Hey Everyone,
Hope you're having a great week. Here are a few things I've been reading, writing and pondering lately. Enjoy!
I'm helping Podia hire a Community Marketer.
This person will:
- know the Podia audience better than anyone else
- use social media, forums, communities, etc. get content ideas + distribute content
- work alongside a (really good) content team
1. How to Apply for a Content Marketing Role
This should be straightforward but it's not. If you want to be considered for roles, read this piece and check out the accompanying Twitter thread.
A quick summary:
- Don't use cover letter templates. This is your chance to say something!
- Edit your application carefully.
- Choose your writing samples wisely.
- Vet the company more than they vet you.
2. Redefining Success So It Doesn’t Crush Your Soul
I just found Brad Stulberg's blog and really like it. This post stood out.
It’s high time to redefine success. Success is not something that you reach—not something that is outside of yourself, just down the field. Success is creating a life you want to live in right now. The great tragedy, Fromm writes, is that “man misses the only satisfaction that can give him really happiness—the experience of the activity in the present moment—and chases after a phantom that leaves him disappointed as soon as he believes he has caught it—the illusory happiness called success.”
3. The Pandemic Blew Company Forecasting to Pieces
This resonates (and makes me feel better):
Demand is like energy — it hardly ever just disappears, it gets transferred. During the lockdown, people didn’t stop eating — they just changed their buying patterns. They made fewer trips to the supermarket but purchased in greater volume, shifted to online shopping platforms like Instacart, and stocked up on certain staple items, most notably — toilet paper. This summer, people are still taking vacations — they’re just not traveling as far and using different modes of transportation. This is why Airbnb is experiencing a surge in bookings closer to home.
4. Tweet of the Week
“I always choose a lazy person to do a hard job, because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”
— Andrew Wilkinson (@awilkinson) August 5, 2020
–Bill Gates
5. Random Links
- Tommy Walker on running a content program: "I am a chef, not a short-order cook."
- After the announcement of Reels, I deactivated both Instagram and Facebook. These apps will stop at nothing to take more of your time. I realized that I can't manage it, so I'm out.
- This is insane: Social Movements Are Pushing Google Sheets to the Breaking Point
- Interesting: Are National Parks Really America's Best Idea? In my experience, National Parks are a terrible way to experience nature. We've taken beautiful places and turned them into theme parks. National Forests, on the other hand, are just as beautiful, far less crowded and offer a more immersive experience.
- Any YNAB users out there? Do you like it?
Have a great weekend!
Jimmy
PS - Want to brush up on your content marketing skillz? Check out my course 5 Days to Better Content Marketing. Join 400+ people that have taken and enjoyed it.
PPS - I started a Slack community for content marketers. It's free and there are 1,100+ wonderful people sharing, learning and looking out for each other. Learn more here.
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