In a meme driven world, you need to be thinking unconventionally.First, I guess last week's intro where I talked about my brush with death in a teen driven misaligned vehicle must have struck a chord -- I got more emails, texts, and DMs about it than any other issue in the past 6 months. I received more reaction than Sassy Justice and it rivaled the reaction I received to my other near death experience a few years ago in the middle aged mosh pit.....Really glad my terror is your entertainment, Friends.....And, because some of you asked, I am proud/scared to report that my son passed his driver's test this past week -- in a legit snowstorm no less....pretty safe bet that the poor woman who administered the test has not left Mickey Malone's Tavern in Brockton, MA since Tuesday....Tina the Car and I are so there with you, girl....good food, good friends and GOOD TIMES....such good times...Anyway...where were we?Ah yes, couple conversations this week revolved around the value of unconventional thinking. I thought I would quickly address here.The quick take: in 2021 quirky will continue to rule, and buttoned up and conventional will continue to suck.What does that mean? It means Steak-umm's Twitter account can continue serving up snarky comments instead of meat sheet cooking tips. Panera can talk about selling bread bowl mittens (see below) instead of actual bread bowls. Bernie Sanders sitting in the cold will be a hilarious meme.What's out in an almost post-COVID world? Suits (actually, pants for that matter). Email. Webinars. Resumes. PDFs. Network TV. Apparently hot coffee...and, sadly, most likely your LinkedIn profile or company's website...Look around, Friends. Taking a conventional approach to just about anything will most likely relegate you to the "As If" pile.That means you need to get uncomfortable and take some risks if you want to stand out. You need to put some thought and effort into any story you are looking to tell to get attention.Your same old crappy marketing, resume, website or LinkedIn profile stands no chance in a world where a random picture of a grouchy, bundled up 79 year old senator at the inauguration will get bigger, lasting traction than the event itself.Think unconventionally and peripherally. It's not that conventional thinking isn't sound or good. It just doesn't sell right now. It captures only a limited amount of people's attention.You know which FoD newsletters get opened the most? The ones with the quirky subject lines. If I can figure out a way to get the word "florida" in the subject line, it probably adds 1% to the open rates. Without fail.And the articles that get clicked on the most in this newsletter? Not the first two sections. It's the random stories and the Last Word. Every week. And there is some great stuff in those first sections that can help you in your day-to-day. But they are usually conventional. We scroll, swipe and flip through tons of information thrown at us every day. The unconventional stuff is what catches our eye and makes us stop the scrolling. So as we kick off the year, take some time to get out of your comfort zone, think about how you can shed some conventional thinking and take a risk or two. Guarantee it will payoff for you.With that, serving up some good links below -- hope you will have some time to check each out. Stay warm Friends! XOXODave
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Friends of Dave #215: most annoying sound
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In a meme driven world, you need to be thinking unconventionally.First, I guess last week's intro where I talked about my brush with death in a teen driven misaligned vehicle must have struck a chord -- I got more emails, texts, and DMs about it than any other issue in the past 6 months. I received more reaction than Sassy Justice and it rivaled the reaction I received to my other near death experience a few years ago in the middle aged mosh pit.....Really glad my terror is your entertainment, Friends.....And, because some of you asked, I am proud/scared to report that my son passed his driver's test this past week -- in a legit snowstorm no less....pretty safe bet that the poor woman who administered the test has not left Mickey Malone's Tavern in Brockton, MA since Tuesday....Tina the Car and I are so there with you, girl....good food, good friends and GOOD TIMES....such good times...Anyway...where were we?Ah yes, couple conversations this week revolved around the value of unconventional thinking. I thought I would quickly address here.The quick take: in 2021 quirky will continue to rule, and buttoned up and conventional will continue to suck.What does that mean? It means Steak-umm's Twitter account can continue serving up snarky comments instead of meat sheet cooking tips. Panera can talk about selling bread bowl mittens (see below) instead of actual bread bowls. Bernie Sanders sitting in the cold will be a hilarious meme.What's out in an almost post-COVID world? Suits (actually, pants for that matter). Email. Webinars. Resumes. PDFs. Network TV. Apparently hot coffee...and, sadly, most likely your LinkedIn profile or company's website...Look around, Friends. Taking a conventional approach to just about anything will most likely relegate you to the "As If" pile.That means you need to get uncomfortable and take some risks if you want to stand out. You need to put some thought and effort into any story you are looking to tell to get attention.Your same old crappy marketing, resume, website or LinkedIn profile stands no chance in a world where a random picture of a grouchy, bundled up 79 year old senator at the inauguration will get bigger, lasting traction than the event itself.Think unconventionally and peripherally. It's not that conventional thinking isn't sound or good. It just doesn't sell right now. It captures only a limited amount of people's attention.You know which FoD newsletters get opened the most? The ones with the quirky subject lines. If I can figure out a way to get the word "florida" in the subject line, it probably adds 1% to the open rates. Without fail.And the articles that get clicked on the most in this newsletter? Not the first two sections. It's the random stories and the Last Word. Every week. And there is some great stuff in those first sections that can help you in your day-to-day. But they are usually conventional. We scroll, swipe and flip through tons of information thrown at us every day. The unconventional stuff is what catches our eye and makes us stop the scrolling. So as we kick off the year, take some time to get out of your comfort zone, think about how you can shed some conventional thinking and take a risk or two. Guarantee it will payoff for you.With that, serving up some good links below -- hope you will have some time to check each out. Stay warm Friends! XOXODave