Beyoncé Sued Over Website Accessibility, Job Candidates Who "Ghost" Are on the Rise, & Mistakes to Avoid When Building Buyer Personas ...This is THE LATEST!

The fact that I've carved out a career that's so focused on writing is a bit of a running joke in my family. I was a notoriously terrible student who hated all English or writing-focused classes.

One time in the eighth grade, I had to write an essay about the book Shane, and I was struggling to meet the 500-word minimum requirement. So, when I hit this sentence at approximately word 400 -- "Some might say the main character was mean." -- I had a positively brilliant idea.

I pulled out my ratty thesaurus and proceeded to look up synonyms for "mean" and then padded the rest of the essay with sentences like, "Or that he was cold-hearted. Or maybe unkind. Perhaps loathsome. Even uncharitable. Possibly unpleasant. Or contemptible."

And on, and on, until I hit that minimum word count requirement.

As an insufferable, Leonardo DiCaprio-obsessed teen, I was so pleased with my cleverness. My English teacher, however, not so much.

In fact, I ended up having to write the entire essay all over again.

A live shot of me upon hearing this news, via GIPHY.

It was one of the most painful ways I've learned the importance doing something right the first time. (I wasn't allowed to watch TV at all until I had turned my assignment back in, because parents are the worst.)

Don't be like me. Understand that while sometimes you may be tempted to cut corners with your website, your marketing, or your hiring process for the sake of "efficiency," shortcuts have a nasty habit of backfiring.

🐝 Beyoncé Sued Over Website Accessibility & ADA Compliance Issues

Mary Connor is a visually impaired woman who wanted to purchase tickets to a Beyoncé concert. Unfortunately, Queen B's website is almost exclusively visual in nature, lacking a number of legally required features by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Now, Mary is suing. She wants changes to be made, so the website is accessible, and she is seeking compensation for damages due to discrimination toward the blind. This lawsuit over Beyoncé's website is yet another example of why ensuring your website is accessible is critically important.

👻 Flaky Job Applicants Are on the Rise & Here's What We're Doing About It

At 3.7%, United States unemployment is the lowest it's been since 1968. While this is great news for job seekers, those seeking new talent -- particularly in the marketing field -- like our own VP of Services Brie Rangel, are struggling with an aggravating new trend. Job applicants who vanish into thin air during the hiring process. Even after they've been given or accepted an offer. Learn how we've changed our hiring process at IMPACT to mitigate the effects of vanishing job candidates.

🚫 9 Ways Well-Meaning Marketers Get Their Buyer Personas Wrong

"I see bad buyer personas. They don't know they're bad. Walking around like regular buyer personas. They're everywhere." OK, that Sixth Sense throwback was awful, and I apologize. Still, when inbound strategies and campaigns fail, there's a good chance bad buyer personas are the root cause. From having too many personas, to missing out on the ever-important negative persona, IMPACT Director of Event Marketing Jen Barrell says these are the nine common mistakes you need to avoid when building your own buyer personas.

👀 ...When You're All Ears (& Eyes)

📅 Save the Date

How do you create brand loyalists out of your current customer base? On Thursday, January 24, Will Harris of Real Thread will show you. During this interactive webinar, you'll learn how to retain your customers and what you need to do from first-touch to signed contract (and beyond) to transform those customers into lifelong brand loyalists. Register for this webinar today.
IMPACT Client Success Specialist Myriah Anderson will be a featured speaker for Sales Hacker's Accelerating Sales with Video: Lessons Learned from Those Seeing Success live web event on January 17. Limited spots are available, so snag yours today.
Chicago HubSpot User Group: In Chicago? Ready to win at social media? Join the Chicago HUG on Wednesday, January 23 at 6:00pm as Dan Gingiss, speaker and author of Winning at Social Customer Care, shares how to identify what will get shared on social media. Space is limited so register for the Chicago HUG today.

Finally, Thank You!

Thank you to everyone to replied last week with their book recommendations.

I am so, so excited to dive into the books that have inspired all of you. (Also, more than a few of you recommended the same books -- great minds think alike!)

So, without further ado, here is my final reading list for what I'm calling Liz's 2019 LATEST Book Challenge, curated by all of you amazing people:

Give & Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success by Adam M. Grant
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE by Phil Knight
Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco
A Fierce Heart by Spring Washam
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
Principles by Ray Dalio
The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mohandas & Mahatma Gandi
The Epic of Mount Everest by Sir Francis Edward Younghusband (1926)
Lost & Founder by Rand Fishkin
It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy by D. Michael Abrashoff
Writing Without Bullsh*t by Josh Bernoff
Multipliers by Liz Wiseman

Lucky for me, the total number of books is 12. So, my plan is to work through this challenge at a pace of one per month, while still allowing for a few other books outside of this list to get read.

Anyway, thank you again! I can't wait to share what I learn with you all along the way.

Talk soon!