Authentic Marketer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new updates and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

✏️ ON MY MIND

I blacked out for a moment.

I felt myself tumbling forward, and then my face slammed on the cold, hard ground.

In 2001 I was learning how to snowboard.

I’d taken my first beginner lesson only a couple of weekends prior at Perisher in Australia.

So there I was, moving way too fast down an icy run at Coronet Peak mountain in NZ. (It was a terrible run for a newbie)

… and then my snowboard clipped the ice…

After slamming my face on the cold, hard ice, I blacked out for a moment.

I snapped back to consciousness to see blood on the ice and realised it was dripping from my nose.

Absolutely shocked, I slowly made my way to the bottom of the run and sat inside the warm lodge for the next hour.

Totally spaced out. Wondering, “what just happened?”

Then a thought occurred to me: “I didn’t die. I’m not injured. I’m OK. I can do this!”

Refusing to let fear stop me, I got back onto the chairlift and up the mountain.

And I took on that run again.

This time, with the fear of falling gone, I felt myself moving better.

I was flowing with the mountain! Able to bend and move along with all the turns and bumps beneath me.

And I made it down safely.

I felt a sense of achievement. I had leveled up from beginner to intermediate.

I felt liberated.

At that moment, I know what it felt like to be invincible.

…

When was the last time that you felt invincible? Let me know. I’d love to hear your story.

🔨🧰 MARKETING TIP

OK. Ready for more bad advice?

Bad advice: “Just use these proven templates” ❌

If you want to become a thought leader in your niche…

Copying existing leaders and using the same templates or tactics they use feels like a smart move

The problem?

— Katelyn Bourgoin (@KateBour)
Mar 21, 2023

👍 3 THINGS THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION 

1/ Read: ChatGPT won’t kill ‘writing’, but it WILL kill ‘content’

In this thoughtful piece, the writer makes a good distinction between content and art.

An interesting read, for sure.

I disagree with this:

“If you work as a ‘content writer’ (as I have in the past), chances are, you don’t really know, understand, or care about the topic you’re writing on.”

I get paid to write content because I have industry experience in marketing and small business. I also research a tonne when I write anything.

I wouldn’t write anything that I don’t really care about. That would spell disaster for the quality of work.

But I get the author’s point, and I can see how there might be others who might take writing jobs on topics they don’t care about too much.

I do, however, agree with this:

“We will drown in a wave of robot-written ‘content’. It will not be too different from the content we currently experience, but there will be much, much more of it. A human generating content will no longer be an economical use of one’s time.”

Yes, this is happening already, and the whole content game is just that – a game of beating the algorithms and seeing who can win the Google ranking game.

So what makes writing stand out are lived experience, anecdotes, the depth of expertise shared by individuals who have been doing something for an extended period, and emotion.

I also resonate with this line:

“The human heart cries out for art”

And I’d add that we write for different purposes. Not all of it needs to be for art.

2/ Watch: Microsoft’s AI Future of Work Event: Everything Revealed in 8 Minutes

This was probably the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen from Microsoft in a long time.

The summary features shown will help so many people save time. It makes me want to play with MS Office for the first time since I left my job at HP in 2005.

As one person commented:

“This is phenomenal. This will completely change the way we do work. Older generations might look back at life before this and wonder why employees were so ‘inefficient’ (ex: ‘what, you actually needed to attend the meeting or assign a note taker to see what was going on? You actually needed to type the function that would make the graph?’)”

(I’m also hoping Gsuite gets some AI integration like this real soon – come on, Google!)

What about Google?

Well, I wondered the same thing – will Google incorporate AI into G-Suite? 

As it turns out, Google put out a similar video on March 14. Here’s the video:

They also released a separate video on Generative AI on Google Cloud.

I can’t wait to play with these AI-powered Workspace (G-suite) features. It would have been nice if Google had provided some kind of timeline, though!

3/ Read: The freelancer and the entrepreneur

💸 WEALTH BUILDING TIP

🏠 Immigrant households: Old vs New Generation Mindset about Buying Property 🏠

Just listened to an insightful discussion on the Level: Asian Podcast about the mindset shift between generations in Asian households when it comes to property investment.

As someone who has personally experienced the challenge of navigating differing mindsets with my parents around what to do with my money, this topic can bring up a lot of emotion, frustration, guilt, and shame.

Which is exactly why it needs to be spoken about more often. Especially if we are to support our community in building wealth.

(Note: this is not financial advice, just the opinions and experiences of the folks on the podcast. Consult a registered professional financial advisor as required.)

Here’s a quick bullet-point summary if you’re interested:

🔹 Old Generation Mentality:

Priority on buying property as a secure investment. Tangible assets were preferred due to scarcity of money. Immigrant families focused on property due to limited investment options

🔹 New Generation Mindset:

Hesitant to jump into property investment and get locked up in mortgage repayments for decades.Concerns about high property prices (median in Sydney is ~$1.2M) and interest rates.Exploring alternative investments like tech businesses, shares, ETFs, and crypto.Focus on experiences, travel, and personal growth over property acquisition.

🔹 Factors Influencing Shift:

Increased investment options and easier access to business opportunities. Change in lifestyle priorities and values.Less pressure from older generations to buy property.Different financial situations and contexts. 

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to investments, it’s clear that the new generation is thinking beyond traditional norms when it comes to securing their financial future.

What’s your take on the changing mindset towards property investment in immigrant households? Have you observed similar shifts even if you’re from a non-immigrant family?  Share your thoughts.

🐦 COOL TWEETS OF THE WEEK

Who on earth wants to receive AI-generated emails like this? 😅

Should have been: “Please refund my order. I purchased it with this email. Thanks.”

You should use AI to shorten your emails, not lengthen them 😅

— Tony Dinh 🎯 (@tdinh_me)
Mar 20, 2023

Most people talk about social media as a small ROI task.
But for me, it’s one of the highest ROI tasks of my day.

I’m not wasting time on social media.
I’m making connections, investing in relationships & creating content that builds an audience.

I’m building an asset.

— ⚡️ Ev Chapman 🚢 | Creative Entrepreneur (@evielync)
Mar 23, 2023

This week in AI:

– Google releases Bard.
– Adobe announces its AI image creator Firefly.
– Microsoft unveils Bing Image Creator.
– NVIDIA launches cloud tools for Generative AI.
– Opera releases its LLM-based browser.
– GitHub unveils CopilotX.

And it’s only Wednesday, Captain!

— DataChazGPT 🤯 (not a bot) (@DataChaz)
Mar 22, 2023

🔧 TOOL OF THE WEEK

Beehiiv

This newsletter is delivered to you every single week using Beehiiv.

Have you heard of Beehiiv? I recently switched to it for my weekly newsletter, and I’m loving it! I was using ConvertKit before, but Beehiiv just makes the whole process of sending newsletters super simple.

Here are some of the key benefits that I love about Beehiiv:

Simplicity: It’s all in one place, so I don’t have to jump between different tools to get my newsletter out. Everything from drafting, to sending, to tracking my analytics is all in one place.Flat-rate pricing: With Beehiiv, I don’t have to worry about my bill going up as my audience grows. They have a flat-rate pricing plan that works for creators and small businesses like us.New features being released regularly: Beehiiv is always adding new features and updates to make the platform even better. Like their recommendations feature and now their new comments function. I love that they’re always improving and making things even easier for their users.

Overall, I’m really happy with my switch to Beehiiv. It’s definitely strengthened my newsletter game.

🤔 PARTING THOUGHTS

I’m enjoying being back in Sydney. It’s nice to catch up with family and friends, drink my fave coffee, and go for soul-nourishing walks around my fave nature spots. 

Can’t believe that a week has passed already. By the time you receive this email, I’ll most likely be on the road, driving 3.5 hrs south to Lake Tabourie for a weekend family getaway. We’ve rented a cottage for the family, and a 12-seater van to drive the 6 of us (and a lot of luggage – my family ain’t minimalists 😂 ) down there.

Here’s the description of the place we’re staying from the cottage’s website:

Lake Tabourie located 10 minutes south of Ulladulla, a lake of natural beauty, native birds and other wildlife.

Lakeside Cottage was designed as a place for families to relax and unwind in a comfortable and peaceful environment.

We guarantee that you will return home with your mind, body refreshed and rejuvenated. That’s what a holiday is all about.

How’s THAT for a guarantee? 😉

Enjoy your weekend! 

Anfernee Chansamooth

PS. – Did you get value from this newsletter? If yes, then please:

Forward it to someone else who might find it useful too.Consider supporting my work and becoming a paid subscriber.Reply and tell me what you liked about today’s newsletter, and/or ask a question that I can answer in a future newsletter (I’m always looking for ways to help my readers and topics to explore).