Today is the last day of EAv is waiving all mission fees, effectively cutting the cost of missions in half. This has resulted in a boom in missions and posts in groups and communities promoting these missions.
I’ve said a number of times the biggest factor in whether I do a mission (particularly a mission that asks me to share content) is not the size of the reward but whether it will resonate with my friends/followers. With that in mind, a growing pet peeve of mind is seeing shouts, posts to groups and mission titles that say things like “10,000e mission [mission link]” or “Easy RT Mission [mission link].”
Why?
When people do this, they force others to click in and read the mission to find out what it is they’re being asked to promote. Personally, I find that only 10%-20% of the content being asked to share would resonate with my friends/followers. So, 80%-90% of the time reading the mission description is a waste of time.
So, here is my plea to everyone doing missions: give us a clue as to the topic & what you’re asking for in the mission title and any shouts/posts/groups where you post it.
Agree or disagree? And why?
Empire Avenue Tips 
Nov 26, 2012 @ 12:40:52
click on the link under the green button first – even if it is promoted correctly – you never know how easy it is really going to be – so other than from people i know, trust, respect – i tend to do that – complete the mission – and then go back for the reward
Nov 26, 2012 @ 12:51:12
True, but I’m talking even before that. When someone posts “Easy RT Mission [mission link]” as the title of the mission, as a shout or a group/community, they are forcing others to click the link & go to the mission to find out if its relevant to their friends/followers. I would prefer to see a more descriptive mission title/shout/group post so I don’t waste time clicking through to the mission only to find out its something I and my friends/followers have no interest in.
What do you think?
Nov 26, 2012 @ 12:45:10
I agree with John. I never click on the mission link itself. I always use the link underneath that will not trigger the mission reward. I check out the mission first and then if I don’t like it I haven’t stolen their eaves.
Nov 26, 2012 @ 13:02:04
That’s good advice, April. I do that too. My point here, though, is that it would save folks time if mission titles and the posts to promote them were more detailed. I’m considering not clicking any links to go to the mission itself unless I know what it’s about before hand.
Nov 26, 2012 @ 12:47:38
I agree, Paul. I think it’s important to be comfortable with a message/link we share so want to know what it is without having to investigate the link first. Describing what it is in advance would be appreciated.
Nov 26, 2012 @ 13:07:33
I agree. Your wishes are the first rule in journalism. If your headline doesn’t strike attention and invite them to your content, why read it! I also agree with John’s sentiment above.
If the content of the tweet or other item they want shared was in the descriptive body, your saving your audience much time. Clicking through to view the content and see if it is appropriate for your audience, then clicking back has unfortunately led to me not completing missions in which I started.
In an effort to help those helping you, thought to your headline and the content in the body would be greatly appreciated and possibly even up the completions on the mission.
Nov 26, 2012 @ 13:16:39
I agree with you Paul, a better description would cut my time in half ~ having to click into the mission only to find I’m not interested in promoting is a drag. I always click the non-mission link to see if, as you say, the mission resonates with my networks. I’m doing about 30% of the missions created.
I vary rarely look at the public missions, having plenty to do with shareholder’s missions.. roll’n .. 🙂
Nov 26, 2012 @ 14:20:24
Thank you for brining up this topic. I am both new to completing and creating missions. I have to kind of be picky with missions I complete, going with trusted individuals and shareholders first as I agree that the mission should correlate with one’s biews and/or goals. As I created some of my own missions yesterday, I realized that I thought I was being too vague. However, I wasn’t sure what to elaborate on: title or the mission description. I was also unsure if I should have the mission for all or just shareholders. I just did super simple missions available to all, testing, they went well. 🙂 Thank you for the info!
Nicole
Nov 26, 2012 @ 14:35:18
Hi Nicole,
>>I wasn’t sure what to elaborate on: title or the mission description.
Obviously we have limited space in the title but I recommendation is to be as descriptive as possible in 5-10 words.
Nov 26, 2012 @ 15:42:04
Ok, appreciate the tip. 🙂
Nov 26, 2012 @ 15:11:16
Ah Paul I think that is true in most cases. However I do missions for Shareholders that don’t require anything, so I usually just title it Happy [day] and the reward amount.
Nov 26, 2012 @ 15:32:32
Hi Anne, I can’t imagine anyone having an issue with that. 🙂
Nov 26, 2012 @ 15:17:54
I quite agree with you, Paul. It’s like people are trying to guilt a person into getting involved in a mission. It may be “easy,” but then I find out that I’m supposed to like bomb a page (I never do like bomb missions because I feel they make my account less worthwhile to anyone who follows me, plus they make the person who requests the like bombs look like a bit of a scammer if anyone pays attention). Or I have to sign up for some site and subject myself to spam so I can “vote,” or I have to RT a political message my followers will likely hate–and that doesn’t represent my views–or whatever else. A good preview of what the mission contains is a nice way to avoid wasting my time. And of course, there are a lot of things people could do to offer better mission descriptions, too, but I realize that’s a separate topic.
Nov 26, 2012 @ 22:21:07
I agree. I often hate to have to spend the time clicking the link first to see if I’m interested in completing the mission. Furthermore, if there is no info and I’m not familiar with the person, it could be a phishing link. I see too much of that on LinkedIn. “Hey check this out.” One could at least say, “Hey check out this article on ways to save money.” .. or whatever it is!
Nov 26, 2012 @ 22:40:28
Exactly Greg. It doesn’t have to be much, just enough so that if my friends/followers are not into Pakistani weaving techniques (or whatever) I know I don’t need to read the mission description, even if it is “the easiest RT evah!” or “10,000,0000e mission in 2 seconds” 😉
Nov 28, 2012 @ 09:22:05
I totally agree Paul. One of the main reasons I participate in social networks is to build relationships with new friends. This requires that they trust and resonate with my sincere philosophy and interests. Accepting bribes to promote things I would not otherwise promote is like prostitution. Of course, if I truly like it, then I don’t mind getting paid 😉 I would appreciate a heads up as to what the mission is about, and then if it seems interesting, I would often still check it out, like John does.
Mission Pet Peeve: Promoting Missions w/o Descriptions | Empire Avenue News | Scoop.it
Nov 26, 2012 @ 23:55:38
Nov 26, 2012 @ 23:57:44
agree, but then again, it is a marketing art to use interesting titles, I think only 1-3% missionaries are talented….
Nov 27, 2012 @ 00:28:00
Hi Elza, there’s a bit of an art to it, but I think it’s a skill that can be developed with a little intentionality and practice. Whatever the %, I believe it can always be increased. 🙂
Nov 27, 2012 @ 01:24:35
I have to agree with you Paul. I don’t use a lot of landscape to explain missions in group posts, but I will typically say something like, “easy foodie content to share” or something to that effect. It just saves people time, and assures that people more likely to complete the mission will click the link.
Mission Pet Peeve: Promoting Missions w/o Descriptions | Empire Avenue Niews | Scoop.it
Nov 27, 2012 @ 03:57:50
Mission Pet Peeve: Promoting Missions w/o Descriptions | Eav Daily Tips
Nov 27, 2012 @ 03:58:05
Nov 27, 2012 @ 04:13:31
Reblogged this on charlieslang.
Nov 27, 2012 @ 07:47:57
My wife and I each created a mission since reading this…
3000 Like -or- Like Bomb FB page (Aloe company / nutrition posts)
We used your suggestions… I think. The title wraps onto the second line in the mission list… which seems to work just fine. We haven’t tested the limits of the title to see where the cut-off point is. But clearly, you can give a very descriptive title so people know what they are getting without even having to click the title. I would still use the test link… until you get to know the profile and who it is hosting the mission.
Thank you for your post. It is definitely beneficial. But I still wonder if this title does what you were asking for???
Nov 27, 2012 @ 08:59:29
Hi Michael, thanks for the comment. That’s exactly what I’m talking about!
Nov 28, 2012 @ 02:46:23
Most of my missions are “absurdly” or “ridiculously” easy, but it’s a running joke and all my content is about Baja California, so people know what they’re getting into! 🙂
Nov 28, 2012 @ 15:52:00
What I hate to see is: “Easy retweet mission 10,000e then you click in and it’s a 1k mission that has 15 steps. I add those people to my block list. It feels dishonest to me!
What Makes A Mission Effective?
Jan 10, 2013 @ 11:23:21
Jan 18, 2013 @ 11:49:09
Reblogged this on cftc10.