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I don't read these. I know I'm not really being contacted by Random Founder from the Bay Area when I see one.

by nsxwolf 13y ago

vitd 13y ago
Same here. I'm probably in the minority, but when I see founders in their own marketing, it creeps me out. I mean, it's one thing to have a picture of the founder saying, "Joe Shmoe - founder and CEO". But when they're actually speaking in ads or sign letters to me, it just seems so forced, and often egotistical. Leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.
- AnimalMuppet 13y ago
  Depends on how it's done. Is it the founder, but writing CorporateSpeak? Or is he/she writing like a human being? The Cluetrain Manifesto should still be required reading, especially for a startup.
nate 13y ago
You should read mine then, because there not from the Bay. There from Chicago! :) In all seriousness, I definitely understand your point. But, the personal touch mentioned in the article isn't meant to trick people into thinking I'm directly sending them a note. The personal part is about letting my customers know who I am. That Draft is a product run by one person who is just trying make a living by fixing problems I keep running into every day. What I find strange are the emails I get from "companies" who communicate like they are a 100 person company who have been in business for 10 years, when really it's just a one or two folks in their living room and they started 30 days ago. When you own up to being what you really are in these emails and blog posts about your company, really great things happen. For example: I have new acquaintances on places like Twitter fighting to get my name and product in front of their friends. They go to bat for me because they know a lot more about what I'm going through to keep this company going than if I was a fake Big Time Co. whose pretends to be flush with cash and doesn't need any help. Or, when bugs and problems happen, I have a lot more loyalty from my users sticking with me to get things solved. If I was an anonymous corporation, they'd have moved onto the next anonymous corporation.

I don't read these. I know I'm not really being contacted by Random Founder from the Bay Area when I see one.

by nsxwolf 13y ago

I don't read these. I know I'm not really being contacted by Random Founder from the Bay Area when I see one.

vitd 13y ago

Same here. I'm probably in the minority, but when I see founders in their own marketing, it creeps me out. I mean, it's one thing to have a picture of the founder saying, "Joe Shmoe - founder and CEO". But when they're actually speaking in ads or sign letters to me, it just seems so forced, and often egotistical. Leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.

AnimalMuppet 13y ago
Depends on how it's done. Is it the founder, but writing CorporateSpeak? Or is he/she writing like a human being? The Cluetrain Manifesto should still be required reading, especially for a startup.

nate 13y ago

You should read mine then, because there not from the Bay. There from Chicago! :) In all seriousness, I definitely understand your point. But, the personal touch mentioned in the article isn't meant to trick people into thinking I'm directly sending them a note. The personal part is about letting my customers know who I am. That Draft is a product run by one person who is just trying make a living by fixing problems I keep running into every day. What I find strange are the emails I get from "companies" who communicate like they are a 100 person company who have been in business for 10 years, when really it's just a one or two folks in their living room and they started 30 days ago. When you own up to being what you really are in these emails and blog posts about your company, really great things happen. For example: I have new acquaintances on places like Twitter fighting to get my name and product in front of their friends. They go to bat for me because they know a lot more about what I'm going through to keep this company going than if I was a fake Big Time Co. whose pretends to be flush with cash and doesn't need any help. Or, when bugs and problems happen, I have a lot more loyalty from my users sticking with me to get things solved. If I was an anonymous corporation, they'd have moved onto the next anonymous corporation.