Clarity Lab Issue 88

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So, last time I asked you all which you’d prefer: Choice A: Shorter newsletters that are faster to read, or Choice B: Longer newsletters that have a bit more humor in them.

The overwhelming, impossible to ignore pattern to the responses was…a choice I didn’t present as an option…Choice C: Both!

Guys…there were two options. You can either go to Iceland or Barcelona, and you said, “BOTH!”

Just kidding. I love you guys. Thank you to everyone who wrote in to let me know what you prefer. 🙂

1
I Got Two Words For You

What if your entire marketing strategy was built around two words? What if you never, ever talked about your products or services in your marketing copy? (WHAT!?!?) And what if this could be the key that unlocks the kind of financial freedom you’ve been striving for? (Get. Out. Of. Here.) That’s what Steve Jobs did at Apple when he came back to the company: he crafted a marketing strategy around two words…and he stole the idea from Nike.

2
If You Billed It, They Will Come

Grab a cushion for contemplation. Here’s a Twitter thread from Jack Butcher on fundamental approaches to building a business. These are short, extremely pithy first principle level business building concepts paired with visual representations. Each one is worth reading multiple times and mulling over. I’ll add one he forgot: don’t build core aspects of your revenue engine on Facebook, Instagram, or Whatsapp. #FacebookDown

3
Levication

You know that nearly ineffable feeling you get when a musical performance fills you with such joy that you feel like you’re crying and levitating at the same time? Well, those moments have absolutely nothing to do with increasing your conversion rates, but they can keep you filled with inspiration for the work ahead. Take 7 minutes and watch this improvised performance with Bobby McFerrin, a choir, and the audience all making music together. And if you’ve never seen him perform live like this, you absolutely have to go. You’ll remember it for the rest of your life. The man fills a theater with pure joy.

4
Gold Trigger

Alright, look…this whole thing you’re doing with your business pretty much comes down to this: you’re trying to type the right combination of characters on your keyboard so that enough people will give you money for the thing you’re selling. If you’re not reaching your financial goals, here’s one crucial thing to look at way down here at this fundamental level: do you have the right buying triggers in place? Louis Grenier explains what buying triggers are and how to create them.

5
2 dollar bid, now 3, now 3, will ya give me 3?

Pricing your products can be hard. Many marketing consultants have their own pricing methods, me included, but here’s a method for finding the right price for your product that I’ve never seen used: a vickrey auction. This is where a small group of people privately bid on what they’re willing to pay for your product. The winners of the bidding process all pay the lowest price from the winning group of bids. Sound confusing? Read Kevin Lynagh’s article about it. Sorry, gotta run…I’m auctioning off my top 30 combinations of characters that make people buy things online.

+ Related: The award for best use of auctioneering skills goes to Congressman Billy Long for his performance in drowning out a protester in a hearing.

Good luck with everything this week, my friend.

~Forest Linden
Editor of the Internet