Instigator Blog

Being exhausted from lack of sleep is no reason to skimp on a great headline for your blog post. In fact, you might just do a better job because you’re exhausted.

I’m working off 2-4 hours of sleep per night. You can thank baby Quinn for that. And it’s definitely affecting the quantity of my writing. But I’m trying desperately to make sure it doesn’t impact the quality.

And that means pumping out killer headlines as often as possible.

There are no excuses! Is your head constantly hitting the keyboard as you pass out? Do your fingers feel like they’re made of lead? Did you just wake up with drool rolling down your chin? I know exactly how you feel, but you won’t be getting much sympathy from me. If you’re going to blog through your exhaustion, then here are some tips for writing great headlines:

1. From Top 10 to Top 5. We all know how powerful the “Top 10″ post can be, and the resulting headline. But you’re presently propping your eyelids open with toothpicks to stay awake, so feel free to cut your Top 10 down to Top 5.
2. Be Braver. Some of your normal behavioral and judgment filters are likely shot. You’re too tired to care if you’re being politically correct or completely covering your arse. And that’s the perfect time to write a great headline. Go for a little more controversy. Pick more actionable, aggressive words that will inspire people to read and comment on your blog post.
3. Spend More Time. Fact is, you’ll need to spend a bit more time reviewing and editing your headline to try and perfect it. This is a bit of a caveat to point #2 above, because you can’t over think it. You never should (no matter the circumstances), and now, you’re so tired you just can’t over think. It’s mentally and physically impossible. You might fall over from the exertion. But you should take a bit more time to re-read what you’ve written; at least to ensure it makes some sense.
4. Use Available Tools. Now is not the time to be a hero. When you’re trying to think of another word for “good” and your brain is saying “zzzz…” check out the thesaurus. Develop habits for helping yourself write so you can rely on those when the prospect of having to really think is like fireworks inside your skull.
5. Stick to the Classics. Don’t try and reinvent the wheel. You’re so tired you’ll be lucky if you remember what a wheel actually looks like. The classics of great headline writing are there for a reason; they work and you should use them. My personal favorites:
   • The Top 5 Ways To…
   • 10 Essential…
   • See How Easily You Can…
   • The Secret To…
   • How To … In 6 Easy Steps

   There are plenty of others; well-written, engaging and catchy headlines that work. Use them.

You’re tired. I know. Completely wiped out. I hear ya. So exhausted that you’ve fallen asleep in the middle of conversations with people. Totally with you.

But you’re still publishing your blog. Through thick and thin, no matter the obstacle, you’re publishing blog posts. That’s great! I applaud you. But now is not the time to let your headlines slip. You might ramble a bit longer due to your tiredness, but your headlines need to be as precise and perfect as possible.

Stay focused on them. Let loose a bit. Be more controversial. Stand out. But re-read ‘em before publishing, and stick to the classics.

Too many businesses ignore the lifetime value of customers. Doing so will lead to failure.

You can measure the lifetime value of a customer in two ways:

1. The total amount a customer will spend; and,
2. The total amount other people will spend after being told about your business by a customer.

Without getting into precise dollar values, it should be obvious to anyone that the lifetime value of a customer for most businesses is significant.

A few weeks ago, my wife bought a pair of sandals for my son (the older one who is two and a half) at Panda, which specializes in children shoes. They cost $50.

After a day we realized there was a problem. His feet kept slipping out the back of the sandals, causing him to trip and fall, resulting in numerous scrapes and bumps on his knees.

We went back to the store to see what could be done. The store has a no-return policy once shoes are worn. The size was correct, verified by the store, but somehow the fit was wrong. Or perhaps something was wrong with the sandals themselves.

Either way, we asked the store what they could do about it. The answer, “Nothing.”

My wife pushed (kindly) for a better answer than that, but the store manager (or perhaps the owner; clearly she was in charge) started getting argumentative, always coming back to the same old line, “Sorry, we have a no-return policy once shoes are worn. We can’t resell them. You’re out of luck.”

We left the sandals there. We should have thrown them in the garbage and made more of a public display. But oh well…we’re nice people.

So now my son has no sandals and we’re out $50. (Last weekend we bought him sandals for $15 which are just fine…)

Panda committed a cardinal sin of business (and primarily of retail, where you see this sort of behavior TOO often) by not appeasing the customer in a smart and reasonable way. Panda completely ignored the lifetime value of the customer.

Let’s look at the facts:

1. We’ve purchased goods at Panda before. Several times in fact. Probably a couple hundred dollars worth. They could have checked that in 5 seconds and realized we were good customers.
2. My wife was pregnant, and they should have realized that meant one more pair of feet I’d be accommodating in the near future.
3. Every frustrated customer (in any situation) goes out and voices their opinion very strongly. Disgruntled consumers are much louder than satisfied ones. Any business that doesn’t realize this has its head in the sand.

To toss your hands up, and tout policy over a $50 pair of shoes is foolish. I will never shop at Panda again. Not only that but I’ve just told many hundreds of people about the negative experience, and I’ll tell every parent I know as well. If one parent decides to stop shopping at Panda because of my experience, the store’s losing big time. That’s on top of the hundreds of dollars they won’t get from me, which I’ll spend elsewhere.

Too many businesses are shortsighted in their approach. Close a deal, take someone’s money and get ‘em out the door. That’s their way of doing business. And it’s just not good enough.

The power of choice and word of mouth means businesses need to be extra vigilant about keeping customers happy.

The lifetime value of the customer is more important than one sale.

In tennis the best way to win points is through an ace. It’s fast and effective. The perfect first shot. Professional tennis players must be trying to hit an ace every time they do a first serve. But they don’t. In fact they rarely hit an ace. The best tennis players in the world hit what, 20 aces a game? And they’re serving hundreds of times. That’s not a great percentage.

But of course, it’s not meant to be. If hitting an ace was easy, everyone would do it. And the challenge and value of winning at tennis would be diminished because it would all be accomplished with quick, easy shots.

In tennis, like in entrepreneurship and business, it’s all about the follow-up.

Aces are great. Best way to win points. But it’s unrealistic to expect you’ll hit an ace every time. It’s what you do after you try and hit an ace - to win - that really makes the difference. A great shot on the baseline. A drop shot that no human could reach. An overhead smash and grunt to really drill home the point that you’ve won. It’s the follow-up.

When launching a product (especially a Web 2.0 one) it’s not about what you launch first, it’s what you launch second, third, fourth and fifth that matters. Of course, if you hit the ball into the net you’re in trouble, but you still get a second chance.

I didn’t find anything offensive or inaccurate in Guy Kawasaki’s post about how little it cost to launch Truemors. And there’s some interesting information there on how he spent the money (i.e. the legal bill surprised some.) You can launch businesses and Web products cheaply. It doesn’t work all the time and in all cases, but that’s not Guy’s point either. He picks a side to argue it, and generate buzz.

I don’t find Truemors particularly interesting or valuable except as an exercise in building something quickly and inexpensively. The content is mostly garbage, it’s uncategorized and largely unfiltered. I can get better, more authentic, and more trustworthy rumors - for my particular interests - in a slew of other places.

But Truemors will succeed or fail not on its opening launch, but on what it does next. And after that. And beyond that still. The buzz that Guy’s generated is awesome (kudos Guy!) but after the hoopla dies down you need people coming back; and they need real reasons to do so. Truemors is far from an ace, but there’s still time for a volley game and a backhand winner down the sideline.

Don’t be afraid of swinging for an ace. Swing for it every single time. But expect and plan your follow-up, because that’s where the game is won.

During my mini-hiatus after the birth of my son a few more productivity tips did come through for the Ultimate Guide to Productivity.

They seem to have stopped at this point so maybe the Ultimate Guide to Productivity group writing project meme has played out its course. That’s totally fine. I’ve listed the remaining submissions below.

You can still submit a post if you’d like - just tell us your best productivity tips!

In the meantime I’ll start the huge task of reviewing all the posts again and preparing the much-promised e-book. I can’t give a deadline at this stage, and as soon as I get a handle on the work I’ll call for help from others. But here goes nothing!

1. Tag, I’m It! by Christina Haas
2. Number 1 productivity tip by Shannon
3. Productivity: Snooze It or Lose It by Connie Reece
4. Automation: My Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Alaeddin
5. Meme Week: My Secret to Productivity by Mark Goodyear
6. Cutting Out the Bull: Information Overload and Productivity by David Bohl
7. Fear - The Ultimate Productivity Blocker by Shaboom
8. Ultimate Guide to Productivity: A Tip the Worx by In The Worx

If I’m not mistaken, this brings our total number of submissions to 137!

I’ll be posting the full list shortly so there’s a single page to access all of the great productivity tips. And again, you can keep sending them in if you’ve got them…

This is an important question for many startups. Whether you raise money or not depends on a number of factors, including the type of business you’re starting. Some will require more traditional loans, others are perfectly suited to being bootstrapped.

Each financing option - bootstrapping, small business loan, bank loan, angel money, venture capital, etc. - has its place.

So which one is right for your business?

The type of business

The type of business you’re starting makes a big difference. A lifestyle company shouldn’t require huge amounts of venture capital; VCs won’t invest anyway, because a lifestyle company won’t give them the big returns they need.

A lifestyle company is one that supports a good living for you, but isn’t designed for an exit (i.e. selling to another company, IPO, etc.) Lifestyle companies are typically smaller, built around the expertise and skill set of the individual founder(s).

You may need a small loan to get started with a lifestyle company, but more than likely you’ll bootstrap it.

The complexity of the business

Web 2.0 startups are all about simplicity. The Y Combinator model has shown that you can start a business with very little money and create success. But not every business is a Web 2.0 technology company.

Biotech companies often spend years on research and development before they have a product they can sell. It takes a lot of investment to bring a new medicine or biotech product to market.

Work-at-home businesses usually don’t involve any R&D and they can be easy to setup (although that doesn’t mean they don’t require a learning curve!)

The status of the founders

Recently, a debate was raging across the blogosphere about the perfect age to be an entrepreneur. It was centered around tech startups, where the age of many founders getting funding is in the 20s.

20-year olds starting out for the first time, perhaps still at school, don’t need to pay themselves much (if anything) and they have minimum living expenses. Typically, the older you get (until you hit the age of retirement), the pricier life gets, so as you enter your 30s, get married, have kids, etc. you can’t live in a basement apartment on macaroni and cheese. You can, but you probably won’t want to…

When you start a business, you should expect to take a pay cut. Even if you weren’t working before, you’ll probably put money in versus take money out. And if you’re coming from a paying job, don’t plan on earning the same amount. Nevertheless, as you attain a certain lifestyle, you’ll want to maintain what you can, and your funding decisions may reflect that.

Go big or go home

“Go big or go home,” is the philosophy behind Standout Jobs. It’s not the way every startup should be imagined or run but it works for what we’re doing.

What’s critical for any startup is to find your own philosophy and approach. Believe it. Focus on it. Live it. Drive everything towards it.