Digital Skills Development

In October 2021, we generated 250 sales leads in 2 hours without coding, AI, or sales expertise, and we have never looked back. Here's exactly how we’ve used webinars to generate $3M+ in pipeline since launching our company. A week after launching Chezie's ERG platform in August 2021, we hosted a simple webinar that changed everything. The idea came when we noticed most ERG content online was outdated (think black-and-white websites from 2014; it was dark out there). We saw an opportunity. Here’s our process: 1. Find your topic     Look for LinkedIn conversations in your niche. Use tools like Perplexity to research what people are actively searching for.     2. Get the right host     We reached out to my friend Morgan Matthews (she/her), who was working as a DEI Manager at Peloton at the time. Your host should either have a strong following, work at a notable company, or ideally both.      The more notable your speaker, the easier it is to drive signups.      3. Structure your event     We titled ours "From Intent to Impact: How to Get the Most Out of Your ERGs." Morgan gave a 45-minute presentation and left 15 mins for Q&A.      Keep it simple – a fireside chat format lets your host prepare answers in advance.     4. Capture leads strategically     Have attendees share key info during registration (company size, current solutions, etc.). This helps you qualify leads before the event.     5. Execute and follow up       Some tips for a smooth event:       • Host on Zoom (everyone’s familiar with it by now)   • Pay attention to which participants are most engaged   • Share recordings after via email to warm the inbox   • Focus follow-up on qualified leads      Fast-forward to today: We've hosted 60+ events and turned webinars into our #1 go-to-market channel, even as we've expanded to other strategies. If you have questions about the process, qualifying leads, or anything else around webinars as a GTM motion, comment below; I’m happy to help! 👇🏾

Want your words to actually sell? Here’s a simple roadmap I've found incredibly helpful: Think of crafting your message like taking someone on a mini-journey: 1. Hook them with curiosity: Your headline is the first "hello."  Make it intriguing enough to stop the scroll.  Instead of just saying "Email Marketing Tips," try something like "Want a 20% revenue jump in the next 60 days? (Here's the email secret)."  See the difference? Promise + Specificity = Attention. 2. Tell a story with a villain: This might sound dramatic, but hear me out.  What's the problem your audience is facing?  What's the frustration, the obstacle, the "enemy" they're battling?  For the email example, maybe it's "wasting hours on emails that no one opens."  Giving that problem a name creates an instant connection and a sense of purpose for your solution. 3. Handle the "yeah, but..." in their head: We all have those internal objections.  "I don't have time," "It costs too much," "Will it even work for me?"  Great copy anticipates these doubts and addresses them head-on within the message. 4. Show, don't just tell (Proof!): People are naturally skeptical.  Instead of just saying "it works," show them.  Even a simple "Join thousands of others who've seen real results" adds weight. Testimonials, even short ones, are gold. 5. Make it crystal clear what you want them to do (CTA):   Don't leave them guessing!  "Learn the exact steps in my latest guide" or "Grab your free checklist now" are direct and tell them exactly what to do and what they'll get.  Notice the benefit in the CTA example: "Get sculpted abs in just 4 weeks without dieting." And when you're thinking about where you're sharing this (LinkedIn post, email, etc.), there are different ways to structure your message. The P-A-S (Problem-Agitate-Solution) or A-I-D-A (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action) frameworks are classics for a reason. The core difference I've learned? Good copywriting isn't about shouting about your amazing product. It's about understanding them – their challenges, their desires – and positioning your solution as the answer in a way that feels like a conversation, not a sales pitch.

We’ve all been there… The constant ping of emails, Slack messages, and notifications pulling you in a million directions.  Instant replies might look productive, but they’re quietly sabotaging your focus and boundaries.  Here’s why setting communication boundaries is key to both your sanity and long term success: 1️⃣Shifts You from Reactive to Intentional: When you pause before responding, you give yourself the time to prioritize your work first, instead of being stuck in reaction mode. 2️⃣Protects Your Focus: Constant interruptions pull you out of deep work. When you set clear “response times,” you create space to get meaningful work done.  3️⃣Teaches Others to Respect Your Time: When you respond on your terms, you teach colleagues that you’re not available 24/7. Your boundaries build trust and respect. 4️⃣Improves Communication Quality: Slowing down gives you time to craft thoughtful, clear responses. You’ll make better decisions and avoid the “oops, I missed that” moments.  📌 Try This: Block two or three times a day to check messages. Let your team know what to expect and notice how much calmer and more in control you feel. Remember, boundaries aren’t selfish, they’re necessary. You’re valuing your time and energy so you can show up as your best self at work.  👉 Want more tools to help you reduce overwhelm, and thrive at work? Follow for more actionable career strategies!

Please stop pinging me on Teams… Then following up on WhatsApp… To check if I saw your email… From twenty minutes ago. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲. We’re not in a crisis, we’re caught in a 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲. We’ve normalised hyper-responsiveness. We’re building work cultures on constant digital disruption. And it’s costing us: clarity, performance, and wellbeing. This is the urgency fallacy in action: the illusion that everything is both urgent and important. Why? We have Palaeolithic brains trying to navigate modern tech. Brains designed to hunt and forage at a natural cadence are now (constantly) bombarded by unsolicited alerts, red notification bubbles and digital noise that hijacks our attention. 🔴 Red = danger. Your brain doesn’t know it’s just another Teams ping. It reads it as a threat. It triggers the same stress response as if a tiger were chasing you. (Let’s be honest, some days…our Teams’ notifications feel like a tiger chasing us.) Here’s the truth: 🧠 Our Human Operating System (hOS) hasn’t evolved at the speed of our digital tools. We’re not wired to be always-on, nor are we designed to be distracted all day long. Every interruption drains cognitive energy (depletes our glucose), increases cortisol and fragments our focus. Boundaries aren’t resistance. They’re self-leadership. Let’s stop mistaking responsivity for value. Let’s stop confusing speed with impact. Your best work won’t come from urgency. It will come from clarity. Want to future-proof your team’s performance? Articulate your 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 which are your team’s agreed digital norms, practices and principles that underpin hybrid work. Have clear “𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡-𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬” about responsiveness and establish a communication escalation plan so when there are legitimate, urgent issues, there’s a clearly delineated and understood path for escalating them, if the situation arises (hint, in most instances if something is really urgent a good old-fashioned phone call is often best.) I teach this inside my keynotes, performance workshops and with my Executive Coaching. Ready to shift your culture? #Leadership #WorkplacePerformance #DigitalWellbeing #HumanOperatingSystem #NeuroLeadership #SpaciousSuccess

Emails are supposed to be boring, right? Tell that to the guy who just booked a demo, voted in a poll, and played a scratch-and-win game - all without leaving his inbox. Email isn’t “old.”  It’s the most interactive channel you’re sleeping on. Here are 5 things you can do inside an email today: 1. Collect info without leaving the email → Embed forms that capture subscriber data instantly 2. Swipe carousels → Showcase products or testimonials in-mail, just like Instagram stories. 3. Run polls → Get instant feedback from users without them ever clicking out. 4. Book meetings → Drop an interactive calendar and let people schedule directly. 5. Play games → Quizzes, scratch cards, spin-the-wheel. Conversion doesn’t have to be boring. Everything your landing page does, your inbox can now do. And if your emails don’t convert, it’s not because the channel is outdated: it’s because you’re not using the right tools. That’s exactly what we’re solving at Mailmodo: making emails interactive, engaging, and conversion-first.

Ready to Expand Your Reach? Social Media Tips for 2025 Today, I was pleased to deliver an online workshop for Stronger Kent Communities on "Increasing Your Impact: Social Media for Social Good." I was joined by an amazing group of charities and non-profit organisations. We covered the key steps to creating a strong social media strategy. We also covered the latest trends and tactics to make the most of it! Here’s what I shared: ONE ↳ Goals: We discussed the importance of setting clear goals, focusing on Awareness, Community, and Conversion. Building that know-like-trust factor is key! And, of course, keeping those goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). TWO ↳ Audience: Understanding your audience is so important. We brainstormed who their audiences are and how to build detailed buyer personas. We discussed tools like answerthepublic.com, Google, and Facebook Groups to discover the pains and challenges of their target audience. THREE  ↳ Lead Magnets: Creating lead magnets is a great way to attract your audience and provide a solution to their pain or challenge. This step is about bringing people into your email list, where you can nurture them further and guide them towards conversion. FOUR ↳ Engaging Content: We explored ways to create content that grabs attention and engages your audience. Using platform-specific features is essential. For example, LinkedIn is seeing success with polls, carousel posts, and infographics, while Instagram reels and carousel posts are driving great engagement. FIVE  ↳ Engagement: Don't just broadcast and walk away. Engagement is crucial. Jump into the platform, have conversations, and interact with your audience. The algorithms love it when you keep people engaged, and it will reward you with better reach. SIX ↳ Outreach: Engagement naturally leads to outreach. Start conversations! Follow up on interactions like polls and initiate meaningful discussions. Conversations can lead to conversions, and making the first move can open doors you didn't even realise were there. So, how's your social media plan shaping up for 2025? What's the takeaway you can implement right now? Make sure you have a strategy, stay focused, and maximise your social media impact! To your successes, Zoe

She was visible in the room but invisible online. A client said to me recently, “In person, people know who I am and what I bring. But online? You’d never know it.” And she was right. In person it was clear she had decades of credibility. She was the person people turned to when decisions needed to be made, things needed to get done, problems solved, or trust established. Her peers knew it. Her clients knew it. Her team knew it. But when someone Googled her, her LinkedIn profile came up, and the message simply didn’t match. 📉 A profile that undersold her expertise. 📉 Inconsistent or non-existent activity. 📉 A digital first impression that didn’t reflect the reputation she’d earned. And here is the challenge with this - people don’t separate offline from online anymore. ✨ The client meeting you tomorrow has already looked you up today. ✨ The board member you’re pitching to has already scanned your profile. ✨ The graduate considering your firm has already checked your team’s presence. ✨ The investor you’re meeting next week has already searched your name. ✨ The client referral you haven’t even met yet has already formed an impression. If your online presence doesn’t reflect your offline reputation, it creates disconnect before you even enter the room. “Are they really the expert?” “If their business is as strong as they say, why can’t I see it here?” You’ve worked too hard to be invisible. The good news? You don’t need constant posting or flashy campaigns to close that gap. What you need are the right foundations: ✔️ A profile that communicates value, not just a job title. ✔️ Consistent, purposeful activity that mirrors how you show up in person. ✔️ A digital presence that builds trust before the first handshake. Because your reputation shouldn’t depend on which version of you people happens to find first. Make sure the person people meet online is the same one they already trust in the room.

Drowning in Zoom calls and Slack threads? No energy left at the end of the day? 🥱 Zoom fatigue is real. So is information overload. It certainly happens to me. To understand science-backed strategies that get better results while preserving our energy, I invited Andrew Brodsky to Speak Like a CEO. Andrew is a management professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and the author of "Ping: The Secrets of Successful Virtual Communication". His PING framework is a simple, research-backed method to help you communicate smarter, not harder, in today’s virtual world. 📌 Perspective-taking 💡 Initiative 🎭 Nonverbal cues 🎯 Goals P = Perspective-taking Virtual communication makes it easy to forget there’s a human on the other side. Whether it’s a blunt email or a cold video call, always ask: How will this message feel to them? Clarity and empathy go further than you think. I = Initiative Don’t accept the weaknesses of a platform – fix them. Add warmth to text-based chats, build rapport before negotiations, or switch formats to better match your message. N = Nonverbal cues Your tone, lighting, posture, and even silence send signals. Be intentional. On video, your background, gestures and eye contact matter. G = Goals Start with the outcome. Want quick input? Use Slack. Need alignment? Meet live. Trying to build trust? Turn on the camera. Match the medium to your goal, not your habit. Our virtual communication has become a habit. Let’s challenge them and replace outdated routines with science-backed strategies. ❓ How do you ensure your message lands virtually?   ♻️ Repost to help someone improve their virtual communication. 📌 Follow me, Oliver Aust, for daily strategies on leadership communications.

As a product leader, the art of storytelling isn't just a skill—it's your superpower. So how to turn complex ideas into narratives that captivate everyone? And how may AI be your creative partner in crafting compelling stories? 1️⃣ Embrace Storytelling Techniques Delve into the realm of literature and film to understand the art of building tension and developing characters. AI tools can enhance this by suggesting themes and plots inspired by successful stories, encouraging you to explore fresh angles. 2️⃣ Harness Empathy Put yourself in your audience's shoes, understanding their aspirations and challenges to create deeply resonant stories. AI's ability to analyze demographics, interests, and preferences enables you to craft stories that truly engage your audience. 3️⃣ Simplify Complexity Break down intricate technical concepts into accessible, relatable analogies. AI can be instrumental in processing these concepts and proposing simpler explanations, making your narrative more intuitive. 4️⃣ Utilize Visuals Enhance your storytelling with visuals. AI tools can assist in creating impactful visual aids that complement and elevate your narratives. 5️⃣ Incorporate Data Data lends credibility and depth to your stories. AI's knack for analyzing and extracting meaningful insights can turn your narrative into a persuasive, data-driven story. 6️⃣ Value Feedback Treat feedback as a valuable resource. AI’s ability to analyze audience reactions offers critical insights, helping you refine and evolve your storytelling. 7️⃣ Internal Storytelling Use storytelling to inspire your teams, align them with your vision, and nurture a rich narrative culture within your organization. AI can assist in drafting initial versions, reminding you to continuously refine your message. 8️⃣ Learn from Industry Leaders Every interaction with a leader offers insights into narrative excellence. AI can mimic the styles of these leaders, providing you with diverse perspectives and unique approaches to storytelling. Last but more least, this journey wasn't just about telling better stories. It was about augmenting human creatinine with machine intelligence, inspiring action, connecting hearts and minds, and leading with a narrative that resonates. *** 💬 What's your go-to storytelling technique? Share in the comments! 🌟👇 *** 🌟Sneak peek alert: I’ve been learning and co-piloting with AI and two friends to write a book about building gen AI products. I plan to publish it in the new year. If you want to join our book launch team, learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gaxmC728. Stay tuned!  #Storytelling #Leadership #ProductManagement #AI

EXPERIENCING Infobesity ? The modern workplace is drowning in information and dragging productivity down with it. It has led some experts to suggest we are living in the era of “infobesity”, a weighty issue that needs a swift response. From the moment we check our phones before that first sip of coffee in the morning to the last scroll through emails in bed at night, we are swamped by an unrelenting tsunami of texts, tweets, tags and tasks. Infobesity refers to the overwhelming flood of information people face – far more than they can reasonably absorb or manage. We’re more connected than ever, yet increasingly overwhelmed by the steady hum of social media, messaging apps and digital noise. But the flood of information isn’t just a nuisance - it comes with real consequences that go far beyond a few lost moments of focus. Infobesity does not just affect individuals but can ripple across an entire organisation, dragging down performance and morale in the process. When people are flooded with emails, messages and constant updates, it becomes harder to focus on the work that really matters. A good chunk of the day can be spent just managing the flow of information, leaving less time and headspace for getting actual tasks done. It also makes it harder to think creatively. When minds are cluttered with too much noise, there is little room left for fresh ideas. Instead of thinking big or trying something new, people end up being stuck dealing with the small stuff. All that constant input takes a toll. It can raise stress levels and leave people feeling mentally drained. The pressure to stay on top of everything can quickly lead to burnout, especially when the flow of information does not seem to stop. And when this kind of overload becomes the norm, some people start looking elsewhere. Workplaces that do not tackle the problem risk losing staff who want a calmer, more focused environment where they can think, create and get things done without constant interruption. Fixing the problem does not mean cutting off information altogether but managing it more deliberately. Filtering out the noise is a good place to start. Not every email needs to be sent or replied to and not every message deserves prompt attention. Clearer, more purposeful communication helps reduce the overload. Technology can play a helpful role, if used wisely. Adjusting notification settings, using “do not disturb” functions and applying basic filters can keep the flow of information from becoming a flood. Leaders also play a key role. When they carve out time for focused work, limit after-hours emails and scale back unnecessary meetings, it creates space for others to do the same. Protecting time from constant interruption restores clarity and calm and – critically – creates a culture that values focus over noise. #workplace #management #information #hr #humanresources #aimwa Cartoon used under licence: Cartoon Stock