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There are over 24 million eCommerce websites online and counting. In the competitive space that keeps growing, it’s even more essential that your eCommerce store be customer-friendly and make the buying process seamless. The industry is booming. Ecommerce sales are projected to grow exponentially to 6.54 trillion dollars, and there are things your eCommerce brand…
The post 9 Must-Have Features for eCommerce Sites appeared first on Benchmark Email.

https://digitalthoughtz.com/linkedin-advertising-how-to/ submitted by /u/digitalthoughtz [link] [comments]

We are a SaaS business and are distributing our product in a marketing-led and now product-led (PLG) motions. The buyer is the end user which we source primarily through Linked, Zoominfo. As we aspire to scale the business, we are thinking of experimenting with a referral program to acquire new customers by incentivizing the existing customer base to reach out to their colleagues and professional network and refer them to our solution. Dropbox had a very successful model which is aspiring because it wasn’t a pure consumer product, but had a more professional usage. We are thinking of developing some tools to do this, which would require some development work. I wanted to reach out to the network to inquire if: – anyone had direct experience in doing something like this ? – Has anyone tried partnership management solutions like Impact.com and can share some insights ? – Are there other subs more suitable ? Cheers submitted by /u/No_Way_1569 [link] [comments]

Linkedin is one of the best networking platforms for professionals without any debate. It is home to around 830 million professional profiles. No matter what stage you are at in your job candidate search or recruitment, LinkedIn will assist you in putting your name on the professional map and exploring the abundant supply of network connections. submitted by /u/linked_camp [link] [comments]

I stared wide-eyed at my computer screen, frozen with disbelief. $306,055.05. That was the total revenue number I saw at the top of my profit and loss statement at the end of 2021. Without a doubt, it was the biggest financial year my freelance writing business had ever had—both in total revenue and in net profit (which was right around $175,000 before taxes and retirement savings).After a quick moment to pat myself on the back, I found myself facing the question that plagues every business owner: So…what’s next?I knew what my plan was for the next few months: A three-month maternity leave to welcome my second son (so that high-earning year definitely came in handy to self-fund my own leave). But what about after that? Should I start offering new services? Should I continue building a team of subcontractors to help with the work? Should I spin this into my own full-fledged content agency? Traditional wisdom and hustle-obsessed posts on LinkedIn would nudge me in the direction of chasing more. More clients. More credibility. More projects. More money.And yet, I’m doing the exact opposite. After my highest-earning year ever, I’m intentionally scaling back.Blame it on burnout, the pandemic, or becoming a mom (or all of the above), but I’m craving more time and less stress. That nagging need for better balance started about a year ago, when I accidentally skipped completing a family art project for my son’s daycare. It remained forgotten on our kitchen counter because I was too swamped with work to sit down with him. I decided then and there to cut Fridays out of my workweeks.That change helped me feel like my schedule was more aligned with my priorities. But, after adding another kiddo into the mix, I still felt strapped for time—even with my three-day weekend. So, I’ve taken things a step further. I’m saying goodbye to the long hours and working weekends that built my business and only working Monday through Wednesday for the foreseeable future. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kat Boogaard (@kat_boogaard) In some ways, it was an easy decision. It felt like the perfect way to get the best of both worlds. In other ways, it was a change I wrestled with, especially when so much of my identity is wrapped up in what I do for a living. Stepping back to part-time felt like admitting that I had failed miserably at “having it all.” But, despite the challenges, the decision has taught me quite a few valuable lessons about growth, priorities, and that coveted work-life balance everybody is trying so hard to achieve.Lesson #1: balance takes constant commitmentIt often seems like work-life balance is a puzzle to be put together. A code to be cracked. As if it’s something that you figure out once, and after that, you can reap the rewards of a life that’s perfectly proportional.That’s not the case for me. I’ve set a hard boundary of working only three days per week, but my responsibilities don’t magically fit inside of that container. Holding that line requires constant choice, commitment, and even sacrifice.That’s the flip side of work-life balance that gets far less attention. Many people talk about what they’ve gained (and of course, there’s plenty of that), but it’s rare that they talk about what they’ve lost.When I first scaled back my workweek, it meant parting ways with a retainer client I had worked with for over six years. That client made up about 20% of my income, but the nature of the work didn’t fit with my reduced working hours. I’d love to say that ending that arrangement felt like a symbolic rebirth of my business and a reset of my priorities, but the brutal truth is that it felt…well, terrifying. I summoned my courage and did it anyway. That was the start of a series of tough (but necessary) decisions to make my ideal schedule a reality. Since then, I’ve turned down clients that were a great fit for me. Projects I was excited about. Paychecks that would’ve been meaningful. There are speaking opportunities I can’t accept, initiatives I can’t take part in, and ideas I can’t pursue—all because they simply don’t fit within the limitations I’ve set. Is it worth it? Absolutely. I know that I’ve won more than I’ve lost. I have more time, more energy, and more patience (which was admittedly in short supply when I felt constantly burdened by an unreasonable workload). But the relentless trade-offs have shown me that work-life balance isn’t actually a finish line to be crossed—it’s the marathon itself. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kat Boogaard (@kat_boogaard) Lesson #2: I’m OK with a ‘middle ground’ businessSo much business advice feels so… well, extreme. You hear from people who boast about their unshakeable commitment to their companies and careers. They’re working 80-hour weeks and sleeping on their office floor, all in the hopes that their bank statements will someday look like lottery winnings.And then you hear from the people on the other side of the spectrum. They had some sort of awakening, left high-powered careers, and now are living from a converted Sprinter van as they bounce between national parks. And here I am, somewhere in the middle. The business (and income) I’ve worked so hard to build is still important to me, but it’s not going to consume all of my time, energy, and attention. That doesn’t mean I have a desire to leave it all behind either.I’d love to say that I’m perfectly content hanging out between those two extremes, but it’s actually quite counterintuitive and inspires a hefty amount of restlessness for me. To combat those anxious and itchy feelings, I set a goal: I want to earn somewhere between $8,000 and $10,000 each month. Now, I use a spreadsheet to keep track of all of the projects I book for each month and, when I’ve reached my income goal, I stop accepting work. It’s a simple approach that helps me avoid overextending myself as a result of the, “Well…I might need the money…” trap. I’ve found solidarity with many other business owners who are occupying my same middle ground. And I’ve come to embrace that, despite what clickbait would have us believe, it’s totally possible (and more than okay!) to run a moderately successful business—without it monopolizing my entire life.Lesson #3: people aren’t paying much attention to my scheduleThis thought was on repeat inside my head as I debated cutting back my workweek: But what if somebody—gasp!—emails me when I’m not there?It feels so ridiculous to write out, but I can’t blame myself for feeling that way. The constant connectedness of our world has often inspired a sense of allegiance to my inbox. Over the years, I’ve felt the need to be readily accessible and able to immediately jump on whatever red-alert-three-alarm-this-is-not-a-test emergency that might, potentially, maybe land on my desk (in eight years, I have yet to experience a real “blog post emergency,” by the way).I tossed and turned over how I’d still be able to serve my clients if I was only signed on three days each week. Would they resent me? Would they opt for somebody else who could be reached at all hours?Here’s what actually happened: I cut my workweek back to three days and nobody even noticed. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kat Boogaard (@kat_boogaard) Yep. You read that right. I explicitly told a few clients about my new schedule when we needed to set up meetings. But, not a single soul has picked up on my adjusted workweek on their own. Or if they did? They certainly didn’t care enough to say something. I fit my workload within my restrictions and respond to messages when I’m reasonably able to, and so far, we’re all alive to tell the tale. When it comes to that sense of urgency most of us feel saddled with, it’s easy to point the finger at other people’s demands and expectations. But, it’s worth looking in the mirror. In my case, a lot of the pressure was self-imposed.Lesson #4: I can’t always measure success by the numbersAs a business owner, “success” has always felt tough to wrap my arms around. After all, there are no defined career paths, promotions, performance reviews, and lofty company targets handed down from on high.That means that numbers have often been the indicator I’ve used to review how the business is doing. Is revenue ahead of what it was last month? Last quarter? Last year? I’m on the right track. If not? I’d send pitches, pursue new work, and pack my schedule and workload to the brim.I learned to love the quantifiable—and it’s that black-and-white perspective that would have me believe that 2021 was my most “successful” year in business. And yes, it was my highest-earning year, but looking back, it wasn’t my most successful. In fact, I feel far more “successful” this year. I’m being more selective than I’ve ever been about what clients and projects I take on. I’m thinking strategically about the next steps in my business and making sure they’re aligned with my priorities. I’m taking time for things I enjoy that don’t have a paycheck attached to them. My kids and I potted some flowers and are caring for them. We take weekly trips to the library or playground. I’m trying out new recipes and started reading again. Will I earn as much as I did last year? Nope. Probably not even close. But at the end of the day, it’s all the other stuff that feels way more like “success”—even if the number on my profit and loss statement is smaller.

Influencer marketing is a trendy topic these days, but it doesn’t require a lot of work or a ton of money to harness the power of influencers on your brand’s social media channels — and hosting something called an Instagram takeover is one of the lowest-effort, most organic ways to do just that.
Not sure what we’re talking about? Instagram takeovers involve a person or brand posting on your Instagram channel to give followers a peek at new and unique content from another perspective. Here’s an example of our friends at WeWork taking over our Instagram account:
 

In this post, we’ll dive into how to host your own Instagram takeover to drive engagement, brand awareness, and positive outcomes for your brand.

But there are several different approaches to Instagram takeovers that can be beneficial to your brand.
Other types of Instagram takeovers can include:

Employee takeovers
Customer or community member takeovers
Event takeovers
Product or offer promotions

Instagram takeovers are mutually beneficial for the guest Instagrammer and the host account. The host can bring valuable new content to their followers without having to create it themselves, and the guest is able to reach an entirely new audience by posting on another account.
Plus, Instagram takeovers help cultivate good-faith relationships between influencers that can create inroads for future collaboration and cross-promotion.
Now, let’s dive into how to get started with your Instagram takeover.

How to Host an Instagram Takeover
1. Choose what you want to accomplish.
Before choosing a guest to host your brand’s Instagram, you have to determine what you want to achieve with the takeover. Ideally, your Instagram takeover will achieve multiple positive results — but choosing a primary goal of the campaign will help determine which type of guest to invite.
Instagram takeover goals could include:

Increasing brand awareness. This can be measured by the number of new followers the Instagram account gains as a result of the takeover.
Promoting a product, event, or offer. This can be measured by the number of event registrations, offer redemptions, or lead form submissions as a result of the takeover.
Driving engagement within the Instagram community. This can be measured by the number of likes, comments, video and story views, and link clicks as a result of the takeover.

2. Pick your guest Instagrammer.
Now that you know your goal, you’ll have an easier time finding a guest who can make it happen.
For example, the team behind the award-winning musical Hamilton wanted to familiarize fans with the plays revolving cast members.
To do this, Hamilton started #SwingSaturday on Instagram in which a cast member who is prepared to play multiple roles (known as a swing) takes over the official Hamilton Instagram.
I Image source
There are a few types of guest Instagrammers you can invite to create content for your takeover:

Influencers within your industry
Employees at your company
Community members or customers

While it’s certainly possible for Instagram takeover guests to accomplish multiple goals, we recommend choosing your guest with the most effective strategy in mind.

Influencers will draw their followers to your Instagram with their endorsement of your brand, so they’re the best fit if your primary goal is to increase brand awareness by growing followers.
Employees will attract interest from their friends and colleagues who want a behind-the-scenes look at what they do at work every day. They’re the best fit if your primary goal is to drive engagement on Instagram.
Community members and customers will post enthusiastically about your brand and show the value of your product. They’re the best fit if your primary goal is to promote a product, event, offer, sign-up, or download.

Again, these goals aren’t mutually exclusive. Ideally, the content your guest creates will be highly engaging, shareable, and compelling to the viewer.
3. Decide on the content format and takeover logistics.
Once you’ve figured out what you want to accomplish and who will host your takeover, it’s time to nail down the specifics of how the takeover will run. Below are our suggestions of questions to answer when you meet with your takeover host:

When are you hosting the Instagram takeover, and how long will it last?
Who will manage the account? Will the guest get access to your Instagram credentials, or will they send you content and captions to post on their behalf?
How many times per day will the host post takeover content? If you have an optimal publishing schedule in mind, what times per day will the host need to post?
What hashtags will be used? Will you create a custom hashtag to promote the takeover? Is there a maximum amount of hashtags you want the guest to use in any given caption?
Which types of content will be shared during the takeover? Will the guest post photos, videos, Instagram Stories, or live videos? Will they post a combination of these formats?
How will both the guest and the host promote the takeover on Instagram? Will you agree to promotion on Instagram or other channels leading up to the event?
Are there any guardrails? Is there anything the guest shouldn’t record or mention over the course of the takeover?

Once the details of the takeover are finalized, decide how you’ll measure success over the course of the event.
4. Determine metrics to track during the takeover.
Depending on the goals of your Instagram takeover, some of these metrics will be more important than others. Below are the metrics we recommend tracking over the course of your takeover:

# of new followers
# of likes
# of comments
# of mentions
# of direct messages
# of Instagram Story views
# of live video viewers
# of Instagram Story clicks
# of offer redemptions/app downloads (if you promote a landing page)
# of attendees or sign-ups (if you promote an event)
Total social referral traffic to your website

Qualitative metrics to keep track of could also include positive comments on Instagram.
5. Promote the takeover across multiple platforms.
Once you’ve figured out the details of your Instagram takeover, it’s time to start getting people excited about it.
A day or two before the event, start promoting your upcoming Instagram takeover. If there are any contests, giveaways, or other incentives for people to follow along, make those clear in your promotions.
Of course, you need to promote the upcoming takeover on Instagram — especially if the takeover is happening within Instagram Stories or Instagram Live and you want to drive visitors to view those spots within the app.
However, you also need to promote the takeover on other social media channels to attract as many people to your campaign as possible. This is especially necessary if your brand’s Instagram account isn’t as developed or engaged as other channels.
The host and the guest should promote the takeover on a few of their channels leading up to the event to get both audiences as engaged and excited as possible.
6. Launch the takeover.
On the day of the takeover, it’s all systems go.
Make sure you have one team member monitoring comments and one team member uploading content to Instagram (if applicable). Remember, users can now upload content from desktop computers in addition to the mobile app, which can make the process easier from the office.
Throughout the day, cross-promote content that the guest is posting on their channels to help draw new people to your own Instagram takeover event.
Make sure to communicate when the takeover is starting and ending. Note in captions when the first and last posts are happening so viewers aren’t confused or abruptly left in the lurch, wondering if there’s more content forthcoming.
7. Analyze the results.
Once the takeover is over, it’s time to analyze its performance. Use the performance data from the takeover to determine how (or if) you’ll do your next takeover differently. Here are some questions to ask in your post-takeover analysis:

Did we achieve our goal? Did you earn more Instagram followers, achieve high levels of engagement, or get visitors to sign up for your offer?
Did we achieve secondary goals? Did the takeover result in other net benefits for your brand and your business?
Was the takeover worthwhile? Did it save you time and energy creating your own content, or did it create extra work? Did it drive a push of traffic and engagement, or did numbers remain mostly the same?

Even if the takeover doesn’t drive hard numbers for your business’s bottom line, takeovers are authentic and real. They also provide an inside look at an aspect of your brand or community followers don’t normally see.
And just because a takeover didn’t achieve your desired results on the first launch it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it another try later. That’s why you need to track its progress and results so that you can do better next time.
Social media is about being social, so pay attention to qualitative feedback, too. If commenters respond positively to the takeover, take their feedback and use it for ideating future Instagram campaigns.
Instagram Takeover Examples
Here are examples of some excellent Instagram takeovers:
1. Broadway Plus
To promote its brand to Broadway fans, Broadways Plus had Hadestown actress Kimberly Marable takeover the company’s Instagram stories. The takeover was promoted the day before by sharing a clip of Kimberly and the rest of the cast singing during an NPR Tiny Desk concert.
During the takeover, Marable shared exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the Hadestown tour and gave followers of the account a glimpse into the day in the life of a Broadway performer. This worked in Marable’s favor as well because doing so promoted the Hadestown tour to more Broadway fans.
What I Like About This Instagram Takeover
This takeover provided timely and relevant content to fans of Broadway by having a prominent star give an exclusive look into a current tour. Marable was able to share content that only she would have access to, making the takeover that much more valuable.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Broadway Plus (@broadwayplus)

2. Fenty Beauty
Celebrity makeup artist Nina Ubhi took over cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty’s Instagram account stories in 2020. The goal was to show how makeup lovers can use brand’s products to achieve the perfect spring look.
During the takeover, Ubhi gave quick makeup tutorials using Fenty Beauty products while also showcasing her skills as a makeup artist.
What I Like About This Instagram Takeover
This takeover brings value to both current and potential Fenty Beauty customers. Not only did Ubhi promote the brand’s products, but followers of the account learned how to apply the makeup and create new looks.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by FENTY BEAUTY BY RIHANNA (@fentybeauty)

3. Billboard
As we mentioned before, an Instagram takeover can be just as beneficial for the guest as it is for the host. For example, the boy band Why Don’t We promoted their music and tour by taking over Billboard magazine’s Instagram account. During the takeover, the band shared behind-the-scenes tour footage and live-streamed portions of their concerts.
What I Like About This Instagram Takeover
The takeover was a treat for general music fans as well as fans of the band thanks to the exclusive content and concert performances. The live-streamed concerts from the band’s performances especially created an immersive experience for Billboard followers.
4. MS Association of America
To raise awareness for multiple sclerosis, the MS Association of America had actress Selma Blair take over the association’s Instagram to share her experience with the disease. During the takeover, Blair read an excerpt from her autobiography “Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up” that details how MS has impacted her life.
What I Like About This Instagram Takeover
Having a celebrity living with MS be the guest for the takeover was a great way to raise awareness of the disease. The videos of Blair reading excerpts from her book gave a personal touch that provided insight and stirred emotions from followers.
5. ASOS
Online clothing store ASOS teamed up with Neom Organics by having the organic beauty line company takeover the ASOS Instagram account. This showed ASOS customers that Neom is available at the online retailer and it introduced Neom Organics to a new audience.
What I Like About This Takeover
This is another great example of mutually beneficial takeover for both the guest and host. ASOS showed its range as an online retailer but showing that it sells more than just clothes and accessories — customers can also turn to the company for skincare needs as well.
At the same time, Neom Organics used the opportunity to promote its products, reach new potential leads, and provide information on where its products can be found — at ASOS.
And there you have it — a helpful checklist to launch a successful Instagram takeover and five examples to inspire you. For more ideas on how to drive results for your brand, follow us on Instagram, and download our guide to Instagram for business here.
Has your brand ever hosted an Instagram takeover? Share with us in the comments below.

 

Logical fallacies — those logical gaps that invalidate arguments — aren’t always easy to spot.
While some come in the form of loud, glaring inconsistencies, others can easily fly under the radar, sneaking into everyday meetings and conversations undetected.
Our guide on logical fallacies will help you build better arguments and identify logical missteps.
Jump to:

What a logical fallacy is
Formal vs. informal fallacies
Straw man fallacy
Correlation/causation fallacy
Ad hominem fallacy

What is a logical fallacy?
Logical fallacies are deceptive or false arguments that may seem stronger than they actually are due to psychological persuasion, but are proven wrong with reasoning and further examination.
These mistakes in reasoning typically consist of an argument and a premise that does not support the conclusion. There are two types of fallacies: formal and informal.

Formal: Formal fallacies are arguments that have invalid structure, form, or context errors.
Informal: Informal fallacies are arguments that have irrelevant or incorrect premises.

Having an understanding of basic logical fallacies can help you more confidently parse the arguments and claims you participate in and witness on a daily basis — separating fact from sharply dressed fiction.
15 Common Logical Fallacies

1. The Straw Man Fallacy
This fallacy occurs when your opponent over-simplifies or misrepresents your argument (i.e., setting up a “straw man”) to make it easier to attack or refute. Instead of fully addressing your actual argument, speakers relying on this fallacy present a superficially similar — but ultimately not equal — version of your real stance, helping them create the illusion of easily defeating you.
Example:
John: I think we should hire someone to redesign our website.
Lola: You’re saying we should throw our money away on external resources instead of building up our in-house design team? That’s going to hurt our company in the long run.
2. The Bandwagon Fallacy
Just because a significant population of people believe a proposition is true, doesn’t automatically make it true. Popularity alone is not enough to validate an argument, though it’s often used as a standalone justification of validity. Arguments in this style don’t take into account whether or not the population validating the argument is actually qualified to do so, or if contrary evidence exists.
While most of us expect to see bandwagon arguments in advertising (e.g., “three out of four people think X brand toothpaste cleans teeth best”), this fallacy can easily sneak its way into everyday meetings and conversations.
Example:
The majority of people believe advertisers should spend more money on billboards, so billboards are objectively the best form of advertisement.
3. The Appeal to Authority Fallacy
While appeals to authority are by no means always fallacious, they can quickly become dangerous when you rely too heavily on the opinion of a single person — especially if that person is attempting to validate something outside of their expertise.
Getting an authority figure to back your proposition can be a powerful addition to an existing argument, but it can’t be the pillar your entire argument rests on. Just because someone in a position of power believes something to be true, doesn’t make it true.
Example:
Despite the fact that our Q4 numbers are much lower than usual, we should push forward using the same strategy because our CEO Barbara says this is the best approach.
4. The False Dilemma Fallacy
This common fallacy misleads by presenting complex issues in terms of two inherently opposed sides. Instead of acknowledging that most (if not all) issues can be thought of on a spectrum of possibilities and stances, the false dilemma fallacy asserts that there are only two mutually exclusive outcomes.
This fallacy is particularly problematic because it can lend false credence to extreme stances, ignoring opportunities for compromise or chances to re-frame the issue in a new way.
Example:
We can either agree with Barbara’s plan, or just let the project fail. There is no other option.
5. The Hasty Generalization Fallacy
This fallacy occurs when someone draws expansive conclusions based on inadequate or insufficient evidence. In other words, they jump to conclusions about the validity of a proposition with some — but not enough — evidence to back it up, and overlook potential counterarguments.
Example:
Two members of my team have become more engaged employees after taking public speaking classes. That proves we should have mandatory public speaking classes for the whole company to improve employee engagement.
6. The Slothful Induction Fallacy
Slothful induction is the exact inverse of the hasty generalization fallacy above. This fallacy occurs when sufficient logical evidence strongly indicates a particular conclusion is true, but someone fails to acknowledge it, instead attributing the outcome to coincidence or something unrelated entirely.
Example:
Even though every project Brad has managed in the last two years has run way behind schedule, I still think we can chalk it up to unfortunate circumstances, not his project management skills.

7. The Correlation/Causation Fallacy
If two things appear to be correlated, this doesn’t necessarily indicate that one of those things irrefutably caused the other thing. This might seem like an obvious fallacy to spot, but it can be challenging to catch in practice — particularly when you really want to find a correlation between two points of data to prove your point.
Example:
Our blog views were down in April. We also changed the color of our blog header in April. This means that changing the color of the blog header led to fewer views in April.
8. The Anecdotal Evidence Fallacy
In place of logical evidence, this fallacy substitutes examples from someone’s personal experience. Arguments that rely heavily on anecdotal evidence tend to overlook the fact that one (possibly isolated) example can’t stand alone as definitive proof of a greater premise.
Example:
One of our clients doubled their conversions after changing all their landing page text to bright red. Therefore, changing all text to red is a proven way to double conversions.
9. The Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy
This fallacy gets its colorful name from an anecdote about a Texan who fires his gun at a barn wall, and then proceeds to paint a target around the closest cluster of bullet holes. He then points at the bullet-riddled target as evidence of his expert marksmanship.
Speakers who rely on the Texas sharpshooter fallacy tend to cherry-pick data clusters based on a predetermined conclusion. Instead of letting a full spectrum of evidence lead them to a logical conclusion, they find patterns and correlations in support of their goals, and ignore evidence that contradicts them or suggests the clusters weren’t actually statistically significant.
Example:
Lisa sold her first startup to an influential tech company, so she must be a successful entrepreneur. (She ignores the fact that four of her startups have failed since then.)
10. The Middle Ground Fallacy
This fallacy assumes that a compromise between two extreme conflicting points is always true. Arguments of this style ignore the possibility that one or both of the extremes could be completely true or false — rendering any form of compromise between the two invalid as well.
Example:
Lola thinks the best way to improve conversions is to redesign the entire company website, but John is firmly against making any changes to the website. Therefore, the best approach is to redesign some portions of the website.
11. The Burden of Proof Fallacy
If a person claims that X is true, it is their responsibility to provide evidence in support of that assertion. It is invalid to claim that X is true until someone else can prove that X is not true. Similarly, it is also invalid to claim that X is true because it’s impossible to prove that X is false.
In other words, just because there is no evidence presented against something, that doesn’t automatically make that thing true.
Example:
Barbara believes the marketing agency’s office is haunted, since no one has ever proven that it isn’t haunted.
12. The Personal Incredulity Fallacy
If you have difficulty understanding how or why something is true, that doesn’t automatically mean the thing in question is false. A personal or collective lack of understanding isn’t enough to render a claim invalid.
Example:
I don’t understand how redesigning our website resulted in more conversions, so there must have been another factor at play.
13. The “No True Scotsman” Fallacy
Often used to protect assertions that rely on universal generalizations (like “all Marketers love pie”) this fallacy inaccurately deflects counterexamples to a claim by changing the positioning or conditions of the original claim to exclude the counterexample.
In other words, instead of acknowledging that a counterexample to their original claim exists, the speaker amends the terms of the claim. In the example below, when Barabara presents a valid counterexample to John’s claim, John changes the terms of his claim to exclude Barbara’s counterexample.
Example:
John: No marketer would ever put two call-to-actions on a single landing page.
Barbara: Lola, a marketer, actually found great success putting two call-to-actions on a single landing page for our last campaign.
John: Well, no true marketer would put two call-to-actions on a single landing page, so Lola must not be a true marketer.

14. The Ad Hominem Fallacy
An ad hominem fallacy occurs when you attack someone personally rather than using logic to refute their argument. Instead they’ll attack physical appearance, personal traits, or other irrelevant characteristics to criticize the other’s point of view. These attacks can also be leveled at institutions or groups.

Example:
Barbara: We should review these data sets again just to be sure they’re accurate.
Tim: I figured you would suggest that since you’re a bit slow when it comes to math.
15. The Tu Quoque Fallacy
The tu quoque fallacy (Latin for “you also”) is an invalid attempt to discredit an opponent by answering criticism with criticism — but never actually presenting a counterargument to the original disputed claim.
In the example below, Lola makes a claim. Instead of presenting evidence against Lola’s claim, John levels a claim against Lola. This attack doesn’t actually help John succeed in proving Lola wrong, since he doesn’t address her original claim in any capacity.
Example:
Lola: I don’t think John would be a good fit to manage this project, because he doesn’t have a lot of experience with project management.
John: But you don’t have a lot of experience in project management either!
16. The Fallacy Fallacy
Here’s something vital to keep in mind when sniffing out fallacies: just because someone’s argument relies on a fallacy doesn’t necessarily mean that their claim is inherently untrue.
Making a fallacy-riddled claim doesn’t automatically invalidate the premise of the argument — it just means the argument doesn’t actually validate their premise. In other words, their argument sucks, but they aren’t necessarily wrong.
Example:
John’s argument in favor of redesigning the company website clearly relied heavily on cherry-picked statistics in support of his claim, so Lola decided that redesigning the website must not be a good decision.
Recognize Logical Fallacies
Recognizing logical fallacies when they occur and learning how to combat them will prove useful for navigating disputes in both personal and professional settings. We hope the guide above will help you avoid some of the most common argument pitfals and utilize logic instead.
This article was published in July 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.