The Gift of Glee

While reading a book of fiction recently, I came across what struck me as an intriguing phrase.  The main character was referencing the sheer joy he experienced while out on a boat in the ocean.  The wind on his face, the scent of salt brine in his nose, the feel of cool water splashing on his arms and the warm feeling brought on by good company and a day without demands.  The character said that in giving him this afternoon charter, in essence his wife gave him the gift of glee.

As an adult with responsibilities and demands, I can relate the sheer perfection offered by that fleeting moment in time.  There’s too much to do, too many places to run, too many things to coordinate or check off a pressing list only to watch two brand-new things take its place before the flicker of satisfaction can travel to my mouth to trigger a smile.  Reality can well and truly bite.

Build a joyful brand

But maybe this is where some brands have the unique opportunity to capitalize on the realities of life and work.  Where relevance and differentiation deliver some emotional fulfillment.  This could be where simple, clever time-savers could help frazzled over-achievers get a little bump.

Case in point:  Just last week I ready someone’s tweet (sorry! giant hat tip to someone!) about Appsumo.  Wow, was I interested by their bundled deal of MailChimp, FreshBooks, Moo, BatchBook and Formstack.  For $55, new subscribers get a year of good stuff from these guys.  Plus, 50% of all proceeds go to the National Wildlife Federation which plans to direct the funds to the clean-up efforts in the Gulf (my home turf). I am so there.

AppSumo has pulled together services I need plus introduced me to a couple I’d like to check out, all for one low price.  And I get the added win of helping a cause near to my heart.  Grabbing the deal is uncomplicated, and I’m tickled to have stumbled over the opportunity to do some of the back-end things I need to do for the business without a lot of financial commitment.  While not exactly a free, all-expenses-paid  trip to Greece, overall I’d call this a win.

AppSumo gets that people need help.  That they need help with their small business and with their blog.  The tech geeks like poking around in new stuff and everybody likes keeping some jing in their pocket.  Appsumo gets that easy=good.

Okay, at $55 that’s not exactly a gift.  I’m oversimplifying a bit to serve my point.  But this is a greatly-reduced, bundled-up deal that made me pretty happy.  You can bet I’m signing up for their newsletter and following them around the webs.  AppSumo is a brand that’s doing something different, giving me stuff that’s useful and making me feel good about it at the same time.

What brand has recently given you the gift of glee?

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