I write things
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Why Good People Need To Get Comfortable With Wealth And Power
At the end of every Tim Ferriss Show episode, Tim asks his guests the same question: “When you think of the word ‘successful,’ who is the first person that comes to mind and why?” Listeners love it when the guest says, “My father. He worked 40 hour days at the car shop, didn’t speak any English, (…)
Kevin Smith’s Advice On Content Contradicts Everything You’ve Ever Read
Usually, when you have a celebrity at a niche conference it’s the event organizer’s way of apologizing for the lack of good content. “Don’t come for the marketing stuff, come see Mandy Moore!” #facepalm That’s how I felt about Kevin Smith, who was the keynote at Converted this week. Turns out, I was wrong. At 4:45 PM, (…)
Why You Shouldn’t Have a Marketing Department (Have This Instead)
You know how you aggressively brush your teeth the night before a dentist appointment? Like, if you just brush REALLY hard, your dentist won’t notice that you haven’t been flossing those back teeth for months. It never works. Your dentist always notices because she’s a dentist. It’s her job to know you’ve been half-assing your (…)
The Real Reason Things Go Viral (It’s Not The Algorithm)
For 24 hours this week, I lost my mind. I read this article and my brain went, “STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING. TELL EVERYONE TO READ THIS RIGHT NOW!!” like it was some sort of content emergency (it wasn’t). Text. Email. Slack. Heck, I’m sharing it with you right now. Turns out, 49,000 other people also lost their (…)
Why It’s Not Enough To Follow Your Bliss
Been hearing a lot of “Do what you love and the money will come” bromides lately. Build the audience first, worry about sales later Love your customers, don’t focus on metrics Follow your passion and the money will find you No. No no no nonononononononoooooooooooo Money doesn’t “come.” It doesn’t find you. It doesn’t fall (…)
This Is What Happens When You Let Other People Get In Your Head
This week I’m in Houston staying with my parents because I’m a great daughter and winner of all brownie points. I was meeting a friend for dinner when my mother said, “I’m not sure you should take the car. You haven’t driven in a while.” She was right. Living just outside Manhattan I never drive, (…)
The Inbox Booty Call: Why You Need to Protect Your Inbox The Way You Protect Your…Other Stuff
I hate my inbox. At any given moment, I have 647 unread messages from people who want something from me. Not just email. It’s Facebook Messenger. Slack channels. SnapChat. Twitter. Text messages. My tombstone is going to read: Here lies Margo, died of trying to respond in a timely manner to all the incoming requests (…)
You Need Some Bunny Therapy
There’s something in the air right now because everyone and their mom is burnt out, exhausted, and ready to punch someone in the face. “I’m. just. so. tired.” <—- Me this week. Burnout’s definitely got some cachet up here in the Northeast, but it feels like sh*t and makes you a horrible human being. You become the (…)
The Pressure To Write Something That Doesn’t Suck
Last week a reader asked me if I’d review her work before she published it publicly. I said that I could, but it wouldn’t help her solve her problem. Her problem was this: “It’s like I know I have a Picasso ready to be painted, but I only know how to do f$%^*@# stick figures.” There are two (…)
What Marketing Stuff Is Worth Your Time?
Messing up and playing around is one of the best things for your business. It’s how you figure out what works.