I've told this story a few times in DMs but I suppose I'll tell it here. Listen dear readers as I tell you how I am now currently reaping what I have sown. Rueing consequences of my own choices and, admittedly, pride. First of all. Some background.

This summer my boss, an iron-man triathlon veteran, joined a canoe race. They were going to race across MO, the 360ish miles from KC to Saint Louis.

Their target was *60 hours*.
They did it in 46.

I LOVED how Exalted handled essence. Let me explain why.

https://twitter.com/TwoLemonades/status/1551587950961516545

For those unfamiliar, Exalted was a game where you were reincarnated gods. You were superhumans.

You had charms that you activated with essence - essentially mana.

So, let's talk, because I do think this is an honest conversation that is worth normalizing amongst men.

Here's my own learning experience that I went through.

https://twitter.com/typolad/status/1275778715541286912

My own learning experience came when I was in college and I worked in a Math tutoring lab. I, well, tutored. It was great. I loved it! I love helping people. And, well, I'm pretty good at it.

That said, me and a co-worker fucked up and I learned a lesson from it.

So let's talk a marketing principle that's foundational. The sooner you understand this the sooner you can stop trying to fight human nature:

People are not obligated to give you attention. They are not obligated to click that link. To pick up that book. To play the demo. To read the first 5 pages.

If you approach trying to sell from this mindset you're missing the important lesson.

...yes and no?
Like. Harry Potter sold like wildfire because the stories were good. But we can't discount the massive marketing machine that went into it, the buzz from JK's huge advance.

https://twitter.com/Rachel_Aaron/status/1265999064203575297

American Dirt, but all the accounts I've read, is not a good book. There are some severe problematic elements to it. A HUGE amount of publicity got shoved behind it, and well, it's a NYT best-seller, selling hand over fist.

So there's a misunderstanding I see floating around sometimes when discussing social media marketing; it sometimes comes from both sides.

Basically the misunderstanding is "So you suck up to people to get an in?" From the side of the person who is learning how to do this, it gets framed all sorts of ways as "tactics" and "touch points" and stuff. How to maximize the ROI on your networking time, that sort of shit.

I'm cleaning out my gmail today and first. Wow. I can't believe there is no "sort by sender" function.

But two. More generally oof what a trip THAT was.

It was like an archeological expedition of my own personal time. The furthest back, job applications for teaching. Wedding vows w our officiant. General back and forth with my wife.

Exchanges from a ttrpg I ran yeeeaaarrrs ago. Lots of those, actually.

*Rubs eyes*
Okay I'll just say it again.

If you're going to be promoting on a platform, you need to be PRESENT on the platform. Here's why. Social media platforms are kinda like dialects of internet. There are norms to all of them. Once you're COMFORTABLE speaking in those spaces, it's totally fine and natural. But when you aren't? OOOOF. It's very uncomfortable and also it TOTALLY shows.

This whole thread is fantastic but my gents. This this this.

Thus, my dudes, a very small primer in Romance by a dude who is still figuring this shit out.

https://twitter.com/_alexrowland/status/1209339587186872320

First, definition. A Romance, by definition of the genre, MUST have a HEA (Happily Ever After). Get out of here w your Nicholas Sparks or rando tragedies.

It might HAVE some romance, but it is NOT a Romance.

Seriously. This matters. It's a feature, not a bug.

I'm about to be a sexy-as-hell Millennial and talk about an overview of LIFE INSURANCE.

Strap in for a thread. DISCLAIMER: I work for a company owned by a life insurance company. I do not directly sell life insurance; I'm not trying to sell you anything here. This is more of a PSA, because insurance can be very very murky and opaque. I hope to dispel some of that.

So I talk a LOT about iteration. @jennlyonsauthor and I have geeked out before out how agile development has influenced our process.

I want to talk about something else important too that's not just iteration...

Just tryin shit. I'm not being a smartass either. Let me explain.