I missed last week’s issue because of “life and stuff”, so I’m making up for it this week with a super-sized issue of Walk with Me this week. Grab a quadruple-espresso & take a seat for this week’s issue:
In this issue of “Walk with Me”:
- Why People Are Leaving Their Jobs
- My favourite WP Form plugin has an update I’ve been waiting for
- Moosend nixes their “Forever Free” Plan
- How to Promote on Reddit (without getting skewered)
- Jon Loomer’s Podcast test update
- Backlinko sold to SEMRush
Why People Are Leaving Their Jobs
- 38.5% – not enough $$$
- 21.5% – bad company culture
- 14.5% – want a new challenge (the author had a typo in his original tweet)
- 9.5% – want remote & more flexibility
Wanting a new challenge and wanting the choice to work remotely & more flexibility in their schedule was a common theme in a conversation I had with a long-time friend this past week.
He has a stable and well-paying job, but is really loving the work-from-home flexibility and looking for something new.
He’s not the only one.
Many professionals I see these days are contemplating the move to being a consultant, content creator, course instructor, etc – but if you’ve been in the work force for such a long time, it’s a daunting feeling to set out on your own.
That’s one of the reasons why I started this newsletter – to shine a light on the truths and the realities of this lifestyle but to also offer some guidance & support along the way.
FluentForms Adds Discord integration
My favourite WordPress web form plugin, FluentForms, just included an update to integrate Discord with their forms! (The techy-geek in me is jumping for joy!)
Why is this great?
I generally recommend people shift to Discord instead of using Slack nowadays for their internal communications. It’s free without the limitations of Slack’s free plan.
I like to keep a pulse of what’s happening on my sites and lead captures forms, so I used to (sparingly) send updates via webhooks from my web forms to a Slack channel. The free plan on Slack has a limitation on the number of integrations & webhooks you can use, so I could only use this feature sparingly.
Now that FluentForms has direct integration with Discord, I can now send all the updates to Discord without any limitations.
Moosend Nixes “Forever Free” Plan
Moosend, the email marketing app, has just scrapped their “Forever Free” plan and converted ALL existing free plans to a 30-day free trial.
I did deep-dive review on Moosend a while back, comparing their free plan to MailerLite (my preferred ESP with a free plan) and MailChimp (the ESP I usually recommend to avoid).
Personally, I think it sucks with this move, and my gut tells me it was due to their acquisition by Sitecore in 2021.
It was nice while it lasted, so now I can focus solely on recommending MailerLite if you’re looking to start up an email newsletter on a free plan. ?????
How to Promote on Reddit (without getting Skewered)
Reddit is a great place to hang-out and be a part of rabid fanbases, but if you try any kind of self-promotion, you can easily get skewered and spit back out like Boba Fett falling into the Pit of Sarlacc.
So, if you have the guts to try promoting subtly on Reddit, this is a way to do it without getting yourself burned.
Jon Loomer’s Podcast Test Update
In a recent issue of Walk with Me, I shared Jon Loomer’s tips for starting & re-igniting an existing podcast. After 60 days of testing, Jon’s got an update of his results with his relaunched podcast.
Backlinko Sold to SEMRush
Brian Dean, the mastermind behind the site Backlinko, has recently sold the site to SEMRush!
Brian is known for his epic content pieces on SEO and content marketing on the Backlinko site. In the current trend for technology companies looking to acquire digital media properties (e.g. Hubspot’s acquisition of The Hustle, Business Insider’s acquisition of Morning Brew), it’s a great time to be a content creator.
Companies are starting to diversify and reduce their reliance on the Big 4 (Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple) for traffic. That means acquiring media properties with relevant engaged audiences.
So, if you’re wondering if what you’re doing is worth the time and effort, look no further than Brian’s recent deal to motivate you.
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