The Problem With Free

Garth Beyer

You can push out sweepstakes for winners to win free X for a year. You can put out samples after samples, which, by the way, customers never call them samples, they call them free X. You can also give away a free X with each purchase.

You may make friends, customers, clients, by giving X away for free, but the ones you make won’t come back when X is no longer free.

Instead of giving free X’s to strangers, give X along with Y and Z to those you know will be back and those who have come back for X before.

Treasure the friends (customers, clients) you have now and more trustworthy ones will come knocking. And by trustworthy, I also mean those who benefit you as well, those who show up to pay, to give in return to what you offer, not to take free handouts.

 

Stay Positive & Are You Marketing To The Right Friends?

Assorted Links

Garth Beyer

1. The infographics you need to (see)

2. The need for Bathtub Week (read)

3. With all the chat about celiacs disease, it’s worth dropping this here (read)

4. Wait no longer, underwear with cellphone pockets (read), a representation of my concern, it’s possible (read)

5. No reservations (read)

6. No you can’t tell if someone is lying by reading their facial expressions (read)

Grow Instead Of Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants

Garth Beyer

What makes you feel a sense of self? Rather, what makes you not question what makes you feel a sense of self? What is it you do that you never regret taking the time to do? What are you okay with failing at?

Is it okay with you to prioritize some other activity over what you’ve just responded with?

We have to take our joy, our pleasure, our passion seriously. We can’t let perfection stand in the way of creating our muse. We can’t let critics steer us on a different path with only their voice. Most importantly, we can’t let ourselves be sold short… by ourselves.

If you’re concerned about time, you’re wrong about what you’re passionate about. The theory of relativity isn’t just something Einstein scientifically proclaimed, it’s something he felt while he worked. Time is relative for everyone, but nearly non-existent when we’re doing what we love.

It needs noting time can become irrelevant when you do many different things, not just one.

The important actions to take are the ones we feel we should, not the ones we think we want. It’s rare, but now and then I feel I should pull out a canvas and my paints to create an ugly piece of art. I do, I lose track of time, and I know nothing will come from my painting endeavors, but in that moment I did what I felt I should do, not sit back in the recliner and play video games, what I think I wanted.

Are you okay with blowing off what you feel you should do? Does it not bug you when you do? Are you ignoring it how you feel when you do, using what you think you should do as an escape from the feeling of what you feel you should do?

So many are. We need to stop.

 

Stay Positive & Sure, Seek Giants Out, But First Become One

 

Where The Friendly People Are

Garth Beyer

I love the city, don’t get me wrong as you read. Downtown Madison, New York, Boston, Chicago, they are perfect. But I also love the country. Actually, some might not even consider it the country, it’s more the edges of town. That’s where I really love to be.

You don’t need to go too far from the heart of something to find people happy to see you venturing out on your own.

It’s the same story if you were on a motorcycle traveling from downtown Madison to the edges of it as it is if you were traveling from the safety of your current workspace to the just-a-bit-uncomfortable edges of it.

It’s ironic, really. We’re fed the idea we need to be in the heart of something to get the most out of it. Yet, no one waves to you as you pass by; no one pays you any attention; no one takes a moment to chat about your day or offer you something strictly out of selflessness and gratitude. It’s the people already at the edges that are there for you. The edges of your work, the edges of innovation, attitude, education.

They’re waiting for you.

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Make Them Wait Any Longer (this is what happens)

But, Where Is The Difficult Part?

Garth Beyer

Godin speaks so much truth today.

I sat in Camp Randall stadium today to watch the University of Wisconsin’s 2014 commencement. John Huntsman, the deans, the chancellor and the student speakers talked about the Wisconsin experience, the trials all the graduates faced throughout their time at university. What each speaker spoke around was one important concept: reflection.

Graduates were told to reflect on their experiences and who helped them along the way; to reflect on the adversity and celebrations of the last four years. What they didn’t come right out asking the graduates to do was reflect on the difficult parts of their experience. Were there any?

If there weren’t. Was it that much of an experience? Was there that much value? Was the degree, the debt, the stress worth it?

This doesn’t go for just graduates, it goes for everyone in the workplace, everyone in the freelance realm, everyone everywhere.

You can make accomplishments in life, but where’s the value of them come from? Where is the difficult part?

If you haven’t found it, you have some searching and stretching to do.

 

Stay Positive & Congratulations To Those Who Made It Difficult On Themselves, They’re The Real Graduates

Drawing The Shortest Straw

Garth Beyer

Drawing Straws is an old tradition. When no one volunteers to perform a certain act, the group draws straws and the person who draws the shortest straw is the designated “volunteer.”

If I may make a recommendation, not only do I suggest to try to draw the shortest straw (or volunteer in the first place and skip the straws), but do as the straw suggests. Keep it short.

I peer-reviewed a couple of blog posts from a friend yesterday. He’s doing remarkable work by connecting artists and event goers to create personalized work of art. His blog posts were short. They engaged the reader, kept them interested and got them looking forward to the next CrowdArt event.

I like to think of most audiences like professors who have to read through a hundred class papers. The best way to get a good grade is to keep your paper short, concise and be sure it engages the reader with personality and story.

At the end of any paper (any blog post, ad, pitch, etc,.) your audience is a person, and every person is inundated with numerous papers, blog posts, ads, etc,. a day.

Be the shortest straw. Pick yourself. Keep it short. Make it personal.

 

Stay Positive & Sip, By Sip They’ll Catch On

For Those Looking To Bee The Buzz

Garth Beyer

Capture it on video.

Throwing a special celebration for an employee? Catch it on video.

Think your customer service is top-notch? Film it.

Want to know if you can back up the statement “everyone leaves happy?” Set up a camera that captures the smiling faces of every customer who leaves the store.

Every interaction might not be remarkable, but you’ll bee the buzz if you can catch the remarkable moments on tape.

The greatest part? You’ll learn from the not-so-remarkable episodes too.

 

Stay Positive & Smile, You’re On Camera