Common Ideas

In the Common People garage, we (Mika and me) finally, finally relaunched our site after blowing it up in December.

Once I learned about this year’s inflation, I realized why even our best year ever felt so stressful. So we’re raising our prices – and you should, too.

Got an AI-powered cold email today for an AI service. It was terrible. 🤖 👎

The copywriting, the personalization, all of it.

Sad thing is that when used right, AI copywriting can enhance outreach in a major way. Here’s how I would rewrite their AI pitch template and why I think it’s an improvement.

I’m giddy about today’s message. That’s because it’s something I had to learn the hard way… 7 years into my career.

But once I learned how to leverage it (something I’m still learning tbh), I saw my marketing’s organic reach blow up.

I once saw a quote (attributed to generic Rich Dude™) that said, “For the first year of your business, don’t take out any profit. Reinvest all of it back into your business.”

The wave of COVID-19 related marketing emails is already a jokey cliche.

Here’s what I didn’t need to know: whether or not a retail store is wiping down its shelves. (Because I’d just assumed a basic standard of sanitation, it being 2020 and all.)

“We have a very vigorous kindergarten program.”

That’s what Mika and I were told about my son’s future kindergarten, which he starts in the fall.

And if you know me at all, you can imagine how much “rigorous kindergarten” scared me.

At the dawn of middle age, I feel like I’m just coming into my real self. “I’ve always been a middle-aged dad at heart” has become one of my go-to icebreakers. Many things – like having a little bit of money, trimming down social circles to true friends, knowing who I am and what I like – feel great.