Hey Everyone,
Hope you're having a great week. Here are a few things I've been reading, writing and pondering lately. Enjoy!
1. 5 Content Marketing Power Laws
Here’s my latest post for the Animalz blog on the content marketing power laws I live by.
If you double the side of a square, you increase the area by a factor of four. If you double the side of a cube, you increase the volume by a factor of eight. Small change, big impact. That’s a power law and it’s the kind of guiding principle we rely on to help us prioritize the time we spend working on content.
There are plenty of ways to make incremental progress, but that’s not what we’re looking for. We’re looking for small changes and big impact. Here are the five content marketing power laws we live by and recommend to all of our customers.
2. Design for the Novice, Configure for the Pro
This is an article on product design, but I think it applies equally to writing.
I think most companies err too much on the side of complexity. They try to strike the right balance between making the base product “useful enough” for the “average” user. I think the novice needs to be able to walk right in the door and be able to start playing around with your product — without a manual. More difficult still, you need to be able to accomodate the “light” user who comes by once / month and barely remembers the application when the log in.
3. A Very Complete Guide to Creating an Online Course
Check out Podia (formerly Coach) as well, it looks like a great product.
4. Right Team, Right Time
The Minnesota Vikings are out of the NFL playoffs but QB Case Keenum has a story to tell.
I was a two-star recruit, man. I quarterbacked a team to a state title in Texas — in Texas — and I only got one scholarship offer. I had to compete for the QB job in college twice: Had to win it, and then we changed coaches and I had to win it again. I’ve been getting, “If you were only a few inches taller” … or, “If you were just a few ticks faster” … or, “If that arm was maybe a few yards stronger, son” — basically my whole life.
Heck, the only time in my life I think I’ve ever been over-estimated was at the NFL draft. The experts said I’d be a late-round pick.
I went undrafted.
5. Random Links
- Don’t even know what to make of this: The Fall of Travis Kalanick Was a Lot Weirder and Darker Than You Thought
- Thank me later: Netflix’s Ozark
- I setup Drift on our blog this week and really dig it so far.
- I realized today that I’ve used MacDown on a near-daily basis for three years. Markdown is so awesome.
Have a great weekend!
Jimmy
PS - I'm looking to partner with a few great businesses to sponsor this newsletter. It reaches a bunch of smart folks from places like Google, Apple, Spotify, New York Times, Marriott and Harvard. Shoot me an email if you're interested in working together.
PPS - I created an email course called 5 Days to Better Content Marketing. More than 300 people have already taken it. You should check it out too.