Let Freedom Ring

As I write this, it’s the second (lunar) day of Passover. You don’t need to practice the faith to know the gist, even if your primary source pits Charlton Heston against Yul Brynner (or, for you millennials, Val Kilmer against Ralph Fiennes).

It’s also hard to top such an Independence Day story with something for everyone — palace intrigue, plagues disrupting the natural order, recipes for lamb and bread. The book of Exodus is a series that could run on every network.

But ultimately, the story is about freedom.

I’ll save the loftier descriptions of freedom for loftier newsletters. The kinds of freedom that Ukrainians are fighting for, and the kind of freedom denied to WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, are far more impactful.

But we all have our own quests for freedom. The quests may not be about life and death, but they’re central to our lives.

Financial freedom comes up a lot. For most people, that is less about the freedom where we have the money to do whatever we want than it is the freedom to take on the kind of work that allows us to contribute to the world in a meaningful way. Most of us don’t expect the most lavish rewards from our work, but it would be freeing to do work that uses our talents and aligns with our values.

Lately, I’ve thought about freedom another way.

In the past, when I was consulting, I was always auditioning for another job. I was in these consulting roles on some kind of fractional or interim basis where I kept thinking, “If this really works, I can go all in here and join them full-time.”

That meant it was a constant audition, a never-ending job interview. And I wasn’t free.

I didn’t have the freedom that comes with fully representing the companies I was working with since I wasn’t a full member of their team. And I couldn’t fully represent myself since I felt concerned about not rocking the boat with my clients.

When I wound up going back into consulting at the start of the year, I was determined to not repeat that mistake.

My focus shifted to meeting and exceeding what was in the scope of my client engagements without giving up the freedom to be me. And it has not only led to engagements with clients that I’m excited about, but it’s led to a surge of entrepreneurialism that I’ve never quite felt before.

None of this is easy. And I still am open to taking on a couple of other projects. But I have been freed.

That’s what led to the launch of the FOAF model that I described last week. In the past, I’d have been too concerned that something like FOAF would get in the way of existing client work, even if I was way underbilled. Instead, I’ve discovered that this crazy FOAFing idea has been opening up some doors that could benefit other clients. That shift in worldview is freeing.

And there’s more where that comes from.

I’m going to enjoy a different form of freedom next week, taking a train halfway across the country on a spring break adventure with my third-grader. I’ll also allow myself a little freedom to skip next week’s newsletter as I recharge.

As far as one’s career goes, I know that there are all kinds of barriers to freedom that are imposed by others. With a lot of those, there’s no way around them. There are all kinds of external forces from societal norms to familial obligations that limit our choices.

But there are some tastes of freedom that we deny ourselves because of our self-imposed mental and emotional shackles. A shift in perspective can feel like the Red Sea opening up, pointing the way to a promised land. We have to then free ourselves of the fear that the water won’t crash down on either side of us and swallow us up whole.

If we can just get ourselves to take that first path between the parting seas though, we can leave what plagues us behind.

Happy Passover (a zisn Pesach), Happy Easter, and Ramadan Mubarak to you and yours.

David

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WHAT TO READ:
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Recent content shared by Serial Marketers and friends:

Brave Commerce Podcast: Building Value in an Ever-Evolving Digital Landscape by Sarah Hofstetter & Rachel Tipograph
CIMM to Assess Opportunities to Enhance the Value of Smart TV Data for Measurement
In a World of AI, is Everything I Know about Marketing [still] Learned from Google? by Aaron Goldman

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EVENTS
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UPCOMING SERIAL MARKETERS EVENTS:
(times EST unless otherwise specified)

4/12: First Wednesdays in-person NYC, Mason Jar on E 30th between Park & Madison. See you there! Shifting this one since Wed 4/5 is the first night of Passover.
4/20: Serial Marketers & U of Digital present… Navigating Identity Management with Shiv Gupta, Founder of U of Digital.
5/9, 6-8pm (NYC in-person): How Marketers are really using Generative AI. Nominal $10 fee – RSVP on Eventbrite. Thanks to BrainStation for hosting us. Learn more about scholarships for their bootcamps.

RECESSION & ECOMMERCE
April 12, Virtual
“Stand the test of time… get the playbook to strengthen your store through the unknown. Learn tactics to do more with less. Get actionable tips to zero in on winning channels and reduce budget while maximizing results. Navigate a market of unpredictability. Gain key insights and data to help you understand industry trends from shipping & fulfillment to consumer spending and more. Build a community to turn shoppers into brand champions. Create a tandem retention and acquisition strategy that’s strong enough to weather any storm. Produce more meaningful customer experiences. Stay conscious of customer buying cycles and lean on intent data to drive a personalized customer journey.”
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BRAND INSIDER SUMMIT
April 16 – 19, Hilton Head, SC
“Online, in-store, SMS, apps…there’s no shortage of where to meet consumers, but with that comes an even bigger challenge for marketers. At MediaPost’s spring Retail Brand Insider Summit we challenge retail marketing execs to share how they’re managing their multichannel mix. How are they ensuring that they’re talking with consumers on the right channel and in the right way? Does the “reaching everyone everywhere” strategy still play or are they instead opting to be more efficient by focusing on their ideal customers’ preferred channels and meeting them there? How are they leveraging tech and first-party-data to create a more personalized and meaningful shopping experience?”
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VON: EVOLUTION
April 18, New York City
“Jeff Pulver is bringing back VON, with VON: Evolution. Pulver, the founder of Vonage and Free World Dialup (FWD), is one of the most recognized revolutionaries in the world of voice over IP (VoIP) and with VON, paved the way for cutting-edge communication technologies serving as the launch pad for many of the mainstream communications services and applications in use today.”
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CONTENT MARKETING WORLD 2023
September 26-29, Washington D.C.
“Content Marketing World 2023, the largest gathering of content marketers in the world, is in an all-new location, Washington D.C., September 26-29. Produced by the Content Marketing Institute, #CMWorld is jam-packed with keynotes, sessions, workshops, and masterclasses, covering all aspects of content marketing. No matter your level of expertise, you can customize your experience at #CMWorld 2023. Come learn, network, and have fun making meaningful connections with fellow attendees and speakers before, during, and after the event. BONUS: Use the code SERIAL100 to save an extra $100 on your registration.”
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JOBS
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Keep checking out the #jobs channel in Serial Marketers for more. You can also see our full list of job resources here. Here are some great opportunities shared in these places or sent to me directly.

2ULAUNDRY
Marketing Manager
Remote
“2ULaundry is poised for explosive growth across the country. We’re looking for a consumer-focused Marketing Manager, 2ULaundry to lead the way for our 2ULaundry brand. In this role, you will help develop and execute the 2ULaundry marketing strategy for new market launches while scaling the existing business. The ideal candidate is customer obsessed, data-driven, self-motivated, and excited to build a nationally recognized and respected brand. As the first 2U focused marketing hire, you will need to be comfortable wearing multiple hats and executing on omni-channel awareness, acquisition, conversion, and retention marketing campaigns. Simply put, you’ll be on the ground floor of our marketing organization and have the opportunity to build online and offline programs that introduce 2ULaundry to new customers, new geographies, and new business partners that accelerate growth.”
Apply

BETTER TOGETHER
Senior Account Executive
Remote
“Better Together is hiring for a Senior Account Executive who is passionate about social action and creating lasting change. With roots in Washington, DC, and a now global reach, Better Together is set on cultivating a powerful network of partners who share our passion to create opportunities to accomplish impactful, long-lasting change. Our advocacy partners will also prove our commitment to changing the world. We believe that a brighter, more equitable future for every human being is possible, but it takes combining the right message with the right strategy to crystalize that vision, show what’s possible, and inspire audiences to take action toward collective change. Better Together is here to support organizations as they seek to create a more equitable future. We’re currently a small, but mighty, team and are looking for another great addition to our passionate crew.”
Apply

SERVICEPATH
Platform Configuration Specialist
Remote
“servicePath is looking for Platform Configuration Specialists to become experts in the configuration and delivery of the servicePath CPQ platform. The ideal candidate will be a person with experience implementing and configuring business software systems. Clever, smart, like solving puzzles are key traits. Cool Role, Cool company, we are building something great. Role Objectives: Become a Platform Expert: Use your platform expertise and excellent communication skills to work with Clients to capture requirements, provide trusted guidance, and implement CPQ features. Be the User: Act as a subject matter expert for servicePath CPQ+ features and as a power-user, be an advocate for all CPQ users to support product development and contribute to feature functionality.”
Apply

LAIRD
Segment Marketing Manager
United States
“The Segment Marketing Manager is responsible to manage and coordinate a wide range of activities in Laird Connectivity’s key target vertical market segments of Industrial and Medical.The role is the guiding force in driving forward Laird Connectivity’s market growth in these two key segments. The Segment Marketing Manager is responsible for developing and executing marketing strategies for the target segments, in support of all major product lines focused on System on Modules (SOM) and Wi-Fi connectivity, at a product level.”
Apply

Also, check out the Serial Marketers job board

Other job resources (see a full list here):

Beeler.Tech: Job listings for ad operations, programmatic account management, sales operations, and more.
Braintrust: A freelance platform where you are the owner and where freelance talent keeps 100% of the bill rate.
Candidate: Featured marketing and sales jobs
ExecThread: Senior roles spanning a range of verticals and cities; membership is free but fully vetted (this uses my referral ID to get you in faster)
Lunch Club: Match 1:1 around predetermined goals with accomplished professionals (free)
NYC Ad Jobs & Networking: A popular Facebook group
Questions to Ask for a Marketing Role: What questions should you ask when starting a new marketing role or job?
Serial Marketers Job Board: Post regular and featured listings and subscribe for updates.
Venwise: Submit your job interests here and get in front of their roster of hiring leads; select “Serial Marketers” under “How did you find us”