We’re organising another workshop? Yaaay, people are going to love it.
Wishful thinking of marketers, amirite?
But that wasn’t the case with Kushaan Shah1. Ask him about his fascination with mental models and human behaviour and he’ll tell you all about a psychology workshop that he did end up falling in love with as a marketer, several years ago.
It makes sense because marketing, when stripped away from all of its fancy evening clothes, is simply the art of understanding people. And irrespective of how many people tell you we’re all rational beings, we couldn’t be any farther from it.
That’s precisely the message Kushaan’s newsletter2—The Marketing Mind Meld—tries to drive home. The about section of the newsletter reads Musings on marketing and human behaviour that will blow your mind 🤯. Read one edition and you’ll know this is not yet another snake oil marketer making tall claims but is someone who knows the depth of what he’s saying.
While we’re at it, here’s an incredible Twitter thread on psychology by Brendan Hufford that you can easily apply to marketing (and life):
If all of this blew your mind, you should check out the conversation with Kushaan! Hit that play button below to dig in.
This is episode #7 on The Newsletter Nerd Show.
Even before I launched The Newsletter Nerd Show, I’ve witnessed reading sessions innumerable times. They’ve all been an experience for sure, but NEVER have I been a part of an experience like this one.
Kushaan did an ASMR reading about ASMR3 and if this isn’t meta enough to persuade you to check out the reading, I don’t know what will.
Time Stamp: Head to 24:44 in the podcast for the reading
Just like a great dessert completes a great meal, this segment of Have You Ever completes the amazing conversation I have with the guests in every episode. The rules here are pretty straightforward - I ask a couple questions related to newsletters that the guests answer with a yes or no.
If the answer is yes, the llama you see alongside every question below will turn green. And if the answer is no, it turns red. Off you go to relish it then:
Time Stamp: Head to 29:13 to check out this segment
With that, it’s a wrap for this episode! I hope you enjoyed the conversation as much as I did :) Don’t forget to check out Kushaan’s newsletter and also say hi to him.
Resources mentioned in the conversation:
Irrational Labs
Influence by Robert Cialdini
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
Alchemy by Rory Sutherland
Your Social Media Detox newsletter by Nicole Tabak
The next episode on The Newsletter Nerd Show is very close to my heart and I cannot wait for you to check it out!!!!
Until next time,
Akshaya
https://twitter.com/kushaanshah
https://mindmeld.substack.com/
Could ASMR be a brand’s secret weapon? : https://mindmeld.substack.com/p/20-could-asmr-be-a-brands-secret