#my stream of conscious pain du jour

[marketingprofitmedia]

Mastering Affiliate Marketing: Tips and Tricks for Success

In this article, we’ll uncover the secrets to mastering affiliate marketing, sprinkled with a dash of humor to keep you entertained along the way. Welcome to the wild and wonderful world of affiliate marketing! If you’ve ever dreamt of making money while sipping piña coladas on a sun-soaked beach, then you’ve come to the right place.

Affiliate marketing is like a game of chess, where strategic moves and clever tactics can turn your online presence into a lucrative income stream. Picture yourself as a digital matchmaker, connecting eager buyers with the products and services they desire, all while earning a handsome commission. Sounds like a dream, right? Well, get ready to wake up and make it a reality!

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Now, before we delve into the nitty-gritty details, let’s take a moment to define what affiliate marketing actually is. At its core, affiliate marketing is a partnership between you (the affiliate) and a company or brand (the merchant). Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to promote the merchant’s products or services through your own marketing channels. For every successful sale or action generated through your efforts, you’ll earn a juicy slice of the profit pie.

So, fasten your seatbelt, grab your favorite caffeinated beverage, and prepare to embark on a thrilling adventure to become an affiliate marketing maestro. From finding the perfect niche to crafting compelling content, and from building an audience to maximizing your revenue, we’ve got you covered. Get ready to unlock the secrets to affiliate success and join the ranks of the digital marketing elite!

Remember, success in affiliate marketing is within your grasp. So, let’s dive in, shall we?

Finding the Right Affiliate Niche

The quest for the perfect affiliate niche — a journey that requires equal parts intuition, market research, and a sprinkle of luck. Finding the right niche is like discovering a hidden treasure chest buried beneath the vast ocean of possibilities. So, grab your snorkel and let’s dive into the depths of affiliate niche selection!

Imagine this: you’re a tech-savvy wizard, capable of decoding the mysteries of the digital realm. It only makes sense that your affiliate niche should align with your passion for all things geeky and gadgetry. Whether it’s reviewing the latest smartphones, demystifying coding languages, or sharing tips on building a killer gaming rig, your expertise and enthusiasm will shine through. Remember, when you choose a niche that truly resonates with you, your audience will feel that genuine connection and trust you as their go-to guru.

Now, let’s talk profitability. While it’s tempting to jump on the bandwagon of the trendiest niche du jour, it’s crucial to evaluate its profitability and competition. Sure, the world of cute cat videos may seem like a goldmine, but is it saturated with a million other feline enthusiasts vying for attention? Conduct thorough research to identify niches that strike a balance between demand and competition. Look for emerging trends, underserved audiences, or niche segments within popular markets. Think of it as finding your own little slice of affiliate paradise, where the competition is manageable and the rewards are abundant.

Of course, your niche should also cater to a target audience with real buying power. You don’t want to spend hours crafting content for an audience that’s more interested in freebies than making actual purchases. Dig deep to understand your potential audience’s pain points, desires, and purchasing behavior. Are they passionate travelers seeking the best luggage options for their adventures? Are they health-conscious individuals in search of organic food delivery services? By knowing your audience inside out, you can create content that speaks directly to their needs and desires.

Remember, finding the right affiliate niche is like finding your soulmate — a perfect match that combines your passions, profitability, and audience appeal. So, put on your detective hat, fire up your favorite research tools, and embark on an adventure to uncover the niche that will set your affiliate marketing journey ablaze.

Stay tuned for the next installment of our affiliate marketing extravaganza, where we’ll reveal the secrets to building a solid affiliate website that will make heads turn and wallets open! Until then, happy niche hunting, fellow affiliate enthusiasts!

Building a Solid Affiliate Website

The virtual canvas upon which your affiliate marketing masterpiece will come to life — the solid affiliate website. Just like a meticulously crafted work of art, your website should captivate visitors, guide them seamlessly through the sales funnel, and leave them eager to click that glorious “Buy Now” button. So, grab your digital paintbrush and let’s explore the key elements of building a solid affiliate website!

First things first, let’s talk about design. Your website should be visually appealing, like a soothing sunset over a tropical paradise. Clean, modern layouts, pleasing color schemes, and intuitive navigation are the building blocks of a user-friendly experience. Remember, you want your visitors to feel like they’ve stumbled upon a digital oasis, where information is easily accessible and distractions are kept to a minimum. So, ditch the clutter, embrace whitespace, and create a visually stunning website that will make heads turn.

Now, let’s dive into content. High-quality, engaging content is the lifeblood of your affiliate website. It’s like the savory seasoning that transforms a bland dish into a delectable feast. Whether you’re crafting compelling product reviews, informative how-to guides, or captivating storytelling, your content should be a magnet for your target audience. Inject your personality, sprinkle in a dash of humor, and sprinkle it all with that secret sauce of expertise that only you can provide. Remember, your visitors aren’t just looking for information — they’re looking for a trusted advisor, and your content should deliver on that promise.

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Next up, calls-to-action (CTAs) are the secret sauce that turns casual browsers into enthusiastic buyers. Your CTAs should be persuasive, like a smooth-talking salesperson who knows exactly what to say to seal the deal. Use attention-grabbing phrases, enticing visuals, and strategic placement to guide your visitors towards the desired action. Whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, clicking an affiliate link, or making a purchase, your CTAs should be irresistible invitations that your audience simply can’t refuse.

the importance of website performance! Just like a cheetah sprinting through the African savannah, your website should be lightning-fast and agile. Slow-loading pages can be a buzzkill, sending potential customers fleeing for the hills. Optimize your website’s speed by compressing images, minifying code, and leveraging caching techniques. Remember, a speedy website not only pleases your visitors but also gets a thumbs-up from search engines, boosting your chances of ranking higher in those coveted search results.

With these key elements in place, you’re well on your way to building a solid affiliate website that will leave your visitors awestruck. But remember, this is just the beginning of your journey to affiliate marketing mastery. Stay tuned for the next episode, where we’ll uncover the secrets to creating captivating content and promoting it like a marketing maestro. Until then, happy website building, fellow affiliates!

Effective Content Creation and Promotion

Content creation and promotion the dynamic duo that will catapult your affiliate marketing efforts into the stratosphere of success. Think of them as the Batman and Robin of your affiliate journey, working in perfect harmony to engage your audience, drive traffic, and ultimately, fatten your wallet. So, grab your cape and mask, and let’s uncover the secrets to creating and promoting content like true marketing superheroes!

First and foremost, let’s talk about the art of crafting compelling content. Just like a captivating storyteller, your content should transport your audience into a world where their problems are solved, their desires fulfilled, and their lives forever changed (or at least improved). Whether it’s a persuasive product review, an informative tutorial, or an entertaining blog post, your content should be the answer to your audience’s burning questions. Inject your personality, infuse it with your unique voice, and sprinkle it with a pinch of humor to keep your readers engaged and coming back for more.

Now, let’s don our marketing capes and talk about promoting that fabulous content of yours. Social media platforms, like a bustling metropolis filled with potential customers, provide an excellent arena for promoting your affiliate offerings. Choose the platforms that align with your audience and create a presence that’s as magnetic as a superhero’s allure. Share your content, engage with your followers, and sprinkle in some personality and humor to stand out from the crowd. Remember, the key here is not just to shout from the digital rooftops but to genuinely connect and build relationships with your audience.

But wait, there’s more! Email marketing, the trusty sidekick of content promotion, allows you to enter the sacred space of your audience’s inbox. Craft attention-grabbing subject lines, deliver valuable content directly to their fingertips, and sprinkle in some exclusive affiliate offers to entice them to take action. Remember, the power of email lies in building trust and nurturing relationships. Treat your subscribers like VIPs, deliver value consistently, and watch as the conversions roll in.

the world of guest blogging — a realm where you don your guest cape and take center stage on someone else’s digital stage. Seek out reputable blogs in your niche, pitch compelling content ideas, and create guest posts that dazzle like a superhero’s grand entrance. Not only will you tap into a new audience, but you’ll also enhance your authority and credibility within the affiliate community. Remember, be a valuable guest, not a spam intruder, and leave your mark as a trusted expert.

With these supercharged content creation and promotion techniques, you’re well on your way to affiliate marketing glory. But remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a flourishing affiliate empire. Stay tuned for the next installment, where we’ll unravel the mysteries of maximizing affiliate revenue like true marketing masterminds. Until then, keep creating, promoting, and saving the day, fellow affiliate superheroes!

Maximizing Affiliate Revenue

A melody that plays to the tune of your success. As an affiliate marketer, your ultimate goal is to turn your efforts into a financial powerhouse, where your bank account sings with delight. So, grab your conductor’s baton, gather your marketing orchestra, and let’s uncover the secrets to maximizing your affiliate revenue like true virtuosos!

First and foremost, let’s talk about driving targeted traffic to your affiliate website. Just like a savvy detective, you must uncover the clues to your audience’s whereabouts and lead them straight to your virtual doorstep. Utilize search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to rank higher in search results, conduct keyword research to align your content with popular search queries, and create valuable backlinks that guide visitors to your site. Remember, targeted traffic is like an eager audience awaiting your grand performance, so don’t keep them waiting!

But wait, there’s more to this symphony of success! Building an engaged audience is like conducting a harmonious choir, where each member adds their voice to the grand performance. Foster a sense of community, encourage interaction and feedback, and provide value beyond your affiliate offerings. Be their trusted advisor, their go-to resource, and watch as your audience becomes loyal fans, eagerly awaiting your next affiliate recommendation. Remember, it’s not just about the sale — it’s about building long-term relationships that sing with satisfaction.

Now, let’s talk analytics the conductor’s baton that guides your every move. Embrace the power of data, like a maestro analyzing musical notes, and use it to make informed decisions. Dive into your website analytics, track conversion rates, and identify high-performing content and strategies. Fine-tune your approach, experiment with different techniques, and let the data be your guiding light. Remember, true mastery comes from understanding the numbers and using them to fine-tune your symphony of success.

the magic of conversions — where visitors transform into delighted customers, and your affiliate revenue soars. Embrace the art of persuasion, like a charismatic performer captivating an audience, and optimize your website for conversions. Utilize persuasive copywriting techniques, create compelling calls-to-action, and make the purchasing process as seamless as a well-practiced melody. Test different strategies, embrace A/B testing, and refine your approach to continuously improve your conversion rates. Remember, even the smallest tweak can make a significant difference in your affiliate revenue.

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But the symphony doesn’t end there! Remarketing, like a encore performance, allows you to reach out to potential customers who may have slipped away. Utilize retargeting ads, email campaigns, and personalized offers to re-engage those who showed interest but didn’t convert. Like a siren’s call, draw them back to your affiliate offers and let them experience the magic they missed the first time. Remember, sometimes all it takes is a gentle reminder to bring your audience back into the fold.

With these strategies in your repertoire, you’re well on your way to maximizing your affiliate revenue and conducting a symphony of success. But remember, the maestro never stops learning and refining their craft. Stay tuned for the final act of our affiliate marketing extravaganza, where we’ll uncover the secrets to compliance and legal considerations that will keep your performance on the right side of the law. Until then, keep conducting, keep optimizing, and let your affiliate revenue crescendo!

Compliance and Legal Considerations

Compliance and legal considerations the necessary safeguards that keep your affiliate marketing symphony in harmony with the law. While the world of affiliate marketing may seem like a stage where you can dance freely, it’s important to understand the rules and ensure your performance is met with applause, not legal repercussions. So, grab your legal score sheet and let’s explore the compliance and legal considerations that will keep you in tune with the law.

First and foremost, let’s talk about disclosure — a crucial element that ensures transparency and builds trust with your audience. Just like a magician revealing their secrets, you must disclose your affiliate relationships in a clear and conspicuous manner. Incorporate disclosure statements in your content, such as product reviews and promotional posts, to let your audience know that you may receive compensation for their purchases. Remember, honesty is the key to maintaining a strong bond with your audience, and transparent disclosure is the foundation of that trust.

Now, let’s turn our attention to the legal side of the stage. Familiarize yourself with the relevant laws and regulations that govern affiliate marketing in your jurisdiction. Understand the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines, which provide guidance on proper disclosure, endorsement, and testimonials. Stay up to date with any changes or updates to these regulations and adjust your practices accordingly. Compliance is like hitting the right notes — it requires constant vigilance and adaptation.

As an affiliate marketer, you must also be mindful of copyright laws and intellectual property rights. Respect the creative works of others and obtain proper permissions when using copyrighted materials. Avoid infringing on trademarks and ensure that your content and promotions don’t mislead or misrepresent any products or brands. Just like a conductor respects the composer’s score, you must honor the intellectual property rights of others to maintain a harmonious affiliate journey.

Privacy is another key consideration in the digital age. Protect the personal information of your visitors and comply with applicable data protection laws, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Implement secure data collection and storage practices, obtain proper consent for data processing, and provide clear privacy policies to inform your audience how their information will be used. Safeguarding privacy is like keeping a delicate melody safe from prying ears — it requires diligence and care.

Lastly, stay mindful of the regulations specific to the affiliate programs and networks you participate in. Each program may have its own set of terms and conditions, so familiarize yourself with their guidelines and comply with their requirements. Failure to do so may result in account suspension or termination, jeopardizing your affiliate revenue. Be a virtuoso of compliance, and follow the rules of each program with precision.

With these compliance and legal considerations in mind, you can perform your affiliate marketing symphony with confidence. Remember, compliance is not a one-time act — it’s an ongoing commitment to upholding ethical standards and staying in tune with the law. Now, take a bow, fellow affiliate virtuosos, and continue to create, promote, and thrive within the bounds of compliance and legality. Bravo!

Conclusion

And thus, we arrive at the final act of our grand affiliate marketing performance — a conclusion that harmonizes the key lessons, crescendos of success, and a standing ovation for your efforts. Throughout this enthralling journey, we’ve uncovered the secrets to mastering affiliate marketing, armed with insightful tips, cunning tricks, and a touch of humor. But remember, the pursuit of affiliate mastery is a never-ending symphony — an ongoing composition that requires continuous learning, adaptation, and a spark of creativity.

As you prepare to take your final bow, reflect on the symphony you have created. You have discovered the art of finding the right niche, carefully sculpting a solid website, composing captivating content, orchestrating promotion with finesse, and maximizing the sweet notes of revenue. These harmonious elements have laid the foundation for your success as an affiliate maestro.

Yet, beyond the technical aspects lies the essence of your performance — your authenticity. Embrace your uniqueness, infuse your personality, and let your passion resonate in every note you play. Your audience seeks a connection, a genuine voice that cuts through the noise of the digital landscape. Be that guiding star, the trusted conductor who leads them to remarkable experiences and valuable products.

As you navigate the symphony of affiliate marketing, remember that success extends beyond monetary gains. It is the symphony of relationships you build with your audience, the thrill of continuous learning, and the joy of making a positive impact. Celebrate each milestone, relish in the progress made, and cherish the bonds you forge along this remarkable journey.

But this finale is not the end — it signifies a new beginning. The realm of affiliate marketing is a perpetual composition, with evolving strategies, emerging trends, and innovative technologies. Stay curious, stay hungry, and adapt to the ever-changing landscape. Embrace experimentation, dance with the rhythm of change, and embrace the possibilities that lie ahead.

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And so, fellow maestros of affiliate marketing, step confidently onto the stage of opportunity. Let the algorithms be your symphony, striking chords of engagement, and weaving tales that captivate your audience’s hearts. Remember, the spotlight is yours, the audience awaits — now go forth and create a symphony that leaves them spellbound.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude for joining us on this exhilarating journey through the symphony of affiliate marketing. May your path be adorned with resounding success, harmonious relationships, and endless crescendos of achievement. Until we meet again, keep creating, keep inspiring, and let your affiliate marketing symphony echo across the world. Bravo!

Affiliate Disclaimer :

Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission at NO ADDITIONAL cost to you if you decide to purchase something. While we receive affiliate compensation for reviews / promotions on this article, we always offer honest opinions, users experiences and real views related to the product or service itself. Our goal is to help readers make the best purchasing decisions, however, the testimonies and opinions expressed are ours only. As always you should do your own thoughts to verify any claims, results and stats before making any kind of purchase. Clicking links or purchasing products recommended in this article may generate income for this product from affiliate commissions and you should assume we are compensated for any purchases you make. We review products and services you might find interesting. If you purchase them, we might get a share of the commission from the sale from our partners. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended.

Source : Mastering Affiliate Marketing: Tips and Tricks for Success

Thanks for reading my article on The Mastering Affiliate Marketing: Tips and Tricks for Success.

[merrysithmas]

hahaha soo boris took the painting from theo ("because he is a thief") but we been knew he actually he took it bc he knew how important it was to theo and that if he had it it would be a guarantee that they would see one another again in life should they ever get separated and hes v attached like supersized woah

THEN, theo legit deadass leaves like 10 mins after telling boris he needs to dip when his dad dies to avoid the system and boris is all, well if he leaves and finds out i took it maybe hell hate me forever??? so he tries to convince theo to stay, realizing he cant do that to theo, who values the painting so highly, or to himself, who values theo so highly

but fr fr theo is like GOTTA JET and straight up does not agree to hang around in vegas even a second longer, so boris is like fuck fuck well i screwed myself hes def gonna hate me: cant return it secretly, cant retrieve it w/o him knowing i took it, cant leave with him w/o it, so i guess im gonna have to keep it Wow This Is Going Exactly And Yet Nothing Like I Planned -- and lands a kiss on him like sayonara baby i might as well make this a Goodbye not just a goodbye (lower case) if this is going to be the last time you see me as more than the asshole who took your mom from you

so get this: FF eight whole ass years where they havent seen one another and Mr Stay Away From The Ones You Love Too Much Bc It Will Kill You "suspiciously" (see: gayly) has never contacted theo because A) he doesnt want to see how much he expects theo hates him bc it will, in fact, kill him and so long as he doesnt face the music it doesnt exist A La Boris, B) he later explains how the painting is out there and he doesnt want theo to have a known connection w him, and expects theo must be very nervous and frightened it will become known he took it from the museum

but like..... what !! keeps!! me up at night is that BORIS TOOK THE PAINTING SO HE'D NEVER LOSE THEO yet THE EXACT PAINTING WAS WHAT KEPT THEM SEPARATE FOR 8 YEARS, so like wow fuckup of a lifetime boris, and like???? he obv hated himself for it. he even admits he came "to love" the painting too - like theo did. it was a reminder of the best (his happiness in vegas and his abilities to still have friendship, kindness, and love despite his horrible life) and worst (the self-centered survivalist) of himself - ugh. pain.

MEANWHILE: the goldfinch that SMUG ass lil birb itself is literally the ultimate troll knowing EXACTY what it did to these 2 boys and how it was necessary for BOTH of their healing and development, like boris said, cajoling them into bad leading them around to good

not ONLY was the painting chaining them to their own character flaws (like the chain on the bird's foot), but irreversibly to each other, and getting rid of it together was their destiny

bye!!!

[thisdaynews]

5 Ways Trump Has Remade the Democratic Party

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/5-ways-trump-has-remade-the-democratic-party/

5 Ways Trump Has Remade the Democratic Party

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

analysis

It’s not just Republicans the president has indelibly altered.

For years, a growing stripe of Democrats has argued that what their party needs is a leader willing to shatter old assumptions, a radical disrupter.

Well, Democrats already have found their transformational figure for the 2020 campaign. His name is Donald Trump.

Story Continued Below

No one could miss the obvious ways this president—despite his deviations from traditional conservative orthodoxy—has turned the Republican Party into the pro-Trump party. It could be easy to miss, however, some of the less-obvious ways Trump also has made himself the defining force of the anti-Trump party.

All presidents tend to reshape the politics of their era, sometimes in ways that long outlast their time in office. JFK’s mastery of television infused once-dowdy progressive politics with a measure of glamour that politicians spent decades emulating; Reagan’s success in using well-turned anecdotes and homilies to drive a conservative movement shapes the presidency to this day.

It is striking, though, how true this has been even in the 2020 Democratic primary, in which the competition is over which candidate can most credibly claim that he or she will not just beat Trump but repudiate all he stands for.

On stylistic and even substantive grounds, Trump is arguably exerting more gravitational pull on Democratic politics than the party’s most recent president, Barack Obama, who left its down-ballot infrastructure in tatters, and far more than another Democratic figure, Bill Clinton, who once could claim that he had remade the party in his own fashion.

From the once-unthinkable candidates vying to replace this president to their mimicry of his hard-punching way of politics, Democrats are showing that it is possible—even unavoidable—simultaneously to loathe Trump and be swept along by his disruptive current. Here’s how Trump has indelibly altered how Democrats run for president:

1. Anyone’s Plausible

The most immediate way Trump is driving the Democratic debate is in the size of the presidential field—unprecedentedly large—and in its diversity, filled with candidates who surely would have flunked the plausibility test in an earlier time.

The threshold question confronting any candidate is basically a matter of imagination: Does it seem conceivable this person could really be president of the United States?

That question will never be the same in a Trump context. What is inconceivable compared to a reality-TV star and habitue of the New York tabloids with a decades-long trail of financial and sexual controversies?

Virtually every top-tier candidate on the Democratic side is benefiting to some degree from Trump’s demolition of old standards of presidential plausibility. Not long ago, a 77-year-old small-state socialist would have been deemed inconceivable, but Bernie Sanders is not. So would a 37-year mayor of the fourth-largest city in Indiana, but Pete Buttigieg is not. Nor Beto O’Rourke, who made few waves in just two terms in Congress and did not win his statewide race. Nor Elizabeth Warren, a liberal Massachusetts law professor who didn’t run for office until she was in her sixties, nor Julian Castro, who in years past would find few takers that his time as HUD secretary was a likely path to commander in chief. Even the most conventional pol, former Vice President Joe Biden, would at age 76 three decades after his first presidential run be seen as a highly improbable contender.

Some version of “Well, if Trump can win…” is the principal engine behind the fact that there are two dozen candidates—a number that itself would have been wildly improbable. In fact, it is candidates with impressive traditional credentials—senators like Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bennet and governors like Jay Inslee and John Hickenlooper—who are struggling most to clear the give-me-a-break bar.

Trump’s example has not only broadened the standards of presidential qualifications, but is helping erase old lines about disqualifications—unofficial standards that were nonetheless primly enforced by political insiders and the news media. If O’Rourke’s presidential campaign flops, it won’t be because arrests (charges later dropped) for drunken driving and burglary from the 1990s were an obstacle to his campaign, nor is the fact that Kamala Harris once publicly dated a married man (then-San Francisco mayor Willie Brown) around the same time. The more recent controversy over whether Biden is too handsy and familiar in ways that made some women uncomfortable has passed quickly. Never mind the phenomenon of Andrew Yang, whose geekiness would have made him a laughingstock in years past; or that of spiritual guru Marianne Williamson, who will likely make the debate stage along with sitting lawmakers Kirsten Gillibrand and John Delaney.

Simply put, it is impossible to imagine the current field or the broader story arc of the Democratic race so far were it not for Trump shattering traditional norms.

2. Cable Is King

Speaking of outdated norms, there was once a president who made it is his signature to boast about his dignified distance from the raucous uproars and obsessions du jour of the modern media cycle. That president was Obama, who struck a superior air while boasting constantly of his indifference to “cable chatter.”

But it is impossible to imagine Obama’s successor becoming president without his fixation with cable television—by many reports he watches several hours daily, and even records his favorite shows–and his mastery over how to manipulate the hyper-accelerated news cycle powered by the social media-cable ouroboros.

When Trump’s rise from noisy celebrity to presidential contender began four years ago, his path was cable—not simply the televised debates of 2015 and 2016, but the way his performances dominated channels for days afterward. Every Democratic presidential candidate, including Biden as frontrunner, is acutely conscious of the need to perform well at cable debates starting next month, and along the way to demonstrate that they are capable of competing with Trump on equal terms in the general election battle of media narratives. No Democrat could credibly claim to be indifferent to “cable chatter,” or would regard that as something to boast about.

3. Message Discipline Is for Losers

Not long ago, one of the paramount tests of effective campaigns was “message discipline,” the ability to stay on one’s own themes and avoid getting dragged into the daily rumpus. Operatives worked to make sure their candidate always managed to seem “presidential”—that is, with a certain dignified reserve and detachment from the seamier parts of the business.

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan (“We are the change”) Trump can credibly boast: “I am the rumpus.”

And with the possible exception of Biden, there aren’t any top-tier candidates on the Democratic side laboring to stay above the fray.

This has a substantive component, seen in the way candidates jostle with each other to be first to break from the crowd on questions like whether Trump should be impeached or whether they endorse the “Green New Deal” unveiled by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Edward Markey. As a Washington Post writer recently noted, it used to be virtually unheard of for presidential candidates to attack corporations and their leaders by name. But following Trump’s lead, Democratic candidates routinely unload on such companies as Amazon, ExxonMobil and Facebook.

The stylistic dimension is even more vivid. Pre-Trump, operatives likely would have worried that Pete Buttigieg’s husband, Chasten Buttigieg, was making a spectacle of himself on social media with his free associations about their pet dogs, his Harry Potter obsession, the guy drinking ginger ale next to him on an airline flight, as well as more reflective posts on what the campaign has meant to him. As it is, the candidate’s spouse’s fluency on Twitter makes him an important asset. O’Rourke is mocked in some quarters for livestreaming his haircut, but on balance his willingness to share his fascination with self on social media is considered a good thing. Even Elizabeth Warren is tweeting videos of throwing back beers or greeting her dog.

Trump has firmly set the precedent that if a thought is on his mind it is on his keyboard; even as most Democrats don’t emulate his regular stream of insults they are plainly in debt to his example. Understatement and reserve as signatures of a presidential style are in the past.

4. Deficits Don’t Matter

A few days before Obama was sworn in at his first inaugural, he gave an interview with the Washington Post during which he was at pains to emphasize his commitment to fiscal discipline. He announced a “fiscal responsibility summit” and, expanding on rhetoric from the campaign, said he was determined to address unsustainable costs to entitlement programs like Social Security “under my watch” rather than “kick the can down the road.”

That’s a reminder that even progressive leaders used to feel an obligation to match their appeals for expensive new domestic spending with furrowed-brow professions about how they realized there is a cost to everything. These statements were aimed not so much at conservatives but at moderates within the Democratic Party.

Trump has offered scant evidence rhetorically or substantively that he cares about budget deficits or entitlements costs. This has given Democratic presidential candidates a green light to blow off these questions, too. No top-tier Democrat is emphasizing deficit reduction or cost-control, and they are under no particular pressure from the media or voters to do so. Instead the competition is over who can present the most ambitious and pulse-quickening ideas—Medicare For All, free college, teacher raises, massive infrastructure investment and so on. That is a change from the environment faced by Hillary Clinton, Obama, John Kerry or Bill Clinton in their turns as nominees, and Democrats have Trump to thank.

5. Being a Uniter Is So Yesterday

Trump did not create the ultra-partisan politics with which he is so associated—this had been building for a quarter-century or more before his election. One difference with him, however, is that most of the time he never pays rhetorical deference to the notion of the presidency as a national unifier.

Every president from George H.W. Bush (“a kinder, gentler nation”) to Bill Clinton (who said he wanted to be “a repairer of the breach”) to George W. Bush (“I’m a uniter, not a divider”) to Obama (“There is not a liberal America and a conservative America; There’s the United States of America”) produced signature lines emphasizing the desire to bridge differences. Hillary Clinton called herself a “progressive who gets things done” by working with all sides.

This kind of rhetoric is largely absent from the Democratic contest. The partial exception, again, is Biden, and he is learning fast about the perils of offering himself as bridge-builder at a time when even many party moderates believe that Trump Republicans are so not on the level there is no point in trying to get along. His statement that Vice President Mike Pence is personally “a decent guy” caused an online uproar on the left and forced Biden to say he didn’t think Pence’s policies or politics were decent.

It was a reminder that Biden, probably more than any candidate, formed his political sensibilities in an earlier era—and long before many Democrats concluded that the right way to beat Trump is by embracing the reality that he has changed the way to run for president.

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