Last week I talked about a new job was one of the highest-performing musings in a really long time. It resonated for several reasons.
Many of you are on the same path with either returning to traditional employment or seriously considering quitting the entrepreneurial journey.
I wanted to test something to see how the open rates fare with this subject title because I have a theory.
What I am testing is the level of your inquisitiveness. If the subject of an email is what determines whether you open + read it, then I wanted a scandalous subject to get you here.
But let’s dig a little deeper into that.
Why would you rush to read a post that talks about starting a new job quitting a new job and ignoring a lesson about consistency?
Because it’s gossip and even the most well-adjusted person will listen to some drama.
People love gossip. Few admit to it but we are conditioned as a society to chase hits of dopamine that come with being metiche as fu*k.
Maybe it’s because we want to feel better about ourselves by secretly reveling in the drama of others. Look at the popularity of reality television. Celebrity culture is hella toxic yet how many of us are willing to compromise our integrity to support a celebrity because we like their music, movie, or how they look?
Understanding the psychology of gossip and what drives people to consume drama will give you a major advantage in marketing because it’s basically the same fu*king thing.
Do you ever notice that people go viral on TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram? No one really goes “viral” anymore on Facebook.
When was the last time you saw someone getting canceled on Pinterest?
You may roll your eyes at Facebook but it is still a reliable source of client/customer referrals and sales. Why? Because Facebook is still rooted in the concept of community.
Instagram is NOT a community. It’s a platform for the popular squad to regain the throne in adulthood. It’s a place for visual gossip where people get to secretly peep into the lives of strangers and quietly judge.
Is it like this for everyone? No. We also get to engage with meaningful thought leaders and notable personalities. However, the information we get on social issues is generally secondary to why we are on that platform to begin with.
Who goes to Instagram for the sole purpose of getting educational content? Those informational posts are often sandwiched between snarky memes and someone’s random trip to Paris.
Instagram is not a community and I will fall on that sword.
And this is not an indictment of you if that’s how you intend on using it. Platforms like Instagram and Twitter make it easy for rouge actors to sabotage genuine engagement. You may have 200 comments giving you fist bumps but are they real people or bots?
Let’s say you have 100k followers but barely 1k likes on a post or little to no sales on a promo.
Do you still have a community?
I’ll take it a step further and ask “is it a community when your intention is transactional?”
I take issues with the term community because I think of it as this opportunity to help each other rise but too often it’s used to create a space where everyone is propping up one individual.
That’s not a community. That’s a company.
A community is where we are all invested in the growth of each other equally. Maybe that makes me a communist. (Putting a pin in this one for later as well)
A space that relies on the unpaid labor of others to help elevate an individual’s social and financial capital is called a corporation. Unpaid labor could look like expecting your audience to share your stuff without compensation.
I can hear the sounds of keyboards searching for the unsubscribe button so let me say that NOT EVERYONE is exploiting their audience but not everyone is NOT exploiting their audience.
It’s easier for me to see which are employing manipulative strategies because I am not emotionally invested in those business models for myself anymore so I can identify them pretty quickly.
I’m bringing this up for the new moon in Virgo because this is an opportunity to innovate your thought process and that’s at the core of what I want you do to.
Disconnect from the ideas that keep you stuck.
Break free from the perspectives that never had YOU in mind.
Unsubscribe from the voices that only value you when you’re serving their needs before your own.
Mercury is stationing direct this week, right around the time of the new moon which is kinda fun if you’re into mental chaos.
Use this transit to set intentions that are “of service” to YOU because when you are prioritizing your wellness, you are able to support others to thrive WITH you.