Hey All,
Hope you're having a great week.
Just a quick reminder about the articles I include in Swipe File: Most of them aren't new. In fact, I make a real effort to avoid new and shiny content.
"New" doesn't make it good, so don't be surprised if some of these are months or even years old.
Enjoy!
When there is a Gold Rush, Start Selling Pick Axes and Blue Jeans via @ChrisSell3
There's a second gold rush taking place in San Francisco. A lot has changed since 1849 but, just like last time, suppliers are the ones cashing in.
With a sound business in place, the dried good shop ventured out and helped a local Nevada tailor file a patent on his riveted pocket work pants that were selling like hot cakes. That man’s name was Levi Strauss, and the dried good store was named Levi Strauss & Co. That dried good store booked 4.6B in revenue in 2012 as a private company.
Why beautiful email templates are hurting your business via @nathanbarry
Nathan Barry makes the case that design hurts most email campaigns. Marketers tend to lose focus on the content and the call to action when they get their hands on a WYSIWYG editor.
The true problem is that when crafting an email 95% of the time is spent getting the design just right and only 5% is spent on the subject and content.
Where does the value come from?
How to Bridge the Gap From Education to Activation via @jimmy_daly
My own thoughts on content marketing's biggest challenge — creating a logical connection between content marketing and trial signups. I took a look at how a few companies (Feedly, Copyblogger, IFTTT and Evernote) do it then explained how we're tackling this at Vero.
Work-Life Balance Through Interval Training via @ScottBehson
Can you really be expected to perform at your highest level every day? Obviously, the answer is "no" but here are some ways to train (and perform) better at work.
Athletes know that the vast majority of their effort is spent on development, preparing for the performance they must put in during actual competition. In business, it feels like the proportions are inverted: every day executives must perform, and only a tiny fraction of their time is set aside for “professional development.”
Building a business by torturing people via @burning_runner
Ex-Navy SEAL Mark Divine is the owner of Sealfit, a training program for normal folks who want to train like SEALs. His Kokoro camp — a 50-hour, nonstop, hell week simulation — is gaining interest fast. And at $1,695 per person, it's growing his business quickly too.
Why is it that people are willing to pay for this? And, more importantly, who wants to go with me?
First up for us was “surf torture,” in which you lie down in the shoreline breakers and get whapped in the face. Then we swam out far enough that we had to tread water. After about an hour of this, I was struggling to stay afloat and slurring my words.
Sounds like fun. :)
Cheers,
Jimmy