Let's start by stating:
"People don't buy products. They buy emotions"
"95% of our purchasing decisions are emotional" -Harvard Business School
The real WHY of WHY PEOPLE BUY is often hidden deep in psychology in the unconscious parts of our brains.
Marketing tools are just the tools to influence the human psyche in one way or another, with psychology in its core.
I play with behavioral science (psychology in marketing) on a daily basis, so I thought I will share 10 cognitive biases (mental shortcuts) here, so you can implement them in your business today to make a few extra bucks:

1. Risk Compensation Theory

People adjust their behavior based on perceived risk.
The less “risky” you make doing business with you, the higher your conversions.
🧠 Make it less risky

• Offer guarantees
• Outline a clear refund/return policy
• Give a lot of social proof to reduce perceived risk

​

2. Labour Illusion

People value things more when they see the work behind them.
"Effort is the universal currency of respect"
🧠 BUILD IN PUBLIC
Constantly showcasing your startup journey, its ups & downs, and the new features you added to your products or services creates the perception there's a lot of work put into your business.
Long waiting periods for service are unavoidable?
Show your process. Educate your client on the craft performed during that period.
Do you use any unusual material in your product? New, creative production process?
Educate with a few extra words
​

3. Life Event Effect

People are more likely to change their habits during a major life event
In fact, those who have undergone a major life event are 3 times more likely to switch brands
🧠How to use it?
Identify the life event most relevant to your category.
Then use ads. Facebook lets you target people when they move to a new house, end a relationship, start a new job, or start university.
Major life events shake up purchasing behavior.
​

4. Storytelling Effect

People prefer and better remember stories than facts alone
Watching, listening, hearing, or reading a story activates the same regions of the brain as those engaged when actually performing these actions in real life.
🧠 Don't show your product. Tell a story
"The most powerful person is the storyteller." - Steve Jobs
Research - Rob Walker story:

• In 2009, Rob Walker bought 200 objects from eBay for a total sum of $129.
• He then asked 200 authors to create a story for each object.
• Rob then sold those 200 objects with included stories on eBay again.
• He sold them for $8000.
• That's a 6202% increase in value.

​

5. Pratfall Effect

A simple blunder or mistake of a person can improve the attractiveness or likability of that person
The same goes for a brand.
But here's the catch...
Your brand needs to be well-perceived in the first place.
Admitting to your flaws, when your brand is perceived as not reliable, only makes things worse.
🧠Be vulnerable
• Embrace your imperfections
VW Beetle campaign in the 1950s and 60s
At that time American cars were supposed to be big, and stylish, not small and ugly. Yet the VW Beetle became a massive hit from its brilliant advertising campaigns.
The campaign addressed everything typical American consumers didn’t like about the beetle.
With headlines like:

• "Lemon",
• "One of the nice things about owning it is selling it",
• "And if you run out of gas, it’s easy to push",
• "Nobody’s perfect",
• or "Live below your means".

​

6. Foot-In-The-Door Technique

People are more likely to agree to a large request by agreeing to a small one first
Upsell whenever you can, but in a friendly, not pushy manner
🧠The easiest upsells

• Sell more of what you just offered them
• Sell something better than what you just offered them
• Sell something complimentary

​

7. Inaction Inertia Effect

When missing an offer once you are likely to miss an offer twice
When people see that you're giving big discounts frivolously every month or week, they tend to ignore them after a while.
The perceived value of your product lowers with each discount
🧠Strategize your discounts
Short-term gains are cool, but have you ever implemented a long-term pricing strategy?
• Every person is different.
Create an email sequence that will split your contacts into specific groups.
Then customize the discounts for each group
​

8. Stepping Stones

Any task you want your customers to do, needs to be broken down into smaller, attainable steps, otherwise, a person will get discouraged
🧠Viral refferal program
When creating a referral program the most important reward is the first one.
The first reward has to be both achievable and attractive to motivate people to participate.
Harry's referral program collected 100k emails within a week, using this prize scheme:

• 5 users referred - Shave cream
• 10 users - Truman Handle Blade - Razor blade
• 25 users - Winston Shave set - Premium Handle
• 50 - One year free blades

9. Decoy Effect

People change their preference between two options when presented with a third option (the decoy) that is “asymmetrically dominated”
🧠 3-tiered pricing pricing explained
• 1 price = 2 choices: to buy or not
• 2 prices = 3 choices: buy the cheaper one, the more expensive one, or not buy
• By adding the third price, a much more expensive one, now the second price (the previous expensive one) looks like a bargain
​
​

10. Default Effect

People tend to accept what we are given and stick with what we have
When a company or brand makes a particular option the default or standard option, it is more likely that people will choose that option over other options that are presented.
When we are not sure what to do and lack expertise in the area we consider the default as a form of advice and we stick to that.
🧠Make the usual no-brainer offer the default option
A large national railroad in Europe increased its annual revenue by an estimated $40 million by changing its website to automatically include seat reservations unless customers explicitly opted out.
Prior to the change, only 9% of tickets sold included reservations, but after the change, 47% of tickets sold included reservations.
---------------------------------------------------
That's it

Let's start by stating:
"People don't buy products. They buy emotions"
"95% of our purchasing decisions are emotional" -Harvard Business School
The real WHY of WHY PEOPLE BUY is often hidden deep in psychology in the unconscious parts of our brains.
Marketing tools are just the tools to influence the human psyche in one way or another, with psychology in its core.
I play with behavioral science (psychology in marketing) on a daily basis, so I thought I would share 10 cognitive biases (mental shortcuts) here, so you can implement them in your business today to make a few extra bucks:

1. Risk Compensation Theory

People adjust their behavior based on perceived risk.
The less “risky” you make doing business with you, the higher your conversions.
🧠 Make it less risky

• Offer guarantees
• Outline a clear refund/return policy
• Give a lot of social proof to reduce perceived risk

​

2. Labour Illusion

People value things more when they see the work behind them.
"Effort is the universal currency of respect"
🧠 BUILD IN PUBLIC
Constantly showcasing your startup journey, its ups & downs, and the new features you added to your products or services creates the perception there's a lot of work put into your business.
Long waiting periods for service are unavoidable?
Show your process. Educate your client on the craft performed during that period.
Do you use any unusual material in your product? New, creative production process?
Educate with a few extra words
​

3. Life Event Effect

People are more likely to change their habits during a major life event
In fact, those who have undergone a major life event are 3 times more likely to switch brands
🧠How to use it?
Identify the life event most relevant to your category.
Then use ads. Facebook lets you target people when they move to a new house, end a relationship, start a new job, or start university.
Major life events shake up purchasing behavior.
​

4. Storytelling Effect

People prefer and better remember stories than facts alone
Watching, listening, hearing, or reading a story activates the same regions of the brain as those engaged when actually performing these actions in real life.
🧠 Don't show your product. Tell a story
"The most powerful person is the storyteller." - Steve Jobs
Research - Rob Walker story:

• In 2009, Rob Walker bought 200 objects from eBay for a total sum of $129.
• He then asked 200 authors to create a story for each object.
• Rob then sold those 200 objects with included stories on eBay again.
• He sold them for $8000.
• That's a 6202% increase in value.

​

5. Pratfall Effect

A simple blunder or mistake of a person can improve the attractiveness or likability of that person
The same goes for a brand.
But here's the catch...
Your brand needs to be well-perceived in the first place.
Admitting to your flaws, when your brand is perceived as not reliable, only makes things worse.
🧠Be vulnerable
• Embrace your imperfections
VW Beetle campaign in the 1950s and 60s
At that time American cars were supposed to be big, and stylish, not small and ugly. Yet the VW Beetle became a massive hit from its brilliant advertising campaigns.
The campaign addressed everything typical American consumers didn’t like about the beetle.
With headlines like:

• "Lemon",
• "One of the nice things about owning it is selling it",
• "And if you run out of gas, it’s easy to push",
• "Nobody’s perfect",
• or "Live below your means".

​

6. Foot-In-The-Door Technique

People are more likely to agree to a large request by agreeing to a small one first
Upsell whenever you can, but in a friendly, not pushy manner
🧠The easiest upsells

• Sell more of what you just offered them
• Sell something better than what you just offered them
• Sell something complimentary

​

7. Inaction Inertia Effect

When missing an offer once you are likely to miss an offer twice
When people see that you're giving big discounts frivolously every month or week, they tend to ignore them after a while.
The perceived value of your product lowers with each discount
🧠Strategize your discounts
Short-term gains are cool, but have you ever implemented a long-term pricing strategy?
• Every person is different.
Create an email sequence that will split your contacts into specific groups.
Then customize the discounts for each group
​

8. Stepping Stones

Any task you want your customers to do, needs to be broken down into smaller, attainable steps, otherwise, a person will get discouraged
🧠Viral refferal program
When creating a referral program the most important reward is the first one.
The first reward has to be both achievable and attractive to motivate people to participate.
Harry's referral program collected 100k emails within a week, using this prize scheme:

• 5 users referred - Shave cream
• 10 users - Truman Handle Blade - Razor blade
• 25 users - Winston Shave set - Premium Handle
• 50 - One year free blades

9. Decoy Effect

People change their preference between two options when presented with a third option (the decoy) that is “asymmetrically dominated”
🧠 3-tiered pricing pricing explained
• 1 price = 2 choices: to buy or not
• 2 prices = 3 choices: buy the cheaper one, the more expensive one, or not buy
• By adding the third price, a much more expensive one, now the second price (the previous expensive one) looks like a bargain
​
​

10. Default Effect

People tend to accept what we are given and stick with what we have
When a company or brand makes a particular option the default or standard option, it is more likely that people will choose that option over other options that are presented.
When we are not sure what to do and lack expertise in the area we consider the default as a form of advice and we stick to that.
🧠Make the usual no-brainer offer the default option
A large national railroad in Europe increased its annual revenue by an estimated $40 million by changing its website to automatically include seat reservations unless customers explicitly opted out.
Prior to the change, only 9% of tickets sold included reservations, but after the change, 47% of tickets sold included reservations.
---------------------------------------------------
That's it If you want more I have a FREE NEWSLETTER where I share over 140+ more biases like these ones, but in more extended versions

Hi All,
Providing another update from the NYC (and also LA) consulate(s)::
For those hoping to apply thorough article 116 (shorter wait time), whose ancestors were Jewish and outside of Germany between Nov.1941 and 1945, the question of meeting a Nazi definition of Jew is important. Only people who met this definition had their citizenship revoked due to the 11th decree, people who were "mixed race" in the Nazi's eyes remained citizens and are therefore not eligible for Article 116.
My ancestor had TWO (not three or more) Jewish grandparents, and therefore did not meet the first criteria for the Nazi definition of a Jew. Given this information, I had originally believed that my application was best suited for 15.StAG, and in my first appointment the NYC consulate agreed. I raised the issue that my ancestor WAS a practicing member of the Jewish faith, and therefore with only two Jewish grandparents he may have still been considered a Jew by the Nazis. After further research and reaching out to the LA consulate, the NYC consulate actually recommended that I apply through Article 116, NOT 15.StAG, because my ancestor was a practicing member of the Jewish faith, even though they had only two Jewish grandparents. I was able to "prove" their Jewish faith by providing a Ketubah marriage certificate, showing that they were married by a Rabbi, and were indeed Jews.
Of course, NYC consulate does not have the final word on this, BVA does, but they said they were pretty confident that Article 116 was the best route for me. I was able to prove that my ancestor was outside of the country between 1941 and 1945, that they were a German citizen, and that they were met the Nazi definition of a Jew (despite only have two Jewish grandparents). Additionally my ancestor listed "stateless" on many travel documents, which is NOT proof that citizenship was revoked, but IS another piece of circumstantial evidence.
I thought this may be a useful test case for others, and also that it just shows that even with all the complexity and specific conditions of these applications, there is still room for interpretation by both consulate staff and BVA. The consulate staff kindly included a letter from them with my application, explaining why they thought 116 was correct.
I will follow up with any updates, but I will probably not know for sure for a few years. They told me 18-24 months for Art. 116, and about 36 months for 15.StAG.
Thanks to everyone for your help, I hope this is useful for someone down the line. Now the waiting game begins!
Cheers
​
​

I asked chatGPT this question: My wife cried this mother's day because she was jealous that my mother takes care of me while she has to take care of her mother. My mother spoils me when I come over to her house, randomly buys me groceries when she has a generous urge, and pays my phone and gym bill while I'm in college. She would do anything for me. She is a saint and I'm very lucky to have her as a mother. My wife's mother depends on my wife to function day to day. My wife takes care of her other siblings, plans all the family get togethers, looks out for her half brother in high school, while taking care of her own 6 year old child. My wife once had to pretend to be her mother because her half brother got into some trouble at high school and her mother was too afraid to talk with the counselor. I told my wife that my mother is her mother now. And that my family loves and accepts her as one of their own. How can I ask my mother to treat my wife like she's her daughter? What are some good mothedaughter activates that they can do together? Not that my mother doesn't treat my wife with kindness, she does, I just want them to form a stronger bond and for my wife to not think of my mother as an in-law and start thinking of her as a mother.
chatGPT response: It sounds like you're in a complex situation, but it's wonderful that you want to foster a stronger bond between your wife and your mother. Here are some steps you can take:

1. Open Communication: Have an honest conversation with both your wife and your mother separately. Explain your desire for them to have a closer relationship and express how important it is to you.
2. Express Gratitude: Make sure both your wife and your mother understand how much you appreciate their roles in your life. Let them know that you value their relationship and want to see it grow.
3. Facilitate Quality Time: Encourage them to spend time together doing activities they both enjoy. This could be anything from cooking together, going for walks, attending a class or workshop, or simply having coffee and chatting.
4. Include Both Families: Plan family gatherings or outings where both your wife's and your mother's families can come together. This will help them bond in a more relaxed setting and see each other as part of the same extended family.
5. Show Support: Be there to support both your wife and your mother as they navigate their relationship. Offer reassurance and encouragement as they work towards building a stronger bond.

As for mother-daughter activities, here are some ideas:

1. Shopping: Whether it's for clothes, home decor, or groceries, shopping together can be a fun bonding experience.
2. Cooking or Baking: Spend a day in the kitchen cooking up some family recipes or trying out new ones together.
3. Crafting or DIY Projects: Get creative with some crafting projects or tackle some DIY home improvement tasks together.
4. Spa Day: Treat them to a spa day or create a DIY spa experience at home with facials, manicures, and relaxation techniques.
5. Outdoor Adventures: Go for a hike, have a picnic in the park, or explore a nearby botanical garden together.

Remember to be patient and understanding as they navigate their relationship. Building strong bonds takes time and effort from all parties involved.
I'm going to take the AI's advice but, I was hoping that someone, who has gone through something similar, could share what helped their spouse form a stronger bond with their in-laws. Some background information: my wife is in her 20s, my mother is in her 50s and married to my father, and we live in Kentucky.

Trigger warning - religious differences
I always bragged about how awesome my extended family was. NO family is perfect, but I heard horror stories and always counted my blessings that I had strong ties with my Aunt and uncles since I was raised an only child. That was until a few months ago when my last living Aunt, whom I considered a second mom, shattered me.
Ok, some backstory here. My aunt is a Jehovah’s Witness. Now before you get all judgy, I have always loved her, my uncle and her son with all of my heart. I still do. I respect that they have found faith and live by this code on the daily. I have met many people from their congregation and loved them all (ok, a couple of exceptions). I also appreciate the community they have and love they all show each other. If it weren’t for the religion itself, I would have converted.
I, however, am pagan and have always been since I was about 5 (even the first book I signed out from the school’s library was about witchcraft). Not raised that way, but always found spiritual comfort in nature and the natural world. I have a very strong connection and dedication to my Powers That Be and work every day to help the world be a better place. My Aunt did not know my religion until about 7 years ago. That being said, she and I would have very philosophical conversations when we hung out together. Even at the age of 8, I would listen to her preach to me and ask questions to which she never had answers. I remember her telling me how only 144,000 people would be allowed in heaven and didn’t I think that would be wonderful knowing that our whole family could be together again after we died. We’d all be in heaven if we were all Jehova;s witnesses. I had gone with her many times to do field service (door to door) and asked her why they do that if there’s only a certain number of people allowed. Didn’t that lessen her chances of getting in because I’m sure there were many people more deserving than myself. How did she know for sure she’d be one of the ones to get in and was that fair to keep bringing people into the religion when all the spaces were probably already filled up?
At 8 years old, I had many questions and was just trying to figure these things out. Since she was an adult, I figured she had the answers. My questions were not with malice, just for a want of better understanding. When she didn’t have the answers, I'd ask my mother and grandmother. While they were extremely amused, they said they never understood either. They never said anything bad about her or her attempts to get them to convert, just allowed me to explore religion and spirituality as I wished so I could make my own decision of what was right for me.
Once I was an adult, I avoided talking to her about religion, but found that if I didn’t ask questions and just let her talk, it made her happy. I know she’s a good person at heart and that’s all that matters. After my Mom passed, my aunt and I talked almost every week. I loved talking to her and she became even more like a mom to me. She gave me encouragement and we supported each other through health and emotional crises. I’d make it a point to try and visit at least once a year for a few days so she could visit with my daughter and I. We’d always do lunch with her friends and I loved it. I fell in love with some of the people in her congregation and wished we could live closer to hang out more. I, however, never wavered on my spiritual beliefs, but I have never cared about the religion, race, or sexuality of anyone. If we got along, we were friends and that was that.
My aunt and I had come to an understanding that I would not convert and that we would love and respect each other regardless. Religious talk was off the table for the most part until both of my uncles (my aunt’s two brothers) passed and she had a very hard time dealing with it. She was the last surviving sibling and she was sinking into a depression. I’d talk to her at length and listen to her as she mourned the fact that she would never have contact with them (and my mom) in heaven because they never converted. When she asked me what I believed, I told her that I believed that the soul lived on after the body died and that I believed in reincarnation. I explained my beliefs were closer to hindu and buddhism than christianity (so she had context). We had very long talks and she expressed that she respected my views and actually found comfort in talking with me.
That was until my daughter and I opened our store about 3 years ago. It’s a metaphysical shop and we have crystals, teas, gifts, jewelry, candles and more (about 10% strict;y pagan). My aunt was happy for us until it dawned on her that we might sell pagan stuff. I told her what we sold and she asked me if I was a witch. I replied that I suppose that was one way to describe me, but, again, I considered myself spiritual and that I followed a path closer to buddhism, hinduism, native american. I sent a couple of pictures of the jewelry that we made and she said when we came down, we should bring the jewelry making.
We did, I brought down our best crystals to wrap and bracelet materials and my daughter and I made her a necklace with a very expensive stone (A $200 piece). She brought her friends over and they picked out crystals that they wanted, made bracelets and such. We had fun and I was happy to do it, though I wasn’t expecting people that I had never met before. Still, we had fun. My daughter and I also brought her a basket with local items from our hometown, (Raw honey, handmade stoneware mugs, cutting board, herbal tea and some other items made by us as well) She was thrilled. My aunt and uncle had taken a couple of bad falls a few months before and so my daughter and I made them hand carved cedar walking sticks as well because we knew they went for regular walks and thought it would help their balance. It felt amazing to lavish expensive and heartfelt gifts on them as I has struggled so long with money. I was finally in a place that I could do it. To say the gifts probably totalled in excess of 1K is on the low side, but I was still happy to do it.
Besides the fact that they tried converting my daughter when I wasn’t around, it was a lovely visit. The only problem I had was with a new person my aunt introduced us to. This woman, we’ll call her Dee, ignored me and only talked to my daughter. She was my age if not older, but conversed with my daughter, 17, like I wasn’t there. They traded contact info and Dee insisted that they keep in touch while my daughter was in college. Dee said she was going to keep an eye on her. I thought that was odd, but I did enjoy the feeling of having an extended family sort of since I actually had no family besides my Aunt.
Let’s jump forward to the following year and we were struggling financially. Not horrible, but unable to lavish the gifts that we did the year before. Instead, I created a beautiful aromatherapy candle, some delicious herbal teas and we found a couple of very rare antique tea cups that had amazing value to them (about $100 a piece). We made a basket for her and I decided we would cook for them. (gluten free, soy free, dairy free etc). Our visit went so well, it was great to see them. We just enjoyed hanging out with them and talking. They loved the meal we made for them and the dairy free organic chocolate I made. Everything was great until the day we were leaving. Dee showed up and again ignored me, talked to my daughter and chastised her for getting a pet snake as that was an animal associated with the devil. My daughter is one to push the envelope a bit and said how she wanted to get a tattoo as well, one of a snake. Both my aunt and Dee were shocked and said she should never get a tattoo.. Again related to the devil, I went to the bathroom as I was not involved in the conversation and knew my daughter could hold her own. Little do they know that my daughter is also trans. I told her not to say anything to them just yet. I came back to them talking about how college was going and I thought my aunt and Dee would faint when she said her college roommate was male. She quickly explained that it was fine because he was gay and how awesome he was (he is btw). She quickly realized what I meant when she saw their reaction to him being gay. It wasn’t that she was living with a boy, it was that he was gay and “why did he choose to be gay.” I tried redirecting the conversation a couple of times, but they ignored me.
They finally let it go, but just after Dee left, we were getting ready to depart as well. My aunt returned the basket I made for her (minus the expensive tea cups). She said she could not accept them as they were touched by the devil. Shocked, I asked what she meant. She said that because they came from my store, they carried Satan's influence and she could not have them in our home. Truthfully, I explained that I made those items for her and that the only things that came from the store were the teacups. She was confused why I had gotten upset. When I explained that I gave her a gift and if she didn’t want it, she could regift it or throw it away. That gift came from my heart with all the love I have for her and that I didn't need to know her opinions about the gifts because It insinuated I, myself, was evil and it was extremely hurtful. She basically continued on insisting that I was just not aware of how much Satan had a hold of me. All I could do was tell her how much I loved her and leave.
I didn’t take her calls and cried about this for over a month. I finally felt strong enough to talk to her and again she insisted that because those items touched my hands, they were influenced by satan and she wished I could understand how they just can’t have that influence in their home. Frustrated, I asked how she could shop at grocery stores or buy anything from department stores because she can’t guarantee that those items didn’t touch hands that were influenced by satan. Also , I asked her how they could have eaten the food I prepared for them and why did they even invite me into their home to begin with if that’s the way she felt about me. She suddenly needed to go.
We talked a few times since then but it always came back to religion. At one point I asked her again why she would even invite us to her home if she felt that way. Her response was to save my daughter. The pain and heartache she has inflicted is immense, but I cannot bring myself to argue the point because I’m afraid if I make my point to her, it will break her. She’s in her 80’s and I believe has the beginnings of dementia. Her religion brings her comfort and I don’t want to say anything that might make her doubt her religion at her advanced age.
I’ve decided it is probably best for both of our mental health to stop all contact with her( with the exception of sending cards telling them how much I love them) even though I’ve always seen her as a second mom. AITA for making this decision and not trying to work things out with her or allow her to believe that I still might convert?
*** Please understand this is not a bash on any religion. Everyone has the right to believe in whatever religion they wish. That includes me, so if you feel the need to bash them or me for our spiritual choices, you can move along ***
I have never felt like I needed to hide any part of me from my friends, family, and the public in general. Not until now. Buckle up, this is a bumpy ride.
I've always been kind hearted, almost to a flaw. I took care of my grandmother, my step-dad, my mom and helped with a family friend during long term and terminal illnesses. I had my daughter and, without her father's help, raised her on my own with very little to no support. I helped friends with their farm who left me homeless in the end because I want interested in an extramarital affair. I lost my home and all that I loved including my husband because he lied to me and never paid it mortgage while I was recovering from an illness. In short, I have had a tough life, but it has never made me turn my back on anyone who needed help or in difficult family when they were ignored by the others. That's just some background before I tell you this situation.
Three years ago, after a bout of covid, my daughter was suicidal. She had been in the top three of her HS class and yet at that point almost failed her junior year. Not knowing if she would have the emotional strength to face college and adulting in general, I set up a plan B for her. I started a store in her name and that way she'd have something at least to fall back on if she was unable to function in the m-f 9 to 5 world. We started slow by doing craft fairs, seeking crystals, candles, jewelry, and gifts. We were kicked out of one because the person running it assumed we were witches. She was not wrong exactly as we identified as pagan, but we lived our life closest to the Buddhist and Hindu traditions, not traditional wicca. These were people who knew us for years and were considered acquaintances if not friends.
Our business flourished and we ended up opening our brick and mortar that fall after remodeling our garage/ barn and turning it into a store front. Even though I run it for my daughter, it is hers and we work together to keep it going.
In the past few years I've lost my mom, and two uncles. I have no family besides my mother's sister and her husband which we were pretty close. My aunt knew that I was pagan and had tried recruiting me into her religion since I was 5. Even at that tender age her religion never made sense and I would ask her questions to which she never had answers. I accepted her and respected her and her religion even though I didn't agree. I loved the people she introduced me to that were in her church and I always got along with them. That is until we visited the year after we started our store. My aunt was thrilled about us bringing crystals down and making jewelry with her. We met a new friend of hers (middle aged woman) who ignored me completely and oozed affection on my daughter. She got my daughter's contact info and contacted her frequently. Trying to convert and ”save” her. My daughter wasn't having it as even though she was in a delicate state, she is very level headed and strong willed.
This year we visited and we brought herbal tea, candies, and rare vintage tea cups for my aunt. The day we were leaving, she handed back everything but the vintage tea cups and told me she couldn't accept them because they were touched by Satan (aka made by my hands). To say I was devastated is an understatement. This woman was always like a second mom to me and we had grown closer after my mom passed away. It was a 20 hour drive home and I cried most of the way. I cried for weeks after a well. Thinking of it now still brings me tears. As she was telling me that Satan had a hold on me and that she was trying to save me, all I did was remind her how much I loved her and my uncle. Every time since then that we have talked, she says the same thing, but now she told me I was a lost cause. I feel like trying to stay in touch is detrimental to her mental health ( and my own). I don't want to give up or abandon the last of my family, but I can't talk to her and endure the endless insinuations that I'm evil because I don't believe in her religion. She took a bad fall and broke her arm. The last time we spoke, she talked as if it was my fault for bringing the devil into her home.
While I could usually brush this off as delusional ranting, it hits hard because the same day she fell, my dad died. I know the Powers That Be only give as much as we can handle, I just wish they didn't have so much faith in me.
They are in their 80s. I know in all the pieces of my broken heart that they'll never be able to accept my daughter and I unless we change religions and it has crossed my mind just to say we have to put her at ease, but I can't lie like that to them and we cannot betray ourselves like that either. By

I'm a 31 F, and so exhaused from the cycle of finding any job, trying to be positive, hating it quickly, then quitting or getting fired. No amount of positive thinking or mental gymnastics seems to work. I want to want to work but at this point it my life it feels completely hopeless. I got fired from my job as a dental receptionist for NOT SMILING ENOUGH. Just goes to show that even being on meds messes with jobs too.
So please tell me how to actually work with this disorder and what I can actually do for a job. I can't work customer service or any fast paced high stress job, and I'm (again) having a hard time even finding anything I can do. I don't have a car and it's a struggle to even get up in the morning, nevermind leaving hours in advance to get anywhere by bus.
I'm in a lot of debt from being manic, so going back to college again isn't an option any time soon. I'd like to go back to be a massage therapist but again I can't do that in the near future.
I'm really talented with arts and crafts and have a unique style, but again I don't know how to monetize that or even where to start.
I'm so ashamed of this and just wish I was normal.

There have been an increasing number of juniors visiting this sub asking for advice about writing essays. Below are some tips and advice for making your essay stand out as excellent. Feel free to ask questions because I will answer every single question in the comments.
I know from experience that many of you are struggling to identify a good topic for your essay. Conventional wisdom says to start by brainstorming a list of potential topics, and chances are, you have already started a mental list of ideas. You might think you only have a few choices for topics, based on your activities or experiences, or essay examples you read, or the rough draft you already started (or worse, that GPT started...). I advise, however, that you put down your list of topics and back away from it. Forget that exists for a moment. Seriously - thinking about this initial list tethers you to certain ideas that might not actually be your best options.
Now you can begin brainstorming with a clean slate.
Start with thinking about what you want to show in your entire application, not just one essay. Every single component in your app has one purpose – to tell more about YOU. Filling out the rest of the application by rote and focusing solely on the essay is short-sighted and will leave so much potential untapped in your application.

It's About You. Tell Your Story - And Be The Protagonist

An admissions officer’s goal is to understand you fully, in the context of your background and the rest of the applicant pool. They will begin this with assessing your academic abilities and potential. Then they will evaluate how you will fit into the student body they’re trying to curate. All of this can be somewhat broad and diverse and touch on several institutional goals. But they will dig deep to find out what each applicant is like, what your core values and motivations are, what kind of student you will be, how you will contribute to the vibrant and intellectual campus community they’re building, etc.
Your goal with essay brainstorming is to ascertain how to powerfully tell your story in a manner that will fit these criteria. The entirety of your application (again, not just one essay) aims to showcase your abilities, qualifications, and uncommon attributes as a person in a positive way. Before you begin outlining or writing your application, you must determine what is unique about you that will stand out to an admissions panel. All students are truly unique. Not one other student has the same combination of life experiences, personality, passions, or goals as you do. Your job in your application is to frame your unique personal attributes in a positive and compelling way. How will you fit on campus? What personal qualities, strengths, core values, talents, or different perspectives do you bring to the table? What stories, deeper motivations/beliefs, or formative experiences can you use to illustrate all of this?
It is always helpful to start with some soul-searching or self-examination. You might not immediately know what you want to share about yourself. It’s not a simple task to decide how to summarize your whole life and being in a powerful and eloquent way on your application. Introspection prior to starting your application takes additional time and effort rather than jumping straight into your first draft. But it is also a valuable method to start writing a winning application that stands out from the stack.
You'll see the advice everywhere that all essay prompts are really about the same thing - you. The goal of each essay then is to showcase who you are, what matters to you, and how you think. I guarantee if you're on this sub enough, you'll hear the advice to "show, don't tell" when writing about yourself. But what does this mean really, and how do you do it well? How do you even get started on an essay that does this?

Introspection Questions

It’s often easiest to start thinking in terms of superlatives, especially those related to personal insights -- what are the most meaningful things about you, and what do you value the most? Here is a list of questions to help you brainstorm broadly before you narrow down your focus for writing:

• What are your interests?
  
• What sparks your curiosity?
  
• About what topics do you enjoy reading?
  
• With whom do you enjoy spending time? Who has impacted your life the most?
  
• Reflect upon “superlatives” in your life. What moments were most memorable, formative, enlightening, enjoyable, or valuable? What physical possessions, experiences, dreams, or lessons could make your superlatives list?
  
• Stop and think about what things, people, or circumstances in your life are really unique, fascinating, or outlandish. Are there any that really have a lot of "cultural flavor" (whatever your culture is)?
  

I have a free introspection worksheet with over 100 questions like this designed to help you find ideas worth exploring in your essays. You can find it on the A2C Discord or download it directly here.

Find Your Story And Arc

Think of a small anecdote or story from your life that you could share that serves as a microcosm of who you are and what is important to you. It will massively help you narrow this down and find a gem of a story if you first start by thinking about your application arc or theme. This is the one-phrase summary of your entire application. It could be "brilliant entrepreneur who started her own successful business" or "talented athlete who wants to study economics and finance as they pertain to sports", or even "avid baker whose hobby sparked an interest in chemistry". It doesn't have to be related to your intended major, but it can help your arc be stronger and clearer if it is.
Once you have an arc determined and a story to share, think about what you want that story to say about you. This is where it can help to think of this as something you would share on a date - what impression does it make about you to the reader? Once you know this, start showing, not telling this attribute of yourself through your story. For example, instead of saying that you're compassionate toward others, you show an example of a time you were compassionate, then elaborate on why, and what it means to you.

Essay Brainstorming Techniques

If you are having trouble finding a story, or simply have writer’s block once you have picked your topic, here are some ideas to get your juices flowing:

• Stream of consciousness writing -- Start writing whatever is in your head, and don’t stop for 30 minutes. You probably won’t use what you just wrote for your essay, but it will help you find a starting point.
  
• Journaling -- Answer the prompt as if you were writing in a journal. This will get you in the habit of writing about yourself and establish comfort with the concept. It will also take you to a new level of introspection and self-awareness.
  
• Twitter X style -- Write several rapid-fire responses to the prompt in 280 characters or less. Choose an idea from these responses to expound upon in your essay.
  
• Read each essay prompt, then go through your introspection worksheet responses and connect the stories and insights to one or more of the prompts. Some students like using color coding to visually see how their different ideas might work together.
  

Why Essays Matter

Here's the thing a lot of people don't realize about college admission: it's not an award for being the smartest, most accomplished, or most impressive. It's an invitation to join a community. Far too many students think that if they can just show that they're smart enough, they'll get in. Yale even says right on their admissions website that 75% of their applicants are academically qualified to succeed at Yale. But only ~4% are getting in. That should tell you that they're looking for more than just top tier test scores and grades. To be perfectly clear, you will need top tier grades and (optionally) test scores to show that you're qualified, and the vast majority of my students come to me with this part already in the bank. But what sets the admits apart? It's personal insight - sharing who you are, how you think, what matters to you, and how you engage community. You can't just say "/IAmVerySmart, please admit me," or even "I did a cool thing guys! Isn't that neat!" You need to go deeper and show them your core values, personal strengths, motivations, aspirations, character traits, foundational beliefs, personality, etc. And you need to do it in a charming, winsome way that makes them like you and want to invite you to join their community.
So how do I get students to do this? All of my students complete that introspection worksheet. We go through it and find the stories, examples, anecdotes, conversations, memories, relationships, and other things from their life that will help us craft a strong and personally insightful narrative. We also make lists of the values, strengths, and key personal qualities we want to showcase. Once we have some topics, outlines, abstracts, or rough drafts, we talk about which stories to tell where, how to tell them well, and what details to include to present the best they have to offer. Then we refine, edit, polish, and enhance over and over until the story sings, but more importantly shows their heart and soul. We also go through all the other application components to ensure consistency, quality, and distinctiveness.
Here's why this works so well: at most highly selective colleges there is a primary reader (or 2-3) who will review everything first and then present it to the admissions committee, who then votes on whether to admit you. That presentation typically goes one of three ways:

1. Total enthusiasm, energy, and excitement. They strongly advocate for admission and paint a clear picture of how you will contribute to their goals and community. Everyone in the room picks up on that energy and is leaning forward in their chairs, looking for reasons to admit you. This is quite rare, generally less than 5 out of every 100 applications, even among those which are "fully qualified." When you do this right, you show depth, meaning, and valuable personal insights so the reviewer is learning about who you are and how you might engage the community they're curating. You come alive off the page as a person, not just another file.
   
2. Business as usual. You're another great applicant in a pile of great applicants. They share a basic review of the facts, your profile, stats, strengths, weaknesses, etc. Maybe someone on the committee finds something they love, and they really push for admission. More likely, not and you get deferred/waitlisted even though there wasn't anything "wrong" with your application. They just didn't love you enough to commit.
   
3. "Here's a stack of 20 applications that I didn't find all that compelling, so we won't present them individually, but you guys are the committee and you make the decisions. So let me know if there are any you want to talk about." In this case, unless there's a letter of endorsement from an athletics coach or your last name matches several buildings on campus, you're probably not getting additional consideration, much less admission. They will regret to inform you.
   

Everything we're doing is designed to help them get to know themselves, present the best they have to offer, and land in that first group. Having top tier essays is the single best way to get there. Get started on brainstorming in the next few weeks so you'll have time to get a few essays completed over the summer.

Hello, I'm one of the new people that came to Appalachia because of the Fallout TV show. I just want to say, I really appreciate this game. It's scratching an itch that I didn't know I had. I'm an avid Destiny 2 player, but the systems in this game (open world shared by a bunch of players on a server, player triggered events everyone can participate in, weapon/armor crafting that is both intentional and filled with RNG, etc.) Just keep bringing me back for more.
Everytime I think I hit a plateau in this game, I find something new to do. Something to chase. Admittedly, it is a bit demoralizing to burn a bunch of Legendary modules and not get Quad on my Railway Rifle, but what I have still smacks.
Another thing I really appreciate is the community of players. Very helpful folks that are willing to assist. My first expedition, which I did before level 50, had three other players waving me in the direction I was supposed to go. In another game I might have been kicked, but they pulled me through while I just tagged along to see what the missions were all about. Actually, I did get kicked about 5 times, but that was my game crashing.
All that rambling to say this, I've really enjoyed my stay in Appalachia so far. I wish I had been here for Vault Raids, but I'm having a lot of fun and there is tons to do for someone new to the game.
Looking forward to seeing y'all in the Wasteland.

I finished the Speak of The Devil Quest and now the Enclave are hunting me for stealing the power armor. I took out a Enclave soldier who was wearing the hellfire power armor and I looted all the pieces from the soldier. Went back to my settlement and transferred those pieces to a empty power armor frame. The left arm is broken but I can't repair it. Also, for some reason in the power armor crafting and mod menu, none of the armor pieces are showing up as seen in the video below. This is the only one that it does it this too. My other power armors that I have show up in the menu. What am I missing?
Video of the issue

I've called Truist a few times over the last couple years to link my savings and checking accounts. This is a side account that I use mostly for streaming services, fast food, Celsius, etc. But I keep $150 in the savings account at all times, but nothing really in the checking account, maybe $50 at any giving time. Yesterday the account was short $2, I didnt notice the text until this morning and was charged an overdraft fee, but $150 is there in the account. They're suppose to be linked!
Keep in mind this account has been overdrafted 4 times since I last called in Nov. Each time was suppose to have been linked.
This time I requested an investigation into my account and to speak with a supervisor. She saw that I did call in Nov and they did go into both accounts and that the funds are always available in savings. But not sure why the accounts unlinked or want link. So she put in a note to refund the fee because I was refunded already last year for the same thing and it has to be approved.
All that to say, she offered me $25 as a show of faith. While they look into the call. Has anyone experienced this?

Hello fellow travellers.
I have a trip planned for June. Basel > Liechtenstein > ??? > Metz > Luxembourg > Paris.
Basically a week of trains, good food, craft beer, hiking and watching football.
However, I have one night unplanned, which is also when England are playing in the evening (I'm English) and France also in the afternoon...it would be great to watch France play with the French.
But I'm trying to work out whether to spend that day/night in Colmar or Strasbourg...any thoughts?
Obviously I need somewhere showing the England game...Strasbourg likely has more options for this. But Colmar looks cute, and very different from other places I'm going to.

My mother(53)was diagnosed with low grade bcell lymphoma treated with BR regimen(5 cycles) and was complete remission since September(last cycle) last year. Her blood counts were some what normal except wbc. She use to respond to gcsf but after her last cycle she has been refractory of gcsf.she was checked for mds the. By fish which came negative.her wbc was 0.4 for 40 days after that dr tried her to give Prednisolone and the wbc bounced back and dr started to tapper off till march after one month of stopping Prednisolone her wbc tanked again and she caught fungal infection in lungs.up until now her hb, platelets and rbc were all normal except wbc which tanked to 0.4 again.she was getting treatment for febrile neutropenia along with gcsf although she was not responding,she was not responding to voriconazole so she was started on liposomal amphocetrine b and caspofunngin after that her hb and platelets drop.she is currently on cyclosporine.seeing drop in platelets and hb dr ordered for bone marrow biopsy aspiration came normal but in biopsy little.percentage of cells abnormal according to pathologist (note she was stopped on gcsf just 2 days before biopsy) .they have again sent for fish mds.what are chances of mds as she always had her other blood markers normal except wbc (until her anto fungals were started) , previous report done on nov showed fish mds negative.how should we move forwards.apologies for my bad english.

This analysis also comes from Cults and Nonconventional Religious Groups: A Collection of Outstanding Dissertations and Monographs, "Shakubuku: A Study of the Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist Movement in America, 1960-1975", David A. Snow, 1993, pp. 175-177 - it's a section within the analysis here about how the SGI's "discussion meetings" were carefully planned and choreographed sales pitch performances aimed at convincing any "guests" to convert. I thought this part about the carefully structured "experiences" deserved its own post:

In addition to the general supportive role, members are provided with instructions regarding the more specific role activity. That is, they are coached as to how to give explanations of what NSA [former name of SGI-USA] is all about, to lead songs, and to give testimonies. Regarding the latter, for example, members are reminded to respond to the emcee's request for experiences with great alacrity and enthusiasm by thrusting their hands in the air in a vigorous manner and yelling out "hi."

Actually, it's "Hai!", which means "Yes/Okay/I'll do it" in Japanese.

And if called upon, they are reminded to attend to the five major points or the "five S's" of giving a good experience.

That "coaching" is done before the live performance at the "discussion meeting", of course, not reminded within that performance context. That would break the illusion, as you can imagine.

The first point is Shakubuku. Remember, the guests have absolutely no understanding of this practice or any NSA terminology. Always talk to the guests and not to the members. The sole purpose of an experience is to make the guests curious enough to join ... Don't use Buddhist terms and names the guests won't understand...
Point number two is story. Make sure an experience is just that - something which happened to you and which you either changed into a benefit or changed an aspect of your life-condition through chanting. Basically , an experience should be structured as
(a) I had a problem or I was satisfied [sic] with my life and

That's obviously a typo; it should be either "I wasn't satisfied with my life" or "I was dissatisfied with my life", as confirmed by part (b):

(b) then I chanted, solved the problem or changed that aspect of my life which I wasn't satisfied with...
Make sure that you stress that chanting was the ingredient which changed those aspects of your life. Otherwise, the guests won't be able to connect just how chanting and a person's problems relate.
The third point to keep in mind is simplicity. Make each point of the story simple and to the point. Don't clutter the issue with unnecessary details. Try to be as brief as possible.
The fourth point is that of a seeking mind. What this means is that the person giving an experience should try to find out what type of experience the leader wants to have conveyed to the guests that will most benefit them.

Clearly, this is all about crafting the most persuasive sales pitch, not about honestly and authentically communicating anything real.

We're not saying that there is a "one" type of experience that is sought, but experiences have to be geared to the guests at the meeting. A middle-aged person is definitely going to have hard time relating to the change in values of a college student... The point is, make sure you are perceptive enough to give the type of experience which the guests at the meeting can relate to best.

Keeping in mind that no one knows for certain WHO these "guests" will be - this sort of "adjustment" in the details has to be made on the fly, which demonstrates the inauthenticity of the "experience" performance. But the culties are supposed to make it appear "authentic":

The final point is one of the most important - sincerity ... Even if your experience isn't that spectacular or full of content, the guests can relate to a person' [sic] sincere way of giving the experience...

The "5 S's" section is footnoted as coming from:

"The Five S's of Giving a Good Experience," World Tribune (September 11, 1974). Also, see the NSA Quarterly (Winter, 1975), p. 13; and the World Tribune (October 25, 1974).

It was obviously a structured thing that was explicitly taught (indoctrinated).

These five pointers on how to construct and give a "good" experience are mentioned repeatedly in the movement's literature and by its leaders. Furthermore, members can learn how to construct testimonies in accordance with these instructions by simply watching and listening to other members, and especially core converts, when giving their respective experiences.

You can probably surmise that after a while, these "experiences" will all start to show the same standardized structure; this will be accepted within the cult (because that's the goal), but the guests won't realize just how structured it is - and the focus on making it as manipulative as possible.

Indeed, rank-and-file members and new converts are often told to watch and listen to how so-and-so gives an experience.

That's true - I remember that.

It should thus come as no surprise that the testimonies given at these meetings, or wherever, are usually structured in accordance with the above pointers or instructions. And when they are not, the violators are usually pulled aside after the meeting and provided with corrective suggestions. At the end of several meetings, for example, I overheard the district chief reprimanding and re-instructing members regarding the unsuitable testimonies they had given earlier in the evening. This sanctioning and corrective work occurs not only when unsatisfactory testimonies are given but whenever meeting or movement-related roles are performed in an unsatisfactory manner and whenever members visibly engage in conduct that is inappropriate from the standpoint of NSA. During the San Diego Convention weekend, for example, I observed on several occasions members who were being brought back into line for engaging in unbecoming conduct, such as smoking grass on the bus while en route to the convention. That members who conduct themselves and perform their roles in an unsuitable and unconvincing manner are frequently pulled aside and provided with corrective guidance thus suggests a third consideration pointing to the highly orchestrated and theatrical character of discussion meetings in particular and of NSA in general.

Everyone must be "on" at all times; they must at all times display the SGI-defined image that SGI believes will impress the public and be most appealing to draw in potential new members.
While these specific "five S's" aren't around any more, there are still guidelines for how to give an "experience":

How do I write an experience for SGI budhist meeting?
State the difficulty you faced.
State how long you have been struggling with it, and how it affected you.
State what you did to resolve it, and how much you chanted.
State the resolution, and what that means to you.
Keep it to under 3.5 minutes.
Before you give your experience, read it to someone who cares about you, someone you know, and ask for an honest opinion on how your delivery is. from 7 years ago

REHEARSE it, in other words. These "experiences" are NOT spontaneous!

I know I know; early days. But so far it has been pretty wild!
I’m just watching some re runs from 2018 season (which itself isn’t a bad one) but I feel like this season is going to be wild.
Of course, Martin appears to be running away with it, but with Marc Marmite showing good form, Acosta being pretty impressive and Vinales seeming to find some good form I think the rest of the season has the minerals to be an absolute classic.
Enea appears to be back on form, Pecco’s race craft is just brilliant and he will absolutely be a threat too.
I’d love to see more of Binder and Miller up there, possibly not title threats but still, the whole season does seem to me to be a lot closer than seasons past.
Fabio was heroic at Le Mans and I was gutted to see him bin it.
Would love to see Yamaha and Honda be a bit more competitive but sadly I don’t think that’ll happen for a good while yet.
So far I think this season is shaping up to be absolutely crazy.
Let’s hope there are no injuries and we can witness yet more insane riding!
Hoping to be able to go to Assen and Sachsenring this year, already booked my winter holiday at Valencia 😁
👊🏼✊🏼👊🏼✊🏼

IRVINE, CA — In a surprising turn of events, David Kim, Senior Game Designer at Uncapped Games and former lead multiplayer designer for StarCraft 2, has promised to address a decade-old grievance just before the big reveal of his new game. Known for his controversial introduction of the Swarm Host unit in SC2—a unit widely blamed for ruining the game's balance and the sanity of countless players—Kim has announced a bold plan to make amends.
"I'm here to right a wrong," Kim proclaimed in a pre-reveal livestream, drawing in thousands of hopeful yet skeptical viewers. "For too long, the Swarm Host has been a source of contention. Many believe it broke the game, but I believe it broke something even more important: our spirits. Today, I give you all the chance you never had."
With a dramatic flourish, Kim unveiled the first new unit for his upcoming robot combat game: the Nano-Swarm Host. The reaction from the audience was immediate and visceral. Chatrooms erupted in a mix of horrified disbelief and cynical amusement.
"In StarCraft 2, the Swarm Host was misunderstood," Kim explained, showing off the sleek and metallic, mushroom-esque concept art for the Nano-Swarm Host on the screen. "It was nerfed far too soon and players didn't have the opportunity to truly learn how to counter it. That opportunity was taken from you, and for that, I apologize. But now, with the Nano-Swarm Host, you can finally reclaim your honor and master the strategy that eluded you for so long."
The Nano-Swarm Host, much like its predecessor, spawns endless waves of free units—this time, as a cloud made up of countless tiny robots—capable of gobbling up enemy units and rearranging their matter into new Nano-Swarm Hosts. "It's the ultimate test of your strategic prowess," Kim insisted. "This time, the meta will be given all the time it needs to work things out, I promise you.”
Reactions from the StarCraft community have ranged from uproarious laughter to resigned groans. "Is he trolling us?" asked seasoned gamer and noted critic of free units, beastyqt. "Free units that generate even more free units? Really?”
Many are already calling the Nano-Swarm Host "the pinnacle of trolling," while others believe it could be a brilliant stroke of marketing genius. "He's certainly succeeded in sparking conversation about the game," observed esteemed caster and veteran player Artosis. "Whether it's in anticipation or dread, people are curious to see how this plays out."
As the reveal date approaches, one thing is certain: David Kim has once again managed to capture the community's attention. Whether the Nano-Swarm Host will be a redemption arc or another chapter in the saga of frustration remains to be seen. But for now, players are gearing up to face their old nemesis in a new metallic form, ready to settle the score once and for all.
Satire, obviously! Also much of it is GPT generated

Understanding Email Display Challenges on Outlook for PC

Email communication remains a cornerstone of professional and personal exchanges worldwide. However, the seamless experience of crafting and sending emails often hits a snag when emails do not display as intended, particularly on desktop versions of Outlook. This issue can stem from Outlook's unique rendering engine, which interprets HTML and CSS differently than web-based email clients or apps on mobile devices. As a result, senders may find their meticulously designed emails appear misaligned, with broken layouts or unresponsive designs when viewed on Outlook for PC.
The importance of ensuring emails render correctly in Outlook cannot be overstated, given its widespread use in corporate environments. A misrendered email can not only dilute the message's impact but also reflect poorly on the sender's professionalism. Understanding the underlying causes of these rendering issues is the first step towards finding solutions. This involves grappling with Outlook's HTML and CSS handling quirks, including its limited support for modern web standards. Addressing these challenges requires a combination of technical know-how, strategic design adjustments, and sometimes, a bit of creativity.

Command/Software	Description
Outlook Conditional Comments	Special HTML comments that target Outlook email clients to apply specific CSS or HTML only to Outlook viewers.
VML (Vector Markup Language)	Outlook's rendering engine supports VML for displaying vector graphics, enabling more consistent rendering of shapes and images in emails.

Deeper Dive into Email Rendering Issues in Outlook

Outlook for PC has historically presented unique challenges for email marketers and designers due to its use of a Word-based rendering engine, rather than the web standards-based engines used by most other email clients. This discrepancy leads to a wide array of issues, including but not limited to, problems with displaying background images, CSS support inconsistencies, and difficulties with responsive design implementation. The engine's reliance on older HTML and CSS standards means that modern design techniques, which rely heavily on CSS3 and HTML5, may not work as intended in Outlook. This can result in emails that look perfect in webmail clients or on mobile devices appearing broken or visually unappealing when opened in Outlook, potentially compromising the effectiveness of communication efforts.
To navigate these challenges, developers and designers must adopt specific strategies tailored to Outlook's limitations. This often involves using conditional comments to target Outlook and apply fixes or fallbacks that ensure emails display correctly. Additionally, understanding and utilizing Vector Markup Language (VML) for complex visual elements like backgrounds and buttons can help achieve more consistent results across Outlook versions. Despite these hurdles, with careful planning and execution, it is possible to create emails that render well in Outlook, ensuring that messages reach their audience as intended. By staying informed about the peculiarities of Outlook's rendering engine and employing creative solutions to address them, designers can significantly improve the email experience for recipients using Outlook on PC.

Email Compatibility Fix for Outlook

HTML & Inline CSS for Email Design

[if mso]> 
 
 
 Your content here [if mso]> 
 
 
  
Using VML for Outlook Backgrounds
 VML for Outlook Emails
 
[if gte mso 9]>    Your email content here