Hi friend,
I had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season today.
Taylor Swift announced her newest album.
This weekend is a long weekend for those of us in the states.
These things probably don’t all bring you joy, but they brought me a lot of joy (and also reaffirm that yes, I am a basic white girl).
Sure, there’s a ton of chaos right now and I feel like I’m one rainy day away from a breakdown.
But I’m choosing to focus on the joy in this moment.
What joys have you experienced recently, even if it’s amidst chaos?
with warmth + love,
N
P.S. I’m super excited to be a correspondent at Hubspot’s INBOUND 2022 conference next week (on my home turf here in Boston)! I’ll be posting up a storm of marketing insights + takeaways across Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram (maybe TikTok too, we’ll see). If you’re going to be at INBOUND, reply to this email + we can high five in the hallways!
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📚 The Click Throughs
Long-form reads for the marketing geek + content creator
MIT Technology Review: The fight for “Instagram face”
We all know that social media has skewed ideas of beauty based on algorithm favored traits. But this piece investigates how creators of AI selfie filters are fighting for virality in use and how filters are gamifying our use of social platforms.
The Hill: 1 in 4 Gen Z-ers plan to become social media influencers
Is this surprising? No. Influencer and creator careers have been on the rise for years. But new research detailed in this piece shows just how strong this desire is. Truly reinforcing the argument that it’s “never too late” to start creating content.
TechCrunch: Netflix’s lawsuit against the ‘Bridgerton Musical’ could change online fandom
Nothing like a few history-making legal cases to remind you how young the internet and social media platforms really are. This Bridgerton musical started as a fan created series of TikToks with original songs inspired by the Netflix show. So, what happens when these fan creations turn into actual money-making business endeavors?
Washington Post: Online creators are de facto therapists for millions. It’s complicated.
I’ve always made it clear with my content that I’m not a mental health professional. Just your friend who’s dealt with a lot of mental health challenges. Popular content creators are facing this difficulty: how to create relatable content while remaining ethical?
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🧘🏼♀️ Mindful Moment
One actionable thing to get you through this week
Whenever I get busy with work, the last thing I can think of doing is leaving my desk.
But I also know that sitting at my desk for hours on end is a surefire road to burnout.
So, let’s take a little break today to do some quick stretches at our desk! This video is 15 mins long, but it’s broken into different stretching sections so you can just do a few mins here or there.
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🔗 Link(s) in Bio
Things I’ve been loving that have absolutely nothing to do with marketing or business
Vox: Pumpkin spice lattes — and the backlash, and the backlash to the backlash — explained – Look, I love my PSL. You don’t have to either, but you don’t have to hate on it.
Morning Consult: Fans Are Markedly Less Interested in Women’s Tennis Without Serena Williams – Interesting research for anyone who’s had to google “When does Serena play at the US Open” at least 3 times this week.
New York Times: How Can I Tell if I’m Depressed or Burned Out? – Always the question, isn’t it?
Well+Good: Found Yourself in a Toxic Work Environment? Here’s How To Leave While Protecting Your Mental Well-Being – I could’ve used this tactical list in a few past toxic workplaces. (btw if you’re not sure if your workplace is toxic, I’m here to tell you it probably is.)
Refinery29: My Career Has Barely Started & I Already Have Ambition Burnout – I swear I could’ve written this. We hear so much about early career accomplishments, but we don’t talk about how those can lead to early burnout.
One other thing that brought me joy this week: I bought my 2023 planner! I love using Google Cal + Todoist, but I can’t escape the creative joy a physical planner brings me. I’ve also been thrilled to work with Passion Planner this year on writing copy for their launch – I’ve been using their planners for 4 years at this point, so working together was a dream! Today’s the last day to get a free gift when you purchase their new planners, so I highly recommend checking out their site. I got the Rose Gold Rabbit Moonlight Weekly in Medium with the Passion Projects sticker book!
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💭 Content Calendar
Ideas for you to take into your week ahead as a content creator
My only advice this week is that you read the incredible content advice Rachel Karten curated and wrote in her newsletter Link in Bio: One Long List of Social Media Tips
My favorite tip?
From Chelsea Naftelberg Williams, Digital Consultant + Head of Social & Content at UNYTD:
“Push back on deadlines whenever it’s appropriate and possible. Our industry is consumed by fake urgency that always seems to fall on the social media team in the last steps to the finish line. Set boundaries up front about approval timelines and ask your team if a publishing date is flexible before working late, losing sleep, and creating bitterness in your workflow.”
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👋 The (ring) Light at the End of the Tunnel