#131: For Danielle! Psuedo brands, the cost of courage, how to write an intro email, self-promotion, and a campaign I ❤️
So, I met someone this week while hosting a networking event at my office.
Her name is Danielle. Hi Danielle!!!!
I told you I’d write this one for you.
Danielle reads this newsletter every week. And, honestly, that’s awesome. It is really surreal when I meet anyone in real life who has signed up for this newsletter.
But Danielle also forwards it to people. I can imagine it’s accompanied by a note like “read this!” And “omg #4 is wild.”
I appreciate the chance to highlight pieces I come across each week, or create myself. I am grateful for the opportunity to elevate important ideas to people who just get me randomly thrown in their inbox by people like Danielle. (Don’t stop!) Sometimes I get disheartened by unsubscribes, but not surprised. They spike when I include political stuff or gay dating apps, LOL. Understood.
There is merit in the adage that you can’t be all things to all people.
Another adage that holds up? Write for one person. (I think I first learned that one from the ancient wise philosopher of our time, Ann Handley.)
So, this particular newsletter is for Danielle. A marketer navigating corporate life. A woman making her way in this world. An ambitious professional person who is a funny, flawed, wonderful human being.
You may be all of those things, or just one of them. That’s what makes this whole newsletter thing kind of magical.
So, #130, for Danielle:
1. How to write a forwardable introduction email
2. The cost - and impact - of speaking up
3. M.M.LaFleur supports women without pandering
4. Companies are helping to get out the vote. Yay?
5. The rise of pseudo-brands in the world of Amazon
6. Study: Women don't self-promote. Here's how to.
7. Quote of the week - waiting to start will kill you
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1. How to write a forwardable introduction email
H/T Rachelle Samson Oribio — she helped me find a venue for SXSW through a well-forwarded email, but before she did, she shared a guide to the perfectly-forwardable introduction email.
It’s a double opt-in strategy that gives the mutual connection the chance to ask first (consent is sexy) and forward a well-crafted email from the sender.
It's a SUPER helpful guide to something we all do (ask for introductions) but rarely do right.
2. The cost - and impact - of speaking up
In 2017, Susan Fowler, former Uber engineer, spoke up about sexual harassment at the company.
Her essay set into motion a series of events that ultimately resulted in the ouster of notoriously combative Uber co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick, as well as the termination of 20 or so employees who’d been accused of harassment or other issues. (Vox)
It was a highly visible moment in the #metoo movement. But, the cost to Susan was severe. The aftermath is detailed in this new TIME piece. TL;DR = stalking, hacking, threats, rumors...
"Speaking up comes at great personal cost. Being a whistleblower is not easy. It is not glamorous or fun. It will terrify you and scare you and forever change your life in ways that will be beyond your control. But, despite all of this, shining a light in the darkness is the right thing to do. In some cases, like my own, it is the only way to leave the world better than you found it."
Her bravery will be her legacy. But it's not without its consequences.
3. M.M.LaFleur supports women without pandering
What a fantastic PR initiative from M.M.LaFleur - a DTC clothing brand for professional women. They're offering to dress any woman running for public office at any level (and of any political affiliation) fo' FREE!
This is how you demonstrate brand values and support women in a marketing effort without pandering or even politicizing the effort.
A great campaign that's getting a ton of kudos across social media and all kinds of press - from women's outlets like Elle to political blogs like The Hill to industry pubs like AdWeek.
I love it. Well done.
4. Companies are helping to get out the vote. Yay?
A new initiative from brands to help their employees get time off to vote (who didn't see this coming in an election year) was announced this past week.
Quoting a LinkedIn update from PayPal CEO Dan Schulman:
The right to vote is essential to democracy. Yet, voter turnout in 2016 was the lowest it’s been in the last two decades. One reason is because people can’t get away from work.
PayPal wants to make sure no worker has to choose between voting and earning a paycheck. Along with Rose Marcario of Patagonia, my friend Chip Bergh of Levi Strauss & Co., and many other companies, we’re partnering with Time to Vote—a non-partisan coalition of companies dedicated to increasing voter participation in the 2020 general election on November 3.
As leaders, we have a responsibility to provide the time and resources for our employees to vote, alleviating a major barrier preventing many Americans from making their voices heard. I hope even more companies will join our efforts
States have different laws about mandating time off for workers to vote, but most do.
Questions... Was this necessary? A PR move? Both? Are the right employers (those who employ the most disenfranchised) making this pledge?
5. The rise of pseudo-brands in the world of Amazon
In a world where Amazon gives global sellers access to the US market through its marketplace, brand recognition does not matter in the traditional sense. What matters to a shopper on Amazon is rating, price, how well it matches their search terms (relevance)...
So, what you end up with is a bunch of foreign vendors who need to avoid trademark issues, and so create "pseudo-brands." Via this NYTimes piece:
In creating brands that are both utterly, legally unique and intended to not sound foreign to customers in the coveted American market, cross-border e-commerce sellers have landed on a branding language that has, if not rules, then patterns, or a something like a style
Brands like VBIGER, Pvendor, MAJCF and SHSTFD.
“A lot of foreign vendors aren’t too sophisticated in designing a trademark... A lot of people just come up with random letters. If just have a bunch of random letters, people can’t say this is too similar to their marks, and it’s easier for you to get the trademark registered."
The full piece is WILD.
6. Study: Women don't self-promote. Here's how to.
A new study detailed in the Harvard Gazette outlines the "self-promotion gap" where women are less inclined to tout their skills and experience than men, leading to gender differences in promotions and pay.
A new study suggests men are far more at ease with self-promotion than women, which contributes to a broad disparity in promotions and pay. According to a recent National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, women consistently rated their performance on a test lower than did men, even though both groups had the same average score.
One remedy could be the use of more objective performance metrics rather than subjective self-assessments.
The author makes one thing clear: It's not a matter of "changing the women" (this is not about telling women "toot your own horn") but rather "changing the system."
Read the Q&A with one of the paper's authors, Christine L. Exley.
Even though this is a societal/systemic issue, there are some ways to feel more comfortable self-promoting. I like Tara Mohr's advice in FastCo:
Shift toward visibility - how can your work speak for itself to the people that matter?
Focus on service - how can you impact those you want to serve?
Tell the whole truth - do you devalue your role rationalize, or credit a team too much? (I definitely am guilty of this.)
"Sharing what we’ve created is not the domain of the masculine; it’s the domain of the free."
Yes.
7. Quote of the week - waiting to start will kill you
Planning won't make you better.
Getting better makes you better.
And the only way you can do that is by doing.
Not thinking.
- Ash Ambirge in "It Doesn’t Matter Where You Start. But Waiting to Start Will Kill You."
PS: You must know about her radically four-letter-word-filled The Middle Finger Project and her new book. She's recently done a great podcast interview with Mike Ganino on self-reliance and a hilarious video with Rachael Kay Albers.
Danielle, did I do you right? Thanks, as always, for reading.
Katie
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