$200,000 Ghost Tweeter

It's (almost) Friday!

By now, you probably noticed that we have a thing for vikings, so here's our random Norse factoid for the day. Did you know Thursday means Thor's Day or Þūnresdæg in Old English? Thor was the god of thunder, lightning, sacred groves and trees, and the protector of humans.

Thursdays always get dealt a poor hand as the predecessors to Friday, but some pretty cool things have happened on this day.

Benjamin Franklin proved that lightning and electricity were the same thing (yep, almost as if Thor blessed him himself). Da Vinci was born on, you guessed it, a Thursday. And, way before the PlayStations and GTAs of the world, Pac-Man was launched in Japan, on a Thursday.

In many countries, Thursdays are considered to be a lucky day to begin new projects or start a new job. So we thought we'd make a huge announcement today, it only seems appropriate.

We're thrilled to announce that we somehow convinced a couple of unsuspecting creative professionals to join our team. Kristen and Susan will be coming on board next week to help take things up a notch, or two.

We couldn't be more psyched! 🚀 

Businesses everywhere are slashing their marketing budgets. But, who needs marketing when you've got ChatGPT?

Mint Mobile recently used ChatGPT to write copy for their ad to remind everyone about the extension of their holiday savings. It won't be long until we have AI versions of Ryan Reynolds running around doing all his work, so he can finally just stay home with his kids.

A while ago, we came across the story of a silicon valley insider— via Insider—who makes $200,000 a year, ghost tweeting. Yes, you read that right.

What's especially interesting about this is that they're doing it for VCs. They've made a $100,000 for a thread announcing a big round of funding and also earn between $5,000-$10,000 a month for 10 original tweets. 🤯

They usually have up to 50 clients at a time and have invested in a system to manage their side-hustle. They keep track of opportunities in a CRM, have a dedicated computer, phone, and email account.

On average, they spend 5 hours a week running their side hustle.

Our ghost tweeter didn't know anything about ghostwriting beforehand. As a principal in the VC industry they developed a cynical, tongue-in-cheek, public Twitter persona for their job. The funny thing is, after a while, the DMs started pouring in.

At first it felt shady, like sneaking candy into a movie theater. DMs used coded language as not to reveal the clandestine nature of an illicit transaction. 😅

And that's how their journey as a professional, side-hustling ghost tweeter began.

As an insider to the VC industry, they have a deep understanding of:

In the past, venture capitalists took forever to fund deals with a book of $10-$15 million a year across a handful of startups. They'd hope for a lifetime return of $100 million. Then unicorns like Uber happened and a few VCs made billions—simultaneously, from the same IPO. Let the feast begin.

The VCs, with pockets full of money, wanted more. Competition was fierce at the country club. The stakes rose higher, deals grew larger, and the best deals closed quickly, sometimes in just a day.

They honed in on an underserved market of venture capitalists and founders. Then mapped it to unmet needs. Helping funders build "parasocial relationships" on Twitter with founders.

So basically, they're tweeting important fundraising/announcements for VCs with a voice that relates to startup founders. Smaller VCs who need reach pay a premium. Their tweets for VCs can get as many as 4 million impressions. 👀

We love stories like this where smart folks double down on what they know and find something they love. Getting paid for it? Priceless.

Us: Frantically looking for available dad joke handles on Twitter.

Login pages help you log in. They're one of the most visited views of your app/website. It's important that the delightful journey to your experience begins here.

This post provides an opinionated set of guidelines which seem to cover all the bases. We think they nailed it.

They describe login pages as the front door to your Airbnb. The first impression to the inner experience that sets the stage for what to expect. So make a good one.

In the media industry, BuzzFeed changed the landscape with its powerhouse data-pipeline lead by their M.I.T. trained leader Jonah Peretti.

One of the key partners we rely on for our CDP—or RDP in our case—is Twilio Segment. If you're not familiar with Segment.com, no problem. Here's a quick intro via our friends at OpenAI:

Segment is a customer data platform that provides businesses with a way to collect, store, and analyze customer data from various sources. It allows businesses to track customer behavior, interactions, and preferences across different channels, such as websites, mobile apps, and email campaigns. Segment provides businesses with a unified view of their customer data to make better decisions and improve their customer experience.

If you're working with a software client or building an app yourself, you're already familiar with the challenges in getting, keeping, and growing your users. The customer journey has a $#!t ton of stages and metrics to track. But which ones should you be most focused on, and why?

Our friends at Twilio Segment wrote the book on that, literally.

It's a good, up-to-date read for advanced marketers to benchmark their existing or planned data tracking. 

Write back and let us know your thoughts and what, if any other metrics you track.

The rise of multi-generational businesses, in which parents are collaborating with their children to start successful businesses, is becoming increasingly common in today's economy. 

The older generation adds experience, wisdom, and a wealth of industry knowledge to the mix. The younger generation brings fresh ideas, energy, and an understanding of the latest technology/trends.

It's like a match made for winning. Call us old-fashioned, but we love anything that allows families to come together. Especially, when it brings an endless supply of potential dad jokes for us to use. ❤️