There are only two ways to live your life...
"There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle"
- Albert Einstein
Mind blown, right? I'm kicking off your Friday with the quote of the week.
Here's what else lives in this week's edition of THE WORLD'S BEST NEWSLETTER:
'Ghostbusters is A Perfect Example of How Internet Movie Ratings Are Broken
The power of surveys in B2B marketing
Undeniable survey proving why you should hire me
Why you should never trust surveys
Your real enemy in marketing
Brilliant? Or bastards? The lightbulb conspiracy.
Awesome link: Let Me Google That For You
Don't give a damn bout my bad innovation
4 out of 5 private tech companies...
1. Ghostbusters is A Perfect Example of How Internet Movie Ratings Are Broken
This article on FiveThirtyEight exposes the fact that internet ratings need to be approached with way more nuance than they currently are.
In the case of Ghostbusters, "a vocal portion of men on the internet — shall we say — go out of their way to make their voices heard when it comes to judging entertainment aimed at women."
"People put far too much faith in numbers that are preliminary, decontextualized and, in the end, oversimplified. Namely, they’re inconsistent, easily manipulated and probably not worth half the stock we put in them."
2. The power of surveys in B2B marketing
Recent conversations with my friends at ResearchScape (need surveys? HIGHLY recommend them) gave me an opportunity to write about the role they play in marketing.
Read my post for 8 ways surveys can be your secret weapon in B2B content marketing, PR, sales enablement, and more.
3. Undeniable survey proving why you should hire me
See above, then see this benchmark study that found 66% of those who exceed expectations for their content marketing pay for third party written content vs. 21% for those rating themselves below expectations.
Don't you want to exceed expectations?
4. Why you should never trust surveys
See above, and above, then see this post for a funny (yet SO TRUE) look at the deceptive nature of statistics. Or, depending on how you read it, guidance on how to skew the results to tell your story. :)
5. Your real enemy in marketing
I recently gave a guest lecture at Boston University to a room of entrepreneurs.
I wanted to leave them with something truly insightful that would give them reason to give up now before they suffered through the eventual pain of failure.
Just kidding. Failure is a gift. There's no such thing as failure. Yadda yadda yadda.
But I did want to help them understand what they're up against when selling anything to anyone.
We often think, as marketers and founders, that our enemies are the competitors who offer similar products/services as our company.
Instead, this article from Tim Riesterer (one of the smartest guys I know in marketing) uncovers our real enemy; buyer inaction.
"Humans tend to weigh the potential losses of leaving the status quo more heavily than the potential gains. You have to invert the commonly held perception that equates change with loss."
6. Brilliant? Or bastards? The lightbulb conspiracy.
Did you know that in 1924, reps from the world's leading lightbulb manufacturers formed a CARTEL that fixed the average life of an incandescent bulb at 1,000 hours to ENSURE THAT PEOPLE WOULD HAVE TO REGULARLY BUY BULBS and keep them in business!?
Now you do.
Read more about this planned obsolescence and future coming to LED.
7. Awesome link: Let Me Google That For You
Ever been asked a question to which the answer is undeniably "HAVE YOU GOOGLED IT?"
Like, the obvious stuff. "What's the address of X?" or "Where can I buy Y?" or "What's the meaning of life?"
We have access to Google in our pockets, walking down the street, when we are going to the bathroom. There's really no excuse.
Well, for the next time you are low on patience and faced with a distinctly-Googleable question, use this: http://www.lmgtfy.com/
You're welcome.
8. Don't give a damn bout my bad innovation
I've got Joan Jett on repeat writing this week's newsletter, and now I hope she's stuck in your head all day.
Appropriately, she is the soundtrack in my head as I read Doug Fox's excellent reminder to B2B companies and founders that hey, guys... "Prospects Don't Give A %&#$ About Your Innovation."
9. 4 out of 5 private tech companies...
According to theBoardlist and Fortune Magazine, as of June 30, just 6.8% of private tech companies’ and 10.2% of unicorn companies’ (valued at $1 billion or more) board seats are filled by women. Moreover, the data reveals that nearly four out of five private tech companies have no women on their boards whatsoever.
That is all.
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Have a great weekend!
Katie