It May Be Time To Unsubscribe

You are amazing, and you should enjoy the work you do to promote your independent vision and unique style. Be you, it’s the only way to make this journey in life and business worth the ride! 

I’m going to make some statements, and I want you to answer yes or no based on your first thought. No consideration, just your knee-jerk reaction. And then I’m going to ask you to unsubscribe if you see no value in this information.

1. The world today is different because now companies have to ‘listen’ to people.
2. Emphasis on social media is the only way to get your name in front of people.
3. Blogging is impossible because you’re busy, but necessary, so now you’re stuck.
4. No one you need to talk to is following you online – anywhere.

No matter what your opinions about these statements are, this is the predicament, isn’t it? When we get away from ‘real’ relationships, the rest is just bull. If you’re just hollering your messages, only posting a few blog links once a month, well … you’re always gonna reap what you sow. It’s frustrating to go into your Facebook pages and see no interaction, to tweet every day and get no credible responses. And the spam is INSANE. I hear you.

Listening isn’t new, though, it’s Marketing 101. It used to be done down the street at the cafe or over at city hall. Networking isn’t new either, chambers of commerce are still the finest places you can mingle and get connected to other businesses. As a matter of fact, it’s a heckuva lot more rewarding because you can see facial cues and know if you’re actually communicating or not!

While I agree, online marketing has its challenges, I’d also like to point out that even if you decide to network face-to-face, you still have to be comfortable  talking to strangers or you’ll be ‘that’ guy at the meetings. It is possible to go to networking meetings and walk away unproductive. Common, even. Social media is no different.

The idea behind blogging, email and social media is that the truth of your dynamic difference can be shared in a way that costs you nothing but the time it takes to do it and the time it takes to learn to do it well. I teach classes on that by the way, and will be offering webinars to make it even easier for you. You can, if you want, reach specific people, target specific segments and learn to interact with them in a manner that is friendly, outgoing and knowledgeable. That’s rewarding, like any good relationship, more so over time.

I want our Inside Line subscribers to have the very best information available at their fingertips. We want you to find real value in our content, but I also want to set a good example, and let you know that it’s more important to me that you’re moved, encouraged, inspired or educated when you open our emails. If you’re not, please go ahead and unsubscribe.

Clean out your inbox. Get rid of the things that take your time but contribute no value, including this newsletter. Anything that just becomes noise is a detriment to your success, and you should be empowered to act, not be distracted with more annoyances. Focus on the steps you need to take to gain control of your marketing, whatever they may be for YOU.

Thanks Chris Brogan, of Human Business Works for the focus of this post and ideas that inspire ME.

I love to hear from you, please leave your comments below.