Productivity Bulletin: 2/20/2015
- Best Practices for email marketing:
Though 73% marketers take email marketing as a key enabler of products and services but majority is concerned about success rate. One of the prime reasons of failure is ‘ill-planned content.’ You need to design a dedicated content strategy for emails, newsletters, and other direct communications with prospects. Content strategy should address What, Why, Where, How, How much, How Often, and Whom. Decide what type of content will be used, in what quantity, and through which medium. In addition, keep “mobile factor” in mind as 68% marketers agree that a responsive design is a key factor in decisions regarding landing page or email template.
http://www.business2community.com/email-marketing/best-practices-email-marketing-2015-01146210
- Master the Concept of Leverage to Get What You Want in Business and Life
Leverage is all about understanding what another party desires and figuring out what you need to fulfill it, then using your position to gain an outcome in your favor. It is important to note, however, that leverage can be used both for good and for bad. Bad leverage results in one person winning and the others losing — typically a consequence of working with bad people — whereas in good leverage situations, all parties can benefit from the outcome of the transaction or deal.
- Keep emails to 300 words of less for better responses:
Concision matters more than almost anything in an email if you aren’t sure it will be read. Even in the case with people you know it can matter. When you want something, keep it brief! Most people can handle a 300 word message that gets right to the point. I’ve yet to meet anyone who prefers longer, detailed emails they didn’t explicitly request or who would rather read longer, flowery sentences over those that get right to the point. You can be short and sweet, after all.
http://awkwardhuman.com/2015/02/12/five-important-questions-i-ask-myself-before-sending-an-email/
- Some of you might remember the story that I told a few years ago about the band Van Halen and the brown M&M (and how it applies to contracting). Here is a short version:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232420
Video: Negotiating (more of) What You Want Anywhere with Anyone
Productivity Bulletin: 12/19/2014
- How millennial stack up to the generations before them:
But the financial outlook is also bleaker than their 1980s counterparts: The are much more likely to live with a parent, be unemployed (though they are more likely to have a postsecondary degree), and have lower salaries than any of the previously surveyed generations.
http://io9.com/how-millennials-stack-up-to-the-generations-before-them-1666809424
- Staying motivated when you are the boss:
1. Read Daily (read books that inspire you)
2. Write down your goals frequently
3. Work On One Task Related to Your “Big Goal” Daily
4. Create a bucket lists of tasks (not a task list, but stuff you need to get to eventually)
5. The 5 minute rule (find something you can knock out in 5 minutes to make you feed accomplished)
6. Work in intervals (no more than 90 minute blocks)http://theselfemployed.com/office/6-ways-to-stay-motivated-when-youre-the-boss/ - Multiply your time today to get done tomorrow:
You multiply your time by giving yourself the emotional permission to spend time on things today that create more time tomorrow.You don’t just think, “what are the most important things I have to get done today or this week?” Instead, you ask the question, “what are the things that I could do today that would free up more time tomorrow?”
- Going on an information diet (yeah I get the irony here)
http://lifehacker.com/how-to-craft-an-information-diet-that-actually-works-1669958197 - Important tasks at work: Take notes (Vince!)
https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-most-important-thing-youre-not-doing-at-work-and-how-to-get-started - Building better one-on-one sessions:
https://popforms.com/30-minutes-one-on-one/Sample questions:
When was the last time you felt really challenged at work?
Who is your favorite coworker and why?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Tell me about your greatest accomplishment while working here.
Is there anything you need in order to perform your job better?
What parts of the business would you like to be more involved in or learn about?
What’s the most fun you’ve had while working here? - Common Mistakes that can derail any negotiation:
1. Too many options
2. Falling for the bluff
3. Playing games and bluffing yourself
4. Dwelling on sunk costs and spent timehttp://lifehacker.com/four-common-mistakes-that-can-derail-any-negotiation-1668899157
Video: Influence and persuasion
At some point today you’ll probably need to persuade someone—your boss, a co-worker, a customer, your spouse, or even your kids. In our time-challenged modern world a crucial question emerges that this book helps you answer: What’s the smallest change you could make to your approach that will best increase your chances of success?
In THE SMALL BIG, three heavyweights from the world of persuasion science and practice – Steve Martin, Noah Goldstein and Robert Cialdini – describe how, in today’s information-overloaded world, often it’s not the strength of your argument or how much information you provide that will carry sway. More and more it is small changes to the way you present your proposal or argument that can make the biggest difference to your results.