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Here’s Why I Clicked on Wilco de Kreij’s Facebook Ad

Last updated on May 28th, 2018 at 03:09 pm

The first time I visited Times Square in New York City, I spent the entire day enthralled by the city’s lights and 30 foot billboards.

Today, it’s just another stop on the subway where I have to dodge tourists and selfie sticks to get where I’m going.

This is exactly how I feel about the wave of online courses popping up on my Facebook and Instagram feed this past year. I’ve been playing in the online course sandbox for the last 3 years. 90% of the time, I scroll right past these ads — they’re basically invisible.

So, when I do SEE one… And it gets me to read… And to watch the video… And sign up for the webinar… I spend the time to think about WHY.

In a sea of ads that all fade away like elevator music, why did THIS one stick out to me?

Here’s the advertisement that popped up in my Facebook feed, from Wilco de Kreij.

Here’s my mental journey that got me to read, watch, and sign-up:

He nailed the pain point.

The ad started strong, hitting the pain of what it takes to build a list… and the idea that there has to be a better way (other than more opt-in widgets).

Positioning of the solution.

The solution is positioned as something new that I haven’t tried yet.

Overcame a “silent objection.”

A silent objection is one I feel in my gut… but can’t quite put into words.

(For example, ever meet someone who for all intensive purposes seems nice, but you don’t trust? That’s your mind’s pattern recognition at work, silently objecting.)

The copy, “without relying on existing traffic sources or spending a dime on advertising traffic” addressed that silent objection… And got me to click on the video.

A video pitch that felt REAL.

I was impressed by the video, not because it was beautifully shot or because of the polished delivery. In fact, it was the opposite. Wilco stuttered. He didn’t maintain eye contact. He felt a little awkward on video.

I loved it. I never felt like I was being sold to by a pro. It was the difference between buying a used car from a loud salesman in a poor fitting suit, and buying at a Mercedes-Benz dealership.

Was the ad perfect?

Definitely not. For example, the moment he shed even a tiny bit of detail on the “system,” alarm bells went off in my head.

I had another silent objection (“so I’m just asking people to share content? I don’t want to do that…”) and that objection was left unanswered.

And ultimately I didn’t convert. In other words, I signed up for the webinar, briefly watched the replay, but didn’t finish and didn’t buy. “Building a list” was too far away from my real desire of “make money” and “social influence”, and Wilco didn’t do enough to bridge the two in my mind.

So I didn’t feel like I HAD to add this to my calendar and move things around in my schedule to attend this webinar. But the ad did get me to click, so that part of the funnel was successful.

personal development

The Use of Barriers

Last updated on November 3rd, 2021 at 03:25 am

I wrote about the Use of Feedback to calibrate my work. Today I wanted to write about Barriers. I define a barrier as a tool or technique that prevents distraction.

I remember in college, I had friends who complained about being unable to study. They said they couldn’t focus. They became web doctors and self-diagnosed themselves with ADD or dyslexia, not taking into account their study environment. Nothing about their environments were conducive to studying: it was a dorm room where either someone was playing a videogame, or the television was tuned into the latest rerun of NEXT TOP MODEL.

The answer seemed ridiculously simple: turn that shit off! Right? Wasn’t it easy?

The Nonstop News Feed Of Our Lives

The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized it wasn’t so simple. What I realized is these were all intelligent people, and if the solution were a simple “off” switch, they’d have done it already. But our default environment today is one of non-stop stimuli and instant gratification:

Email – we know the message is transmitted and hits their inbox instantaneously. So we expect a prompt response in return.
Information – any morsel of information is available on the Internets, and access is nearly ubiquitous, across any number of platforms (computer, phone, tablet) so if we want to know something (e.g., how far is the earth from the sun?; what was Coriolanus’s mother’s name?) we expect to find out right away. Information retrieval is an exercise in instant gratification.
Text – as long as they have their cell phone on them (which most of us do) we know they’ve received the message right away. So if we asked them a question, we expect a prompt response.

We’re conditioned to life’s nonstop news feed, which has restricted our ability to shut down. I believe this ability is a muscle, and like any muscle, it needs to be developed. It is a skill we must acquire. The idea that’s it’s worthwhile to develop this muscle, has been made so clear as I study people I admire and see what they’ve accomplished in short amounts of time. A shortlist: Ted Melfi, Charlie Hoehn, Jeff Bezos.

There’s so much to accomplish, but getting through the task at hand requires a high level distraction-free focus. You’d think this requires great will power, but it doesn’t. It requires taking will power out of the equation. Thus, the objective changes: don’t fight distractions, but pre-empt them. Will power has no say in the conversation. Which is done through Barriers.

My Barriers

Here’s a list of barriers I use to make distraction a non-issue. I didn’t implement these all at one time. (That’s akin to telling my friend (above) that in order to study better, they need to change all their habits. Or “just focus harder.” It doesn’t work.) These barriers developed over years, one at a time. They keep me focused despite the new feed of our lives:

Don’t push e-mail – I’m probably a rarity for Hollywood assistants who don’t push e-mail (e.g., get a notification when I receive new e-mail. Many claim this isn’t an option for them. I sympathize. It must be utterly demoralizing to receive pings on your phone at any point in the day. I have the good fortune of working for agents who understand there are two choices: you can either respond to every ping, or you can get to work. They prefer the latter, as do I.
No TV – When I visit my family, the TV is always on. I’ll walk by and see ENTOURAGE or THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION is on, and I’ve basically forfeited an hour of my life. Because I don’t have the willpower not to watch.
Freedom and LeechBlock – Browser tools that prevent you from using the Internet.
I carve out time to be alone – Mostly in the morning. When it’s still dark out, after I’ve eaten something and hours before I let myself check e-mail.
No music – Which is a complete 180 degrees turn for me. I once required blaring music to tune everything out. Until I noticed it was tuning out my own thoughts.
TK’s – I write every time I come across something I need to research or look up. Rather than lose my flow, I write TK (which stands for “to come”). I’ll return and fill in later.
Phone is off

I compare the time when I can put all my barriers to use, versus the time I spend in the office, and all my lines are ringing and I have to jump from executive to executive to executive and schedule all their meetings. So much more gets done without the distractions.

What barriers do you use?

Photo Credit: Huw Gibbs

notes

LEAN IN by Sheryl Sandberg — Review

Last updated on November 3rd, 2021 at 03:24 am

As I mentioned, I’ve been reading Sheryl Sandberg’s LEAN IN. There are parts that feel too much like a gender studies class (though, what did I expect?) but there are more than plenty of insights into the mind of Facebook’s COO for us to apply at work and at home. This is doubly true if both partners in a relationship (I hate to use the phrase, “Type-A”) have ambitious career trajectories.

My highlights below, with my notes in italics.

We hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our hands, and by pulling back when we should be leaning in.

*how many times in a pitch, or in talking to someone, did I feel this way? The moment I felt like I may be imposing, I pulled back. Lean in more.

I rarely heard anything, however, about the ways I might hold myself back. These internal obstacles deserve a lot more attention.

*her message is: work on yourself, too. It’s not just the institution. Work on what you can control and it’ll reflect in the world around you. Similar to what Ramit says about getting a job — don’t focus on the state of the economy. Focus on how you can have good skills and can convey your value.

I do not believe that there is one definition of success or happiness. Not all women want career. Not all women want children. Not all women want both.

*After discussion with Amy: having an equal 50-50 split on household chores or whatever, isn’t what’s important. Instead, focus on having a common goal. Working towards a common purpose and both people having a clear understanding what that is and working towards. Also, respect and gratitude for the work that the other person does.

I have heard these criticisms in the past and I know that I will hear them — and others — in the future. My hope is that my message will be judged on its merits. We can’t avoid this conversation. This issue transcends all of us.

*On dealing with criticism. You will deal with it, because your message will not resonate with everyone. But you can only hope that the message will be judged on its merits, no more no less.

By the age of twenty-five, I had managed to get married… and also divorced. At the time, this felt like a massive personal and public failure. For many years, I del that no matter what I accomplished professionally, it paled in comparison to the scarlet letter D stitched on my chest.

*She suffered this major personal failure (in her eyes) at such an early age, yet she learned to overcome it.

pg. 46 “Damn it, Sheryl! Why are you going to make less than any man would make to do the same job?”

On how Sheryl wrapped her head around the idea that she needed to negotiate against Zuckerberg during her FB negotiations.

pg. 51 Mark and I sat down for my first formal review. One of the things he told me was that my desire to be liked by everyone would old me back. He said that when you want to change things, you can’t please everyone. If you do please everyone, you aren’t making enough progress. Mark was right.

pg. 54 Sheryl discusses her career trajectory which is pretty interesting

pg. 58 Eric Schmidt covered my spreadsheet with his hand and told me not to be an idiot. Then he explained that only one criterion mattered when picking a job — fast growth. When companies grow quickly, there are more things to do than there are people to do them. When companies grow slowly or stop growing, there is less to do and too many people to not be doing them.

First and most important, I set targets for what my team can accomplish. Second, I try to set more personal goals for learning new skills in the next eighteen months. It’s often painful, but I ask myself, “How can I improve?”

Oprah Winfrey once explained, “I mentor when I see something and say, ‘I want to see that grow.'”

The men were focusing on how to manage a business, and the women were focusing on how to manage a career.

We need to stop telling them, “Get a mentor and you will excel.” Instead, we need to tell them, “Excel and you will get a mentor.”

Every so often, Clara Sihih would contact me, always with an interesting point or a thoughtful question. She never asked to get together to “catch up.”

Josh Steiner told me to figure out what I wanted to do before I went to see the people who had the ability to hire me. That way I wouldn’t waste my one shot seeking general guidance, but would be able to discuss specific opportunities that they could offer.

pg. 77 On communication

Molly Graham’s approach: Molly joined FB in 2008 and held a number of jobs throughout the company in communications, human resources, and mobile products. She performed extraordinarily well in all of these very different trolls because she is always learning… I praised her effort. She paused and said, “Thanks, but you must have ideas for me on what more I could have done.”

“How can I do better?”

“What am I doing that I don’t know?”

“What am I not doing that I don’t see?”

I understand how easy it is tostop asking yourself this question. You get frustrated with your bosses and your work.

Which is why if you’re even doing this just once a month, for the rest of your career, how much more of an impact will you have over the next person?

pg. 99 Leaving work force statistics

pg. 105 “How is Dave? Is he okay with, you know, all your [whispering] success?”

pg. 126 “up until the day they left, they did everything McKinsey asked of them before deciding that it was too much. Larry implored us to exert more control over our careers. He said McKinsey would never stop making demands on our time, so it was up to us to decide what we were willing to do. It was our responsibility to draw the line.”

pg. 131, General Colin Powell “rejects busy bastards… In every senior job I’ve had I’ve tried to create an environment of professionalism and the very highest standards. When it was necessary to get a job done, I expected my subordinates to work around the clock. When that was not necessary, I wanted them to work normal hours, go home at a decent time, play with the kids… I am paying them for the quality of their work, not for the hours they work.

pg. 134 Stay-at-home Mom statistics. In 1975 SaH Mom spent 11 hours / week with kids. Today, a working mother spends that much time, and a SaH spends 18 hours with kids / week.

pg. 146 Inside FB, few people noticed my TEDTalk, and those who did responded positively. But outside of FB, the criticism started to roll in. ‘Why are you giving more speeches on women’s issues than on FB?’ ‘This is your thing now?’
If you do anything different, criticism will roll in. Accept that idea now. Just accept that the criticism is going to come in, so that you can go back to doing important work.

Photo Credit: Dan Farber