General Business

As we all know, the comments section of many sites is simply an open sewer.
 

We don't have the time or desire to continue monitoring that crap moving forward. Besides, there are plenty of other ways for you to publicly discuss our work and the personal worth of our staff. We'll still be reading your thoughts on Twitter and Facebook, and we legitimately do enjoy getting IRL mail (no bombs) sent to our offices in Brooklyn.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/were-getting-rid-of-comments-on-vice

In the age of self-service website building, design and marketing, how do professionals add value?

…offer human service that's even better than the customer could provide for herself.

By doing so we can show our clients that they will gain more by working with a professional than by cutting corners with DIY tech.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2016/12/omotenashi-and-the-service-split.html

Sometimes internet marketing notices the self-involved nature of noticing its own self-involved nature.
Also, reposting a roundup article is even easier than writing one.

Roundup posts are all the rage right now because they’re so much easier to write than actually spending time thinking of genuinely useful content.

But even better than doing roundups is being featured in them. You get links, fame, and glory, all for giving a 2 sentence quote about a topic you may or may not have any experience in.

https://blog.wordable.io/12-expert-quotes-expert-giving-quotes/

The amount of time business buyers are willing to wait for a response varies by channel. It may surprise you that 67 percent of business buyers expect a response via email within one hour, and 15 percent of those actually expect an immediate reply.

http://www.convinceandconvert.com/customer-experience/buyers-expect-real-time-interaction/

If you want to stand for something,

You can't stand for everything.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2016/12/the-best-way-to-stand-for-something.html

A bit of a rehash, but it's a succinct one in slideshow form.

tl;dr - it's Emotional intelligence, in case you couldn't tell by considering the author.

https://hbr.org/video/5236216251001/what-makes-a-leader

And here's what it feels like to be less than authentic...

A few weeks ago I asked a friend who has been doing “growth hacking” for a long time to help promote Asteroid and to show me a few tricks. What I learned was depressing.

https://medium.com/startup-shenanigans/the-dark-art-of-growth-hacking-e3f7f5514f38#.2tr7d7yvu

Reading the various growth strategies people flog out there, one could be forgiven for thinking it's necessary to become someone other than yourself in order to make a living. 
Here's an alternative view.

Consistency + quality content = success.

https://live.institute/talks-molly-33ea98ace9a6#.9jaduamvi

Here's a clearly automated email I got from a recruiter, looking to see if they could place one of their unfortunate victims with me. 
Can you tell I loathe the "staffing" business? 

Anyway, this thing is so full of crap it's hard to know where to start.
My company is 100% virtual, with as yet no staff - all contractors, all remote. There's no "work for us" section on my web site. 
And yet, Mr. X here would like me to believe he's checked out my site for opportunities, and found someone I'd like to hire.

Here's a clue:
If you start trying to build a relationship with me by bullshitting your way into my inbox, the best you can expect from me is a cold silence. I will never trust you, and I don't do business with people I don't trust.
On the other hand, I might write a blog post publicly shaming you; if you're lucky I'll leave your name out.
 

Bottom line: you can't automate relationships.

Hi,

My name is XXX XXXX, I am a recruiter for XX XX XX based out of XXXXX. XXX is national based in presence, and specializes in those hard to fill roles across all industry from a contract and direct hire standpoint.

I noticed one of your job openings, and would like to pass along a candidate that I am working with for your review.

Please note that we only get paid per placement.  So to review qualified candidates is free of charge!

If you are interested in reviewing the candidate, please let me know.

Best,

XXX XXXXX

 

https://blog.echidna.ca/how-make-your-workplace-inclusive-just-ask