Ask advice from those who have done it
This week’s email is concise! I’ve been chatting to some of you guys and I’m so grateful for your advice to keep things a little bit shorter. Particularly in last week’s email, I was so passionate about the subject that it turned into a full-blown article!
Thank you so much for being subscribed to this newsletter, I didn’t think that we could have 100+ people so soon. I’d love to give back to you, so please read the end of this email for details 😁
One thought: Asking the right people for advice 🤝
This week I’ve been reading The Richest Man in Babylon and I loved this quote about the importance of going to the right people for advice:
“Advice is one thing that is freely given away, but watch that you take only what is worth having”
In the book, a character is learning about money from his father, The Richest Man in Babylon. He is entrusted with a pot of gold to go and make more from it, but instead, the son passes his gold on to a brickmaker who is travelling over the far seas to buy some rare jewels. This turns out to be a scam, where the brickmaker is sold worthless bits of glass that looked like gems:
“But why trust the knowledge of a brickmaker about jewels? Would you go to the breadmaker to inquire about the stars? No, by my tunic, you would go to the astrologer, if you had power to think. Next time, if you would have advice about jewels, go to the jewel merchant. If you would know the truth about sheep, go to the herdsman”
What are you looking to learn right now and who do you know that has already achieved it?
Personally, I’m interested in learning how to grow a business and how to get results through marketing. And so after reading this part of the book, I spent a few hours on Sunday finding experts in growth marketing and business development on LinkedIn to reach out to.
You might argue that you don’t know anybody, so let’s squash that myth immediately. We all have networks larger than we think and even if nobody comes to mind, LinkedIn is so powerful. And as I regularly stress, you are one message away from anyone.
I used the service TransferWise recently and I loved the businesses’ concept. I then was targetted by one of their ads on Instagram which actually stopped me in my tracks. Not many ads do that and so I realised that I also love their marketing.
I simply logged into LinkedIn and searched ‘marketing TransferWise’, and in just a few minutes, I could see the people behind the magic. I reached out to their VP of Growth (who has AMAZING decks about product marketing on his profile) their performance marketers and also their best copywriters.
How to find experts
If you’re not following Cliff Weitzman on LinkedIn you are missing out! He was a recent guest on Ali Abdaal’s NotOverthinking podcast where he spoke with Taimur Abdaal and Valentin Perez about relationships.
Amongst many gems, Cliff mentioned how he cold messages 5 people every single day. When his business wanted to run a paid ad campaign, he asked people he knew for recommendations asking:
“Who’s the best person you know at paid ads?”
Once he gets recommendations from people he trusts, he contacts them. Simple right? A lot of us are worried about making intros like this, but in reality, people welcome messages looking for advice when they are sincere. And besides, receiving a message from someone saying you have been recommended as an expert is a compliment.
Cliff then goes further. After talking to that expert, he’ll ask them for 5 more people that they would recommend and before you know it, you are learning from the best in the game.
This is simple, practical, and incredibly effective.
Consider who you already know and reach out for their advice, explaining why you thought of them in the first place.
Ask people that you know and trust for their valued recommendations.
Ask your network who immediately comes to mind when you mention a certain expertise. Then, ask for an introduction so you go in warm, not cold.
As I mentioned at the start of this email, I want to thank you guys for your ongoing support. So this week, I’d like to open up my calendar to meet you guys! If there is any way I can help you with your content marketing, social media strategy or you’d just like a chat, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn!
Talk soon,
Joe
Content tip of the week 🚀
This week I’ve seen several video posts rack up 10,000’s of views. People have been posting memes and gifs more and it’s really interested me. For example, Luca Senatore’s post here received 42,000 views! We know LinkedIn value dwell time and from the nature of this video, you definitely watch it more than once. I’m going to look at my content themes and see where I can experiment underneath them - I’ll keep you guys in the loop.
Book of the week ✍️
The Richest Man in Babylon - George S. Clason
I’ve just started this book and I’m already loving it. It’s a short book and I’m pretty sure I picked it up on the Kindle Store for 99p. The Richest Man in Babylon teaches us essential financial advice through a collection of parables set 4,000 years ago in ancient Babylon. It’s very easy to read with a very important message!
This Week’s YouTube Video - Subscribe here! 🎥
I’m Joe, a content marketer passionate about personal development and psychology. Every Sunday, I write an email newsletter with 1 thought, 1 content tip and 1 article I’d recommend. Usually, I go over-board and provide a little more 😁
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