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With each new year, come new possibilities. You’ve probably already set goals to tap into that fresh energy that comes with a change of the calendar. If one of those goals is to grow on social media in 2025, you’re in the right place. We believe new habits take work — and content creation is no exception. It’s not as easy as picking up a phone, despite what some success stories might have you believe. You need systems and structures to build something sustainable. That’s where Creator Camp comes in. Creator Camp is a free 30-day community challenge to help you build consistent social media habits while developing your brand and connecting with fellow creators. We had over 218 signups for our last edition, which ran in October 2024. For 30 days, the community buzzed with activity as members shared their content, exchanged feedback, and cheered each other on. And the results spoke for themselves — Laura, a former Product Manager who is building a business, saw a 47.8% increase in impressions and a 20% increase in members reached.Louise, a Social Media Manager, saw an 891% increase in impressions and a 346% increase in engagement.Sabreen, a Marketing expert, saw a 216% increase in impressions and a 215% increase in engagement.Buffer teammates who participated in the challenge also saw amazing results. On my end, I saw amazing results, including viral content that bumped my 2024 LinkedIn metrics by thousands! Ready to tap into the New Year energy and grow on social in 2025? Join us on January 15!Join Creator CampWhy join Creator Camp?Creator Camp provides the structure, support, and community to make posting a habit. Here’s what you’ll get out of it: Build a consistent posting habit: Creator Camp helps you turn infrequent posting into a regular habit by providing regular cues, motivation, and the reward of celebrating alongside a community. By the end of the 30 days, you’ll have built a natural and sustainable rhythm to carry into your creator journey.Boost your creativity: With weekly content prompts, resources for all the top social platforms, and the encouragement of a supportive community, you’ll find yourself brimming with new ideas and excited to share them. And even if you’ve done Creator Camp before, we guarantee you’ll find something new to benefit from in this next round.Join a thriving community: One of creators' biggest challenges is feeling isolated. In Creator Camp, you’re never alone. You’ll be surrounded by fellow creators on the same journey, ready to support you every step of the way.Some community interactions that make Creator Camp so special 💡Here are 7 simple habits to help you flex the content creation muscle.What makes Creator Camp different from any other social media challenge?It’s not just the prompts or the structure — it’s the community. At Buffer, we’re committed to fostering an inclusive environment where creators of all levels can thrive. Plus, through our Buffer Chats, live sessions with industry leaders and experts, you’ll gain insights you won’t find anywhere else. How it worksCommunity support: Join our Discord community, where you can share your content, receive feedback, and support fellow creators. This is where the magic happens — creators inspiring creators.Weekly prompts: Receive creative prompts weekly and daily to spark your content ideas and motivate you. It’s time to step out of your comfort zone and try something new!Exclusive events: Connect with guest social media experts through live Buffer Chats.Extensive resources: We’ll be sharing cheat sheets for each social media platform for you to maximize your results.Ready to build a consistent social media presence? Join us from January 15!If you want to grow on social media in 2025, Creator Camp is the perfect opportunity. Join us for this free 30-day challenge, starting January 15 and take the first step towards building a consistent, engaging, and impactful social media presence. Sign up for Creator Camp today and start your journey towards consistency and growth. Let’s make your social media dreams a reality—one post at a time. Join Creator CampShare your journeyKnow someone who could benefit from Creator Camp? Share this post and invite them to join us. The more, the merrier! got you covered! View the full article

Social media has transformed the way we communicate and consume information, and it continues to do so day by day. From sharing personal life updates to discussing global events, platforms like TikTok have become integral to our daily lives. But what happens when the workplace becomes a trending topic on these platforms? Enter the world of #WorkTok. View the full article

Here are my picks for the best Kanban certifications that will help you learn key Kanban principles and concepts, as well as agile principles more broadly. You'll build your skills in managing teams and delivering successful projects, and get a leg up in your career. The post 13 Best Kanban Certifications to Take in 2025 appeared first on The Digital Project Manager. View the full article

The race to deliver market-leading Wi-Fi 7 solutions to CSP is heating up with startup Righ. The post CES: South Korea’s KAON becomes first global partner for Righ’s ‘RighGravity’ multi-protocol Wi-Fi solution appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

The race to deliver market-leading Wi-Fi 7 solutions to CSP is heating up with startup Righ. The post CES: South Korea’s KAON becomes first global partner for Righ’s ‘RighGravity’ multi-protocol Wi-Fi solution appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

2024 was an especially challenging year for startups. Investors exerted extra caution in the face of inflation and rising interest rates, leading to a 26% decline in funding compared to 2023. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Sectors like…Read more ›View the full article

These are the 100 most asked questions on Google, along with their monthly search volumes. Top Google questions by growth Many popular questions don’t change from year to year. For example, people have been asking measurement-related questions since forever (e.g.,…Read more ›View the full article

Below are lists of the top 100 most popular searches and questions in the US and worldwide, pulled from our database of 28.7 billion keywords: We removed all NSFW queries from this list. What you see above are the top…Read more ›View the full article

Here are the top project scheduling certification programs that will help you build your expertise in planning, managing, and optimizing project timelines and resources. Find out who and what each option is best for so you can choose the right one for your career path. The post 5 Best Project Scheduling Certifications for Upskilling in 2025 appeared first on The Digital Project Manager. View the full article

Intel is expanding the Intel Core Ultra platform from two to five models, all with integrated Wi-Fi 7. The post CES: Intel’s vPro AI PC platform with Wi-Fi 7 marks transformational shift in productivity, company says appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

Intel is expanding the Intel Core Ultra platform from two to five models, all with integrated Wi-Fi 7. The post CES: Intel’s vPro AI PC platform with Wi-Fi 7 marks transformational shift in productivity, company says appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

Want to know the most effective ecommerce growth strategy? I studied successful online stores to find out what works best. While every store’s path is unique, clear patterns emerged. Here are some examples: *All figures in USD Brand Annual Revenue Standout Strategy Hush Blankets $48M Product Validation Mid Day Squares $20M Content Marketing TBH Skincare $6.5M Content Marketing MX Store $65M Search Marketing Who Is Elijah $13M Operational Efficiency Whether your goal is to do $1M or $100M, it comes from executing the fundamentals. I’ve distilled this guide to the five most impactful growth strategies, including: Success metrics Real-world examples Requirements to execute Expected timeline and results Let’s start with the most important one. 1. Make Products Your Customers Actually Want Most ecommerce failures share one root cause: creating products nobody wants. Or products that are okay but never really get traction. You follow trends. Copy competitors. Trust your gut. Then invest thousands in inventory and marketing, hoping customers will buy. The solution? Talk to your customers. One honest conversation today could prevent massive product failures tomorrow. These chats reveal opportunities like: Problems customers can’t solve with existing products What their “perfect” product would look like, and missing features Unexpected details that could help you differentiate your product Conversations also build relationships. They turn customers into fans who drive growth through word-of-mouth. How Hush Blankets Grew to $48M Through Customer Conversations By talking to customers, founders Aaron Spivak and Lior Ohayon turned $4,000 into $48M in 48 months. For example, when summer sales dropped, they scheduled customer calls. The feedback was clear: “We love the blanket, but we’re sweating. It’s in storage until winter.” – Aaron Spivak That single insight led to their breakthrough “ice fabric” technology, which: Raised $1M on Kickstarter Sold 3,000 units in 72 hours Became their highest-margin product The entrepreneurs continued talking to customers to inform product development. “When people ask what our marketing hack is or which agency we worked with, they miss the point. We had 3,000 people on the phone tell us exactly what they wanted. That’s the real secret.” – Aaron Spivak How to Have Customer Conversations It’s easy to overthink product research. But Hush proved that you just need to begin talking to customers. Here’s a simple process to get started: Send a brief email with a link for a 15-minute call. The Hush team found this approach got better responses than long surveys or complicated feedback forms. Approach each conversation with genuine curiosity. Don’t defend your products or explain your constraints. Just listen. Ask what their perfect product would look like. Follow interesting threads that emerge. Start with five customers this week. That’s enough to spot patterns while being totally manageable. Even if you’re swamped, you can find 75 minutes for conversations that could transform your business. Take detailed notes using their exact words. In addition to product ideas, you can get feedback points and marketing content. The goal is to build such deep customer understanding that product failures become nearly impossible. 2. Build a Strong Brand Through Storytelling When we consume 6 hours of content daily, attention is the most valuable currency in business. Storytelling is how you earn it. Why? Stories stick. You may not remember product specs, but you likely recall Sara Blakely cutting the feet off her pantyhose to create Spanx. Or Patagonia’s founder testing gear on mountain expeditions. Most brands miss by showing only the highlight reel—the wins, the perfect moments, and the polished content. Telling raw, relatable stories is how you build a lasting brand. How Mid Day Squares Built a $20M Chocolate Empire Through Storytelling In 2018, Jake Karls and his co-founders launched Mid Day Squares with a radical commitment to transparency. They documented everything about building the company—from production line disasters to legal battles to funding negotiations. Mid Day Sqaures unconventional approach involved: Sharing the entrepreneurial journey, not just the product (85-90% of content) Showing behind-the-scenes wins and failures Filming raw, unscripted moments “When people ask what’s our marketing hack or which agency we worked with, they’re missing the point. Building in public and sharing our authentic story turned customers into fans who felt like they were buying from friends.” – Jake Karls Mid Day Squares grew to over $20 million in revenue. And Jake attributes much of their success to creative content. But brand storytelling isn’t just for founder-led content. How TBH Skincare Makes Customer-Focused Content When Rachel Wilde started TBH Skincare, she took a different approach to content marketing. In addition to founder stories, she created content on real customer experiences. It focused on honest education about acne treatment. “I always say start with the customer. Understand what they want, and hit them with the right with the right message in the right place at the right time.” – Rachel Wilde This customer-first storytelling shaped every aspect of their content, including: Focusing on raw, unfiltered customer results Creating educational content that destigmatizes acne Showing real people dealing with real skin issues They allocated 80% of the marketing budget to content creation. It built a storytelling engine that helped customers see themselves in the products. And it worked. TBH Skincare grew to $14M ($22M AUD) in four years. How to Start Creating Engaging Stories Before investing in content, identify what makes your brand relatable. Here are some best practices to get started: Document your “why.” Beyond making money, what drives your company? What change are you trying to create? Choose your storytelling lane. Will you focus on founder content? Customer stories? Educational content? Pick an approach that plays to your strengths and resonates with your audience. Start small but consistent. You don’t need fancy equipment or a full content team. Both Mid Day Squares and TBH Skincare started with iPhones and posted daily while staying true to their story. Test and iterate. Track which stories resonate deeply. Look for patterns in engagement and sales attribution. Double down on what works. Read more: What is Content Marketing? Complete Beginners Guide What Makes Storytelling CRUCIAL When you nail your brand’s narrative, you create compelling organic content. But that’s just the beginning. You’re also building marketing assets that drive results across every channel. Your content becomes fuel for: Paid media on Meta, Google, and TikTok Email nurture sequences Product pages that tell a deeper story Blog content “Most brands create different content for each marketing channel. We just document our journey and then adapt those stories for different platforms. It’s more authentic and way more efficient.” – Jake Karls The TBH Skincare team has found authentic stories outperform traditional ads across every channel. “When you have a piece of content that really resonates with people, you can use it everywhere. Our best-performing ads weren’t planned campaigns—they were real moments we captured and then amplified.” – Rachel Wilde The lesson? View storytelling as the key to better marketing. It’ll boost all your other channels. 3. Optimize Search Marketing (Paid and Organic) Every day, billions of people tell Google exactly what they want to buy. Capturing this traffic isn’t cheap or easy—but it’s steady. Paid search gives instant traffic but needs constant investment. Organic search is free but takes time to build up. Together, they drive consistent sales. Read more: SEO vs. SEM: What’s the Difference? How MX Store Uses Search to Drive $100M+ in Sales When MX Store, Australia’s largest online motorcycle parts retailer, first tried Google Ads, their approach was typical. Broad keywords. Generic ads. Homepage traffic. Like throwing spaghetti at a wall and hoping something sticks. So they shifted their approach—led by marketing director Dan Turner. “The key is perfect alignment. Your keyword matches the intent, your ad matches the keyword, and your landing page matches the ad. No disconnects.” – Dan Turner Here’s exactly what they changed: Built granular campaigns: Instead of lumping everything together, they created separate campaigns for each product category. Every campaign got its own custom landing page and clear conversion path. Analyzed search terms meticulously: Weekly reviews. Aggressive negative keyword expansion. Minimized wasted spend on irrelevant searches. Implemented systematic testing: Every ad needed a minimum of 5,000 impressions before making decisions. Proper budget allocation for each test. Regular creative refreshes. The result? A consistent 10x return on ad spend (ROAS). How to Make the Most Out of Your Google Ads Campaigns Before you spend a dollar on ads, understand your profit. Then, analyzing your competitors and keyword research follows. Calculate Your Campaign Profitability Work out how much you can spend to get a customer while making a profit. Without this calculation, you risk burning your ad budget on dud campaigns. To avoid this mistake, note three metrics: Target cost per click (CPC) Expected conversion rate Maximum customer acquisition cost (CAC) Here’s an example of the math: Product price: $100 Profit margin: 50% (meaning you make $50 per sale) Target ROAS: 3:1 (for every $1 spent on ads, you want $3 in revenue) Expected conversion rate: 2% (2 out of 100 visitors buy) The maximum CAC calculation is $50 profit ÷ 3 = $16.67 maximum ad spend per customer. With a 2% conversion rate, you can’t spend over $16.67 to acquire a customer while keeping campaigns profitable. Do Keyword Research Keyword research answers a simple question: are people searching for what you’re selling? Start by Googling your products to see what ads are displaying. For example, here’s what the ads look like for “pendulum lights.” There are lots of ads, which implies they’re working. You could theoretically follow this simple process of Googling, observing, and copying. But, to reduce wasted budget, use a tool like Semrush. It’ll help you understand the demand and cost for profitable keywords. Bonus: Here’s a link to a 14-day trial on a Semrush Pro subscription. That should give you enough time to plan your search marketing campaigns. The first thing to do is check the keyword data. Semrush’s Keyword Overview tool shows that pendulum lights are searched 320 times a month. And the CPC is $0.77. This is enough data to test a campaign. But if you want even more validation, spy on your competitor’s ads. Analyze Your Competitor’s Campaign’s Following the breadcrumbs of how your competitors do ads can save you months of time and money. Staying with the lighting example, Lumens is a competitor. According to Semrush’s Advertising Research tool, Lumens is attracting over 27k monthly users from ads. This tells us that they’re investing pretty aggressively in Google Ads. And they’ve likely done the work of testing and failing. To validate this, you can check Lumens ads history. For instance, they’ve been bidding on “outdoor wall lighting” for seven months straight. Meaning: they’re seeing enough sales to continue the campaign. You can see what the ad looks like in Semrush. And Lumens has been tweaking their copy each month. Using this data drastically increases your chances of successful ads. Further reading: Google Ads Competitor Analysis: A How-to Guide (+ Top Tools) Build Your SEO Foundations Paid search delivers immediate results. Organic search builds free traffic over time. In other words, start getting your foundations right today. Here are two priority areas to focus on: Optimize Your Product and Category Pages Your product and category pages are your money-makers. So you want to maximize their SEO potential. For product pages: Write unique, benefit-focused product descriptions Include technical specifications in a structured format Add product schema markup for rich snippets Use high-quality product images with descriptive alt text Include real customer reviews and ratings Further reading: 20 Effective Product Page Examples For category pages: Create helpful category descriptions that solve buying dilemmas and desires Use clear subcategory structure (3 clicks max to any product) Add internal links to best-selling or related products Include filters and sorting options (price, size, color, etc.) For inspiration, check out Ruggable’s “clean rugs” category page. Get Your Technical Foundation Right You don’t need to address every technical detail. Start with: Fast-loading pages (aim for “good” in Google’s Core Web Vitals report) Mobile-first design Clean URLs with keywords Proper handling of product variations (canonical tags) XML sitemap for all important pages Speed is especially important for ecommerce. In 2019, eBay did a sitewide initiative to improve performance. Every 100-millisecond improvement led to a 0.5% increase in “Add to Cart.” Further reading: Ecommerce SEO: 6 Proven Strategies to Rank Higher Start Small, Scale What Works, Repeat Begin with: 2-3 focused paid campaigns Helpful content on your product and category pages Core technical optimization Test everything. Double down on what works. Cut what doesn’t. Every dollar should drive immediate sales (paid) or build long-term assets (organic). 4. Turn Email Into Sustainable Sales The top brands drive 30-50% of their revenue through email marketing. These email programs succeed by connecting three foundations we’ve covered: Products customers want (Strategy #1) Authentic storytelling (Strategy #2) Steady website traffic (Strategy #3) But there’s a fourth element that ties everything together: systematic execution. Let’s explore how to build an email program that turns subscribers into customers—and customers into repeat buyers. Note: The best practices I’m about to share are inspired by Boyuan Zhao, an email and SMS consultant for Shopify brands. I recommend checking out his free four-hour training on YouTube. It’s some of the best content I’ve seen on email marketing. Build a Quality Email List Your email list isn’t just a number. “Most brands obsess over list size. But I’ve found that smaller, engaged lists consistently outperform massive, unengaged ones.” – Boyuan Zhao Large lists built through aggressive tactics (giveaways, lead magnets, etc.) often convert at 1-2%. Meanwhile, carefully grown lists using targeted pop-ups and organic signups can hit 8-15% conversion rates. The math is simple: 100,000 subscribers at 1% = 1,000 customers 20,000 engaged subscribers at 10% = 2,000 customers Plus, better engagement means higher deliverability. Which means more of your emails actually reach inboxes. Start by optimizing your signup forms: Test different offers (10% off vs. free shipping) Use clear value propositions Target exit intent to capture interested visitors Avoid generic “Subscribe to our newsletter” messaging Further reading: Email Marketing: The Definitive Guide The Pattern Behind High-Performing Email Programs You likely have a decent welcome series, abandoned cart emails, and a newsletter. But to hit 50% attributed revenue to email, you need to think differently. There are two shifts you need to make this happen. Shift #1: Methodically Test Your Campaigns “The brands consistently driving 50% of revenue through email aren’t doing anything revolutionary. They’re just incredibly systematic about execution.” – Boyuan Zhao This means: Testing one element at a time Tracking actual revenue (not just opens and clicks) Making small, continuous improvements The results compound over time. Shift #2: Simplify Your Automations How many emails are in your sequences? Probably too many. “I’ve found that a well-executed 3-email sequence often outperforms complex 10-email flows. It’s not about the number of touchpoints. It’s about delivering the right message at the right time.” – Boyuan Zhao Instead of building complex automations, focus on the fundamentals: First impression (welcome) Purchase intent (cart abandonment) Post-purchase experience (reviews) Reactivation (win-back) Weave authentic brand storytelling into your automations and relentlessly test, test, test. Do this, and you’re well on your way to more sales. 5. Optimize Operations for Profit Even if you have winning products and amazing marketing, you can fail if your operations suck. How Who Is Elijah Learned the True Cost of Growth In 2023, founders Raquel and Adam Bouris of fragrance brand Who Is Elijah learned two expensive lessons about business. First, their discovery set promotion seemed like a slam dunk: sell fragrance samples for $1 plus shipping. They sold 6,000 sets in 24 hours. “Sales looked great because thousands and thousands a week were going out.” – Adam Bouris But the math told a different story. Customers paid $1 plus $10 shipping. The actual shipping cost was $7-12 per unit. Add production, logistics, and overhead costs. The result? A 60% loss on every order. Ouch. “We would’ve been better off turning the website off.” – Adam Bouris Meanwhile, their team had grown from 28 to 44 people, but profits weren’t following. Their initial approach followed conventional wisdom: Hire department heads from big corporations Build specialized teams for every function Add headcount to solve anticipated problems Despite growing revenue, operational costs were suffocating the business. “One of the biggest problems founders make is they worry about the now instead of what’s on the other side of that decision. We were hiring people to fix problems six months away. That’s so stupid.” – Adam Bouris Who Is Elijah made a complete operational reset, including two critical changes: Fixed unit economics: Stopped money-losing promotions Calculated true cost per order Built proper financial forecasting Optimized team structure: Cut their team from 44 to 21 people Moved full-time specialists to agencies Simplified internal processes Built systems Profitability improved. They also became more agile and innovative. “I learned how to be a CFO the hard way, but I’m glad that I went through the pain.” – Adam Bouris How to Build Better Operations You can build efficient operations without an MBA or years of corporate experience. It starts with digging into four areas. 1. Understand Your Unit Economics To understand your profitability create a system for tracking your unit economics. Start with the three numbers that matter most: 1. Revenue per order Average order value Shipping revenue Any other fees 2. Direct costs per order Product cost Shipping cost Packaging cost Payment processing fees 3. Operating costs per order Marketing spend ÷ number of orders Platform fees Customer service time Storage/warehouse costs Here’s a basic calculator to help: This is a starting point. The rest of your numbers (tools, complex calculations, etc.) can come later. Pro tip: Use a tool like Cin7 to automate this tracking. The investment pays for itself by identifying profit leaks. 2. Build Systems, Not Band-Aids When problems arise, the tendency is to: Hire someone to fix it Create a quick workaround Ignore it until it becomes a crisis Instead, step back and design systems that prevent future issues. Start with your three most time-consuming processes, e.g., order fulfillment, customer services, and inventory management. For each process: Document exactly how it’s done now Identify bottlenecks and failure points Create standard operating procedures (SOPs) Build quality control checkpoints Add automation where possible 3. Optimize Your Supply Chain Your supply chain impacts everything: cash flow, customer satisfaction, and profitability. Here’s how to optimize it: First, map your current supply chain: List all suppliers and their lead times (it’s essential to have 2nd and 3rd options) Document shipping carriers and costs Track inventory levels and turnover Identify quality control points Note payment terms and minimums Then, negotiate better terms. Here’s an email template: Subject: Partnership Growth Discussion – [Your Company] Hi [Name], We’ve been working together for [X months/years] and have purchased [$ amount] of inventory during this time. I’d like to discuss ways we can grow our partnership. Specifically, I’d like to explore: 1. Volume-based discounts 2. Extended payment terms (Net-30 or Net-60) 3. Priority shipping/fulfillment Could we schedule a quick call next week? Best, [Your name] 4. Automate Before You Hire Before adding employees, see what tasks you can automate. Here are some processes to tackle first: Process What to Automate Popular Tools Order Management Order confirmation emails, fulfillment triggers, tracking updates Shopify Flow, Order Desk, Mesa Shipping & Logistics Label creation, carrier selection, rate optimization ShipStation, ShippingEasy, Shippo Customer Service FAQ responses, order status updates, return requests Gorgias, Zendesk, Re:amaze Inventory Low stock alerts, reorder points, supplier notifications Stocky, TradeGecko, Skubana Marketing Content scheduling, performance tracking, competitor monitoring Semrush, Buffer, Klaviyo Turn Your Ecommerce Growth Strategy Into Reliable Sales You don’t need to do everything at once. Start by answering these questions: Which customers can you chat with this week? What authentic stories can you share about your brand’s journey or customer impact? Where does your website rank for high-intent buyer keywords? How much of your revenue comes from email marketing? Do you know your true cost per order? Pick the area that needs the most work. Focus there first. If you want more ideas, read our ecommerce marketing guide, which has 11 ways to increase your traffic and sales. The post 5 Proven Ecommerce Growth Strategies ($0 to $100 Million) appeared first on Backlinko. View the full article

Righ may well have come up with the overarching solution to a litany of CSP woes. RighGravity was released this week at CES. The post CES: Startup Righ launches ‘RighGravity’ multi-protocol CPE platform & sleek new ‘Cleo’ Wi-Fi 7 wall plug AP appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

Righ may well have come up with the overarching solution to a litany of CSP woes. RighGravity was released this week at CES. The post CES: Startup Righ launches ‘RighGravity’ multi-protocol CPE platform & sleek new ‘Cleo’ Wi-Fi 7 wall plug AP appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Brian Tracy on zero-based thinking: “To simplify your life, zero-based thinking is one of the most powerful strategies you can learn and apply on a regular basis. Here’s how it works. Ask yourself, ‘Is there anything I am doing right now that, knowing what I now know, I wouldn’t get into again if I were starting over today?’” Source: Focal Point: A Proven System to Simplify Your Life, Double Your Productivity, and Achieve All Your Goals II. Donald Miller on creating meaning: “We build lives of meaning by stating an ambition, by enduring challenges, and by sharing our lives with others. The single characteristic that sets heroes apart is that they are willing to accept a challenge that will ultimately transform them. Heroes take action, which is why they are so good at experiencing meaning.” Source: Hero on a Mission: A Path to a Meaningful Life * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index. * * * Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas. View the full article

HERE'S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in January 2025 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month. Mindmasters: The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior by Sandra Matz There are more pieces of digital data than there are stars in the universe. This data helps us monitor our planet, decipher our genetic code, and take a deep dive into our psychology. As algorithms become increasingly adept at accessing the human mind, they also become more and more powerful at controlling it, enticing us to buy a certain product or vote for a certain political candidate. Some of us say this technological trend is no big deal. Others consider it one of the greatest threats to humanity. But what if the truth is more nuanced and mind-bending than that? In Mindmasters, Columbia Business School professor Sandra Matz reveals in fascinating detail how big data offers insights into the most intimate aspects of our psyches and how these insights empower an external influence over the choices we make. With passion and clear-eyed precision, Matz shows us how to manage psychological targeting and redesign the data game. Mindmasters is a riveting look at what our digital footprints reveal about us, how they're being used—for good and for ill—and how we can gain power over the data that defines us. Reset: How to Change What's Not Working by Dan Heath Changing how we work can feel overwhelming. Like trying to budge an enormous boulder. We’re stifled by the gravity of the way we’ve always done things. And we spend so much time fighting fires—and fighting colleagues—that we lack the energy to shift direction. But with the right strategy, we can move the boulder. In Reset, Heath explores a framework for getting unstuck and making the changes that matter. The secret is to find “leverage points”: places where a little bit of effort can yield a disproportionate return. Then, we can thoughtfully rearrange our resources to push on those points. Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others by Adam Galinsky Whether you’re a leader, a member of a team, a spouse, or a parent, this engaging and rigorous exploration unpacks the science of inspiration. Through compelling stories, fascinating research, and practical tips for addressing the common dilemmas we face daily, Inspire reveals how all of us, regardless of status or circumstance, can be more inspiring more often. Social psychologist and leadership expert Adam Galinsky has spent three decades building a method for determining when we are inspiring versus infuriating, and where various leaders—presidents, CEOs, coaches, teachers, parents, and a wealth of others—currently land on that spectrum. . Essential: How Distributed Teams, Generative AI, and Global Shifts Are Creating a New Human-Powered Leadership by Christie Smith and Kelly Monahan In an era where the foundational elements of business are being disrupted, Essential emerges as a crucial guide for leaders navigating the profound changes reshaping industries and markets worldwide. This book, penned by a team of seasoned business and leadership strategists, offers a radical and necessary perspective on management transformation, emphasizing the importance of human-centered leadership in meeting the full potential of the technology age. Essential is not just a book; it's a roadmap for 21st-century leaders facing existential challenges in a rapidly evolving global market. Perfect for managers, executives, directors, founders, entrepreneurs, and any business leader aiming to steer their organization towards success in a transformed landscape, this book provides the tools and insights needed to lead with conviction and humanity. Whether you're looking to redefine your leadership approach, adapt to the transformed market, or leave a lasting legacy, this book offers a compelling case for why now is the time for a leadership reinvention. Employment Is Dead: How Disruptive Technologies Are Revolutionizing the Way We Work by Deborah Perry Piscione and Josh Drean Business is on the cusp of a profound transformation. Conventional work models are failing to adapt to the evolving needs and expectations of the modern workforce. Simultaneously, the emergence of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, coupled with web3 innovations, including the metaverse and decentralized work models, is unlocking a new realm of possibilities. It raises the question: Is the era of traditional employment over? The tools of tomorrow will amplify human potential, from collaborating in virtual spaces through digital avatars, to managing transactions transparently on blockchain. Those who embrace these technologies—and the ways people want to work—will unleash unprecedented levels of productivity and innovation. But those who don't risk losing out on the best talent, and even becoming obsolete. For bulk orders call 1-626-441-2024 * * * “You can't think well without writing well, and you can't write well without reading well. And I mean that last "well" in both senses. You have to be good at reading, and read good things.” — Paul Graham, Y Combinator co-founder * * * Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas. View the full article

Given that the site’s monthly traffic peaked at just ~23K (according to Ahrefs), that’s impressive! Curious how he did it (and how the rest of us mere mortals might be able to replicate his success), I sat down with Ash…Read more ›View the full article

Ever since then, the idea of starting another affiliate site and getting serious about it has always been in the back of my mind. I’ve just never had the time due to my day to day work at Ahrefs. But…Read more ›View the full article

Here is a selection of Posts from December 2024 that you will want to check out: I Have A Few Questions by @morganhousel They’re relevant to everyone, and apply to lots of things Mitch McConnell & the Postwar World Order Are Sunsetting by @jamesstrock Entering its ninth decade, the postwar world order is decomposing before our eyes. A to Z on Why Your Strategy or Change Initiative Will Fail by @artpetty 2 Things To Write Before You Write Your Book by @WallyBock Great Advice How Trauma Really Can Help Us Grow Into Stronger People by @LaRaeQuy Interview: @jamesstrock interviews anthropologist and polymath Wade Davis author of Beneath the Surface of Things: New and Selected Essays I Think… Simplicity is the Hardest Thing to Achieve by Rodrigo Aviles Irresistible Customer Experience: What Every Customer Wants by @KateNasser 5 Things Leaders Must Do to Protect Their Healthy Cultures From Internal And External Threats by @BrianKDodd on Leadership Step Outside Your Comfort Zone by @FSonnenberg Three of My Favorite Business Reads in 2024 by @artpetty Marc Andreessen on what makes Elon impossible to compete with via @StartupArchive_ 10 Signs Poor Communication Is Undermining Your Leadership by @gavin_adams Interview with @KenKhachigian by @jamesstrock Book: Behind Closed Doors: In the Room with Reagan and Nixon Sounds like one I need to read I Never Heard a Speaker I Couldn’t Learn From (But I Haven’t Learned From Every Speaker I Heard) by @Mark_Sanborn How Foresight and Forethought Create Fortitude by @KateNasser How to Generate Better Ideas, Master the Art of Suffering, and Design a Beautiful Life by @polina_marinova CEO Coaching: What Would Jim Do? The Invisible Coach by @toddordal Everyday I’m Side-Hustlin’: 5 Learnings from Creative Side Quests by Nick Hearne creative director at @onegreenbean The principle applies. “What people do outside of work interests me far more than what they accomplish on the clock. Side hustles bring valuable new perspectives that will influence your client work in exciting ways.” Guidance for New(er) Managers—Skip the Do-as-I-Would Approach by @artpetty “We learn more from reading on paper than on screens. 54 studies, 171k people: We process print more deeply than digital content—as long as it’s informational rather than purely narrative” – Adam Grant Study How Much Strategy, How Much Leadership? via @TheDaily_Coach Obedience and Opportunity by @KevinPaulScott 10 Unexpected Leadership Qualities I Need On My Team by @WScottCochrane How to Learn (or Teach) Something New by @DrNickMorgan Do It Your Way by @morganhousel Winston Churchill at 150 by @jamesstrock Half-American, Half-English, A Man in Full. You Expected More: What to Do When Your People Don’t Come Through by @gavin_adams See more on Twitter. * * * Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas. View the full article

In this article, I’ll share some examples of calculators that caught my attention and show you how I found them. (And how you can make one, too.) Key stats The highest traffic calculator in my research was an Indian systematic…Read more ›View the full article

While remote work offers numerous benefits, it’s not without challenges. Being away from a traditional office setting demands not only strong self-management skills but also plenty of other characteristics. If you’re considering a remote job or already working remotely, understanding the necessary remote work skills can set you on the path to success. Skills You […] The post Remote Work Skills: The Key to Thriving in a Remote Job appeared first on Digital Nomad Soul. View the full article

While remote work offers numerous benefits, it’s not without challenges. Being away from a traditional office setting demands not only strong self-management skills but also plenty of other characteristics. If you’re considering a remote job or already working remotely, understanding the necessary remote work skills can set you on the path to success. Skills You ... Read moreView the full article

TONY BLAIR wrote a book about leadership in government. However, his practical ideas on leading in the 21st century apply across the board. Leadership, both good and bad, leaves clues for us to study how other leaders have handled problems and challenges common in all leadership situations. On Leadership does just that. It is the unwise leader who thinks they know everything. Learning from others’ mistakes and successes is the best way to guard against leadership hubris. Below are a selection of Blair’s thoughts on leadership. Leaders have the courage not to go with the flow. They speak up when others stay silent. They act when others hesitate. They take the risk, not because they fail to identify it as risk but because they believe a higher purpose means the risk should be taken. The Leader sets out for the people what they need and not simply what they want. Otherwise, the Leader is just a follower. If You come across something unpleasant or cruel that has been written about you: DON’T READ IT! If it’s a horrible headline, ignore it. If it’s an awful article, don’t look at it. None of this means that you shouldn’t listen to sensible and serious criticism. You should. You can learn from it. But you won’t learn anything from the stuff that’s vomiting forth, that’s written for clicks, that delights in its nastiness, that takes pleasure in the hope it is inflicting pain. And if you let it get to you, then you have lost, and ‘they’—whoever at any given time ‘they’ may be—have won. Treat the handling of criticism not as about the receiving of a blow, but as the willingness to be knocked down by it. See refusal and defiance as victories. Because they are. When things are going really well, that’s the time to worry about what could go really wrong. Hubris, in its most egregious form, combines overbearing arrogance with malevolence. But hubris can also stem as much from ignorance as vice. The sin lies in these characteristics: thinking you know more than you do; a belief that you have the power to affect a situation that you can’t, or at least not in the way you want; an overly exuberant conviction that you can overcome the odds, however much they may be against you; a faith that by sheer force of conviction you can triumph over an embedded reality. Since leaving office, I have met a big swathe of the business community, including, for fundraising purposes, a significant number of billionaires. I have noticed, however, that in some that success has given them a sense of self-belief that makes them think they’re not only good at the thing that made them rich, but smarter than anyone on other things. The political world contains similar offenders. You win great victory or manage to ascend somehow to the top of what the nineteenth-century Conservative prime minister Benjamin Disraeli called “the greasy pole.” You conclude that you’re a genius. You figured it all out. You came through. You beat the rest. You forget that it isn’t only about ability; it is also about circumstance, the door of opportunity opening in a timely manner, the poor quality of the opposition and, of course, luck. A Leader should never bear a grudge. Grudges are wasted energy. They are pointless and mentally time-consuming. They are bad for the esteem in which others hold you and in which you hold yourself. They’re also a sure way of converting someone who dislikes you into someone who hates you. Leadership is best exercised when the senses are cold, not hot; calm, not stormy; detached from personal rancor; when the teeth are not grinding or gnashing and the eyes are seeing the whole picture, not the small corner to which they are drawn by irritation or anger. There is nothing wrong with emotion—we’re human. But emotion should not discolour. It should not warp. * * * Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas. * * * View the full article

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Joe Davis on engaging the skeptics: “Have you ever been in a room, presenting an idea for change, and someone says, ‘Oh, that will never work’? Or you’ve solicited feedback as you work through your options, and you hear the ‘No, we cannot do that’? Your instinct might be to be defensive or just ignore them, but their perspective and experience, if you can embrace it, will strengthen your position. Asking for more information about why they feel the way they do, and then listening carefully to what they say, can be the best course of action.” Source: The Generous Leader: 7 Ways to Give of Yourself for Everyone’s Gain II. Behnam Tabrizi on the challenge to breaking organizational inertia: “Besides the inertia of size and complexity, human nature is the main obstacle to change. People are conditioned to give away their own power. From being entirely dependent as infants, to partially dependent as we grow into adulthood, we are tempted to continue that pattern. We often abdicate our own thinking to the books we read and the lectures we hear; we leave the dictates of morality to religious leaders and our diet to doctors. Essentially, we’re too afraid to think for ourselves. In the workplace, we’re comfortable ceding our power to the bureaucratic hierarchy so we can settle into a predictable, stable set of routines and tasks.” Source: Going on Offense: A Leader’s Playbook for Perpetual Innovation * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index. * * * Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas. View the full article

This article is posted with permission from our partner MacPaw. MacPaw makes Mac + iOS apps that have been installed on over 30 million devices worldwide. Freelancers Union members receive 30 days of free unlimited access to CleanMyMacX and Setapp: https://freelancersunion.org/resources/perks/macpaw/ Have you noticed that sometimes, a simple online daily task can still be time-consuming? You might want to get it done without taking up too much time and really wish for an incredibly quick way to handle them. Now, this might prompt you to think about delegating some of your routine online freelance tasks to someone, which can still take time. But what if you had some of the best AI apps in your toolkit specifically designed for you to delegate tasks and let the app handle them? The great news is that there are plenty of options available to help with this. And that is what we’ll look at in the guide. So read on for some of the practical ways to delegate your routine freelance tasks to AI apps quickly. 5 simple online tasks and the best AI apps you can delegate them toSo, these days, it’s relatively easy to delegate our freelance daily tasks to a range of AI apps. There are so many available, so it’s just a case of using the right options. All you need to do is check the details below! Email generationWhen it comes to generating drafts of emails, the process can be time-consuming. You need to tweak and adjust each sentence and ensure everything sounds professional. The better solution for this common daily task is to use the AI app known as Ready to Send. This app is awesome for whipping up emails, and it’s super easy to change the tone to match what you need. How to generate emails using Ready to Send:Install Ready to Send.Open Gmail on the browser.Navigate to the Compose an email icon.Find the Ready to Send Icon at the bottom of the Compose box.Enter a prompt (for example, a prompt related to ‘motivating a team on their hard work.’)Select the tone of voice from the options.Ready to Send will generate the email for you. 0:00 /0:32 1× Screenshot renamingFreelance tasks such as content writing often require screenshots to provide visuals for a blog or landing page. Content writers often accumulate multiple screenshots, and if you have a need to keep everything organized, you’ll need to name those screenshots. To handle this, try an AI app called Keep it Shot. It’s the optimum AI app for renaming multiple screenshots all at once and searching through names and descriptions quickly. It’s relatively easy to use, and you can access it through the menu bar on your Mac for the screenshot renaming process. So here’s how you delegate tasks, such as renaming screenshots to it. How to use Keep it Shot to rename multiple screenshots:Install the Keep it Shot app.Highlight the file(s) you’d like to rename.Access Keep it Shot from the menu bar.Click the icon in the menu bar called Rename Selected.Keep it Shot will rename the screenshots for you. 0:00 /0:32 1× Code, writing, & learningA question for all software developers and copywriters: Have you ever needed to delegate coding or writing tasks to someone and need them completed quickly? The BoltAI app can work well for scenarios like this. With just a few prompts, you can instruct the BoltAI app to produce a script to set reminders for your workday. How to use BoltAI to produce a script to set reminders:Install and open the BoltAI app.Go to the Send a message bar at the bottom of the app.Write your prompt (for example: “‘write a code to help set reminders for my workday”).The BoltAI app will generate the script.You can then run the code on a local machine.In terms of writing, you can also delegate tasks to the BoltAI app. Similar to the code generation feature, it just requires you to enter a prompt into the bottom message bar on the app with the specific instructions you’d like it to complete. Text and math combinations to make calculationsSometimes, calculations are important as a daily task. You might need to calculate how much time you’ve dedicated to a task or plan ahead and allocate time to other tasks. To make quick calculations like these and avoid delegating this task to others, use the Soulver app. It can easily combine text and math features to make calculations. For instance, it’s possible to enter a log for the time spent on writing tasks or online work with this AI app. To do this, use the panel to enter the text that describes how much time you spent on each element of the writing tasks. How to use Soulver to make calculations using text:Install and open the Soulver app.Go to the text panel.Type the amounts you would like the app to calculate (for example: “seven lines that described the number of hours I spent on each element of the writing tasks during the week”).Soulver will interpret the written units and calculate the sum.You can view the total on the app's right panel.This AI app can help you avoid errors when making calculations. When you delegate tasks to it, you won’t need to make the manual effort to calculate or complete sums on your own. Fast translationsFor those situations when you need to transcribe educational speeches or convert conversations held in meetings to text, MurmurType is ideal. This app records the audio and transcribes it straight away. Try MurmurType’s transcription feature with a TED Talk audio related to AI — the results will be fast and accurate. How to use MurmurType to translate audio to text: Install and open the MurmurType app.Click the Record button to start recording.Click the Transcribe button to stop recording when needed.The MurmurType app will transcribe the audio, and you can paste it into Word, Google Docs, or the notes app. It’s also possible to speak in your native language and translate it to a few different languages by pressing the Transcribe and Translate to toggle and then selecting the language using the dropdown menu. Delegate online work to the best AI appsReserving time for critical tasks is important; you just don’t have time to waste with routine freelance tasks. And now, you can delegate tasks like these to AI apps, so you’ll always save time and effort in situations like this. So, where will you be able to download these AI apps? Head to Setapp and pick the ones you need! You can use them with a seven-day free trial and discover exactly how they work. Incorporate them into your daily tasks. View the full article