I typically enjoy taking surveys coming from people I follow or subscribe to.

Mostly because I’m a nerd for research though.

But think about it… this person you are following (meaning they were able to captivate your attention somehow) are strategizing – and you get the chance to learn directly from them!

Call it uninvited learning.

Anyway, I recently learned what NOT to do in my surveys, from none other than a self help guru.

Mark Manson.

You might know him as the author of “The art of not giving a fuck” or for having co-written Will Smith’s autobiography.

Turns out he recently sent a survey to gather feedback from his newsletter subscribers.

The premise? “It would really help me to continue creating the right kind of BS-free content that you and I love.”

Only problem is that when I actually headed for the survey, the questions were:

• What is your age?
• What is your current employment status?
• What is your annual household income?
• Please specify your ethnicity
• What gender do you identify as?
• Where is your home located?
• What is the highest degree or level of education you have completed?
• Are you married?

You can still see it here if you’re interested.

Now Mark, how in hell do these help you create the right type of content?

Maybe they can help you run targeted ads…

Or figure out your analytics and segment your audience…

But helping with your content? I don’t buy it.

And so probably a ton of other people. It just feels like “marketing”. It’s impersonal and disconnected from Mark’s brand – which is all about no BS.

I would have expected questions on what challenges I’m facing, what I love to learn about, how I’m dealing with life etc…

But not this (and I’m not pretending I know Mark and his team’s goals here, I’m sure they have a plan…).

The lesson here?

Be careful when you ask for feedback, because the how and why you do it is also branding.

And your audience will feel it.

P.S. Speaking of branding, you can eavesdrop how I build mine in my recent mastermind call with m buddy Josh on Youtube.

Quote and reflection of the day:

“In this process there is a balanced flow between acting, observing, thinking and acting again. Boldness requires this balance, or it can quickly look like foolishness.”

– Mark Divine, Unbeatable Mind

Being bold is not only about action. It’s preparedness, it’s deliberately and methodically approaching any situation with the confidence that you have what it takes or that you will figure it out.