How To Win Friends and Influence People
... through social media, the internet, and common sense.
Since I started my blog in January of 2011, a lot of thing
have happened. I’ve improved my personal
reputation and public profile, and that of my company. I have gained some clients, requests to publish my
writing on national news sites, been invited to be a guest speaker at business
events, and along the way met all sorts of interesting people. However, I’ve made some mistakes and
missteps, and observed some brilliant and ludicrous behaviour along the way.
Every time I get spammed on a Linkedin group, or clean out
my junk email folder, or have to wade through pages and pages of junk on the
internet to find the useful information
I know is out there, I get incredibly frustrated by all the nonsense, noise,
and litter on the internet.
So, it’s time to break the fourth wall to the audience, and
share what I know *doesn’t* work.
Assume Some
Intelligence On Your Part
In the morning each and every day, I get a daily email to my
personal gmail account, offering to sell me LED shoelaces. Really?
It’s not that I wouldn’t think they were snazzy for my shoes, it’s that
I get these emails every darn day. Do
they think they can wear me down, and one day I’ll simply snap and order twelve
cases? Even if I wanted LED shoelaces, I
wouldn’t go looking for this email, just out of sheer contrariness. Is that any way to gain business?
If you are putting something out there on the internet, or
sending an email newsletter, you need to remember that the people whom you are
writing to have limited time, limited resources, and limited trust for whatever
you are saying (even if it’s free – maybe even especially then). If you want someone to do business with you,
or reach out to you, you need to build a little bit of trust. Assume you are going to be the recipient of
whatever you are pushing out there – is it useful? Is it timely?
Is your tone professional, or do you come across as a schlock-driven
sales guy? Would you respond to what you
are sending? Have you asked anyone to
look it over? The lesson here is get
someone to proofread it, whether it’s a co-worker, a potential client, or your
mom.
The next thing to consider is what is your end goal? Are you hoping to write the golden email that
lands a giant client that brings in millions of dollars? Because if you are thinking this, you’re
likely wrong. If you set a reasonable
goal, like having your message reach 2,000 recipients, with 200 people actually reading your article or
email, and have 4-6 people inquire or respond, that’s a fair end product. And that’s if you are targeting the right
audience.
Assume Some Intelligence
In Your Readership
LED shoelace newsletter guy, I’m talking to you right now –
pay attention. Daily emails aren’t going
to win me over. Assume I’m a discerning
consumer, and if I wanted LED shoelaces, I’d remember an email from a month
ago. Or better yet, put together a
useful website where you sell your shoelaces, and once a month send me an email
and tell me about a sale.
Here’s an example of success – Vistaprint (www.vistaprint.ca) sells imprinted products
for businesses and individuals in Canada, and I’ve purchased pens and other
company-marked products in the past here.
After I purchase something, they send me a daily sale email for about a
week ... and then stop. And some of
those daily sale emails include free GoogleAd coupons, free shipping, or free
samples of other products. Really useful
emails. But they stop if I’m not
buying. After a week of daily emails, I
get one about once a month. That’s
smart.
The next thing – write something *useful* and original. Receiving the same poorly written email each
day. My first article I wrote here (http://receivableaccounts.blogspot.ca/2011/01/small-claims-court.html)
didn’t have any real content or permanent use ... in fact, 23 people read
it. That’s it. By the time I wrote my fifth article (http://receivableaccounts.blogspot.ca/2011/02/collection-agency-legal-department-fact.html)
I had put out some content that’s still useful to this day ... it’s had over a
thousand people read it, and it still gets hits and emails almost two years
later.
I’m sad to say I started with Blogspot as my blog platform
... if I knew then what I knew now I would have gone with Wordpress ... but
Blogger has some excellent analytics (thanks Google!). I can see what articles are being read on a
live basis, and what Google keywords got them there. From that, I know what people are looking
for, what searches are associated with my articles, and what works (or doesn’t).
Target the right audience ... who are your articles going
to? How is your message going to
magically reach them? When I write to
credit managers or business owners, I get a great deal of traffic from
Linkedin. When I write for consumers, I
get my traffic from Facebook or Google searches.
So, don’t recycle news articles and assume it will make
people think of you ... write something original and enduring, potentially even
useful, and put it out where people can find it.
What I’ve Learned So
Far
This isn’t the first time I’ve written about this subject
... it’s something I’m still exploring and learning about, and I’m fascinated
by what others try to do (successfully or not).
I have it fairly easy in the credit and collections market, where no one
else is really writing, so I can be easily visible where others fear to tread. But still, I’m learning from the knowledge
and experience of others, and I wanted to share what I’ve seen. I’m setting up a separate library section on
the blog for my social media articles, and there are certainly more to come.
If you have any questions about social media, blogging,
writing, or just want to talk, I’m not selling anything and I’d be happy to
chat via phone or email. I’ve learned a
lot by the kindness and time of other people, and I believe in paying it
forward.
Thanks kindly,
Blair Wettlaufer
Kingston Data and Credit
226-444-5695
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