Nerves

The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he
can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome.

— Steven Pressfield 

Henry Fonda vomited before every performance he ever delivered.

Nerves never leave some of us.

Nerves are normal.

Nerves can make us better players.

It's Morning in America

Educators and communicators are the lackeys of the American Way. They enslave the minds of the young and the young are willing slaves (but not for long) because who is to doubt the American Way is not the way?

— Gregory Corso, "The American Way" 

It's morning in America.

I can tell from Yahoo News.

Its lead stories signal a flight from stultifying politics, and a return to breathtaking normalcy:

• A popular model's bustier threatens to fail at a Hollywood awards party.
  


• The Mannequin Challenge is sweeping social media.
  


• A bride's wedding photo reveals she has undetected skin cancer (bustier news again).
  
  
• The entire plot of the new season of Game of Thrones has been leaked.

Build Social Strength

How often do you post on social media? Are you over- or under-posting?

If you want to build more followers, here's the right frequency, according to social media platform provider Buffer:

• LinkedIn: 1 time a day
• Twitter: 3 times a day
• Facebook: 2 times a day
• Instagram: 1 time a day
• Pinterest: 5 times a day

BONUS TIP: According to Buffer, copy's cool, but visuals boost engagement 40 times.

I've Been Ayn Randed

Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce.

― Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged   

Three years ago, a state senator introduced a bill making Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged required high-school reading in Idaho (he called the facetious bill a "statement" aimed at Idaho's board of education).

I've met more than a few otherwise intelligent people brainwashed by Rand's callous twaddle.

The hour is long past due to shelve Atlas Shrugged with dusty gems like Malleus Maleficarum, Diseases and Peculiarities of the Negro Race, and Mein Kampf.

Revered by aristocrats, Rand's 1957 book isn't merely some silver-fork novel. It's a monomaniacal screed pushing an elitist view.

My insuperable wealth means I'm superior.

And there's insuperable wealth behind the drive to foist Atlas Shrugged on American teenagers.

Since 2002, the California-based Ayn Rand Institute—underwritten by oil barons, bank presidents, hedge-fund managers, and Silicon Valley CEOs—has shipped over 3.2 million free copies of Atlas Shrugged to the nation's high schools and colleges.

Aiming to "spearhead a cultural renaissance that will reverse the anti-reason, anti-individualism, anti-freedom, anti-capitalist trends in today’s culture," these friends of laissez faire have, in addition, shipped teaching lessons to 30,000 teachers.

Teachers, please don't fall for it.

Don't be Ayn Randed.

DM Rocks

Last year, Canadian ethnographer Arnie Guha studied ad consumption.

First, he analyzed videos of the movements of recipients' eyes as they scanned direct mail (DM), email and ads on Facebook. Then, he analyzed two weeks' diary entries made by the recipients.

Guha concluded: DM rocks. Among his findings:

Direct mail is part of consumers' daily routine, "a routine so engrained and imbued with sentiment that it is often ritualized." The daily mail sort takes about five minutes and happens in the same part of the home. Consumers open and read personal mail first, and set aside direct mail that begs to be read for later. This ritual "presents a unique opportunity for brands looking to form relationships with new customers," Guha says. Email and Facebook ads, in contrast, are consumed without ritual.

Direct mail is valued. Consumers are far more likely to notice, open, read and enjoy direct mail than digital ads. They consider it less interruptive and a good way to make them feel valued. “In an age where person-to-person communication is being phased out, it is good to know some services still come from the hands of another human being," Guha says.

Direct mail is preferred. Consumers are more likely to associate feelings of happiness, excitement and surprise with direct mail, while finding digital ads annoying, distracting, disruptive and intrusive. That means direct mail isn't just for response-driving, but for deepening customer intimacy and communicating brand values.

Direct mail is "art." Consumers keep direct mail, display it in areas of the home, and share it for months at a time. Catalogs are kept in the living room; mailers and coupons on the fridge; menus in the kitchen drawers. Digital ads, in contrast, simply vanish.

Direct mail is a go-to source of information and inspiration in the early stages of the buying journey. Consumers in all age groups respond to it by making both planned and unintended purchases, in-store and online.

LEARN MORE. Check out The 3-Minute Guide to Direct Mail.