TA #82: ✍️ Creator Coins; the One Word That Makes Your Customers Snap into Action; Make Your Writing Come Alive

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Welcome to the 82nd issue of Total Annarchy, a fortnightly newsletter by me, Ann Handley, with a focus on writing, marketing, life. A special high-five to those from Harry's Marketing Examples (thanks, Harry!) and Digital Summit. Thank you! I appreciate you.

Boston, Sunday, March 14, 2021

Hi, Rock Star!

Jeremiah Owyang has been a friend for a long time. I credit him for getting me (as MarketingProfs) onto Twitter in 2007—eleventy-billion year ago in internet time.

In 2007, I didn't understand why I needed to be on Twitter. ("What's the business goal? What am I supposed to do with it there, exactly? What's the point?")

But I gave it a go. And 458K followers and countless opportunities later... I get it. Well, I got it a long time ago.

A few weeks ago Jeremiah messaged me again:

"If you have a community, you can have an economy."

He was explaining Creator Coins, recently introduced by a company called Rally.io. Jeremiah is an adviser to Rally.

A Creator Coin is a digital currency that represents the brand of a Creator. It helps any one us give unique value to fans and communities... and vice-versa.

I avoided using the word "cryptocurrency" in that last paragraph, by the way. It adds a techie veneer that suggests what C3PO uses to buy Chewbacca's kibble.

Think of Creator Coins like this:

The United States has the US dollar. Denmark has the krone. Armenia has the dram. And so now any creator—Instagrammer, TikTokker, podcaster, or... (you know where this is going...) newsletter typist like me—can have their own currency, too. (h/t Joe Pulizzi for the explanation)

Right now, there are only 80 creators coins on the Rally platform, so the ability to create a coin felt special and rare. And also a bit of an experiment.

How so?

I could see creating a Jaybird coin for the MarketingProfs community, for example. I can see other brands with strong communities doing the same—maybe yours?

The best way to learn is from the inside-out: I decided to play with it myself to fully understand it.

I'd Like to Have a WORD With You

On Friday I launched the $WORD coin, in partnership with Rally.io and with thanks to my Emotional Support Owyang (LOL), who fielded one million questions from me. ("What's the business goal? What am I supposed to do with it, exactly? What's the point?")

History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes.

I chose WORD for specific reasons.

Coin names are limited to 3-5 letters (ANNARCHY was out, ANN was potentially in). And once you choose, you're wed for life. Like The Crown pre-Season 3 Princess Margaret.

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted it to stand for something bigger than myself. And I wanted it to have a little playfulness, because... well, that's my thing.

I asked Twitter, which delivered a few solid contenders like AHA (marketing/writing inspiration)! Or AHAND (giving you a hand?). Then Ian Gertler nailed it with WORD.

WORD felt right.

Even better: Rally IDs include the $ before every name, so the name renders as $WORD. "The pen is mightier than the sword," wrote novelist and playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton two centuries ago.

Even better-er:

"I give my word" is a promise. (Trust is everything in marketing.)
"Word" in slang signals "truth."
Of course it's the best-known writing platform (thanks, Microsoft).
And finally—it's the thing itself: A combo of characters assembled to carry ideas to you, me... everyone, everywhere.

So what's in it for you?

A coin is a symbol of community.

Much of the joy of writing to you every other week is the feeling of camaraderie. The peer-to-peer vibe. I'm writing to you as an individual, not as some amorphous, faceless "audience."

I write TO you—which is why this letter is far more interesting to me than a journal entry. It's a conversation, not a monologue.

So to me a coin codifies something important. It creates a shared symbol of community.

Yeah, yeah.... To what end? Coins could enable some ideas I've tossed around for a while:

Access to private calls, consulting, podcasts
Trading for exclusive content
Rewards for superfans (the most Annarchist!) or newsletter referrals
Community kudos: Rewarding, tipping, recognizing the good work (and good words) of one another. (Making writing and creating less lonely?)
The ability to earn $WORD you might pay forward. (I like this one a lot.)

That's only the start.

This is new. We're at the beginning. What else? I don't know... you tell me: Got ideas? (HIT REPLY!) Let's figure this out together.

* * *

QUICKIES

▶️ The trigger word that snaps your prospects to attention. The great Nancy Harhut shares the word that will cause people to listen to you more carefully. And the brain science behind it. [Podcast]

▶️ These 5 things make your writing come alive. How to catapult your creativity, whether you're writing ebooks, infographics, or Instagram captions.

▶️ The coolest thing I've ever seen on LinkedIn. (h/t Storythings)

Related >> It's not just cool. It's also a stellar example of Tell Me Without Telling Me. Tell Me = We design 3D video ads and experiences. Tell Me Without Telling Me = Here's a dragon coming straight for your face.

▶️ Putting Coins Into Context. Scott Monty takes the complex, confusing concept of digital currency and coats it in human-sized concepts that puts the current movement into context. (Could I use more Cs in this bullet? ...Certainly.)

"We're seeing lots of change happening now, from cryptocurrency to NFTs, opportunities that may seem like a secret language, alternatively whispered among the cognoscenti and shouted from the digital street corners by trend setters. [But] let's pause the constantly updating present and take a brief look at history to put this in perspective." --Scott

SPECIAL EVENT

9 Non-Negotiables to Grow Your Business in 2021 March 17, 2 PM ET.

A live, one-hour extravaganza with Jay Baer and me, in partnership with SharpSpring. We dove deep into specifics on one B2B agency's go-to-market strategy, service offerings, and communications with an eye toward helping them grow exponentially. What we advise applies to any SMB. It's FREE, but you gotta reg. [Can't be there live? Register to get On Demand access.]

NEW! INTRODUCING MARKETINGPROFS CONSULTING

It was a big week at the MarketingProfs International House of Headquarters! We launched a brand new consulting division with a focus on positioning and messaging, customer experience, and demand generation.

Want to grow your business? Generate more demand? Elevate your strategy in a way that delivers a powerful and consistent story? Create a cohesive customer experience? Earn the love and admiration of your colleagues, boss, clients? You're gonna want to click here.

TOOLS
A content tool I used this week.

Museo is a visual search engine that connects you with a bunch of museums (the Art Institute of Chicago, the Rijksmuseum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the NY Public Library, among others). The images there are in the public domain and free to use. (Although please name any photo source anyway, because we are not jerks.)

DEPARTMENT OF SHENANIGANS

This word does not exist. As in:

You can also add your own suggestions. I contributed 2.

LOVE LETTERS

💌 To Mark Schaefer. Mark did something nice for me. I sent him a thank-you note. Mark enjoyed it so much he created a video and a blog post about it. Now I'm thanking him for that video and blog post he created to thank me. P.S. How long can Mark and I volley? How long can this madness go on? I do not know but I am HERE FOR IT.
💌 To Jackie Fedeli at American Bankers Association for her coverage of a recent talk of mine.
💌 To P2P Marketing for naming me one of 42 digital marketing experts.
💌 To the Digital Marketing Aptitude Test for recognizing me in fantastic company of 8 women in digital marketing to follow.
💌 To Lane Ellis at TopRank Marketing for the shout in his piece on trust and B2B.
💌 To Simon Towndrow for the Everybody Writes book review.

* * *

Thanks for reading this far. Thanks for your kindness and generosity.

Stay safe. Stay sane. Wear a mask. We're getting there.

I'll be back on March 28.

P.S. If you like this newsletter and want to support it, buy a book. Or forward this newsletter to a friend with an invitation to subscribe, right here: www.annhandley.com/newsletter.

SPECIAL THANKS to AWeber for being the provider of choice for Total Annarchy. If you are looking to up your email game, give them a shout.

Ann Handley is the author of Everybody Writes and other books.
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Ann Handley

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TA #82: ✍️ Creator Coins; the One Word That Makes Your Customers Snap into Action; Make Your Writing Come Alive

Older messages

TA #81: ✍️ The Creative Process; Writing Advice from Warren; Reader Challenge Results!

TA #80: 💌 TikTok with the Best Writing Advice (No Really); Cute Puppy Photos; Why I Like Clubhouse

TA #79: 🎩 Products with Personality

TA #78: 🎂 What I've Learned from 3 Years of Total Annarchy

TA #77: 🐎 Actually the Year of the Horse

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