Writing

We analyzed 4 million recruiting emails sent through Gem. Most get opened. But only 22.6% get replies. Half those replies are "thanks, but no thanks." We dug into what actually works. Here are 8 factors that drive REAL responses: 1. Strategic timing beats everything else - 8am gets 68% open rates. 4pm hits 67.3%. 10am lands at 67% - Most recruiters blast at 9am when inboxes are flooded - Avoiding peak times alone can boost your opens by 7-10% 2. Weekend outreach is criminally underused - Saturday/Sunday emails get ≥66% open rates consistently - Why? Empty inboxes. Zero competition. Candidates actually have time - Yet few recruiters send on weekends. Their loss is your gain 3. Keep messages between 101-150 words - Shorter feels spammy. Longer gets skimmed - You need exactly 10 sentences to nail the essentials - Every word beyond 150 drops performance 4. Generic templates kill response rates - Generic templates: 22% reply rate - Personalized outreach: 47% increased response rate - Even adding name + company to subject lines boosts opens by 5% 5. Subject lines need 3-9 words - Include company name + job title for highest opens - "Senior Engineer Role at [Company]" beats clever wordplay - 11+ words can work if genuinely intriguing, but why risk it? 6. The 4-stage sequence is optimal - One-off emails are dead. Send exactly 4 follow-up messages - You'll see 68% higher "interested" rates with proper sequencing - After stage 4, engagement completely flatlines. Stop there 7. Get the hiring manager involved - Having the hiring manager send ONE follow-up boosts reply rates by 50%+ - Yet most recruiters don't use this tactic - Weekend advantage: Minimal competition for attention 8. Leadership involvement is a cheat code - Role-specific timing (tech vs non-tech) matters - Technical roles: 3 of 4 best send times are weekends - Engineers check email differently than salespeople. Adjust accordingly TAKEAWAY: These aren't opinions. This is what 4 million emails tell us. Most recruiting teams are stuck in 2019 playbooks wondering why their reply rates won't budge. Meanwhile, recruiters who implement these 8 factors see dramatically better results. The data is right there. The patterns are clear. The only question is: will you actually change how you operate? Or will you keep sending the same tired emails at 9am on Tuesday? Your call.

Parents share over 60 photos of their kids every month. AI needs as few as 15–20 images to generate a realistic deepfake face. What rules do you follow before posting photos of your kids online? And once something is online, it can be copied, scraped, indexed, and stored forever. The Pause Before You Post campaign from Data Protection Commission Ireland highlights a reality many families still underestimate: We are raising children in the first generation where their digital identity exists before they understand what privacy means. Some numbers that should make every parent think: + Parents post on average 63 photos of their child per month + Research shows AI models can recreate a face with 20 or fewer images + Over 70% of parents share kids’ photos publicly at least once a week + Billions of images are scraped online to train AI systems every year + Studies found ~50% of child images on criminal forums originated from public social media posts + Over 80% of photos contain metadata or visual clues about location or routine + By age 13, many kids already have thousands of images of themselves online The campaign shows how small details become data points: A school logo → location A birthday cake → date of birth A sports uniform → schedule A street sign → home area A group photo → social circle With modern AI, these are not random details. They are structured data. Face recognition, generative AI, and large-scale scraping systems can now connect identity, location, habits, and relationships in seconds. We are entering a world where: 🔹 Every photo can train an AI model 🔹 Every face can be cloned 🔹 Every post can be archived forever 🔹 Every detail can be cross-referenced 🔹 Every child can have a digital footprint before adulthood What should parents do today? ✔ Make accounts private ✔ Avoid posting school names, uniforms, and routines ✔ Disable location tagging ✔ Don’t post full names + birthdays together ✔ Ask kids before posting their photos ✔ Assume anything public can be reused by AI This isn’t paranoia. This is parenting in the AI era. #Innvation #Ai #ChildSafety #Privacy #Deepfakes #GenerativeAI #DataAwareness #TechEthics #SocialMediaSafety #ParentingInTheAIera #OnlineSafety #CyberSecurity #ProtectKidsOnline

Before becoming an Executive, I was an INVISIBLE contributor for the first 10 years of my career. (you probably are too) I was: Dreaming of recognition but → keeping my head down and hoping someone would notice Dreaming of promotions but → waiting for my turn instead of advocating for myself Dreaming of leadership roles but → staying quiet in meetings to avoid rocking the boat Dreaming of making an impact but → underselling my achievements to appear humble Turning point? I got snubbed for promotions not once, not twice but THREE times. Staying quiet was getting me a first-class seat at my DESK. After the third snub, I realized: I can't stay quiet and expect someone to notice me. I will always care more about my career than anyone else. I can't expect someone to articulate our value for me. I worked on: Actively sharing my accomplishments: "Our team's productivity increased 30% last quarter due to the new process I implemented." Clearly communicating my career goals: "I expressed my interest in leading the upcoming project to my manager, highlighting my relevant skills." Volunteering for high-visibility projects: "I took charge of presenting our department's quarterly results to the executive team." Quantifying and presenting my contributions: "I created a dashboard showing how my initiatives saved the company $500K annually." I eventually became an executive once I put these into practice. You don't need to change jobs every time you hit a roadblock. Or throw money at the problem with another degree or certificate. Learning to articulate your value can make all the difference. To master value articulation: Keep a detailed record of your achievements Align your work with company objectives and highlight this connection Practice describing your impact in concise, compelling ways Seek opportunities to present your work to leadership Regularly update your manager on your progress and aspirations Remember: "Your work speaks for itself, but only if you give it a voice." #aLITTLEadvice

Apparently, I am still “Dear Sirs.” Six months ago, the The Law Society updated its guidance on legal correspondence, moving away from recommending “Dear Sirs” and using alternatives such as “Dear All” At the time, it sparked plenty of debate. Some welcomed it. Others questioned whether changing a salutation really mattered. (It does) Six months later, I am still receiving emails addressed to “Dear Sirs” directly to my inbox. 🤔 Not to a team. Not to a generic inbox. Just me. That is exactly why this change mattered in the first place. For years, “Dear Sirs” was treated as the standard in legal drafting, so familiar that many people stopped questioning what it actually says or why we use it. But language is never entirely neutral. It reflects norms, assumptions, and who is implicitly seen as the default in the profession. This change was never unworkable for the profession. At DWF, I have seen this approach in practice well before the updated guidance came into place. A small change, but one that signals something bigger… that inclusion does not always require sweeping reform. Sometimes it starts with questioning long standing habits and being willing to modernise them to reflect the society we serve. Updating guidance is the easy part. Changing habits across a profession takes longer. Six months on, the recommendation has changed, but implementation across the profession is still evolving. #LegalProfession #LawSociety #Inclusion #DiversityInLaw #Solicitors #LegalCorrespondence #EDI

80% of feedback never changes behavior. Not because people don’t care… But because of how it’s delivered. Your style and tone makes a difference. The feedback you give can spark change or trigger resistance. It’s not about being “nice” or “tough.” It’s about being strategic. Here are 5 approaches that turn tough conversations into growth opportunities: 1. COIN Method For when performance needs a reset. Most people jump straight to criticism. But starting with context creates safety. “In yesterday’s meeting…” feels specific. “You always…” feels like an attack. The magic is in the Next step: Don’t just point out problems. Co-create solutions. 2. SBI Model For when you’re recognizing wins or addressing gaps. Vague praise like “Great job” doesn’t teach. Specific feedback does. “When you asked that clarifying question, the client leaned in…” That’s something they can actually repeat. 3. STAR/AR Method For when someone’s ready to level up. Most feedback looks backward. This one builds forward. Review what happened → then explore alternatives. You’re not just fixing mistakes. You’re expanding capacity. 4. DESC Script For when you need to set boundaries. Boundaries don’t push people away. They build trust. The key is Express. Own your experience without blame. “I feel…” lands. “You make me feel…” doesn’t. That’s how accountability shifts. 5. GROW Model For when someone needs guidance, not answers Old-school feedback = “Here’s what to do.” GROW = “Let’s uncover it together.” The power move? Stay curious longer. Ask “What else?” at least 3 times. The best ideas usually come last. One more truth: timing beats technique. Give feedback within 48 hours when memory is fresh. Don’t fire off complaints in the moment. And don’t wait for the once-a-year performance review. Find the sweet spot where perspective is clear and the moment still matters. That’s when feedback creates growth. ♻️ Repost if this helps you (or your team) have conversations that actually create change. 👉 Follow Desiree Gruber for more tools on storytelling, leadership, and brand building.

Two years ago, I stepped into something completely new—building a life insurance business from 0 to 1. Before this, I had spent years in leadership roles, navigating the structured world of actuarial science, finance, and strategy. But at Acko Life, the rules were different. Unlike traditional setups where processes, playbooks, and legacy systems guide decisions, here we were faced with a blank slate—no product, no processes, no precedent. Besides, building insurance systems for policy administration, reinsurance, operations management, accounting and claims from scratch is not for the faint-hearted. I had to unlearn some things, learn many new ones and embrace a mindset where speed, adaptability and first principles thinking mattered more than past experience. This is where I had extensive help from Varun Dua, ACKO Founder. Here is what I realised: ✅ Decisions > Perfection: The need to move fast means there’s no room for analysis paralysis. Early on, we learned that making decisions, even with limited data, is better than waiting for the “perfect” answer. ✅ Iterate Relentlessly: What looks great on a whiteboard often fails in the real world. The best way to build? Launch → Learn → Adapt → Repeat. ✅ Consumer Obsession is Non-Negotiable: In a market where life insurance has remained largely unchanged for decades, we focused on understanding what consumers really want, not just what has always been done. The 5 Whys approach came in handy—digging deep to understand the real pain points instead of just treating symptoms. ✅ Conviction Matters: When you're creating something new, skepticism is inevitable. But belief in the problem you're solving and the impact you can create is what keeps you moving forward. ✅ No Job Descriptions in 0→1: At ACKO Life, I’ve been an actuary, strategic  planner, accountant, risk manager, salesperson, and customer advocate—all at once. In an early-stage build, you do whatever it takes to move things forward. ✅ Great Ideas Come from Everywhere: Not just from leadership or industry veterans, but from engineers, designers, customer service teams, and even casual conversations. The best solutions often come from unexpected places. ✅ The Small Wins Matter: In 0→1, you don’t always have big milestones to celebrate. The real sense of achievement comes from solving that one small problem—a friction point in the customer journey or an operational bottleneck—that earlier didn’t even appear to be a problem. The last two years have been challenging yet incredibly rewarding. 0→1 isn’t just about launching a product—it’s about creating momentum from Zero. As ACKO continues to challenge the status quo in insurance, I’m excited about what’s next. If you’ve been part of a 0→1 journey, I’d love to hear your experiences—what lessons stood out for you? #Leadership #StartupLife #Learning 

Want to write like a CEO? Cut the fluff. The best leaders communicate with: ✅ Clarity ✅ Brevity ✅ Impact They don’t send long, rambling emails. They don’t hide behind corporate jargon. They get to the point fast. I have written four books and have advised 300+ CEOs on their communications. Here’s the 5-part writing framework top executives use: 1 – The Subject Line Should Say It All Before you write anything, ask: ➡️ What’s the ONE thing I need them to know? ➡️ What’s the ONE action I need them to take? If you can’t answer this, don’t send it yet. 2 – Lead with the Bottom Line Busy people don’t have time for long intros. 💡 Start with the main point, not the backstory. ❌ “Hope you’re doing well! I wanted to reach out because we’ve been working on…” ✅ “Here’s the update: [Key message in one line].” 3 – Cut the Fluff High-level executives don’t read wordy emails. They scan. ✂ Remove “just,” “I think,” and “wanted to.” ✅ “We should move forward.” ✅ “The results show a 20% increase.” 4 – Be Direct, Not Rude Great leaders are clear, not cold. 🚫 “Per our last discussion, I believe this approach might be beneficial.” ✅ “Let’s move forward with this approach. Thoughts?” 5 – Always End with a Clear Ask ❌ “Let me know what you think.” ✅ “Can you approve this by Thursday?” 6 – Add Warmth Charismatic people are both competent and warm. If you follow 1-5, you may come across as competent but it may be hard to connect. Therefore, add some warmth at the end. ❌ “Looking forward to your response.” ✅ “Appreciate your time on this—excited to hear your thoughts!” 📌 Follow me Oliver Aust for daily strategies on leadership communications.

How to Write Cold Emails That Actually Get Replies Cold emailing can feel like shooting arrows in the dark—most get ignored. But with the right approach, your emails can land opportunities instead of in the spam folder. Here’s how: 1. Subject Line is King • Keep it short & personalized (e.g., “Quick Question, [First Name]?” or “Loved Your Work on [Project]”). • Avoid spammy words like “Free,” “Limited Offer,” or “Act Now.” 2. Get to the Point (Fast!) • Nobody has time for long intros. State your purpose in the first two lines. • Example: “Hi [Name], I saw your work on [Project] and found it insightful. I’d love to connect and discuss [Specific Interest].” 3. Personalization Over Copy-Paste • Mention something specific about them—their work, recent post, or company. • Example: “I noticed your team at [Company] recently launched [Product]. The strategy behind it was brilliant.” 4. Value Over Ask • Instead of immediately asking for a favor, show how you can help them. • Example: “I’ve been working on [related topic] and found insights that might interest you.” 5. Clear and Low-Effort CTA • Make it easy for them to respond. Instead of “Let me know when you’re free,” try: • “Would love to chat—does Tuesday at 3 PM work for a quick 10-minute call?” 6. Follow Up Without Being Annoying • If no response, follow up in 3-5 days with a short, polite nudge. • Example: “Just wanted to check if you had a chance to look at my last email. Happy to connect whenever convenient.” Cold emails aren’t about luck—they’re about strategy. Master this, and you’ll turn cold contacts into warm opportunities. Remember one cold email and application on portal made me land up in JPMC. Have a cold email tip that worked for you? Drop it in the comments.

Pitching ROI in sales is dead. According to Gong data, presenting ROI and low close rates go hand in hand. Two things happen when most salespeople sell ROI: - they do it so naively that it backfires - it's a Hail Mary attempt to save a deal When a senior exec hear's a salesperson say "the ROI of our product is..." they write-off that salesperson. They think you’re making too big of a leap between what your product does and the expected financial return you’re waving in front of them. The best salespeople create bullet-proof business cases instead. (Read: ROI is only one element of this!) Here's how they do it, according to one of the top business case experts in the world: 1. State the Situation Define the current state. What are they trying to accomplish? What's standing in their way? Make it relevant to the exec's priorities. Make it urgent with conflicting obstacles standing in the way of their goal. 2. Define the Problem Statement This is what most sellers get wrong: They think buyers buy because of ROI. Nope. They buy to solve problems first. And the financial ramifications of those problems are far more compelling than the ROI of your product. In other words, the 'cost of inaction': - what is the problem costing them? - what the opportunity costs? - what are the indirect costs? - what are the direct costs? Capture the problem as well (or better) than your customer can. 3. Create a Bridge Read: This is not about your product. Read (again): This is not about ROI. The Bridge explains the root cause of the problem. Which then allows you to explain what the customer NEEDS to solve the problem. 4. Define Three Scenarios. This is where you start to hint at ROI. Show three possible scenarios. - no action - best case - base case Executives think in ranges and possibilities. Yet most sellers give a definitive number: "You'll get exactly 22% ROI on our product, just like our other customers!" That's a sure-fire way to lose your credibility. Build three possible scenarios instead. 5. Define the Required Resources. Explain what the customer will need to do to make this projection successful. - dedicating headcount - dedicating time - spend - etc. Most salespeople shy away from this. They want to make it seem (unrealistically) easy to deploy their product. Execs know better. Call out what you need for this to be a success, and you'll earn instant credibility. Plus, you reduce their fear of shelf-ware. Because they know what it takes to avoid that now. That's all for now. P.S. I've watched over 3,000 discovery call recordings in Gong. Here's a (free) list of 39 questions that sell I compiled along the way: https://go.pclub.io/list

I’ve worked with 80+ clients on LinkedIn. I’ve also shared my own journey of building a six-figure agency. During that time, I’ve learned how to balance sharing valuable content without oversharing. I call it, the 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. This framework outlines the key components to share effectively without overwhelming your audience: → Relevance: Share content that aligns with your audience's interests. → Value: Provide insights and tips that offer real benefits. → Consistency: Post regularly but avoid flooding timelines. → Authenticity: Be genuine and true to your experiences. → Engagement: Interact with your audience to build relationships. ... As well as what happens when each is missing. • Lack of relevance = "Disinterest" • No value = "Unfollow" • Overposting = "Annoyance" • Inauthenticity = "Distrust" • No engagement = "Isolation" Remember, your sharing strategy can always improve. Here’s how to do it: 1/ Relevance: Understand your audience’s needs and tailor your content accordingly. 2/ Value: Share actionable tips, insights, or stories that provide real benefits. 3/ Consistency: Create a posting schedule that keeps you visible without overwhelming your followers. 4/ Authenticity: Be honest about your experiences and show your true self. 5/ Engagement: Respond to comments and messages to build strong connections. The best content creators continuously refine their sharing strategies. Start using this framework today. And find the perfect balance in your content. Your audience will appreciate it! #linkedingrowth #Linkedinpersonalbranding