Spring is definitely in the air, and great reads are on our laptops! (And phones, and tablets, and desktops – you know how it goes.)
We’ve again gathered five stellar articles from across the web for you to peruse when you’re not picking daisies or picking out what to barbecue.
These particular reads are perfect for whenever you need an inspiration break, or you’re looking for some cool new ideas to make your work/life balance a little sweeter!
Without further ado, here’s what Team Edgar’s been reading this week.
1) Announcing Free Marketing Automation for Everyone – MailChimp
MailChimp just changed the game for small business online marketing. If you use MailChimp – and heck, we totally do – this change means that all those awesome and gated MailChimp marketing automation features? Totally free. For everyone. Seriously.
If you know Edgar, you know we’re all about automating where and when you can to make life easier (it’s kinda why we do what we do). So if you’re a MailChimp user, you’ve got to peep this post to see how you can take advantage of this amazingly generous upgrade.
2) Successful products are either loved or needed. How about both? – Mike Chan
A quick yet worthwhile read: “The magic happens when your product is needed and loved,” says Mike Chan, host of the Go and Grow Podcast. Mike offers several prompts to get readers to think about how to make your product, service, or brand both needed and loved. The best part? You don’t have to be a Silicon Valley tech startup to benefit from his universally awesome business advice.
3) Prioritizing these three things will improve your life — and maybe even save it – Colby Itkowitz
Last week’s TED2017 conference featured dozens of the kind of thought-provoking and inspirational presentations we’ve all come to expect from TED Talks. WaPo journalist Colby Itkowitz has written up a summary of one of the conference’s most important themes for small business owners and, well, just about everyone: how to wrestle back your life from ever-present tech.

https://www.freshbooks.com/blog/goal-setting-andy-j-miller
4) Andy J. Miller: The Secret to Powerful Goal Setting – FreshBooks
Need some fresh inspiration that’s more than the usual “do what you love” fluff? This pep talk from the FreshBooks blog gives readers the tools to fight the number one enemy of focus – apathy – via its mortal enemy: goal-setting. And not just any goal-setting – “the type of goal setting that gets you out of bed in the morning and keeps you motivated…for the entire year.”

https://blog.intercom.com/why-were-dropping-the-term-content-marketing/
5) Why We’re Dropping the Term “Content Marketing” – Intercom
No, the awesome team at Intercom isn’t suggesting you stop creating content! But if you’ve been feeling like you lost “content” somewhere among all the “marketing” you’re trying to accomplish, this post is for you.
Intercom posits that applying editorial principles to your content for a “content, then marketing” approach is how to make your content more effective. Why? Because it shows that you’re thinking of your customers’ needs and wants first, rather than simply marketing to them. (And your customers know the difference.)
BONUS! Want to help find cures for diseases like breast cancer or Parkinson’s by simply turning on your computer? Join Folding@home!
A project of Stanford University, Folding@home helps researchers who are solving serious diseases – like breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and many more – by putting your computer or mobile device to work. Solving those devastating health problems require so many computer calculations that researchers must harness the computing power of hundreds of thousands of devices like yours. So easy! So impactful! You can learn more about it right here!
The post Edgar’s Fave Five: What We’re Reading This Week (May 1-5) appeared first on MeetEdgar.