Aaron Rosell is speaking on Why Email Newsletters Help Bloggers Build Influence at WordCamp Minneapolis.

What inspired or motivated you to give this talk at WordCamp?

I’ve witnessed email marketing tangibly change the digital strategies of businesses great & small, and especially watched independent bloggers flourish under added readership by incorporating it. I really believe no serious blogger should forgo email marketing—with a couple quick tips, it’s a breeze. I wanted to give this talk in hopes of inspiring more bloggers to get on the email marketing train.

How do you “create intention” in your job, career, or life?

In customer support, the big thing I work toward is empathy. Just like being out in the day-to-day world, you’ll encounter all kinds of people and you’ll have no idea what state they’re in. But if you work hard to honestly imagine their experience and respond to them accordingly, it’s infinitely more fulfilling and you’ll leave behind an interaction that did actual good. Basically, if I get decent sleep and keep empathy at the forefront, I find plenty of intention and satisfaction at work.

If you were a WordPress Plugin, what Plugin would you be and why?

It would be called “Blahg.” It would tie into your Prime Now account and trawl your new blog content in real time, automatically ordering you the right headache medicine based on your topic & overall word choice.

If you were not doing your current job, what profession would you be in and why?

If I could ever sell out concert venues at 1,200-person capacities, I’d go on entire tours doing that. Otherwise, I’d probably write ad copy, go into trade work as a carpenter or electrician, or just really go off the deep end and run the *most incredible* lemur sanctuary.

What professional and/or research resource(s) can’t you live without?

There’s an app called f.lux that takes the blue light out of your computer screen as night sets in, which is a huge life-saver. Then there’s Monosnap for making super-quick, great-looking video tutorials; Work Hard Anywhere (iOS app) for finding remote working locations with solid wifi; and Evernote for keeping life well-managed.