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This is a tangent, but the post reminded me of this. I've done quite a bit of cold-emailing to reach new mentors and new clients. One of the things I started
by nate 13y ago
This is a tangent, but the post reminded me of this.
I've done quite a bit of cold-emailing to reach new mentors and new clients.
One of the things I started doing a couple years ago was to offer buying someone I was cold-emailing a "virtual cup of coffee". I even played with using that in the subject of the email.
I'd say: I'm working on a new product and I wanted to see if it would be handy for them. If they have a chance to talk on the phone or Skype, I'll send over a gift certificate to Starbucks so they could get their favorite drink before the meeting.
Those emails got some nice hit rates in responses and meetings. And you can very easily buy a $5 gift cert. online from Starbucks and email it.
- pvnick 13y agoThat is a brilliant idea! I'll have to try that sometime
- rwc 13y agoEven better -- you can now tweet them a $5 starbucks gift card. https://www.starbucks.com/tweet-a-coffee https://www.starbucks.com/tweet-a-coffee
- brbcoding 13y agoI still want to see this implemented with some local breweries. I'd definitely use tweet-a-beer.
- jaynos 13y agoI agree. Tweet-a-beer (especially for a local brewery) has more of a community feel. Tweet-a-coffee (even though I end up at starbucks almost daily) feels more like giving to a faceless corporation.
- mooreds 13y agoThat would be pretty cool as a user (drinker?), but I don't see the ROI for the brewery.
- garybizzle 13y agoYou mean besides the business it would get?
- mooreds 13y agoWell, sure, they'd get business--that's the benefit. But how easy is it to tie into twitter and a payment system? That'd be the cost. Starbucks can distribute such costs (which may not be fixed, but certainly won't grow linearly) across a larger number of stores than your local brewhouse can.
- gms7777 13y agoFor the brewery its the same benefits as gift cards: Not everyone that receives one will actually use the money. On top of that, free advertising.
- mooreds 13y agoAnd all you have to do to get these benefits is somehow integrate with twitter and a payment system. Which might be a tall order for a local brewery. (Or is that easier to do than I think?)
- gms7777 13y agoIts not my area, so I don't know how easy it is to do, but I do think it could be a space for a third-party to step in. Someone figures out how to handle the twitter/payment side, reaches out to some local breweries/bars, takes a small cut of the money for each beer tweeted. Its not going to be a super profitable business, but it might be a fun sideproject for someone. I forgot to add the 3rd benefit to the brewery is that I would assume, in general, when people stop in, they don't come alone, and they don't just have one beer and leave. Once they're in the door, they tend to spend more money.
- egwor 13y agoThe app could be TAB (as in open a bar tab) Badumm-cha!
- mathattack 13y agoWhile there may be issues with localized liquor laws, this is the greatest idea I've ever heard. Too bad you just missed the last YC batch! I'd be your first beta user.
- brianbreslin 13y agoI had a friend in new york ask if he could have a virtual lunch with me over skype to get my advice. He called up eat24 or something and ordered me food to have it delivered when our lunch meeting was scheduled to start. Totally surprised me, albeit pleasantly.
- X4 13y agoThat's an aweseome idea!
- jonathanjaeger 13y agoLove that idea!
- mherdeg 13y agoSomething about the human instinct to pattern-match compels me to point out that this is the "reciprocity" principle of influence spelled out by Cialdini's 1984 book "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion", http://www.amazon.com/dp/006124189X http://www.amazon.com/dp/006124189X .
- mathattack 13y agoWhen people show up to networking meetings with a gift (book, chocolate, whatever) I know I'm being manipulated but I don't mind. I'm more likely to pass them on with a good reference because I know they'll behave well if I send them on. This is despite knowing that they're manipulating me.
- japhyr 13y agoYou can tell pretty quickly whether it's manipulation or a kind gesture. Manipulation: gift + nothing meaningful to share Kind gesture: gift + something really meaningful to network about
- mathattack 13y agoTrue. But many times the networking comes from a junior person looking for help finding a job. I take those calls because everyone has to start somewhere. Usually I pick up the Starbucks because they're less likely to have any income yet, and the people taking care of me back in the day did the same thing. Though maybe I should pick up the Starbucks just to not get manipulated. :-)
- EGreg 13y agoOne man's manipulation is another man's manners / ingenuity. Do you manipulate your parents by talking to them differently than to your friends?
- mathattack 13y ago
- tomtheengineer 13y agoAs an alternative to Skype, you could use "vLine link": https://vline.com https://vline.com. The advantage over Skype with this use case is that you don't need to add them as a contact (especially if it turns out to be someone you decide you don't want to stay in contact with). Disclaimer: I work for vLine.
- devindotcom 13y agoSounds like manufacturing obligation to me. I would be suspicious and slightly insulted.