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What to Tell a Prospective Client Who Wants You to Lower Your Price

1. I can’t give you strip sirloin if you’re only willing to pay for a hamburger.

2. Don’t expect filet mignon for the price of a Big Mac.

3. Want steak? It’ll cost you more than a burger.

4. If you’re on a Mazda budget, don’t shop for a Mercedes.

Why Political Comedy Is So Effective

Before he died, George Carlin explained why people like John Oliver, Jon Stewart, and Bill Maher are so persuasive:

“You are never more yourself than when you have been surprised into laughing. That is a moment when your defenses are down, in a manner of speaking. Most of the time, when you talk to people about — let’s call them ‘issues,’ okay? — people have their defenses up. They are going to defend their point of view, the thing they’re used to, the ideas that they hold dear, and you have to take a long, logical route to get through to them ... But when you are doing comedy or humor, people are open, and when the moment of laughter comes, their guard is down, so new data can be introduced more easily at that moment.”

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Transcription:

When Is a Retweet Just a Retweet?

Updated (6/19/2015)

Last year, the Washington Post asked and answered the following question:

“Do you have ‘RT ≠ endorsement’ in your Twitter bio? Maybe it’s time to take that out.”

Patrick LaForge, who coined the phrase, explains:

“A blanket phrase in my profile is not going to indemnify me. If I think a retweet is likely to confuse people about my viewpoint, or if there is some doubt about the accuracy of the original tweet, I add attribution, skepticism or other context. Or I skip it.”

Here are a few alternatives:

User	Disclaimer
Chris Wilson	RTs = endorsements because that’s what RTs are.
Megan Carpentier	Usual caveats about my own opinions apply.
Alejandra Owens	Thoughts are my own, but, duh.
Julia Holmes Bailey	I RT what catches my eye. My views are my own.
Henri Makembe	Usual disclaimers apply.
Hayley Tsukayama	RTs != endorsements and, frankly, are sometimes accidental.
Brad Stone	Retweets are usually mistaken clicks.
Gene Weingarten	My tweets represent only the views of the Post. Personally, I disavow them.
Gabe Rivera	Retweets are endorphins.
Dylan Matthews	Retweets are proposals of marriage.
Tucker Carlson	Retweets are emphatic endorsements.
Dan Gilmor	Retweets mean I thought you should see this; usually that’s an endorsement, sometimes not.
Anthony Flores	Fuck it: RTs are endorsements.
Jennifer Steinhauer	RTs concerning anchovies are probably endorsements.
Joel Johnson	Tweets do not yet reflect the opinions of my employers.
Sheryl Stolberg	RT = read this.
Andrew Bleeker	RTs are someone else’s.
Nick Confessore	Retweets = death threats.

Concludes Gawker: “If your company makes you add this disclaimer, tell the higher-ups they are stupid for doing so. If you add this disclaimer yourself just because you want to, you are bad at the Internet.”

Related: The Best Spoilers on Twitter

Use Humor When Following-Up

The art of the follow-up is one of the thorniest decisions we all make everyday. Questions abound. Have I given the other person enough time to respond? How do I communicate urgency without being rude? What’s the best subject line to use? Should I keep the message short, or should I recap things?

In an excellent presentation, HubSpot’s inbound marketing specialist, Michael Pici, reprints one of his best-performing emails. I’m publishing it here (with light edits) because it captures one of the timeless ways to elicit a response: through humor.

Should I stay or should I go?

Dan,

While I’ve tried to reach you, I haven’t heard back and that tells me one of three things:

1. You’ve chosen another company to help you with online lead generation. If that’s the case, please let me know so I can stop bothering you.

2. You’re still interested but haven’t had the time to fully consider this yet.

3. You’ve fallen and can’t get up. In that case, let me know and I’ll call 911 for you.

Please let me know which one it is because I’m starting to worry…

Thanks in advance. I look forward to hearing from you.

Asked whether they received your message, most people will admit they did indeed; they just haven’t had a chance to process it yet. Fair enough.

But perhaps that’s because your email wasn’t memorable enough. Not only does Pici employ an stand-out subject line—“Should I stay or should I go?”—he also applies this deft touch to his body text.

To be sure, some may appreciate this style; to such a mentality, casualness can be a deal breaker. Yet for the client who “gets it,” irreverence is charm. And wouldn’t you rather work with people like yourself?

Addendum (1/17/2016): Here’s another excellent HubSpot presentation on the art of the follow-up. See also “How Following Up Can Help You Land the Job,” from the Muse.

5 Big Businesses That Are Using Twitter to Make You Laugh

1. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Quote of the Day, from our Jack Howard: "The debt ceiling is like a kidney stone. You have to pass it, so best to get it over with now."
— U.S. Chamber (@USChamber) September 20, 2013

2. Goldman Sachs

Guess elevators go up and down, http://t.co/xkDPZgaCI8
— Goldman Sachs (@GoldmanSachs) March 6, 2014

3. Boston Police


4. Delta Air Lines


5. John Kerry

and dash my dreams of being a replacement player? MT @dbernstein @JohnKerry, can't you do something about NHL lockout? We need Bruins back
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) December 6, 2012

* Yes, technically, John Kerry is an individual, not a business.

Addendum (3/16/2014): Almost forgot this doozy:

@wiggsd Sorry to hear that. Fiscal policy is important, but can be dry sometimes. Here's something more fun: http://t.co/ca31My7 #WHChat
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 27, 2011

Addendum (3/21/2014): How about another one?

I guess this means my spring break in Siberia is off, Gazprom stock is lost & secret bank account in Moscow is frozen http://t.co/TgwZneD4HY
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) March 20, 2014

Addendum (8/27/2014): And let’s not forget this double doozy:

Who kkmew theis was ghiong tob e a baweball ghamle. #lowsscorinh 5_0
— JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 2, 2014

Toughdown Seadawks!! Is sSeattle going toa runaway wit h this???
— JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 3, 2014

Oops...Sorry for the typos. We were #TweetingWithMittens. Wasn't it supposed to be colder? Enjoy the game! #GoTeamUSA pic.twitter.com/e8GvnTiEGl
— JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 3, 2014

Addendum (9/19/2014): Bonus points if you get the reference:

We asked Dukakis but he turned us down... :(
— Digg (@digg) August 29, 2012

Addendum (10/10/2014): Ed Gillespie does his best Taylor Swift-Jimmy Kimmel:

Post by Ed Gillespie.

Addendum (1/4/2015): 7 boring big brands that used humor to amp up their marketing.

Addendum (3/9/2015):

JJ says he's #goldandwhite no matter what you see. Happy #FelineFriday! pic.twitter.com/TQYNQW7Cej
— Humane Society (@HumaneSociety) February 27, 2015

Photoshop had nothing to do with this… yet. Let's see what you badasses can do: http://t.co/NgC6BUsRQ5 #WeaselPecker pic.twitter.com/qRBbDVwA2E
— Adobe Photoshop (@Photoshop) March 3, 2015

Addendum (3/28/2015): Groupon Posted This Product on Facebook, Then Replied to Everyone Who Made a Sex Joke

Why Comedy Is the Ultimate Form of Free Speech

“Stand-up comedy and comedy in general is the ultimate form of free speech, because you get to poke holes in all the pretentious bubbles politicians and pundits and popes and pretenders try to float over our heads.”

—Denis Leary

How the Washingtonian Humanizes Its Writers

By including a funny, memorable detail about them in the table of contents. For example:

● Senior Manager Editor William O’Sullivan: Considers his folding bike, which he bought exactly two years ago to celebrate a milestone birthday, one of the best purchases he’s ever made.

● Fashion Editor Kate Bennett: Went to Palm Beach after launching the first issue of Washingtonian MOM.

● Online Dining Editor Jessica Voelker: Put 300 miles on her car driving among Virginia wineries for the article on page 121. Says the view at Delaplane Cellars was worth the trip.

A Reminder That Levity Goes a Long Way—Especially From “Serious” Organizations

Priorities. http://t.co/xIBAowGuVe pic.twitter.com/VmmKSkhCA1
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 31, 2013

The Best Spoilers on Twitter

Name	Bio
HuffPo Spoilers	I give in to @HuffingtonPost click-bait so you don't have to. RT ≠ endorsement & correlation ≠ causation. Created by @alexmiz.
Up Worth It	Change The World. One Link At A Time.
Upworthy Spoiler	Words that describe the links that follow. Created (with love) by @mstem.
Fastest Company	Parody Twitter feed for the Fast Company business media brand; inspiring readers to build mental time machines and travel to the future of business.
BuzzFeed Spoilers	I read BuzzFeed lists so you don’t have t—actually, you should probably just read them.
The Times Is on It	Because sometimes stories in newspapers are just that obvious. (This is a parody account clearly not associated with any newspaper.)

Honorable mentions:

Name	Bio
NYT Minus Context	All Tweets Verbatim From New York Times Content. Not Affiliated with New York Times.
NYT Plus Context	All Tweets Verbatim New York Times Articles. Not affiliated with NYT Minus Context.

Quote of the Day

“I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding—I was fired today.”

—Andrew Mason, now-former CEO of Groupon.