What You Need to Know Today: January 27
Good afternoon, Early Risers!
Here’s what you need to know
TECH
Affiliate marketing lesson from Snapchat. Let’s pretend for a second that YOU are Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel (sans smoking jacket). You’ve built a great product that you know a lot of people find value in. But you’re struggling to monetize your awesome product. You have tons of eyeballs on your platform, but nothing to sell. How do you make money? You start advertising — BUT here’s the catch. Just like when you start affiliate marketing, you need to prove to your affiliates (in this case your advertisers) that you can make them money first. If you can make your affiliates money, they will gladly make you money (pay for ad space). How do you prove to your affiliates that you can make them money? Derek Wahler ETR’s Affiliate Manager explains in this interview. It was announced that Snapchat scored its first big name brands for advertising spots in this year’s Super Bowl. The challenge now for Spiegel is to prove to the big dogs he can deliver.
How the super rich make a quick buck. Forbes ranks Oprah Winfrey as the 211th richest person in America. When Oprah slaps a sticker with her name on anything, sales go through the roof. So if you’re Oprah and you know your word is gospel, how can you take advantage? Why not invest a considerable amount of your money in a brand, then tweet a personal testimonial about that brand. That’s how Oprah made $12.5 million from one tweet yesterday.
Swipe right for friends. Making friends after college is hard — here’s how to swipe right for a new crew.
CAREER
Larry Page’s terrifying management hack. Alphabet CEO Larry Page’s management style sounds like your worst nightmare. But, something about it works. Last year (when Page was still CEO of Google), employees in a Glassdoor survey ranked Page the best CEO of a large company, says Business Insider. What about Page’s management style makes him so terrifying? He asks questions. Lots of questions. Imagine your CEO dropping in on you to ask why the company pays for the project you’re currently working on, “Umm…” But Page’s reason for asking so many questions (even simple ones) makes sense… Read more.
+ Your library card is about to get a workout. These are the books students at the top U.S. colleges are required to read.
Steve Nash dissects the most crucial relationship in the NBA. In today’s daily essay, Ryan Holiday explains what true lifelong learners do differently. The secret to becoming a true lifelong learner is the same as becoming an NBA All Star — which happens to be the premise for NBA great Steve Nash’s new digital series premiering today.
+ If you love Burning Man as much as you love The Man, this is the job for you.
LIFESTYLE
This guy spends a ridiculous amount per year on fitness. “Besides rent, this is the biggest chunk [of my income]” Wow!
“Hunkvertising” is a serious problem… I guess. Advertisers now portray men the way they portrayed women in the 1950s: as either dumb or pretty, says Martin Daubney. Daubney wrote a compelling argument for the objectification of men in modern day advertising. Here’s a funny quote: “But what are men doing about the “sexist” ads we endure, where physical perfection is the panacea? Joyously, half don’t even notice them, having lives, laughter, and lager to enjoy instead. But 12 per cent of men claim to be directly motivated by ads: not, like women, to bombard “sexist” brands on Twitter or sign a change.org petition, but to get their butts to the gym.”
#NOWYOUKNOW
What Procrastination Does to Your Body
Hint… it’s not good.
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