🦿Conversation starter.

LinkedIn is using AI to inspire conversations, Google Ads might be getting a redesign, and more. March 6, 2023 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Happy Monday. We learned of two unusual ways to use ChatGPT over the weekend… … Like using it to [identify unoriginal ideas]( so you can come up with fresh ones. Hey, when everyone else zigs, why not zag? … And telling bedtime stories. The friend of one member of The Crew asks his children for three unrelated ideas, plugs those into the AI, and voila, out comes a story. So there you go. Inspiration to think “outside the box” this week. LINKEDIN Introducing: AI-powered “conversation starters” [article-image] It’s not always easy starting conversations with strangers. But it might be a little easier in the near future – LinkedIn, at least… LinkedIn just [announced “Collaborative Articles”]( – a feature that uses AI-generated prompts to create relevant content, then match it with “topic experts” who can add their input. How it works: First, LinkedIn’s editorial team will develop “conversation starters” with the help of AI. Then, it will use the LinkedIn Skills Graph to match each article with relevant users that can contribute their experience, lessons, anecdotes, and more. And if you’re one of the selected industry experts, the insights you contribute will be visible to LinkedIn users worldwide. In the loop: Meanwhile, users can engage your comments, and even push your comments to the top of the collaborative article, giving you more exposure. Community members who contribute often can earn a “Community Top Voice” badge, which lends them clout and creates the incentive to comment on more of these articles… and the loop goes on. Why we care: On paper, this seems like a solid idea. Collaborative Articles seem like a low effort way to potentially engage a huge number of users and create more exposure for your brand or business. And if you’re a content marketer, they could be a goldmine for audience insights, industry pain points, and more. Overall, a nice move. And yet another example of a platform embracing AI… not that we’re surprised, of course. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft after all! GOOGLE Is the Google Ads interface getting a redesign? While you were organizing the garage and repainting that spare room, Google was doing its own spring cleaning. The company is [testing new designs]( to make Google Ads more organized and easier to navigate. So fresh and so clean: Google says it won’t change or remove any existing features, but will add a few updates, like… - A new navigation menu. You may see either a single-level menu or two-level menu in the dashboard, making the navigation more consistent and predictable. - Reorganized interface. Two new navigation categories, ”goals” and “audiences, keywords, and content” were added, making tools and features easier to find. - A “refreshed” look. Google Ads now has more white space, less distractions, a new font, and “sleek new icons” on the navigation bar. When it’s available: Nobody knows. Google says this “experiment will initially roll out to a small number of accounts,” and if successful, will be made available to more users. Why we care: If the new design improves the user experience and helps us better navigate and manage our ads, then we’re all for it. Thankfully there are no fundamental changes to the dashboard, so if it rolls out to everyone eventually, it shouldn’t be hard to get used to. One thing less to worry about. SPONSORED BY AHREFS Here’s how 16,800+ websites are improving SEO and getting more traffic—for free [article-image]( Are you creating content? Good, because Ahrefs just made its Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT) free for everyone—and that’s great news if you're unable to invest in an expensive professional SEO tool. With AWT, you can [easily monitor your SEO health, check your backlinks, and see the keywords that bring you traffic](. Here are just a few of the things you’ll be able to do when you sign up: - Scan your website for 100+ common SEO issues. - Get advice for fixing those issues. - Learn what keywords your website is ranking for. - Browse your website’s backlink data. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools does such a good job, it rivals most paid SEO tools. So join the 16,800+ verified website owners who've signed up in the last 7 days… [Sign up now to get more traffic for free.]( MARKETING Use these boundaries to boost your creativity and come up with your next big marketing idea [article-image] If you’re anything like The Crew, every now and then you come across a brilliant ad or piece of marketing, and you find yourself thinking… How’d they come up with that? Well, the good news is, you can come up with brilliant ideas, too. You just need to know the techniques for elevating your creativity. One technique for coming up with great ideas? Setting hard “boundaries” for your creativity. [Shlomo Genchin has a few go-to boundaries]( he uses whenever he’s faced with a broad brief or open-ended project. Let’s look at how he does it… 1. Story boundaries. Select a storytelling technique and write your marketing campaign or ad copy based on that technique. Shlomo likes to use [Deck of Brilliance](, but you’re free to use whichever storytelling techniques you prefer. 2. Copy boundaries. Set hard limits for your copy. For example, you might limit yourself to using the 1,000 most common English words. Or force yourself to use visuals only and no copy, or vice versa. 3. Channel boundaries. You’re probably used to coming up with marketing that will work across channels. But what if you tried limiting yourself to just one? Pick a channel, such as Facebook or Yelp, and write an entire campaign for that channel only. Or select a messaging platform, write a conversation between two people, then screenshot the conversation and promote it on a completely different platform. The possibilities are endless, really… That’s all we have room for here. Shlomo has two more techniques that can help you develop novel ideas. And like he says, to think outside the box, sometimes you need to put yourself in a box. The trick here is discipline. Pick one, set a timer, and get to work. SPONSORED BY SUPERSIDE All-in-one creative solution that reduces costs, and gets creative assets turned around at lightning speed [article-image]( If you’re like most marketers, sourcing design looks like this: extensive briefings, multiple emails, painfully slow file sharing. Not great. What happens when you need creative assets by 8 a.m. tomorrow? That’s why brands like [Shopify, Amazon, and Salesforce use Superside’s Creative-as-a-Service (CaaS).]( With Superside, you can request, revise, and deploy creative assets all from one place. A true one-stop-shop! … And get twice the design speed for half the cost. [Get great design done fast.]( THE CREW’S INSIGHTS How to get your customers subscribed to your products [article-image] Imagine this: you struggle with accurate inventory forecasting, and you’re thinking about starting a subscription program for your online store. And after reading our last [The Crew’s Insight about the benefits of adding subscriptions]( to your e-commerce store, you’re ready to take that leap. So where do you start? Here are three ways to get your customers to subscribe to your products: - Incentivize them. There’s no better way to get a customer to sign up for a subscription than by offering the product at a lower cost, or free shipping for the entirety of their subscription, etc. - Give them flexibility. No one wants to be locked into a subscription while they’re on vacation. Allow your customers to skip a month. Better yet, let them decide how often they want to receive your products. Bonus points if you let them swap their products out each month! - Make it easy. Give your customers the opportunity to switch over to a subscription at every point of their buying journey. Browsing the product page? Add a subscribe and save option. Added to cart? Subscribe and save. And if you’re really going for that revenue, incentivize them to subscribe for three months upfront. Or, six months. Or a year. This way, they’ll feel like they’re getting a deal on your products, and you’ve just secured a few months of revenue from them upfront. If you decide to give it a try, let us know how it goes! ROUNDING UP THE STACK [COPYWRITING COURSE:]( Everything you need to become a digital copywriting pro — fast. Templates, frameworks, and techniques to brainstorm fresh angles and ideas in minutes. Plus reports, swipe files, and insights worth $2,277. All yours for seven days for $7. [Try it now.](* [META:]( Big boost for Facebook Reels. Meta launched a ton of new updates, like extending Reels to 90 seconds, sharing Reels from Memories, syncing videos with beats from your favorite songs, plus a bunch of ready-made Reels templates. Nice. [TWITTER:]( More Blue for more people. Twitter’s subscription plan just expanded to 20 more European markets including Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Austria, and others, making the feature available in more than 35 countries. [META:]( So long, Group topics. The feature that allowed Facebook Groups admins to add hashtags to posts to help people discover content is going away soon. However, anyone can still add hashtags to their Group posts, so that’s something at least. *This is a sponsored post BRAIN TEASER Which type of cheese is made backwards? You can find [the answer here](. [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT AI is joining the hunt for aliens [article-image] Artificial intelligence, alien lifeforms, secrets of the universe… They all sound like the plot elements of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but they’re not. They’re proof that sci-fi is no longer a thing of the future—it’s happening right now. Case in point: a group of researchers from the University of Toronto developed an AI system that is outperforming traditional methods of searching for extraterrestrial life. Here’s the crazy part: [It has already found eight potential alien signals so far.]( And while these “very suspicious signals” aren’t enough to reach any definite conclusions, they’re certainly curious. If aliens do come, guess we’ll have to invite AI to the welcome party… SHARING IS CARING Hope you’re not reading this empty-handed… But if you are, we have just the mug to go with your coffee, tea, or… whatever you drink in the mornings. All you have to do is share our newsletter with other smart marketers. Once you get to 30 referrals, we’ll send you The Marketer Mug. Plus, you’ll unlock other prizes along the way, like: - The Crew’s Top 10 Insights (2 referrals) - The Ultimate Holiday Marketing Deep Dive (4 referrals) … And more. Sip. Mmm, not bad. Share the referral link below to get started. [article-image]( [CLICK TO SHARE]( Or copy your referral link: [ [SUBSCRIBE]( | [SM PRO]( | [ADVERTISE]( You are receiving this email because you want to know what is going on in digital marketing. If you aren't thrilled about our emails, reply and let us know why. 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