fact, only 21% of consumers reported that they’ve received a memorable promotional email in the past two months, according to a study by Litmus.
To overcome that, many brands are using email personalization as a strategy for creating more engaging email experiences — ones that feel less like a robot, and more like a friend.
The best part? Email personalization doesn’t need to be insanely complicated to resonate with recipients. To see what I mean, check out these 13 great email examples that cleverly use personalization.
13 Personalized Email Examples You Can’t Help but Click
1) OpenTable
As you may have gathered from my bio, there are few things in life that bring me as much joy as a remarkable meal. That’s why OpenTable is one of my favorite brands. Not only does it easy to make reservations online, but it also remembers my favorite restaurants, and helps me discover new ones based on my reviews and reservation behavior.
One way OpenTable encourages me to leave reviews is by sending me an email with a personalized subject line asking me how my most recent meal was that I booked through this platform.
Because these reviews help OpenTable figure out which restaurant recommendations to make for me, I’m already encouraged — but a personalized, specific subject line with a reminder of where my last reservation was, helps to boost my engagement.
2) JetBlue
Oh, JetBlue. You shouldn’t have.
This anniversary email highlights a creative example of a brand using something as simple as a date to provide a standout experience. Much like a birthday shout out, JetBlue used my colleague’s account creation date to trigger a personalized email to celebrate the fact that they’ve been “emailing for 365 days now.”
If you’re a HubSpot customer, this is an easy email to replicate for your contacts through a fixed date or property-based workflows. It allows you to base your workflow on a calendar or contact property date, so you can send anniversary emails, digital birthday cards, renewal reminders, and more. And if your business is sending a high volume of these emails, we also offer the Transactional Email Add-On.
3) Spotify
Here’s another great personalized email example that leverages a user’s interests to provide a relevant, value-packed message.
The copy in this email from Spotify is particularly effective because it frames the personalization in a way that makes the recipient feel like they’re being rewarded for their usage. Phrases like “top listener” and “be the first to get access” lend themselves to a sense of exclusivity — making the user feel important.
The email also closes with a written call-to-action that encourages the recipient to listen to Charles Kelley’s new song — specifically on Spotify. Again, this push helps to ensure that the user is actively using the streaming service, and therefore continuously reminded of the value.
4) Amazon
A few Halloweens ago, HubSpot’s blogging team dressed as the dancing pumpkin man from this viral video. (And, in case you’re wondering, we dressed as a bunch of bananas last year.) But before opting to DIY our own orange masks, my colleague, Lindsay Kolowich, set out on an Amazon search to find us the real deal.
Within just a couple of days, she received this personalized email from Amazon featuring “products similar to ‘full face plastic pumpkin masks’.” (Some of them are quite scary, aren’t they?)
This email serves as a great example of how to use a contact’s search behavior to re-engage them with your company, and hopefully move them closer to a sale.
5) LinkedIn
Once upon a time, before I worked for HubSpot — practically another lifetime, it feels like — I was about to graduate from business school and actively applying for jobs.
I often used LinkedIn for my search — a business-focused social network that was paying attention the type of listings I responded to. Each day, LinkedIn sent me a roundup jobs it thought would pique my interest.
What’s interesting about this email is that LinkedIn wasn’t using it to earn my paid business. Rather, LinkedIn seemed to be keeping a close eye, algorithmically, to the locations and type of work I was seeking. While some of the listings were more applicable than others, all of them were clickable.
Did you catch that? Clickable. And even if none of these jobs piqued my interest, I had about 250 classmates who might have considered them, driving even more traffic to LinkedIn’s website.
So think about what’s going to make your content clickable, and how you can use personalized emails to drive traffic to your site. Then, set up workflows that remind subscribers how to continue taking advantage of these specially-tailored messages.
6) The Bowery Presents
I received this email back when I was living in New York address, but it still serves as a great example of how to use location information to provide a customized email experience.
In the email, The Bowery Presents pulled shows from New York venues — where I purchased tickets for many events when I lived there — for artists similar to the ones I saw live.
And when I finally purchased tickets to see one of these artists in Boston? It re-personalized my emails to let me know about shows here.
By making it easy for me to quickly visualize what’s headed to the area and when, The Bowery Presents is able to lower the barrier between me and the point of purchase.
This type of personalization could be extremely beneficial for a company looking to deliver more relevant messages to international leads or existing customers.
7) Twitter
After following one of her favorite brunch spots on Twitter, my colleague Corey Wainwright received this email from the social network with suggestions for similar accounts to follow.
What’s more is that the suggestions were actually super relevant — turns out, a couple of them were just right around the corner from her. (Hello, new grub options.)
When companies have as much data as Twitter does, they usually go one of two ways with personalization: They totally hit the nail on the head, or they have too much data to sift out what’s important. This is an example of accurately identifying what Corey would actually care about, and delivering it to her.
8) Hawaiian Airlines
There are few places on the planet that I love more than Hawaii. I’m constantly thinking about my next trip there, but for a while, could never quite commit to booking it.
That is, until I received this special birthday email from Hawaiian Airlines. In keeping with the Hawaiian tradition of presenting someone with a lei on his or her birthday, the airline instead chose to present me with 500 bonus miles, just for booking a trip within the next year. Aloha, indeed.
There’s more than one noteworthy thing about this email. First, the only reason I received it is that I’m enrolled in the Hawaiian Airlines mileage program, and getting emails like these is just one of the “rewards” of membership. Plus, the airline understands that I joined for a reason — because at some point, I planned to visit Hawaii again.
With that in mind, Hawaiian Airlines used this personalized email to give me an incentive to finally book that trip, with a birthday greeting to boot. That’s a great way for brands to achieve customer reactivation — by using a fixed date, like a birthday or anniversary, to remind people what it was that they loved about your business in the first place. By offering something special from your brand to commemorate the occasion, you’re giving your audience the motivation to take action and making a purchase.
9) HubSpot Academy
There’s a thing about licenses and certifications. They’re valuable. They help you master knowledge and become an expert. Having them makes you look good. But they also have to be kept up-to-date, and unless you’re reminded, letting them expire can be all too easy.
If you have any HubSpot certifications, you know that doesn’t have to be the case. Our Academy team creates personalized emails to let certification-holders know which ones they currently possess, which ones need to be renewed, which ones might be helpful to add to their credentials, and when new certifications are available.
Eric Peters, the senior growth marketing manager with HubSpot Academy, explained the technology that makes emails like these work. Each certification box in the above email is made “smart,” to show users which certifications are available to them.
“All nine certifications are available to partners. Eight are available to customers, and four to non-customers,” Peters says. “Each one of those certifications has a Smart CTA that appears as a different color, depending on whether the user is actively certified — which means they passed within the last 395 days — expired, or incomplete.”
“In other words,” he explains, “it’s a bunch of Smart CTAs embedded in a smart rich text box. The CTAs point to the splash page describing the certification.”
(HubSpot Professional and Enterprise customers: You can create Smart CTAs like these in your own emails with your HubSpot CTA tool.)
10) Netflix
Am I the only one that spends more time looking for a movie on Netflix than I do actually watching it?
Aware that its database can be overwhelming, Netflix regularly sends out these personalized emails that suggest movies for its users. (If you want to learn more about the science behind the Netflix algorithms, you can brush up on it here.)
By providing a custom recommendation, Netflix helps ensure that users are actively seeing the value of their subscription. In other words, it keeps them watching, which ultimately keeps them paying.
This approach could be applied to a number of marketing materials — ebooks, webinars, and blog articles, to name a few. For example, if you find that someone downloaded an ebook on social media tips, you may want to set up a workflow to trigger a follow-up email that suggests they check out your social media guide on SlideShare.
11) Pinterest
In an effort to keep my friend Ginny Mineo pinning, Pinterest sent her this personalized email. Based on her past activity on the site, the social network provided some suggestions for other topics she may want to explore. (Butter, Lauren Conrad, and cheese — I like your style, Ginny.)
And given that, at the time, she was planning a yellow-themed wedding, I’d say the results were pretty accurate.
What we love most about the email is its simplicity. It offers up just six topics, which is enough to interest the recipient without overwhelming her. Plus, the copy is quick, friendly, and clear.
12) WeddingWire
In other wedding-related news, Mineo also received this email example from WeddingWire, an online marketplace for venues, cakes, dresses, and other wedding-planning items.
While the copy was clever in and of itself, what really struck us was the personalization used in the subject line. After all, your recipients aren’t going to see the content unless you persuade them to click first, right?
By using a witty, custom hashtag — #GinnysLastHurrah — in the subject line, WeddingWire inspired her to click on the email, check out their tool for creating hashtags, and forward the email to the rest of us.
If you want to boost the word-of-mouth influence behind your product or service, you should consider how personalization can help propel your message.
13) Birchbox
Birchbox is a company that’s fixated on personalization in all the right ways — and all it takes is one glance at the header of this email to see why it’s effective.
Birchbox transparently admitted that they took a peek at my colleague Carly Stec’s sample and purchase history before crafting this email. That gave her the sense that what came next would likely be relevant to her — and it was.
These little, personalized messages always reinforce why Carly continues to subscribe to the Birchbox service — they strengthen her loyalty.
Let’s Get Personal
With 62% of millennials feeling that online content drives their loyalty to a brand, and 46% of U.S. consumers admitting that they’re more likely to switch providers than they were 10 years ago — it’s clear that fostering loyalty through personalization should be a priority.
It may seem like a big undertaking, but by observing, understanding, and investing in the behavior of your customers, you can help to ensure that they’ll stay customers. So start getting personal — and building loyalty.
20 Creative Agencies You Should Follow on Instagram
Instagram has evolved into a perfect visual platform for agencies, filled with photos of office parties, company outings, and creatives hard at work behind their Macs. And while there were more than a few pictures of agency pups and craft beers, Instagram has also become a place where agencies can share behind-the-scenes shots of their latest work and highlight their accomplishments.
While there probably aren’t that many CMOs who troll Instagram looking for their next agency partner, there is little competition and even more opportunity to make it your agency’s platform of choice for attracting new talent and clients — a differentiator when it comes to that next visual campaign.
If you are looking for some inspiration or just want some “inside” looks at a few agencies, then check out this ultimate — yet not exhaustive — list of ad agencies to follow on Instagram:
20 Creative Agencies To Follow on Instagram
1) Huge: @hugeinc
This meticulously curated Instagram from Huge is chock full of high-quality photography, graphic design inspiration, and quirky snaps of daily office antics. A must-follow if you want a glimpse of what life is like at a top agency.
2) Motherlondon: @motherlondon
Mother London, the world’s leading independent creative agency network, has a unique approach to Instagram. Each week, they hand over the reins to a different creative, allowing them to showcase their work and highlight their unique design perspective. The result is a truly inspiring feed that’s sure to inject a little inspiration into your daily life.
3) ustwo: @ustwo
Even though ustwo, a digital product studio, has worked with major brands like Google, Adidas, and Ford, their Instagram presence is surprisingly personal. Take a scroll through their gallery and you’ll find colorful photos of office events, team outings, and even birthdays alongside glimpses of their latest work.
4) Wolff Olins: @wolffolins
Wolff Olins‘ Instagram gives followers a glimpse at the agency’s work-hard-play-hard approach to creative strategy, including design inspiration and behind-the-scenes snaps.
5) Carrot Creative: @carrotcreative
If you subscribe to the notion that you can never see too many pictures of adorable dogs or awesome events, then Carrot Creative’s Instagram is for you. VICE’s full service digital agency serves up plenty of both in their frequent updates, along with photos of their team and their traveling flag.
6) Red Antler: @redantler
Brooklyn-based agency Red Antler is the epitome of cool and inventive New York charm, and their Instagram reflects this identity. Follow along for design inspiration, office culture, and photos of their work with startups.
7) Skirt PR: @skirtpr
The folks at Skirt PR know their way around a glamorous party. Whether it’s a cool boutique opening, a cozy cafe gathering, or a champagne celebration, you can follow along with the action on their Instagram. Their feed is also a colorful source of design inspiration — perfect for a mid-week pick-me-up.
8) Agency V CPH: @agencyvcph
If you ever feel like your life could use more Scandinavian minimalism, then you should add Agency V CPH to your list of accounts to follow. The Copenhagen-based agency shares pictures of sleek interiors, style inspiration from their clients, and city snapshots from the rainy streets of Copenhagen.
9) SPARK: @sparkbrand
SPARK‘s creative team takes followers behind the scenes and on location as they shoot and edit ads for brands like Hilton, Visit Florida, and The Dalí Museum. Their account is also worth a follow for the illustrations and other design work they regularly share.
10) BBDO San Francisco: @bbdosf
As their Instagram bio proudly declares, BBDO San Francisco is “all about The Work The Work The Work.” Their account showcases their recent campaigns, high-profile events (such as Cannes), and their team’s creative process — which involves bowling nights.
11) Anomaly: @anomaly
AdAge named Los Angeles-based shop Anomaly Agency of the Year in 2017, and we think their Instagram account is also a winner. With colorful snaps of daily office life, upcoming campaigns for clients, and scenic shots from their seven global locations, Anomaly is worth a follow.
12) Martin Agency: @martinagency
You’ve seen Martin Agency’s impressive work for Geico, Chevrolet, and Oreos, but you probably didn’t know they have an affinity for flannel shirts and a love of street art. Martin Agency’s Instagram is an intimate look at how employees at one of the world’s most influential agencies work day-to-day.
13) Salted Stone: @saltedstone
This agency’s Instagram following may be small in comparison to some of the other accounts features here, but the quality of their content speaks for itself. Salted Stone, a California-based digital agency, uses Instagram to share behind-the-scenes peeks at their latest projects, industry events (like INBOUND), and favorite lunch spots.
14) Talk Shop Media: @talkshopmedia
No, your eyes don’t deceive you — that’s really Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge chowing down on some treats from one of Talk Shop Media’s clients. This digital marketing agency specializes in influencer relations, and their Instagram is like having a free pass to all the coolest events.
15) Goodby Silverstein & Partners: @goodby_silverstein
Margaret Johnson, chief creative officer at Goodby Silverstein & Partners, was recently honored on Business Insider’s 30 Most Creative People in Advertising list. Her agency’s Instagram account gives followers the opportunity to see how Johnson and her team produce major global campaigns.
16) RPA Advertising: @rpa_advertising
RPA Advertising’s Instagram account makes the daily office grind look pretty darn fun. The Santa Monica-based agency recently hosted a summer concert series, and — based on their feed — they keep the office kitchen stocked with plenty of healthy snacks.
17) Colle + McVoy: @collemcvoy
Dogs and design? Count us in. Colle + McVoy’s Instagram account puts the spotlight on their design work and company culture.
18) hzdg: @hzdg
hzdg’s Instagram account is a veritable treasure trove of design inspiration, ranging from their own work to the work of designers and artists their team admires. They even recently took followers on a virtual tour of the world’s most colorful places.
19) Social Distillery: @socialdistillery
Social Distillery is an Austin, Texas-based social media agency specializing in digital communications and consumer engagement. They might be a relatively small agency, but their Instagram account makes a big impression with snapshots of their energetic team and latest work.
20) st8mnt: @st8mnt
Last but certainly not least is st8mt, a Nashville-based branding agency that boasts powerful design chops and a laid-back company culture. Their Instagram is full of their recent work and company events. You could say it really makes, well, a statement.
How does your agency use Instagram? Share your account with us in the comments.
What Makes People Distrust Your Business? [Infographic]
Here’s the thing: Many, many businesses are perfectly trustworthy — including yours, we hope.
But in a world of events like headline-making data breaches, how do you get customers to see you that way?
Let’s have a look at microbusinesses as a starting point. While most of them don’t account for major, household names, according to Paychex, they comprise over 75% of private-sector employers in the U.S. — and more than one in every 10 U.S. jobs. In other words: These small-to-midsize businesses are, if you’ll excuse the schmaltz, at the very core of a major economy.
But the term “bootstrapping” is used so frequently within their world for a reason. When microbusinesses are first starting out, and if they maintain smaller teams, resources can be limited. There might not be a major PR firm to construct professional messaging, for example — the messaging that screams, “We are a trustworthy brand!”
In that case, how do these businesses build trust among their target audiences — and what gets in the way of it?
These infographics from Paychex tell a very interesting story and incorporate easy-to-digest data from its survey of over 1,000 relevant customers to gain insight on the above questions. Have a look to discover that story, and see how you can apply it to your own business efforts.
How to Write Absolutely Addictive Articles
This is a longer article.
If you’re feeling noncommittal at the moment, don’t read it. Save it. Bookmark this page for later, when you have more time.
You’ll be glad you did, especially if your goal is to write articles of your own. Articles that lure readers in slowly, carefully, inching them down the page, sentence by sentence, until the words run out. Articles people can’t stop reading.
Joe Sugarman wrote articles like this. In fact, he was behind some of the most addictive and profitable articles ever created. Except he called them “print ads.”
Meet Joe.
In 1986, Joe Sugarman, a direct response copywriter, wrote a print ad for BluBlocker Sunglasses. The ad helped an iconic brand take root. It also made him rich:
He distributed his ad the old-fashioned way, in the mail, asking readers to call in with their credit cards. The response was enormous. The glasses sold out in a day. And he did this again and again with an assortment of products: calculators and speakers, smoke detectors and thermostats, even jets and mansions.
His success stemmed from his ability to keep people reading.
Sugarman knew that prospects who finished an ad were far more likely to buy the product than those who only read the beginning. So he used every engagement tactic he knew to keep people glued to the page, addicted.
How to Write Addictive Articles
Towards the end of his career, Sugarman started divulging his copywriting secrets in expensive seminars. To communicate his vast knowledge, he organized it into axioms.
Some of his axioms are philosophical truths, intended to help business owners arrive at a unique selling angle:
- “Never sell a product or service. Always sell a concept.”
- “Selling a cure is a lot easier than selling a preventative.”
- “When trying to solve problems, don’t assume constraints that aren’t really there.”
Others are more practical tips, intended to help copywriters keep readers engaged throughout the entire ad. I’ve transcribed these engagement tips below, along with some context that’ll help you apply Sugarman’s proven wisdom to your next article.
1) “The sole purpose of the first sentence in an advertisement is to get you to read the second sentence.”
The Law of Inertia also applies to copy. Conventional wisdom says that the more time you spend reading something, anything, the more likely you are to finish it. An engaged reader is like a train, hard to stop.
But trains are also slow to start, meaning the copy has to create a big upfront push.
Your first sentence is your article’s most important. If it fails to engage the reader, then you’ve lost everything that matters.
TAKEAWAY: Addictive articles open with a compelling sentence.
How to Craft Your First Sentence
Your article’s first sentence doesn’t need to have anything to do with the topic. It only needs to capture attention, like a gunshot. To do so, make your opening sentence:
- Brief: “If you look at many of my ads, you’ll notice that all of my first sentences are so short they almost aren’t sentences,” writes Sugarman. “No long multisyllabic words, either. Keep it short, sweet and almost incomplete so that the reader has to read the next sentence.
- Spoken: Dialogue implies present action, which is compelling.
- Coy, obscure, or unsettling: If your first line draws a question, incites curiosity, or creeps out the reader, there’s a good chance he or she will move on to the next line.
2) “Every communication should be a personal one, from the writer to the recipient, regardless of the medium used.”
Why should something written for the masses read like a personal message? Because people crave connection. It’s a basic human need, even in writing. Readers want to feel like they know the person behind the words.
Personal copy tears down barriers, giving an individual reader the impression that the article was written solely for her consumption, her benefit, which is engaging on its face.
TAKEAWAY: Addictive articles sound conversational, like an email from a friend.
How to Write Conversationally
Here’s some practical advice:
- Use active voice because it’s easy to read.
- Use white space because it commands the reader’s attention.
- Use contractions because they make copy sound informal, light.
- Use simple words because nobody is impressed by your vocabulary.
- Use second person because you want to make the reader feel included.
Also, when writing an article, don’t visualize your audience as a nondescript crowd of people. Instead, when you write, imagine a single person in that crowd, your Ideal Reader. Give her a name, an age, and an occupation. Give her eyes, a nose, and hair. Maybe she looks like someone you know and care about? Imagine her face as she reads your work.
Now write to her. She is the crowd.
As the saying goes, Never write for anyone, always write for someone.
3) “Get the reader to say yes and harmonize with your accurate and truthful statements while reading your copy.”
As a teenager, I sold magazine subscriptions door-to-door. At first it was hard and I was unsuccessful. Then I picked up a trick. I started getting the prospect to agree with me:
“Good afternoon,” I said. “I’m Eddie. Nice day out, huh?”
“It is,” said the prospect. “How can I help you?”
“Of course,” I said. “Let me ask, do you read magazines?”
“Yes.”
“Have one in the house?”
“Sure, I do.”
“Did you, by chance, buy it off the shelf, individually?”
“I did, actually,” said the prospect.
“I bet it cost about six bucks, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well I can sell you TWELVE issues of the same magazine for less than twenty bucks,” I said. “If you sign right now, I’ll throw in a free tote bag so you can bring all your magazines to the beach.” Then I’d smile.
Sure, lots of people still declined: “No thanks, kid.”
But lots of people also smiled back and took my pen: “Hell, why not? If I don’t I’ll end up spending full price on the next issue!”
This technique is called harmonizing. It warms the prospect up, getting him or her in the mood to buy. It’s a manufactured feeling — and it works as well on the page as it does in person. In other words, harmonizing with your readers will warm them up, getting them in the mood to read.
TAKEAWAY: Addictive articles keep readers nodding.
How to Keep Readers Harmonized with Your Message
People nod at statements they perceive to be:
- True: something accurate, like a fact.
- Interesting: something captivating, like a story.
- Informative: something valuable, like instructions.
That said, the better you understand your Ideal Reader, the easier it is to harmonize her with honest, interesting, or informative copy. So do your research. Know your audience like you know yourself.
4) “Keep the copy interesting and the reader interested through the power of curiosity.”
Most copy goes through ebbs and flows of engagement. Some parts you can’t read fast enough while others slow you down to a crawl. This is normal. Even so, it’s why so many people abandon what they’re reading. The thrill dissipates and they get bored.
Boredom kills copy. But that’s OK because there’s an antidote: curiosity. The trick is knowing how to plant it …
TAKEAWAY: Addictive articles use ‘seeds of curiosity.’
How to Plant These Seeds
“One way to increase readership is by applying a theory I call ‘seeds of curiosity,’” writes Sugarman. “It goes like this. At the end of a paragraph, I will often put a very short sentence that offers some reason for the reader to read the next paragraph.”
For example:
- “So read on …”
- “Let me explain …”
- “But there’s more …”
- “But I didn’t stop there …”
- “Now here comes the good part …”
These phrases nudge the reader forward, subconsciously, through the sludge. It’s a neat trick, but nothing drives engagement like this next concept …
5) “The ideas presented in your copy should flow in a logical fashion, anticipating your prospect’s questions and answering them as if the questions were asked face-to-face.”
While direct response copywriters can sell many people at once, they can’t always be there to answer questions. When you’re face-to-face or on the phone, you can field questions as they come up. That’s an advantage salespeople have over copywriters.
“Since we copywriters do not have the benefit of having the prospect in front of us to ask the questions,” writes Sugarman, “we must craft our ads in such a manner that they literally lead our prospects to ask the question we want to answer.”
TAKEAWAY: Addictive articles stay a step ahead of the audience.
How to Anticipate What Your Readers are Thinking
This process breaks down into two steps:
- Write your article’s headline.
- Based on the headline, anticipate and answer your Ideal Reader’s questions.
Let’s use this article as an example:
- Headline: How to Write Addictive Articles
- Q1: “Sounds up my alley, but do I really want to read this whole thing?”
A1: “Maybe not this minute, but you should at some point.”Q2: “Why?”
A2: “Because it’ll teach you how to write articles like Joe Sugarman.”Q3: “Joe who?”
A3: “He’s one of the best direct response copywriters ever.”Q4: “Oh yeh? What makes him so good?”
A4: “Well, he’s got these axioms …”
Sound familiar? This process will help you develop your article’s outline, too.
6) “In the editing process, you refine your copy to express exactly what you want to express with the fewest words.”
I spent a long time editing this piece. In fact, you wouldn’t believe how much time I invested in its post-production. But I did, in part because I like the work. I like tinkering with the words, cutting and shifting them, experimenting until the language clicks. I get lost in it, but I digress.
The real value of editing is evident in the final product: a clear, concise, and hopefully, addictive article for the reader.
“This axiom holds one of the most valuable secrets to effective and persuasive copy,” writes Sugarman, “for it is in the editing process that you turn that raw emotional outpouring of thoughts and ideas into a polished, harmonious, resonant tuning fork that will vibrate perfectly with your prospect.”
TAKEAWAY: Addictive articles are concise.
How to Trim the Fat
Here’s a quick blurb about the benefits of shorter copy:
The truth is that in copywriting, less is more. Why? Think of it this way: copy with fewer words will get read more because the length is less intimidating to readers. It also enables readers to finish the copy much faster.
Now here’s that same message, trimmed up:
In copywriting, less is more. Not only is shorter copy less intimidating, but readers will finish it faster, too.
Same message, half the words. Here’s how I did it:
- By combining sentences: you can save a few words this way.
- By removing needless words: you can omit most of the adverbs.
- By seeking out “that” instances: you can often omit everything up to and including the word “that” in the beginning of a sentence.
Now imagine if you halved the word count of an entire article: same message, delivered twice as fast. Now that’s valuable to both the reader and the author.
Here’s the Bottom Line
“Your reader should be so compelled to read your copy,” writes Sugarman, “that they cannot stop reading until they read all of it as if sliding down a slippery slide.”
If you read this article, you already know how to achieve this.
Now it’s a matter of practice, effort. Start soon.