Today I was reminded how much I hate email!
Not what you expect a daily email fanatic to say, right?
Let me just pop in a little context…
Here’s the story:
I just picked up a new email client through Upwork (feelin’ good about that 😄).
Now, there’s a messaging system for communicating in Upwork. It’s pretty crude and annoying at times. But for simple jobs, it can be fine.
But we didn’t end up using it for this job… despite my pointing in its direction. And saying ultra-subtle things like: “When we talk using Upwork messages…”.
No, no, no…
This client… who, by the way, is a great guy and we get on well…
But he seems to have:
A love affair with doing everything over email!
I’d forgotten what this world was like.
Suddenly I was transported back 20 years to the “I’ve just replied below and my answers are in red” horror-story type emails.
So, pray tell, what do I do with the QUESTIONS you’ve just asked me that are also in red?
Do I spin the color wheel and reply in a nice shade of turqoise?
As whitening knuckles clutch my thinning mop…
👂Listen…
You might faintly hear the wailing of a thousand tormented strands as they’re wrenched from their follicles.
I… HATE… email…
…for conversations like this.
It makes project management a nightmare.
Even for this “simple” job.
Which, yeah, isn’t really that simple… it’s only one email to send but a HUGE PILE of infrastructure and setup stuff to sort out first. But looks simple: send one email.
Anyhoo…
Enough moaning!
Solution is: use something better suited to conversations.
And flexible, for conversations that might need to go off in different directions.
And makes it easier than email to find and respond to things (with no different colored lines to be seen!).
My go-to solution is: Discord
Others might use Slack, Microsoft Teams, or something else.
But for what I need…
Discord works great for my client communication.
Things I like:
Different “channels” for different topics. With one client, I have 10 of these. Spanning #email-reviews to #photos.
Threaded conversations. So you can talk about those “red color” or “blue color” things in a way that’s easy to keep track of. And doesn’t mess up the main channel you’re talking on.
Easy to set up and use. My non-geek friend (on this list too 👋) did a super job of quickly setting up a server. (“Server” is Discord-speak for a group you control.)
Zero price tag. I’ve never had the need to pay for premium features.
Plus, fun bonus:
My Gen-Z kids also use Discord!
I get the most baffled sideways glances when I talk about using it for my client work
You see…
Discord started out as a way to communicate while playing online games with your friends. 🎮
My children keep up with their favorite streamers on it. They also set up their own servers to talk with their friends.
But, hey…
Discord is a multi-purpose communication tool and… it’s just great for talking with my clients.
Find it here: https://discord.com
P.S. With my new client, seed planting is well underway: “If we use a platform like Discord we could…”
Hoping I’ll soon have a story to share of an email conversation that was put quietly to bed. 😉
P.P.S Discord is also great for staying connected with freelancing friends!
Ready to build your email list? Go here…
EmailForTheWin.com
Chris Milham