#except try to sit down asap. so while it happens less often it causes More Incidents. alas
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i LOOOVE thinking about fantasy disabilities!!!! i love figuring out what people would have to do to accommodate them! it's literally awesome!
#fun after-comic joe facts time yayyy so joe's soul got a little bit fucked up#its just this small crack. which makes him entirely unresponsive to anything for like 5 minutes max#at seemingly random intervals. it slows down and doesnt last as long as it heals but its still like#not good lol#and its just gonna keep happening the rest of his life because souls fuckin heal weird#its one of many problems disorders he has to deal with this ones just special because doctors have#NO clue what to do with him so he and his friends just gotta figure out how to cope with it themselves#after a while he can kinda tell when its about to happen a few seconds before it does#so because he's rarely left alone anyways because he. cant take care of himself much anymore#he can give them a warning and they will make sure nothing dangerous will come from it and just wait for him to come to#as it heals and becomes less of a problem it kinda becomes more of a problem ironically#he does reach a point where he can mostly handle himself. but he cant do shit when that happens#except try to sit down asap. so while it happens less often it causes More Incidents. alas#i think kiara's way of dealing with it happening in particular is so silly#cause she just. grew up with him like this. this is just normal to her she's never questioned it#like oh ok dad's blanked out again i will just wait so patiently for it to be done so i can keep showing him#my mlp toys and explaining mlp lore to him#it happens and she just stops what she's doing and waits for him then continues as if nothing happened#everyone else gets so fussy about him when it happens but kiaras just#are you done? ok so pinkie pie is the laughter pony#he thinks its awesome he loves her so much
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Anon: Do you do reactions? And if you do, could you pls do an exo reaction to you giving them a boner in public?
Xiumin
Xiumin would have the best poker face out of everyone tbh. You’d been watching movies and hanging out at the dorm with all of the members and had been sitting next to Xiumin, sharing a blanket. Your legs would continuously brush against each other and you’d lean into each other during the movie. All the soft touches affecting both of you. Eventually he’d pull you onto his lap and you’d feel just how affected he was. He’d play if off to the others as the best way to share the blanket and keep the two of you warm while rolling his hips into yours underneath the blanket. It was his way of paying you back for arousing him so easily. His arms would be holding your hips in place so you couldn’t shift out of the way and when you would look at him, pleading him to stop until you were in a more private setting, he’s just raise an eyebrow at you and pretend like nothing was going on.
Luhan
Luhan would be another who would tease you, knowing you were as horny as he was. You had been shopping with the boys any they kept getting you to try things on and model for them. You kept catching Luhan’s gaze and knew when he liked what outfit you were in. He’d abruptly suggest going to a movie in the hopes that the others would decline and keep shopping but most of them decided to tag along. When you entered the cinema he dragged you to a different spot and refused to sit with everyone else, once the lights dimmed you worked out why. Hidden from view you’d lower your head down to his lap to help alleviate the strain in his pants while he tried to keep quiet and not draw attention to the two of you.
Kris
Kris would try to play it off as though nothing was going on but he’d be dying to run off with you asap. He’d had to shoot a bedroom scene with you and you could tell from how tense he was that the closeness between the two of you and the constant touching was affecting him. Your palm glanced across his crotch and you heard the quick intake of breath before you asked if he needed a break. He refused, adamant to finish the scene, desperate to maintain a professional work ethic in front of the director and crew. As soon as you finished the scene however, he’d drag you off to his trailer.
Suho
Suho would try to keep his composure and act like nothing was happening but he’d start to fidget and his voice would crack. The group dinner had been going well but there was only so much chit chat you could take. You were getting bored and when you got bored you got playful. Suho felt your fingers trailing up his thigh and glanced at you, trying to tell you to behave with just a look. You ignored him and leant in closer so that you could join the conversation his was having. When you were closer you started to palm him through his pants and he had to cough to suppress a moan. You kept going, eager to see how far he’d let you take this before he stopped you. He was having trouble articulating in the conversation and maintaining eye contact with anyone. When his voice started to crack while talking that was his breaking point. He’d turn to you and tell you to stop or else there would be no fun to be had later.
Lay
Lay would get shy and blush, he’d try to hide from view and ignore the whole situation. You’d fallen asleep with your head in his lap on the flight over to China. Lay, however, had not slept because every time you shifted, your head would nuzzle his lap like it was a pillow. In embarrassment he’d covered both of you in a blanket and he alternated between staring at the ceiling and putting his head in his hands to hide his blush. When you finally woke up you decided to reward him for enduring all of your movement while you were sleeping, plus you were both already covered by the blanket so who would know? And you only had to turn your head…
Baekhyun
Baekhyun would get flustered and really talkative to try and distract himself from what you’d done to him. He’d make 1000 excuses to try and leave to go home, each one sounding more ridiculous than the last. He’d been hosting an awards show with two other MC’s: yourself and another male idol. During the breaks between emceeing you’d all be sat together. Baekhyun, being so used to sitting with his members, would forget and drape his hand over your exposed thigh. As soon as his hand touched you he’d realise what he’d done and quickly apologise. You had told him not to worry about it and to try and make him less embarrassed by his mistake you sporadically gripped his thigh. He’d cough to mask a gasp every time you did this and then he’d start to speak really quickly before finding a reason to run off and check on something. Eventually you grew worried at how often he would run off so you followed him. You cornered him to see if he was ok but he’d keep making excuses about why he needed to leave, it was only when you stepped in front of him to stop him running off and he ran into you that you felt why he was so worked up.
Chen
Chen would be a teasing little shit which surprises no one. He’d be the life of the party, suggesting games, blasting music, dancing and drinking the night away. A game of spin the bottle was getting further and further out of hand as the night progressed and he’d keep pulling you to him, rubbing circles on your lower back and placing kisses on your neck. Then as soon as you let on that you were enjoying it, he’d run off to do something else. Fighting to get your own back on the tease you’d pull him to the dance floor and grind your hips into his. Out of his depth, he’d try to keep up but you could tell he was getting flustered and you could feel what your dancing was doing to him. Eventually he’d drag you off to the closest bathroom to relieve some stress.
Chanyeol
Chanyeol would get embarrassed and try to awkwardly brush it off. Chanyeol would be mixing in the studio and there wasn’t enough space for everyone so you would sit on his lap whenever one of the guys finished in the recording booth. You kept turning around to chat to everyone and the constant movement in his lap was driving him insane. He’d try to hold you still without making it obvious to everyone that you were giving him a boner but you just kept moving. At one point you went to get up but Chanyeol held you in place, preventing you from moving. He pulled you further into his lap and you realised why you weren’t allowed to get up. He would be fighting his blush and if anyone asked or teased him about how much he was blushing he’d yell at them and tell them they were just jealous that they didn’t have you sitting in their lap.
D.O.
D.O. would get embarrassed but he’d try to hide it, and he’d succeed pretty well. It had been a long day at the photo shoot, and D.O. had become more and more frustrated as the hours went by. Having to pose with you draped over him or with you leaning on him, sitting in his lap or sleeping across him were doing his composure no favours. He’d grown tense and quiet as the day went on. Sensing something was amiss you asked what was wrong. He merely glanced down towards his crotch and when your eyes followed you quickly worked out the problem. He would ask you to fetch him an oversized hoodie, like one that Xiumin would wear, and bring it to him. He’d blush while asking this of you but he needed a way out of his predicament and you were the only solution he could think of.
Tao
Tao would whine at you for doing this to him in public. You’d been sightseeing with Tao all day. You’d run off and drag Tao with you only to stop suddenly, causing him to run into you a few times. You’d keep leaning across him to point out something behind him. All of these actions coupled with the cute sundress you were wearing was driving Tao crazy. He’d keep whining at you for being to attractive and he’d be begging to return to the hotel, you’d have no idea why until he eventually pulled you into a hug and pressed himself into you that you realised. He’d beg you to go back to the hotel again and this time you’d concede.
Kai
Kai would be impatient and would want everyone to be gone asap. Dance practice had run long tonight, with everyone learning new dance choreo. You’d been helping teach, filling in the role of the girls that would be partnered with each member. Kai had to stand back and watch you dance with all of his members and he was not enjoying it. He was jealous because you were his dance partner not theirs. When it came time for him to demonstrate the full dance with you he went all out for it, putting in 100%. You could tell the closeness of the dance was taking its toll on him. After the demonstration he told everyone they were free to leave for the night and that practice would resume tomorrow unless they wanted to stay but the look he gave any members who didn’t look like they were leaving suggested they change their minds immediately. When everyone eventually left he’d pin you to the wall and work on relieving his frustrations.
Sehun
Sehun would be easily frustrated and you could use that to your advantage. Everyone piled into the van to get back to the dorms after a long day of shooting. To fit, you had to sit on Sehun’s lap. The van was loud with music and people chatting away about the day so no one except you noticed the groan that came from Sehun’s mouth after the van went over a few bumps. You had both hands pressed against the roof of the van to make sure you didn’t hit your head when it went over a bump but this made you push down harder into Sehun’s lap whenever you hit a bump. You could feel him through his jeans and when you glanced at him he had a slight blush on his cheeks and was biting his lip. When you went over a few more bumps you made sure to ground your hips into his. By this stage he’d caught onto what you were doing but he was powerless to do anything about it. He’d be the last out of the van when you got back but he’d proceed to lock you in his room with him to resolve his situation.
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Bless me with your OTP!
I know everyone’s expecting Noranse, but I’m going to shake things up with Nara because why not! I love em just as much and they have an interesting dynamic! ;D
I was tagged by the amazing @slothssassin !
Tagging; @eluvisen, @mrninjapineapple, @beckiboos, @ariejul, @sociallyacceptablemadness, @lothrilzul, @val-rampage, @solesurvivorkat , @metalforhands, @mars-colony, @lookbluesoup , @tarberrymentats @marvilus73 and anybody else who’d like to do this! ♥
Do they fight often? If so, what is their dynamic like?
Nora and Nate often bicker over little things, though they’re usually harmless and end fairly quickly. However, when they have real fights, things can escalate and their home become a place of glacial silence and tension. The cause of these fights usually boils down to three things; Nate’s alcoholism, Nora’s rigid morals vs Nate’s social circle, and Nate’s perfectionism.
They both have the bad habit of bottling things up and not talking to each other, silently stewing until they calm down. They try to never sleep on an argument however, and always tried discussing things before they fall asleep.
The only exceptions were when Nate would get too riled up and do what he’s done throughout his life; run away and seek solace at the bottom of a bottle. When he goes sober, Nate walks their dog and has a few smokes to clear his head instead.
Angry Nora prefers to cook out her rage, taking it out on the chopping board loudly enough that Nate instantly knows when she’s angry. The cooking is still delicious and edible, and they often talk out their frustrations over the food -- if Nora has calmed down. If she hasn’t, she’ll comfort eat all the sweets she made herself!
Who is the most skeptical of the two?
This is a tough one -- neither of them are skeptics, really. Nate has more of a feel for people however, because he’s friends with all types. He knows there’s good and beauty in the world, but he’s also seen the worst of humanity, which really comes out in his PTSD following Anchorage. I’d say Nate’s the most skeptical, though post-war Nora definitely has a reality check and hardened up, although she still lucked out by meeting some of the good people in the sea of bad.
Who would be most likely to suggest a night of dancing?
Nate 1000% -- he’s the guy who knows everybody and can queue jump like a V.I.P! Nora’s a bit more shy and awkward (until she’s had a few drinks) and would only join Nate sometimes, though she’d head home fairly early. When out on his own however, Nate would be out until the morning rush hour, typically heading to bars long after their closing hours and hanging with the special regulars. He also loves to dance and sing so it was always a great time for him!
If they’re alone or in a quiet venue however, Nora’s always up for a quiet slow dance between them.
What would they do if the other was injured in battle?
Nate would fall back on his military training, dealing with immediate threats before tending to Nora. He’d then prioritise her safety over the mission and work to cut them a path out of there.
Pre-war Nora wouldn’t know what to do (in the battle, or first aid wise), but post-war with Brotherhood training, Nora would do the same, patching him best she knew how and retreating to the nearest medics ASAP.
Unless innocents were endangered, they would stay by the others bedside until they were stable.
How do their fighting styles complement each other?
Nate and Nora adopted completely different styles -- Nate prefers combat armour and moving stealthy but fast. He’s great with assault rifles, though he’s always shone when it comes to CQC being a big guy. He moves a lot faster than most can guess and with lethal precision, though if he can drop enemies at a distance, he prefers it.
Nora, on the other hand, was trained by Danse. She adores power armour and feels near unstoppable in it. Whereas Nate would rather slip in, Nora would rather kick the door down and bulldoze any in front of her, followed up by ashing with her rifle.
In battle, the pair function rather poorly because Nate becomes obsessed with Nora’s safety to the detriment of both of them. They could work well together with Nora being the big, steely distraction allowing Nate an opening to flank enemies, but Nate’s fear clouds his judgement and all he sees is his wife in danger.
Do they want children? Does it frighten them? How many do they want?
They both want children and to have a family together. Nora would be happy with two children as being an only child she felt lonely. Nate would be happy with two, though he would love to have more as he has a very strong paternal instinct.
Pre-war, Nate had a very strong fear that he would fail as a father due to his mother’s influence, and lack of a caring father in his own life. He’s also petrified that his mother would find out and want to come into his children’s lives, which he would not stand for.
Nora worried about being a good parent too, but her fears weren’t so deeply rooted as Nate’s because she knew she had her family support network to fall back on.
Post war, they’re both frightened at the thought of raising their children in such a dangerous world, but it also serves as a powerful drive for the pair of them to make it as secure for their children as possible, that they might enjoy a childhood in spite of the threats. Chances are they’d also adopt alongside having their own child if they met an orphan who needed them.
What happened when they took them home to their families? If their families aren’t in the picture anymore, how do they feel about it?
Nate has complete no contact with his family. His situation is complicated to say the least. His mother fell pregnant out of wedlock and had a hasty wedding to a man who was clearly not Nate’s father -- and his mother played cruel games with that fact, preventing Nate’s (secretly step) father from ever bonding with him. As a result, he and his ‘father’ were more awkward housemates than family who were often pitted against each other.
Nate’s younger half-brother made more of an effort, but as he was the ‘favoured child,’ Nate harboured a lot jealousy and bitterness towards him that poisoned their relationship. It grew worse when their mother had them competing, and suddenly began fawning over Nate when he joined the military.
His mother he hates like nothing else. Part of him still craves her love and validation, but he fears that she’ll poison his new family with her toxicity and knows her affection is born purely from what she stands to gain.
His mother comes from old money, and her family disowned her after her shock pregnancy and sudden marriage to a ‘lesser class.’ Initially they pretended ‘the bastard’ didn’t exist, but when he joined the military he suddenly ‘made them proud’ and his lack of a known father was suddenly a boon because his father might not be so common after all -- and the family wanted a male heir who would take their name and continue the lineage. Because of this, his mother saw Nate as her meal ticket back to the good life and the family bank account and suddenly cared about him again.
She did meet Nora once, wheedling Nate’s latest home from one of his friends -- but it wasn’t for long. Nora was wary of her following what Nate had confided, and he came home partway through her visit. He exploded and chased her from the building, feeling furious and terrified. Shortly after, he and Nora moved to Sanctuary Hills, telling no one but Nora’s family where they had gone.
Nora’s family loved Nate immediately. He’s a natural charmer, and as a patriotic soldier her parents warmed to him quickly -- it also helped that neither Nate or Nora mentioned he was couch surfing and had no address of his own at the time.
Evangeline, Nora’s cousin and BFF, liked Nate but was also initially wary that he might be a player and she, as a police officer, was less than thrilled at his many murky contacts and friends. Seeing his genuine adoration and loyalty for Nora as well as his good heart, she was won over, which eased his welcome into the extended family.
He now attends every family gathering and is honestly sometimes more enthusiastic about them than Nora.
Nate adores Nora’s family and feels honoured and touched that they accepted him and go out of their way to make him part of the unit. He finally feels like he has a real family with them.
How does each person show affection towards the other?
They’re both casually intimate with each other - little touches, embraces, kisses and snuggles. When out in public, they’ll walk close with their fingers entwined and when they sit they naturally lean into each other. There’s thoughtful gifts between them, and, especially on Nate’s part, big romantic gestures.
Who cries the most? Who is better at comforting?
Nate cries more than Nora -- he’s suffered a lot in his life, and is typically more open with his emotions. When Nora cries, she always tries to hide it while Nate struggles to. Nate comforts through hugs and gentle pep-talks, whilst Nora comforts much the same way, but with added comfort food. When the time’s right, they’ll attempt to distract whoever they’re comforting with something fun -- Nate’s likely to offer to talk over drinks, or go for a drive when he’s sober, while Nora will suggest movies and more food til they’re ready to talk or cheered up.
Who is the bigger flirt?
Nate. Nora’s quite shy about flirting and a hopeless romantic. Nate however is a casual flirt -- he’d never stray from Nora or cheat on her, but he’s naturally flirtatious and can’t help himself. He loves making people feel beautiful and confident, and sometimes it doesn’t quite register that he might have gone too far and led someone on. It’s definitely led to problems, and at times Nora’s gotten jealous and angry at him over it, though she’s come to the understanding that that’s just who he is - -and at the end of the day, it’s her he loves and comes home to, no one else. No one else. >:3
#nora hart#nathaniel hart#fallout 4#sole survivor#female sole survivor#is it the case that nora's wrath has reared its head in some universes when other people have tried to make a move on nate?#yes! yes it has!#and both Nate and Danse are ;O-O when they see it!#as soon as i get money I'll have to get a nara pic done#I do love em!#also this is ancient and I found it mostly written in my drafts so finally finished it today yay!
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Langst Fic Idea Part 2!
Wow the first one went beyond 500 notes?? Like really?? For a fandom that swears their love and appreciation for Lance, we sure love to hurt him a lot. As a thank you this is part 2 :)))
*I’m not really sure how langsty this is but here you go.*
- The moment they noticed that Lance wasn’t with them, Pidge ran to the nearest control pad.
- When Lance flew away that night, Pidge placed tracking devices on each of the fighter jets in the hangar just in case.
- They crowd against Pidge, watching her as she tapped the screen multiple times. “I placed a device in all of the jets. I’m sure I can override the system with that so give me a sec…"
-“Fuck! Lance rewrote my program?” Because of that she was only able to track the ship and access the camera. And so they watched their battered and bruised friend place the ship in autopilot and try to give first aid to himself. - “Where is he going?” “He’s going back to Haggar.” Shiro said through gritted teeth, “ I heard him strike a deal before I passed out."
- "He was captured by the Galra and coming back to them? Screw that, i’m bringing him back!” “No Hunk. We just got Shiro back. We can’t lose another Paladin. We know where he is and he’s leading us to the Galra, this is our chance to blindside them for once.” - Hunk and Pidge argued hard with the princess but her logic was one where the universe has a chance in winning against the enemy.
- So they followed Lance’s ship and watched the Blue paladin writhe in pain. Hunk and Pidge stayed up every night watching diligently over Lance and often hear him sobbing himself to sleep. They thought it was because of his injuries but they didn’t know the extent of Lance’s pain.
- Because Lance was gone for a long time, Blue was left uncleaned ever since the day Shiro went missing. Hunk and Pidge made it their mission to scrub Blue clean for Lance, so they went to the hangar to give Blue a thorough washing.
- Once they were done, Blue’s shield went up and effectively trapping them inside. They pounded against the force field, even begged Blue to let them go but it was useless, the shield was not going away.
- Hunk called out to Yellow but she just sat there watching them. Pidge did the same with Green but the robo cat bowed its head when Blue let out a mechanical growl.
- “Guys, uhm… Blue wants you to come to the hangar asap. As soon as possible please, she’s kinda scary."
- When everyone was trapped inside Blue’s force field, Black pounced at Blue but Red immediately tackled Black to the ground, growling at their leader. Black stayed still a while after Green and Yellow pinned it down.
- they watched In amazement as the Lions did nothing to save them, even Allura was dumbfounded when she can’t control the lions. - Blue’s mouth opened beckoning them to enter.
- Once they were settled in Blue’s cockpit, Pidge’s initial action was to disable Blue’s forcefield. She sat on the pilot’s seat and was shocked with a bolt of electricity. The message was clear, no one sits on the pilot’s seat except her pilot.
- ‘All of you hurt my gentle Paladin. He did not deserve the way you treated him but he still loved all of you. You will stay and you will listen to me or suffer my wrath.’ The message was loud and clear… Blue was pissed.
- The temperature in the cockpit dropped a few degrees, fogging up their breaths as they breathed in and out the chilly air.
"Hey Blue! I hope you don’t mind if I hang out with you for a while. The guys are doing their thing and I guess they don’t need me for today.”
“I know it’s kinda late, Blue, but i just had a dream about one of my siblings and they were smiling at me…”
“Mind if I accompany you today, pretty thing? Haha was that a good pick up line? No it wasn’t huh… uhm, shiro and keith came out as a couple today. I don’t know how i feel about it, but it kinda hurts ya know. I get it, they’re perfect for each other, inevitable… haha what am i saying? As if i had a chance in the first place.”
"Blue, why did you pick me? I’m… sub par, mediocre, average. I mean, I know i’m amazing and- ok ok i’m not using my ‘mask’ when I’m with you. Geez, you’re scary when you’re mad.”
"Hey Blue, do you think i’m a part if this team? Because I know i’m not the best fighter but i try though. I love my friends so much that i’ll jump in front of a blaster for them… but will they do the same for me? Who am i kidding of course they do!“
"Pidge called me stupid today… i know it’s kinda true but it still hurt.”
"Hunk and Pidge are doing this amazing thingy and i tried to help but they locked the door. They said that I talk too much… do i? Oh my god do I annoy you too? I’m sorry Blue, i’ll try to talk less.“
” ugh Keith is so… argsh! I know i suck in hand to hand but he didn’t need to call me useless!“
” you know that feeling when your leader doesn’t spare you a time of the day? Not listening to you and picking his boyfriend instead? I mean, i know that wasn’t his only reason but agh why am i crying?!“
” the princess made me feel like a loser today… hah why do i even try.“
” hey blue- i know i know i should go to the healing pod. But all of them are there and i don’t need an annotated list of the things i did wrong. Hehe it’s funny because that’s exactly what my mom would’ve done, well she’d show concern first though. 'Mijo you look like a beaten potato. Who did this to you? Do i need to call a parent? You should have punched harder. Kick 'em in the nuts! At least give a few bites… fight dirty mijo!’ Haha god i miss her. Agh do you mind if i cry again? It’s just that… it’s probably someone’s birthday right now or someone’s wedding. I wanna go home Blue. I wanna feel loved again.“
"We… we lost Shiro, Blue. I-i tried to save him too but I can only retrieve Black. I heard Keith scream, heard his heart break. I came here because he lunged at me a while ago, practically blamed me for it. He said that he heard me giving up in the mind link, that i didn’t do my job in clearing an exit for the team. Why did he think that? Why? I love Shiro just as much as he does, why did he think that I’ll let anything bad happen to him or the team? I get it that i laugh at everything but i do take my job seriously- if i have a job in the first place- but it’s done, Shiro’s been captured and I’m to blame. Hah i’m sorry your pilot is such a failure, Blue.”
“I tried to help the team today. I made some jokes and they laughed for the first time after Shiro. I guess that’s my role now cause I’m not even that good in shooting people…”
” oh my god Blue i think Keith likes me! What the fuck! Am i supposed to feel this happy? Oh god, is it cheating? Shit, i don’t want Keith to be cheating on Shiro! Oh god… is it bad that i’m happy? What am i suppose to feel?“
“God Blue… is this what being in love feels like? Like floating in a cloud of happiness and rainbows.”
“Keith’s avoiding me lately. I think it’s because I annoyed him again. I guess I’ll try shutting up for him.”
"Keith broke up with me today. I expected this you know… who would even pick me when you have shiro? Hah turns out he was only using me cause he missed Shiro. It fuckin hurt Blue, i feel like my stomach is always hollow and my chest is too small for my heart.. i can’t. I was always waiting for the day when he’ll eventually call it quits but I didn’t know I’ll fall in love, that i’ll fall this deep. It’s my fault anyway, i should’ve known that it’ll always be Shiro, it’ll never be me. That’s why i made up my mind. i’m going to make this right."
"Hey Blue. I’m going to bring Shiro back and i’m here to say goodbye. i wish you’ll find a better pilot, a better fighter worthy of you. c’mon now girl don’t be like that. you and i know that the team deserves more that what i have to offer and they need more if they’re going to save the entire universe. i’m doing the team a favor, Blue. i’m doing you a favor. This team is like my family now, and I’ll do my best to protwct it. If that meant Shiro, then I ‘ll do my hardest to bring him back. And you’re like my mom too, if the pilot destined for you is out there then you better find them, not stick with some loser like me. If that ever happens, I want you to remember me ok? I love you, Blue. Catch you later.”
- All of them were dumbfounded by the series of videos that Blue played. Guilt was written all over their faces. Hunk was comforting a crying Pidge, Keith’s head was down unable to look at anyone, Shiro clutched at his prosthetic arm, and Allura’s knees went weak. It was Coran who braved Blue’s presence and asked her what their next move should be.
- ‘Instead of giving all of your resources to bring him back, you decide to merely follow him? He is hurt and all you do is watch him suffer. Do you hate him that much? When the Black paladin was captured, you targeted my gentle paladin, saying that he gave up. You endured sleepless nights looking for the Black paladin, searching far and wide with the hopes of bringing him back. And now my paladin is right there, not that far away, almost within your grasps and you do nothing! You ask me what you should do? Bring my paladin back to me.’
- While they were trapped inside Blue, Lance’s ship slowed to a stop. Then, the Galra ship’s invisibility barrier ebbed away and allowed Lance’s ship entrance.
- Lance was escorted to his usual cell, and his usual torturer sat comfortably in the middle of the room.
- “Back so soon, little Blue?” “Can we cut the pleasantries, Lotor. If you haven’t noticed, I’m kinda tired.” “And here I was waiting for you patiently just to show you something. C’mere, sit on my lap like a good boy.” The guard shoved Lance hard, applying pressure on his bad leg that he practically fell on Lotor’s lap.
- Lotor flicked his hand and a giant screen lit up. “Did you know that the whole time you were coming back to me, your castle ship was close by? Heh, they didn’t even went out to chase you or bring you back. No, they just watched you go. I’m guessing they have some sort of device in your ship that can track you. Now, depending on what we gathered from you, my little Blue, is that you have someone in your ship who is capable of technological wonders. So why didn’t she hack into your ship? Wanna know what I think?” “Do i have a choice?”
“I think they planned on following you hoping that you’ll lead them to us. You see, they didn’t care if you got captured again as long as you lead them to the enemy. Face it, little Blue, you’re the sacrificial pawn, the loose bolt of a complete machine. You hold no significance to them.” “That’s not true!” “Or maybe, they were so fed up with your nonesense that they made sure that you are delivered properly to the slaughter.”
“You don’t believe me? Why don’t we ask them, little Blue. Maybe they’ll even watch as I carve into that beautiful bronze skin of yours.
- Lance didn’t know what to expect, will they be worried? Will they promise to het him back? Lance was so full of hope and longing for his team, that small minutes that he had with them when he came back to return Shiro was far from enough.
- The screen connected to the catle ship’s system only to see the interior of the place. No paladins, no Allura, no Coran.
- Lotor laughed maniacally as Lance’s tears flowed down his cheeks. Amidst Lotor’s full bellied laugh, Lance’s thoughts whispered in his mind: “Maybe what Lotor said was true.”
-”Oh my little Blue, dont you see? They don’t care about you. They don’t need you. You’re useless and they would rather lose a limb than to endure another second of your presence. Why do you fight for ungrateful people when you can give in, give in to me. With me, you will never be hurt again. With me, you will never question your worth. With me, you are needed. So what do you say, my little Blue?”
- Lance knew the consequences of his next words. He knew that Lotor will hurt him with pain beyond his imagination. Still he turned to Lotor and said “Fuck you.”
I wanted to hurt the team too mehehe…
Oh I also made a Part 3 if you’re interested :D
#langst#voltron#voltron legendary defender#vld#lance#lance mcclain#sassy lance is a boss#Blue is a bad ass mama lion#don't mess with blue or she'll freeze your ass#hope people will still like this#angst#fic idea
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This spring semester, I had to write about where I write for my writing and communication studies class. Thinking about where and why I like to write my school assignments made me think about where I enjoy blogging! Today I’ll be discussing my favorite writing spaces for blog posts, as well as how I write- ranging from how I dedicate time to blog writing, what programs I use, etc.
Where I Write
My desk: My desk both at home and at school is my go-to writing spot. I prefer my desk at home more just because I have more space to spread out (and yes the books on my desk definitely help my inspiration). I also find myself turning to my desk for when I need to schedule my blog posts for the upcoming week. I primarily write here for when I’m in the mood to write, but laying in bed and watching YouTube is calling me instead. Basically, it puts me in the ‘I seriously need to or want to write’ mood. I find myself having to go to my desk the most when it comes to creating reviews, since they can both the easiest- for when I loved a book so much and I can’t stop screaming about it- and hardest- for when I loved a book so much but can’t seem to put my feels into somewhat coherent words- blog posts. I do my best to take notes while I read, especially for reviews books, but I like writing reviews ASAP after I finished reading said book.
Bed: At home, using my bed as my writing space comes from my love for my bed and being cozy. At home, I love leaning against my Ugg pillow. At school in a college dorm room, your two sitting options are often limited to your desk chair and bed (another great reason to invest in a good mattress pad and good pillows for all 4 years). That being said, writing in bed vs. my desk adds some variety and I tend to associate my desk more with school work than ‘fun’ writing. I find myself the most productive writing in bed- and on the couch- for when I’m in the mood to write, but don’t feel pressured to write. However, I’ve actually gotten better about writing in bed for when I seriously need to write. This usually happens at night-time when I don’t feel like going to bed yet and want to be productive. Blankets and hot chocolate make for the best companions when writing in bed.
Outside: During the nice weather months, I try to find any excuse to be outside, especially after the winter. At school, I enjoy writing at a picnic table in my residential area or at a table outside the library. The nice thing about writing outside the library is that there are outlets available outside. At home, I like writing at our patio table or in a chair with my laptop in my lap and feet up. My only and uncontrollable dislike about sitting outside, especially at school, is that I like to have relative quiet while I write.
Notebook Vs. Keyboard: I haven’t physically written full blog posts in my blogging notebooks. I find myself only physically writing some ideas for my blog posts after I’ve read a book and want to jot down my thoughts or have sudden inspiration for blog post. This is usually out of laziness, aka me not wanting to turn on my laptop. That being said, I use my laptop to write blog posts.
Writing Ahead/Making Sure I Have Blog Posts:
I rarely, if ever, write a post that needs to be scheduled for the following day on said day. I typically schedule the upcoming week’s posts the Thursday, Friday or Saturday beforehand, which means I need to have at least 3 blog posts prepared. Having posts ready causes scheduling, and blogging really, a much less stressful process. It’s especially handy when I have a week or two, mostly during school, where I don’t have time to blog. There are obviously exceptions to having posts ready at least a week in advance, like books for reviews that have a quick turnaround or monthly wrap-ups. I tend to put off wrap-ups until the very end of the month when I know I won’t be reading too many more books that month.
When I Write/Time:
I never have a specific time for writing, but I often will plan my days around if I need or want to make time for writing. I’ve never really timed myself writing, but I usually aim to set aside one hour if a post needs to be written (reviews can often take me 40 minutes-1 hour, while I can knock out two other types of posts within that time). It’s definitely not a thing I complain about, but I often find myself losing track of time when I’m really in the writing mode (which often leads to the creation of at least 3 posts).
Editing: I tend to not revise my blog posts right when I finish them in Microsoft Word. Instead, I’ll reread and revise posts when I’ve copied them into WordPress when I’m scheduling them for publication. The only issue within this strategy is that the finalized blog post often does not get saved back into Word and then on my external hard drive.
Saving: I write my blog posts in Microsoft Word. I use an older Mac- I believe it’s the 2012 or 2013 MacBookPro and yes, I love the disc drive- and while it runs pretty well still, I live in fear that I’ll lose my files. After writing a blog post, I then copy it in Google Drive. I tend to use the same strategy when it comes to my schoolwork, mostly because I just like Word better than Google Docs. I definitely need to be more proactive about doing so, but at the end of every month, I save that month’s blog posts to my external hard drive. I either just save my original drafts or I copy and paste the published posts from the blog.Where is your favorite blogging or writing spot? Do you have any specific blogging or writing strategies? Share in the comments!
MEET THE BLOGGER: Where & How I Write This spring semester, I had to write about where I write for my writing and communication studies class.
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All About Sleep Paralysis
What is sleep paralysis?
You can call it a phenomenon, a sleep disorder, but essentially it is a (temporary) inability to move, speak and in some cases even open your eyes, while you are completely aware of everything happening around you. Your body is sleeping but your brain is awake. It happens while person is falling asleep (hypnagogic or pre-dormital sleep paralysis) or waking up (hypnopompic or post-dormital sleep paralysis) , it lasts anywhere from few seconds to a few minutes.
Sleep paralysis usually tends to hit young adults and teens and the experience itself is unpleasant and can cause a great discomfort. Some people never experienced it but to some it happens regularly, up to few times a month. The main problem is that the episode happens suddenly, when the person is relaxed and most vulnerable and it usually ends on its own, so it leaves you with a feeling of fear and helplessness.
Sometimes having other people talk to you or touch you can end it, or you can focus and try to move on your own.
A lot of people had said that while they were “paralysed” they had a feeling of something heavy sitting on their chest and blocking their breathing, or felt presence of someone in the room while they were completely alone. The hallucinations are also very frequent. We might say that the worst part of it is not the temporary paralysis but the weird and scary sensation that the person is going through.
For people that are experiencing this phenomenon it is of a great help to understand why it is happening and to have a logical explanation for the symptoms. In some cases it can be a sign of a greater health problem like narcolepsy, so if this is something that quite often happens to you or you have some other symptoms it is recommended to visit a doctor.
Sleep paralyses on it’s own is seen like an isolated, harmless episode and it’s not treated as a disease or chronic disorder.
What causes sleep paralyses?
In the past it was believed that the sleep paralysis is a “work of a demons”. Scientific explanation is that the sleep paralyses is a disruption of sleep stages. We simply wake up at the “wrong” time, a bit earlier than our muscles.
Hypnagogic (predormital) sleep paralysis happens in the beginning of a sleep cycle, in NREM (non-rapid eye movement) stages when we are just starting to fall asleep and our brain activity starts to slow down and muscles become relaxed. At that point we are less aware of our surroundings and don’t notice the changes around us or inside our body. However if we do become aware we can notice our inability to move or speak.
Hypnopompic (postdormital) sleep paralysis occurs when we become conscious before the REM (rapid eye movement) phase has finished. The REM sleep is a stage when we have dreams during which our brain is very active to a level it works when we are awake, but our muscles are paralyzed. Immobility of our limbs is actually a good thing because we can’t get up and act out the things we are dreaming of. So if our mind wakes up before our muscles in that stage we might experience sleep paralysis.
Stress, sleep deprivation, alcohol and drug abuse are known to be the triggers, and it also can be linked to other sleep disorders, from snoring to narcolepsy. Some mental conditions including anxiety, PTSD and depression are associated with it and it often “runs in family” so if one of your parents has experienced sleep paralysis it is more likely to happen to you.
Sleep paralysis and hallucinations
Sleep related hallucinations often come with sleep paralysis. They are different from dreams because they occur in the space between being awake and sleeping. They involve your senses but usually are mainly visual in a form of vivid images without any external stimulants, for example you can see a person or animal moving in your room when you know you are all alone. They can be very complex and seem extremely realistic.
The person experiencing hallucinations knows that she is awake and if that occurs in a combination with sleep paralysis it can be very disturbing. People with narcolepsy usually experience this during the day. Also, sleep paralysis and hallucinations can be followed with sleepwalking and sleep talking during the same night or as isolated episodes in different nights.
We distinguish two types of sleep related hallucinations: hypnogogic and hypnopompic. Hypnogogic can be more unpleasant because it often goes with sleep paralysis and the person is making a transition from wake state to sleep so any type of hallucination at that stage is more frightening in difference to hypnopompic when person wakes up and can relate any hallucination with a dream. There can also be the sensation of falling or being watched.
Contrast between dream and hallucination is that the person after waking up clearly knows that she was dreaming while with hallucinations the line between dreams and reality is blurred so it can be very confusing. This phenomenon tends to happen to young adults and it’s most common between females.
Sleep paralysis stories – demons and shadow people
Even if you don’t have hallucinations as an addition to sleep paralysis, the experience alone is often disturbing and frightening.
There are a lot of weird, scary stories from the people who have experienced it, but usually the base is very similar: the pleasant sleep is disrupted by suddenly waking up to notice that you can’t move or speak and you are not alone. You have trouble breathing because something is pushing down on your chest, you can’t sit up or move your limbs, you feel a presence of some entity in the room that you can’t explain, there is an intruder or a demon. You become really scared and the panic grows, may even have an out-of-body experience.
There are a lot of scientific explanations for this phenomenon, the main ones are related to brain activity in REM sleep, overlapping dreams, hallucinations and humans fight or flight defense mechanism.
The thing is that we are most vulnerable in our beds, sleeping, so if you believe in demonic forces the science is not going to help you a lot. In some countries a part of the national folklore are the stories about the demons that steal your life at night.
In Fiji it’s perceived as the dead relative who came to finish some business; in Turkey it’s the demon who literally sits on your chest and takes your breath; in China it’s a ghost; in Iran it’s a demon who takes bodies and it’s related to a dark magic performed by someone who wants to harm you.
The one of the most popular entities to be blamed is the so called “shadow person” (shadow being, black mass), a human-like living shadow. Some people describe these dark silhouettes trying to jump on them and choke them, some say they are aliens. All of them agree that they want to do harm.
The common theme is that this is some evil-doing and you should be scared, but in the end nothing really bad happened to the people who shared these stories, except for the experience itself.
The hat man stories
The “hat man” phenomenon is similar to a “shadow person” with some differences though. It is an entity that usually appears during the night, always wearing a wide-brimmed hat, a long coat, slowly floating like it has no lower body. The stories describe the hat-man like a very dark shadow with no distinct facial features. It centers around basement, doesn’t attack people and usually manifest itself when there is some sort of dysfunction in the family.
Often when one person in a household see the hat man very soon the other members will see it too.
Some say it is evil some say it’s not, but it is believed that when it appears it means that there is a family problem that needs to be resolved asap. So we can say that the hat man is perceived not necessary as a bad sign but more like a warning. What actually he warns about is yet unknown.
How to prevent or stop sleep paralysis
There is no special treatment for sleep paralysis unless it is a symptom of some bigger problem. Usually it happens just a few times in a person’s lifetime so it’s not treated as a disease. Actually the best thing is preventing it from happening.
Here are some ways of dealing with it naturally that can really help you:
Eliminate or reduce caffeine and be well hydrated – there is no need to explain why, even people with anxiety disorder are advised to stay away from it, so if you drink a lot of coffee especially in the evening try to cut it down.
Turn off electronics – you may consider getting the tv out from your bedroom, it is proven to be very efficient.
No more alcohol and heavy meals before bedtime – your digestion slows down at night so if you pump your stomach with proteins, sugar, fat and carbs before going to bed you are really not helping yourself.
Relax before sleep – have a hot bath, read a book, listen to the music that you like or go out for a nice walk. It will help you calm.
Sleep on your side – sleep paralysis usually occurs when sleeping on your back. Also, if you sleep on a high pillow try to lower it, it can effect the blood supply to the brain, so the sleep position, does play a role - https://thesleepstudies.com/sleep-positions-benefits/
Drink herbal tea or milk. The chamomile for example has calming effect. And the milk increases melatonin levels. (you can see our the brands that are voted to be the best tea for sleep here - https://thesleepstudies.com/best-tea-sleep/ )
Talk to your MD about sleep supplements like Melatonin, it might be an option for you but it has it's risks. People tend to take too much of it - you can see our guide on mush melatonin is too much and the response to questions like, "Can I overdose on melatonin?" in this guide - https://thesleepstudies.com/can-you-overdose-on-melatonin/
Sleep more – you need 7 hours sleep on a daily basis, so your sleep phases (especially REM) can make full circles.
Make a routine – try to go to bed at the same time each night and spend the same amount of hours sleeping. If you take naps may they be around the same period of the day. Try to make a schedule and stick to it.
Meditation – it is a proven, effective way of coping with the anxiety without medication. It helps you relax and be calm and in terms of couple of weeks you can see how you generally feel much better.
Keep a sleep journal – if you write about your nightmares you can look at them more objectively, often when we put our scary thoughts on a paper they tend to become less frightening. You can learn what are your sleeping patterns, notice when the sleep paralysis usually happens and maybe find out a new way to deal with it.
Sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming
If we know that the sleep paralysis is the transition between wakefulness and sleep can we do something to make that episode less tormenting or even pleasant? The answer is: possibly. But how? Maybe lucid dreams are the answer.
We don’t know the cause of sleep paralysis, but we do know what often triggers it. Some researchers think that the SP is just the falling off the usual sleep stages in the REM phase, and any lucid dreams or other strange experiences are triggered by hallucinations. Some think that it’s the path to reaching higher consciousness or out-of-body experience, it is related to spirituality and it serves to help us reach higher levels of existing. In that case it’s believed that sleep paralysis serves as a ladder to reach some sort of transcendental reality, and if you are experiencing it you are closer to achieving that than the most of the people. Of course, if you know how to do it.
If you are a believer or just want to try having a trippy experience here are some techniques for lucid dreaming:
Know the triggers – same as with trying to prevent SP, you have to know what provokes it to happen so you can induce it.
Be prepared – keep a journal next to your bed and every morning write everything you can remember about the dreams you had that night, especially details that where clear indicators that you were dreaming (unrealistic things like dragons).
Let go of fear – this one is tough, but you should start telling yourself that what you are experiencing is sleep paralysis and nothing scary is actually happening. After that you can try to shift into a dream. Close your eyes if they are not closed already, relax and just sink into the feeling. Then make a declaration of the thing you want to dream about, for example: “I want to swim in the pink ocean”. Imagine yourself doing that and if you are lucky the dream will start to form and become realistic. Don’t stop reminding yourself that you are dreaming. If you are having any trouble just go with the flow. Follow the feeling that you have, if you feel something is pulling you just let yourself go.
Don’t force it – if you feel the need to drift to sleep go for it. If you start panicking this will not work. You have to be conscious enough but relaxed.
Can sleep paralysis cause death?
Although a sleep paralysis is scary and you can experience some trouble breathing it cannot cause death directly. You just have a feeling of asphyxiation but in reality there is nobody choking you. Even a „sudden death syndrome“ has a medical explanation and it has nothing to do with sleep paralysis.
So, the answer is no, you can’t die from it, but you sure can feel like you are.
Sleep paralysis treatment options
We already said that there is no cure for sleep paralysis but there are things you can do to stop it or deal with it better. Adopting a regular sleeping pattern is probably the first and most important step, try to go to bed at approximately same time each night, avoid caffeine and try to relax as much as you can before going to bed. You can read more here.
If your attacks don’t stop there are ways that will help you going trough this experience. When the episode happens try to stay calm as possible and observe the situation objectively. Focus on controlling your breathing or moving a finger. Even trying to make a small noise can help ending the attack. Remember that it is just temporary, it’s something happening to a lot of people and it will soon pass.
Sleep paralysis in history
Although the symphtom is scientifically explained the experience itself is so special that it’s often linked to paranormal forces and spirituality. It has a place in a lot of nations folklore. Since ancient Mesopotamia we know the story about incubus, a female demon that torments people at night sitting on their chest, in Scandinavia they called her mara.
In British folklore it is known as old hag:
“This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs, That presses them and learns them first to bear, Making them women of good carriage.”
Queen Mab Speech, William Shakespeare
In Turkey people pray to Allah reading certain prayers from Qur’an to help them get rid of demons that are believed to cause sleep paralysis.
In south of US you can hear stories about „witch riding“
It is clear that in a lack of medical research people held demons responsible for this phenomenon, and you can’t really blame them for that.
All About Sleep Paralysis is available on https://www.thesleepstudies.com
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Multi-Channel Mastery: 5 Easy Ways to Squeeze More Profits from Your Facebook Ads
The majority of customers use multiple devices on their journey to purchase.
And they’re gonna take nearly a dozen ‘touches’, too.
Case in point: people who receive choreographed emails + ads are “22% more likely to purchase” than those that only receive one or the other.
That means the likelihood of one campaign, on one device, one time, generating a significant conversion, is slim to none. And getting worse.
So why stop there?
Facebook ads can generate interest. Also leads. Or you can use them to trigger marketing automation, SMS, webinars, and even direct mail to generate a steady-stream of new business.
Here’s how to do it.
1. Lead Ads
Facebook ads work best when you re-create a funnel.
Different ads are used to first generate interest, before following up with those people to generate leads, before later following up with leads to generate customers.
That means different campaigns on different devices at different times. That’s the key to creating a Facebook customer acquisition machine that consistently creates new demand for your products and services. (You’ve read that eBook, right?)
And when you begin setting that up, you’ll notice that different ad placements will work better at different times. For example, mobile is great for brand awareness + discovery because of (1) consumer behavior and (2) more inventory and (3) less competition.
That means people read and consume content on their devices. But don’t usually convert as highly.
Except… for one exception: Lead Ads.
Introduced a year+ ago, this little handy ad unit removes the biggest hurdle to conversions on mobile devices (having to click through to a landing page and type your personal data into tiny form fields with your big thumbs).
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Six+ months ago, AdEspresso threw their money in the air like they just don’t care, testing the performance of lead ads vs. landing pages.
The results? Lead ads outperformed landing pages for driving mobile conversions.
Which is great! ‘Cause mobile internet usage already eclipses desktop (and showing no signs of slowing down).
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So one down, four more to go. Simply use Lead Ads for mobile to generate leads from an already-curated custom audience.
Only one problem…
Facebook collects user data in their Lead Ads so people don’t have to manually submit their emails, etc. But all that data’s still locked up tight inside Facebook. Not much good it’s gonna do in there alone.
You could manually download a .CSV file and upload it to your CRM. But c’mon. Don’t you have, like, hobbies? A family? A friendly bartender at least? Much better things to do.
(If not, there’s always unpaid interns – right?)
Fortunately, Facebook already integrates with MailChimp. So you can seamlessly pass subscriber data over without getting your hands dirty. (Presumably, more are on the way.)
Otherwise, you’ve got two other alternatives.
The first is Zapier. An awesome little tool that helps you ‘hack’ marketing automation features that would normally cost a bundle.
The second is a marketing automation tool that costs a bundle. But worth it in most cases.
For example, AdEspresso’s Data Sync feature will connect your ad campaigns to powerful programs like HubSpot or Infusionsoft.
And that’s where things get interesting.
2. Marketing Automation
We’ve already given up the punchline.
Consumers bounce around from channel to channel and device to device on their long journey to becoming a customer.
So let’s be frank: no way you’re gonna do that manually.
You can try, sure. But once again, see: a life.
IF you wanna generate results, you gotta ditch one-off campaigns in favor of personalized segmentation. The only way that’s gonna happen is with some fancy MarTech tool.
The good news, again, is that you don’t have to blow your budget.
Facebook already integrates with MailChimp natively. And their ‘automation recipes’ have improved significantly in the past year+.
So new leads generated courtesy of your Lead Ad can now enter seamlessly into an automation workflow that delivers what was promised and begins the nurturing process.
For example, the initial lead offer could be a time-tested eBook. But anything would do, including a checklist, free guide, whitepaper, free course, or webinar (which we’ll come back to later).
People opt-in from their mobile device on Facebook and automatically start receiving your pre-set emails that deliver twofold:
Educating new leads on how to solve their problem (with your stuff).
While also building trust with these new leads at scale.
Of course, you can also kick things up a notch (BAM! – Emril style) with a more sophisticated setup like HubSpot that allows for IF/THEN branching technology and a slew of other premium features.
For example, people will go through this initial sequence and may not convert. No problem. Let’s see if we can re-engage them by targeting the pain point they’re dealing with.
Now. Do any of these people click a specific link? Maybe a link mentioning your product or service? That signals at least some interest or intent. So why not pull them out and add them to a brand new list with follow-ups that go straight to the point.
The point is that you’re starting to build a scalable system that’s constantly following up with people depending on where they’re personally at in time. In different channels and mediums that already mimic their own behavior.
(So you can and should, for example, also keep retargeting these people on Facebook by creating a brand new custom audience with your lead list. Which means they’re now seeing next-level ads on FB that are tied to email messaging they’re also receiving.)
But of course, we’re just scratching the surface. Because marketing automation doesn’t just stop at email marketing.
3. SMS
Sometimes, ‘boring’ niches are also the most interesting.
The competition level is often so high that there’s no room for errors. You don’t have the time or money to waste on Facebook bots if they aren’t gonna deliver results ASAP.
Which is why this next example caught me by surprise.
You see, tax relief is one of these aggressive niches. There are a few savvy competitors all going after the same, small pool of poor saps with crushing tax bills.
That means tax relief companies go straight for the jugular when they smell blood. (Jaws would be proud.) The quickest way to learn what works, is to simply go research exactly what some of the biggest companies are already doing in that space.
So here’s how it went down.
The Facebook ad offered “free tax tips”. Or similar. Doesn’t really matter to be honest.
You opt-in, and instead of seeing your email inbox blow up with a carefully crafted automation sequence, your phone dings.
Curious, you glance over and see the following SMS begin to pour in.
Look at that!
SMS marketing automation in action. The first message is literally just a teaser. It hints that you’re about to receive a phone call. It preps you to respond. (Pavlov would be proud.)
This company wastes no time beating around the bush. They go straight for the phone call ‘cause those convert at 30-50%. But that’s not all.
When you don’t answer (because seriously, who in their right mind wants to sit on the phone with an aggressive tax relief person for only research-sake), you get another message a few minutes later.
Classic IF/Then being played out on your mobile device. ‘Cause SMS opens are as high as 99%. You can’t help but look!
Few ways to do this.
Autopilot can make it happen. So too can TextMagic or BurstSMS with a little help from Zapier.
Once again though, don’t stop there.
Let’s stick with tax relief for a second.
Person opts-in to the initial offer. Next step is to get them on the phone to review tax options. They resist. That means they don’t take the ‘next step’ in your funnel to view options, pricing, etc.
Cue: custom audiences. These people viewed one URL (the initial Thank You confirmation page) but haven’t taken the next step, so SMS messaging (is that redundant?) can be tied back to retargeting Facebook ads yet again. In other words, you can literally see who visits the landing page, but fails to visit the Thank You confirmation page, and then send a text message to prompt them along.
4. Webinars
There’s a reason most B2B marketers use webinars: scale.
Only one problem with them: math.
To generate XX buyers at $YY customer value, you need A LOT of people registering for your webinar. For example, a measly $1,500 takes a lot of work.
Here’s how it breaks down:
Three customers paying $500 LTV.
At a 3-4% purchase rate.
Requires 50 people to attend.
But only around 40-50% of registrants will actually attend.
So you need like ~80-100 to sign up.
Average webinar registration rates are around ~50%.
That means you’re gonna need at least ~200+ peeps to visit the page in the first place.
And that’s why Facebook ads are a perfect fit. Look no further than this textbook example from the GMAT Club:
Perfect. Now, how do you remove as much friction as possible? How do you get people from A -> B with the least amount of work that might screw up your numbers?
Once again, pass data automatically. For example, setup an integration between Facebook Lead Ads + GoToWebinar.
You can also have this data passed first to your CRM or marketing automation software and then register them for the webinar, too.
+1 for sending SMS webinar reminders, too.
Because as we’ve learned so far, multiplying channels = increasing odds of success.
But we ain’t done yet. Time to go old school first.
5. Direct Mail
The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs says that channel results decline over time.
It’s natural. Inevitable even. More and more competition generally reduces effectiveness. That whole supply vs. demand thing.
We can sit here and complain about trillions of emails being sent. Or we can do something about it.
We can improve segmentation. Message match and timing. Personalization that extends to ads in other channels like Facebook, SMS, and webinars.
But let’s not hesitate to dust off old, forgotten stuff either.
Direct mail, incredibly, still works. One company used an account-based marketing approach to target $30 million+ companies and saw a 25% response rate from direct mail.
Lob is one of my favorite examples in this case, because you can connect and send through an API. Which means… yes, you can automatically send stuff to new Facebook leads.
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Picture this:
You run ads to new people who might be attending a conference. And/or you retarget existing contacts who might be running to the conference. When you confirm their interest and attendance, you physically mail an offer to them that will compel them to visit your booth.
Like sending an empty iPad box with a note to come pick theirs up in-person.
That’s what Matt Heinz did, retelling the story to Topo, “We sent two-day packages to executives in advance of a big conference. The package was an empty iPad box. We wrote in the direct mail to come by our booth to pick up the iPad. Most executives came by just to compliment us. It worked.”
Part of this strategy’s appeal, they point out, is that executives are notoriously difficult to reach. They don’t have time to sit on webinars and you’re not likely to find them downloading whitepapers, either. So took an unexpected approach to get results.
Conclusion
One-off campaigns are dead.
They’re just a piece of the puzzle. A beginning to a long journey.
The trick is stringing together multiple campaigns that already mimic how your customers are already behaving.
That means you gotta show up all over. If the effectiveness of a single channel is in decline, you can sidestep it by roping in multiple channels.
Facebook’s peerless retargeting (courtesy of custom audiences) means you can use it at nearly every step of your marketing and sales funnel. You can use it to trigger new leads, follow up with prospects, and line up sales appointments.
But only if you’re showing up in multiple channels on multiple devices. Just like your customers.
About the Author: Brad Smith is a marketing writer, agency partner, and creator of Copy Weekly, a free weekly copywriting newsletter for marketers & founders.
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Multi-Channel Mastery: 5 Easy Ways to Squeeze More Profits from Your Facebook Ads
The majority of customers use multiple devices on their journey to purchase.
And they’re gonna take nearly a dozen ‘touches’, too.
Case in point: people who receive choreographed emails + ads are “22% more likely to purchase” than those that only receive one or the other.
That means the likelihood of one campaign, on one device, one time, generating a significant conversion, is slim to none. And getting worse.
So why stop there?
Facebook ads can generate interest. Also leads. Or you can use them to trigger marketing automation, SMS, webinars, and even direct mail to generate a steady-stream of new business.
Here’s how to do it.
1. Lead Ads
Facebook ads work best when you re-create a funnel.
Different ads are used to first generate interest, before following up with those people to generate leads, before later following up with leads to generate customers.
That means different campaigns on different devices at different times. That’s the key to creating a Facebook customer acquisition machine that consistently creates new demand for your products and services. (You’ve read that eBook, right?)
And when you begin setting that up, you’ll notice that different ad placements will work better at different times. For example, mobile is great for brand awareness + discovery because of (1) consumer behavior and (2) more inventory and (3) less competition.
That means people read and consume content on their devices. But don’t usually convert as highly.
Except… for one exception: Lead Ads.
Introduced a year+ ago, this little handy ad unit removes the biggest hurdle to conversions on mobile devices (having to click through to a landing page and type your personal data into tiny form fields with your big thumbs).
Image Source
Six+ months ago, AdEspresso threw their money in the air like they just don’t care, testing the performance of lead ads vs. landing pages.
The results? Lead ads outperformed landing pages for driving mobile conversions.
Which is great! ‘Cause mobile internet usage already eclipses desktop (and showing no signs of slowing down).
Image Source
So one down, four more to go. Simply use Lead Ads for mobile to generate leads from an already-curated custom audience.
Only one problem…
Facebook collects user data in their Lead Ads so people don’t have to manually submit their emails, etc. But all that data’s still locked up tight inside Facebook. Not much good it’s gonna do in there alone.
You could manually download a .CSV file and upload it to your CRM. But c’mon. Don’t you have, like, hobbies? A family? A friendly bartender at least? Much better things to do.
(If not, there’s always unpaid interns – right?)
Fortunately, Facebook already integrates with MailChimp. So you can seamlessly pass subscriber data over without getting your hands dirty. (Presumably, more are on the way.)
Otherwise, you’ve got two other alternatives.
The first is Zapier. An awesome little tool that helps you ‘hack’ marketing automation features that would normally cost a bundle.
The second is a marketing automation tool that costs a bundle. But worth it in most cases.
For example, AdEspresso’s Data Sync feature will connect your ad campaigns to powerful programs like HubSpot or Infusionsoft.
And that’s where things get interesting.
2. Marketing Automation
We’ve already given up the punchline.
Consumers bounce around from channel to channel and device to device on their long journey to becoming a customer.
So let’s be frank: no way you’re gonna do that manually.
You can try, sure. But once again, see: a life.
IF you wanna generate results, you gotta ditch one-off campaigns in favor of personalized segmentation. The only way that’s gonna happen is with some fancy MarTech tool.
The good news, again, is that you don’t have to blow your budget.
Facebook already integrates with MailChimp natively. And their ‘automation recipes’ have improved significantly in the past year+.
So new leads generated courtesy of your Lead Ad can now enter seamlessly into an automation workflow that delivers what was promised and begins the nurturing process.
For example, the initial lead offer could be a time-tested eBook. But anything would do, including a checklist, free guide, whitepaper, free course, or webinar (which we’ll come back to later).
People opt-in from their mobile device on Facebook and automatically start receiving your pre-set emails that deliver twofold:
Educating new leads on how to solve their problem (with your stuff).
While also building trust with these new leads at scale.
Of course, you can also kick things up a notch (BAM! – Emril style) with a more sophisticated setup like HubSpot that allows for IF/THEN branching technology and a slew of other premium features.
For example, people will go through this initial sequence and may not convert. No problem. Let’s see if we can re-engage them by targeting the pain point they’re dealing with.
Now. Do any of these people click a specific link? Maybe a link mentioning your product or service? That signals at least some interest or intent. So why not pull them out and add them to a brand new list with follow-ups that go straight to the point.
The point is that you’re starting to build a scalable system that’s constantly following up with people depending on where they’re personally at in time. In different channels and mediums that already mimic their own behavior.
(So you can and should, for example, also keep retargeting these people on Facebook by creating a brand new custom audience with your lead list. Which means they’re now seeing next-level ads on FB that are tied to email messaging they’re also receiving.)
But of course, we’re just scratching the surface. Because marketing automation doesn’t just stop at email marketing.
3. SMS
Sometimes, ‘boring’ niches are also the most interesting.
The competition level is often so high that there’s no room for errors. You don’t have the time or money to waste on Facebook bots if they aren’t gonna deliver results ASAP.
Which is why this next example caught me by surprise.
You see, tax relief is one of these aggressive niches. There are a few savvy competitors all going after the same, small pool of poor saps with crushing tax bills.
That means tax relief companies go straight for the jugular when they smell blood. (Jaws would be proud.) The quickest way to learn what works, is to simply go research exactly what some of the biggest companies are already doing in that space.
So here’s how it went down.
The Facebook ad offered “free tax tips”. Or similar. Doesn’t really matter to be honest.
You opt-in, and instead of seeing your email inbox blow up with a carefully crafted automation sequence, your phone dings.
Curious, you glance over and see the following SMS begin to pour in.
Look at that!
SMS marketing automation in action. The first message is literally just a teaser. It hints that you’re about to receive a phone call. It preps you to respond. (Pavlov would be proud.)
This company wastes no time beating around the bush. They go straight for the phone call ‘cause those convert at 30-50%. But that’s not all.
When you don’t answer (because seriously, who in their right mind wants to sit on the phone with an aggressive tax relief person for only research-sake), you get another message a few minutes later.
Classic IF/Then being played out on your mobile device. ‘Cause SMS opens are as high as 99%. You can’t help but look!
Few ways to do this.
Autopilot can make it happen. So too can TextMagic or BurstSMS with a little help from Zapier.
Once again though, don’t stop there.
Let’s stick with tax relief for a second.
Person opts-in to the initial offer. Next step is to get them on the phone to review tax options. They resist. That means they don’t take the ‘next step’ in your funnel to view options, pricing, etc.
Cue: custom audiences. These people viewed one URL (the initial Thank You confirmation page) but haven’t taken the next step, so SMS messaging (is that redundant?) can be tied back to retargeting Facebook ads yet again. In other words, you can literally see who visits the landing page, but fails to visit the Thank You confirmation page, and then send a text message to prompt them along.
4. Webinars
There’s a reason most B2B marketers use webinars: scale.
Only one problem with them: math.
To generate XX buyers at $YY customer value, you need A LOT of people registering for your webinar. For example, a measly $1,500 takes a lot of work.
Here’s how it breaks down:
Three customers paying $500 LTV.
At a 3-4% purchase rate.
Requires 50 people to attend.
But only around 40-50% of registrants will actually attend.
So you need like ~80-100 to sign up.
Average webinar registration rates are around ~50%.
That means you’re gonna need at least ~200+ peeps to visit the page in the first place.
And that’s why Facebook ads are a perfect fit. Look no further than this textbook example from the GMAT Club:
Perfect. Now, how do you remove as much friction as possible? How do you get people from A -> B with the least amount of work that might screw up your numbers?
Once again, pass data automatically. For example, setup an integration between Facebook Lead Ads + GoToWebinar.
You can also have this data passed first to your CRM or marketing automation software and then register them for the webinar, too.
+1 for sending SMS webinar reminders, too.
Because as we’ve learned so far, multiplying channels = increasing odds of success.
But we ain’t done yet. Time to go old school first.
5. Direct Mail
The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs says that channel results decline over time.
It’s natural. Inevitable even. More and more competition generally reduces effectiveness. That whole supply vs. demand thing.
We can sit here and complain about trillions of emails being sent. Or we can do something about it.
We can improve segmentation. Message match and timing. Personalization that extends to ads in other channels like Facebook, SMS, and webinars.
But let’s not hesitate to dust off old, forgotten stuff either.
Direct mail, incredibly, still works. One company used an account-based marketing approach to target $30 million+ companies and saw a 25% response rate from direct mail.
Lob is one of my favorite examples in this case, because you can connect and send through an API. Which means… yes, you can automatically send stuff to new Facebook leads.
Image Source
Picture this:
You run ads to new people who might be attending a conference. And/or you retarget existing contacts who might be running to the conference. When you confirm their interest and attendance, you physically mail an offer to them that will compel them to visit your booth.
Like sending an empty iPad box with a note to come pick theirs up in-person.
That’s what Matt Heinz did, retelling the story to Topo, “We sent two-day packages to executives in advance of a big conference. The package was an empty iPad box. We wrote in the direct mail to come by our booth to pick up the iPad. Most executives came by just to compliment us. It worked.”
Part of this strategy’s appeal, they point out, is that executives are notoriously difficult to reach. They don’t have time to sit on webinars and you’re not likely to find them downloading whitepapers, either. So took an unexpected approach to get results.
Conclusion
One-off campaigns are dead.
They’re just a piece of the puzzle. A beginning to a long journey.
The trick is stringing together multiple campaigns that already mimic how your customers are already behaving.
That means you gotta show up all over. If the effectiveness of a single channel is in decline, you can sidestep it by roping in multiple channels.
Facebook’s peerless retargeting (courtesy of custom audiences) means you can use it at nearly every step of your marketing and sales funnel. You can use it to trigger new leads, follow up with prospects, and line up sales appointments.
But only if you’re showing up in multiple channels on multiple devices. Just like your customers.
About the Author: Brad Smith is a marketing writer, agency partner, and creator of Copy Weekly, a free weekly copywriting newsletter for marketers & founders.
0 notes
Text
Multi-Channel Mastery: 5 Easy Ways to Squeeze More Profits from Your Facebook Ads
The majority of customers use multiple devices on their journey to purchase.
And they’re gonna take nearly a dozen ‘touches’, too.
Case in point: people who receive choreographed emails + ads are “22% more likely to purchase” than those that only receive one or the other.
That means the likelihood of one campaign, on one device, one time, generating a significant conversion, is slim to none. And getting worse.
So why stop there?
Facebook ads can generate interest. Also leads. Or you can use them to trigger marketing automation, SMS, webinars, and even direct mail to generate a steady-stream of new business.
Here’s how to do it.
1. Lead Ads
Facebook ads work best when you re-create a funnel.
Different ads are used to first generate interest, before following up with those people to generate leads, before later following up with leads to generate customers.
That means different campaigns on different devices at different times. That’s the key to creating a Facebook customer acquisition machine that consistently creates new demand for your products and services. (You’ve read that eBook, right?)
And when you begin setting that up, you’ll notice that different ad placements will work better at different times. For example, mobile is great for brand awareness + discovery because of (1) consumer behavior and (2) more inventory and (3) less competition.
That means people read and consume content on their devices. But don’t usually convert as highly.
Except… for one exception: Lead Ads.
Introduced a year+ ago, this little handy ad unit removes the biggest hurdle to conversions on mobile devices (having to click through to a landing page and type your personal data into tiny form fields with your big thumbs).
Image Source
Six+ months ago, AdEspresso threw their money in the air like they just don’t care, testing the performance of lead ads vs. landing pages.
The results? Lead ads outperformed landing pages for driving mobile conversions.
Which is great! ‘Cause mobile internet usage already eclipses desktop (and showing no signs of slowing down).
Image Source
So one down, four more to go. Simply use Lead Ads for mobile to generate leads from an already-curated custom audience.
Only one problem…
Facebook collects user data in their Lead Ads so people don’t have to manually submit their emails, etc. But all that data’s still locked up tight inside Facebook. Not much good it’s gonna do in there alone.
You could manually download a .CSV file and upload it to your CRM. But c’mon. Don’t you have, like, hobbies? A family? A friendly bartender at least? Much better things to do.
(If not, there’s always unpaid interns – right?)
Fortunately, Facebook already integrates with MailChimp. So you can seamlessly pass subscriber data over without getting your hands dirty. (Presumably, more are on the way.)
Otherwise, you’ve got two other alternatives.
The first is Zapier. An awesome little tool that helps you ‘hack’ marketing automation features that would normally cost a bundle.
The second is a marketing automation tool that costs a bundle. But worth it in most cases.
For example, AdEspresso’s Data Sync feature will connect your ad campaigns to powerful programs like HubSpot or Infusionsoft.
And that’s where things get interesting.
2. Marketing Automation
We’ve already given up the punchline.
Consumers bounce around from channel to channel and device to device on their long journey to becoming a customer.
So let’s be frank: no way you’re gonna do that manually.
You can try, sure. But once again, see: a life.
IF you wanna generate results, you gotta ditch one-off campaigns in favor of personalized segmentation. The only way that’s gonna happen is with some fancy MarTech tool.
The good news, again, is that you don’t have to blow your budget.
Facebook already integrates with MailChimp natively. And their ‘automation recipes’ have improved significantly in the past year+.
So new leads generated courtesy of your Lead Ad can now enter seamlessly into an automation workflow that delivers what was promised and begins the nurturing process.
For example, the initial lead offer could be a time-tested eBook. But anything would do, including a checklist, free guide, whitepaper, free course, or webinar (which we’ll come back to later).
People opt-in from their mobile device on Facebook and automatically start receiving your pre-set emails that deliver twofold:
Educating new leads on how to solve their problem (with your stuff).
While also building trust with these new leads at scale.
Of course, you can also kick things up a notch (BAM! – Emril style) with a more sophisticated setup like HubSpot that allows for IF/THEN branching technology and a slew of other premium features.
For example, people will go through this initial sequence and may not convert. No problem. Let’s see if we can re-engage them by targeting the pain point they’re dealing with.
Now. Do any of these people click a specific link? Maybe a link mentioning your product or service? That signals at least some interest or intent. So why not pull them out and add them to a brand new list with follow-ups that go straight to the point.
The point is that you’re starting to build a scalable system that’s constantly following up with people depending on where they’re personally at in time. In different channels and mediums that already mimic their own behavior.
(So you can and should, for example, also keep retargeting these people on Facebook by creating a brand new custom audience with your lead list. Which means they’re now seeing next-level ads on FB that are tied to email messaging they’re also receiving.)
But of course, we’re just scratching the surface. Because marketing automation doesn’t just stop at email marketing.
3. SMS
Sometimes, ‘boring’ niches are also the most interesting.
The competition level is often so high that there’s no room for errors. You don’t have the time or money to waste on Facebook bots if they aren’t gonna deliver results ASAP.
Which is why this next example caught me by surprise.
You see, tax relief is one of these aggressive niches. There are a few savvy competitors all going after the same, small pool of poor saps with crushing tax bills.
That means tax relief companies go straight for the jugular when they smell blood. (Jaws would be proud.) The quickest way to learn what works, is to simply go research exactly what some of the biggest companies are already doing in that space.
So here’s how it went down.
The Facebook ad offered “free tax tips”. Or similar. Doesn’t really matter to be honest.
You opt-in, and instead of seeing your email inbox blow up with a carefully crafted automation sequence, your phone dings.
Curious, you glance over and see the following SMS begin to pour in.
Look at that!
SMS marketing automation in action. The first message is literally just a teaser. It hints that you’re about to receive a phone call. It preps you to respond. (Pavlov would be proud.)
This company wastes no time beating around the bush. They go straight for the phone call ‘cause those convert at 30-50%. But that’s not all.
When you don’t answer (because seriously, who in their right mind wants to sit on the phone with an aggressive tax relief person for only research-sake), you get another message a few minutes later.
Classic IF/Then being played out on your mobile device. ‘Cause SMS opens are as high as 99%. You can’t help but look!
Few ways to do this.
Autopilot can make it happen. So too can TextMagic or BurstSMS with a little help from Zapier.
Once again though, don’t stop there.
Let’s stick with tax relief for a second.
Person opts-in to the initial offer. Next step is to get them on the phone to review tax options. They resist. That means they don’t take the ‘next step’ in your funnel to view options, pricing, etc.
Cue: custom audiences. These people viewed one URL (the initial Thank You confirmation page) but haven’t taken the next step, so SMS messaging (is that redundant?) can be tied back to retargeting Facebook ads yet again. In other words, you can literally see who visits the landing page, but fails to visit the Thank You confirmation page, and then send a text message to prompt them along.
4. Webinars
There’s a reason most B2B marketers use webinars: scale.
Only one problem with them: math.
To generate XX buyers at $YY customer value, you need A LOT of people registering for your webinar. For example, a measly $1,500 takes a lot of work.
Here’s how it breaks down:
Three customers paying $500 LTV.
At a 3-4% purchase rate.
Requires 50 people to attend.
But only around 40-50% of registrants will actually attend.
So you need like ~80-100 to sign up.
Average webinar registration rates are around ~50%.
That means you’re gonna need at least ~200+ peeps to visit the page in the first place.
And that’s why Facebook ads are a perfect fit. Look no further than this textbook example from the GMAT Club:
Perfect. Now, how do you remove as much friction as possible? How do you get people from A -> B with the least amount of work that might screw up your numbers?
Once again, pass data automatically. For example, setup an integration between Facebook Lead Ads + GoToWebinar.
You can also have this data passed first to your CRM or marketing automation software and then register them for the webinar, too.
+1 for sending SMS webinar reminders, too.
Because as we’ve learned so far, multiplying channels = increasing odds of success.
But we ain’t done yet. Time to go old school first.
5. Direct Mail
The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs says that channel results decline over time.
It’s natural. Inevitable even. More and more competition generally reduces effectiveness. That whole supply vs. demand thing.
We can sit here and complain about trillions of emails being sent. Or we can do something about it.
We can improve segmentation. Message match and timing. Personalization that extends to ads in other channels like Facebook, SMS, and webinars.
But let’s not hesitate to dust off old, forgotten stuff either.
Direct mail, incredibly, still works. One company used an account-based marketing approach to target $30 million+ companies and saw a 25% response rate from direct mail.
Lob is one of my favorite examples in this case, because you can connect and send through an API. Which means… yes, you can automatically send stuff to new Facebook leads.
Image Source
Picture this:
You run ads to new people who might be attending a conference. And/or you retarget existing contacts who might be running to the conference. When you confirm their interest and attendance, you physically mail an offer to them that will compel them to visit your booth.
Like sending an empty iPad box with a note to come pick theirs up in-person.
That’s what Matt Heinz did, retelling the story to Topo, “We sent two-day packages to executives in advance of a big conference. The package was an empty iPad box. We wrote in the direct mail to come by our booth to pick up the iPad. Most executives came by just to compliment us. It worked.”
Part of this strategy’s appeal, they point out, is that executives are notoriously difficult to reach. They don’t have time to sit on webinars and you’re not likely to find them downloading whitepapers, either. So took an unexpected approach to get results.
Conclusion
One-off campaigns are dead.
They’re just a piece of the puzzle. A beginning to a long journey.
The trick is stringing together multiple campaigns that already mimic how your customers are already behaving.
That means you gotta show up all over. If the effectiveness of a single channel is in decline, you can sidestep it by roping in multiple channels.
Facebook’s peerless retargeting (courtesy of custom audiences) means you can use it at nearly every step of your marketing and sales funnel. You can use it to trigger new leads, follow up with prospects, and line up sales appointments.
But only if you’re showing up in multiple channels on multiple devices. Just like your customers.
About the Author: Brad Smith is a marketing writer, agency partner, and creator of Copy Weekly, a free weekly copywriting newsletter for marketers & founders.
Multi-Channel Mastery: 5 Easy Ways to Squeeze More Profits from Your Facebook Ads
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