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Yep – I’m a Joiner!
Going Back to My Internet Marketing Roots
I’m back in bed after being up for a while, and I’ve had an epiphany.
It might be a fever-dream, but you know, sometimes those are good, too.
I’m going back to basics. Anytime I see a site where someone is selling Internet marketing services, I always think, “If they know so much, why aren’t they doing it for themselves instead of for someone else?” Because, you know what? If you’re good enough to be SELLING Internet marketing services, you should be using them yourself for more than getting people to your website. You should pick a niche and put your skills to the test.
So that’s what I’m doing. Not to prove a point, but because that’s where the profit is, my friends, and mama is turning over a new leaf in 2010. How much money can I make without having a client to answer to.
I’m not going to do it for anyone else. I’m going to do it for me. Treat myself like the best. client. ever and follow my own directions to the letter – and it’s going to rock.
Honestly, I’ve given away so much free advice in the last few years it could fill a book. A book I don’t want to write and that will become outdated too quickly. But, I will continue to give out advice to people who ask for it that probably have no idea that I’m handing them something that could change their lives.
But this year? It’s time to:
- Double the savings account.
- Pay off the student loans.
- Start working on paying off the house.
Standing in the way of my success for those plans?
- Me. (More specifically, my utter lack of consistent focus.)
I am my only hurdle.
Okay, me and the really loud kids I have. Sometimes I swear if the two older ones aren’t being loud the baby is crying. That hurts focus. But I will find a workaround.
I’m determined.
I’ve picked a few niches, some new, some old…all are totally unlike any from anyone else I know that has niche sites so we’re not double dipping or competing against each other…and I’m going to start writing tomorrow.
It is, in fact, game on like Donkey Kong.
Almost Done With Biz Setup (and why I’m not selling to you)
Today I spent the majority of the day working.
Yes, working.
Even though I’ve been playing Suzie Homemaker for the last couple months I’ve been going nutty without something to do that didn’t involve cooking or diaper changing.
It looks like I’ll be selling over at Etsy.com and maybe (depending on the TOS) Artfire.com as well. Of course there will be the standard website/blog combo and some traffic driving and all the good things that go with being in multiple places online.
And you know what? I’m not telling you what I’m selling or what name I’m selling it under. Cause it’s a secret.
I’m still pulled back from all the social networking online except for the random fun of Facebook, where I don’t have to see constant business updates or one more person trying to tell me that marketing isn’t about sales, it’s about SHARING and CARING and LOVE. (No, I don’t mean YOUR blog post…there are like twenty on the topic…stop being sensitive…you’re not the only one who blogged about it…LOL)
Almost anyone paying their mortgage is targeting customers like a freakin’ hunter in a forest. Want to know why? Because most customers are part of a herd. If you have to sell with sharing, caring, and love to get a sale…you’re selling to a really freakin’ small demographic – only a fraction of a percentage of which even have the money to buy your product or service. Love is awesome, but it is not the #1 go-to strategy for paying the bills. I’m not saying it can’t be done…just that it’s more difficult than traditional, effective, proven marketing techniques. (of course this varies based on what you sell, if it’s a product or service, who your demographic is, what your price point is – and a whole bunch of other stuff – I’m not trying to say what I’m saying is true for everyone, everywhere, everytime)
But whether your demographic has money or not – they WILL tell you how you should be running your business. So beware! Especially if you’re using social sites to promote your business. There are so many damn social media consultants out there – some of whom don’t even know that tagging pictures can be kind of a good thing – that it is difficult to NOT get advice about your business. (Remember, the first hit is always free…LOL)
One of my favorite movie quotes is from American Beauty, “In order to be successful, one must project an image of success at all times…” It’s like the Internet business owner’s mantra, and it’s kinda gross. I mean, if you look at my blog I’ll tell you about my debt, I’ll tell you when I don’t have money…but once I started doing really well…the money posts kind of dried up. Because I’m not into bragging or posting my paypal or bank account screenshots to show how much I made. Mostly because social media only gave me the connections to make that money. I had to SELL to actually score the cash in the account.
But the quote also reminds me that while there are some super successful people out there (like Ali Brown) that does not mean that everyone who seems uber successful actually are. In most cases there is no real way to find out unless you know them or know someone who knows them. Any more than one reliable degree of separation and there’s no way to verify or know for sure if who you’re talking to is the real deal.
Because good social networking and pink candy kisses and rainbows marketing is all well and good – but if you’re in it for a paycheck, you need to make sure your target is good, your advice is good, and your gun is loaded for bear.
As much as I love all of my readers, who are smart, funny, caring, and wonderful – I’m not selling to you. I’m selling to the person who bumped into you yesterday in the store and didn’t say excuse me. I’m selling to the guy who took up a parking space and a half because he was too lazy to back out and line the hell up into the space. I’m talking to the mom who is letting her kid yell at her in a public place because she believes she’s giving her child the freedom she needs to be herself. The people who still don’t get that credit cards aren’t a smart way to buy groceries. People who will spend money they don’t have.
I’m selling to a large niche that lives in the hugeness of the middle of the bell curve (and maybe even a little to the left). Not my awesome “so smart they’re at the right edge of the bell curve” readers.
So there’s your cynical business advice for the day. I’m still waiting for my new domain name to propagate or I’d be setting up my shopping cart and building my site. Guess it will have to wait ’till tomorrow.
Good night, and sweet dreams you smart, well-mannered, awesome people!
Oh, and I made the best cream of potato soup ever last week. It tasted the way I always wish it would when I order it from a diner. Just…perfect. Knowing I did that was a feeling I want to have again and again. Yea for homemade!
Common Courtesy and The Small Business
There is a lot going on outside my front door.
From a local networking event run by a woman I wouldn’t let watch my dog for fear of it getting beaten while in her care (hi, Lillian!), to a very expensive conference that I don’t think has anyone there I want to meet based on my business model…
Finding the right events to attend is absolutely, positively daunting!
Yeah, I know this sounds like I’m about to tell you the solution and you wonder how much I got compensated to tell you about it, but that’s not going to happen.
If I could find a way to figure out which local networking events weren’t a complete wash for me to go to, I’d tell you about the site or service without having to be approached by anyone.
I just can’t figure it all out.
I have a business, I do lots of work, I have very little free time and what free time I have I would prefer to spend socializing with friends than networking – only because I don’t get out of my house much and when I do I want to let loose and have fun…not have a conversation about how my knowledge of social media can help someone else’s business…and then have them take up an hour of my life pumping me for free advice.
That’s not fun.
Especially when those same small businesses owners (hi, Miss M!) then question an invoice even though I’ve spent hours and hours on the phone with them giving them free advice and not charging them for even a tenth of the time I spent on them.
Because they don’t notice everything I’ve told them and done, because they only want to pay for the one thing I said they felt they could do immediately. No one takes notes when I tell them stuff. How stupid are these people?
Thanks to her small business management, as well as so many others like her…I’ve begun actively avoiding small business owners. I’m not sure how to act and behave, I’m not sure what the boundary line is where I can point out that if they want to continue the conversation they need to start sharing some nuggets of wisdom because they’re being a leech.
Let me be clear. If I wanted to be a small business social media and online networking coach I would know what to say. But that’s not what I do.
I don’t want to coach and I don’t want to implement systems for people. Especially when I know that I’m going to undercharge for my services and still get nickel and dimed when the invoice comes due.
I know this is a mommyblog and the small business owners I want to say this to don’t read this blog.
But my earnest wish is that people, in general, would be more mindful of what they say and ask of other people. Common courtesy would solve most of the problems I have with small business networking events.
Not acting like a stalker (hi, Crazy Yoga Lady!) would probably be second on my wish list.
Small business owners drove me to work with agencies. To snuggle myself in the rules and regulations of brand documents and powerpoints and boundaries to work within. The comfort there is something I cannot even begin to explain.
While I’m blissfully happy consulting at the corporate level, I feel like there is so much I could – and ethically should – be doing locally to help my town and my own mini-economy within the small world outside my front door that I know I have to eventually figure it out.
What kind of person lives in a town and doesn’t help the locals with an aspect of marketing they really want – and sometimes need – to know?
Me, it seems.
But only for now.
Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice, That’s What Social Media is Made Of?
Not quite.
While everyone does, for the most part, do a great job of putting their best foot forward, people are people and to even try to make social media be anything more than regular humanity is shooting yourself in the foot. Or shooting your bottom line…or something involving shooting and pain and bad times.
Yes there are barriers to entry, but they only last so long and eventually the Internet will mirror society pretty well – even if it is mirroring a global society rather than a North American one. The Internet looks so much different now than it did in 1992 when I received and sent my first .gif file. Back then I was one of the hottest chicks on the Internet and no man could resist me.
I’ll wait for you to stop laughing.
Ok, ready?
But yeah, the hot chicks did not find the Internet as fast as us nerdy, geeky “lots of time on my hands because I don’t date or party” types.
And by golly didn’t we all relish that fact and roll around in our own little MuSHy and MUDdy and MOOey universes while we were the pretty people and the rock stars. Oh yes, yes we did.
Now? Lots of beautiful people and not everyone is as smart as they were in ‘92. Heck, I remember in ‘92 we were lamenting because the people on Telnet weren’t as smart as they used to be in the late 80’s when I started rocking the bulletin boards. (Back when I used to walk uphill to school both ways in snowdrifts taller than the Sears Tower.)
I’m 33, in case you were wondering. I know I’m making myself sound pretty old, so I thought I’d share.
The thing is, we weren’t saying this to the people we were making fun of. We said it among ourselves, the elite. So the signs are there and I fully admit I sometimes engage in mockery of those not as technically savvy as I am. You know, those people.
What does this have to do with anything from a corporation to a micro-business?
If you pretend the mockery and elitism doesn’t exist, you aren’t going to be able to put out a successful or even remotely memorable brand – because you are only using half-assed information to form your opinion of the Internet and you will only use that information you have to devise a brand strategy online which, because you have inaccurate data, will not give you the results you were hoping for.
To pretend there aren’t snake oil salesman and a bunch of broke people pretending they make fat stacks of cash from social media consulting any snips, snails, or puppy dog tails is to deny the humanity and wholeness of society presenting itself on the Internet. Especially in social media outlets where transparency and authenticity are vaunted while people pretend they are experts because they know more than their next-door-neighbor.
Ignoring the bullies and know-it-alls does not make them go away, it just means you aren’t prepared for them.
So enjoy the amazing success stories and the friendly foks and the smarties that are friendly while you surf the friendly sites – because all those things are really out there and you could be the next big thing, I’m not disputing that…but remember that it takes all types and not everyone is as successful or as friendly as you might think.
For your business? Have a plan…and for better and for worse know your fellow humans.
Recessions and Passive Income
I want to let you all know two secrets:
- Passive Income is a full time job.
- For most people, a recession is a mirage.
On passive Income
Everyone that runs a business from home eventually runs into an Internet Marketer that tells you that if you want to really succeed you need to get some passive income streams in addition to your regular business.
Passive income streams are a full time job. Sure, they eventually pay off and become passive (mostly) but in the beginning you’re looking at a lot of work. Don’t let anyone imply that you should be able to easily set up affiliate accounts to make enough money on the side to make a difference in your life.
Well, let them imply, just don’t listen.
On recessions and link-baiting
This recession thing is getting on my last nerve. I get at least three emails a day touting recession-proof businesses. As long as you can find someone to hand you money, you’re recession proof. If you suck at sales, consider honing your networking skills, because it doesn’t matter what the economy is doing, people still spend money and they give it to the people they like most.
Plus, because we did not have two quarters of negative growth…it wasn’t even really a technical recession, that’s why Alan Greenspan called it a "soft recession." So stop worrying. Do what you need to do to keep getting clients, and leave the Chicken Little panic to someone else (hopefully your competition!)
Be the person they like with the service they need and you’ll never need to utter the word, "recession."
No Wonder I’m Half Crazy
So I tell myself, "Self, you cannot run this marketing business thing with these toddlers. You’re just not up for that kind of torture."
Genius. Work less, take care of the kids more. What could possibly go wrong, right?
I still want to build something, though, something lasting and good. So, in preparation of this dramatic change in lifestyle, I write a book. I know it’s really a book because I have a lovely proof copy on my desk, looking at me, right now.
At this point, I decide my new focus is writing. I’m going to:
- Have a blog on a sponsored network (like b5media) – check
- Monetize current blogs (minimum 2, maximum 6) – currently at the minimum but that’s okay.
- Score freelance writing gigs to bring in extra income that will then pay for…
- Lulu POD books to be sold at speaking engagements that will then fund…
- Self publishing Non-Toxic Networking in a run of 5,000 or some insane number of copies that will be handled by a fulfillment house. (Just so you don’t think I’m putting all those books in my garage.)
This is something I always do to myself. I say, "I’m going to make this easier on myself." Then I proceed to create three full time jobs and beat myself over the head wondering why i can’t get anything done.
Part of me seems to think that just by giving something the label of easy, that makes it easy.
Pingg, your invitation has arrived.
Thank you TechCrunch! As I patiently wait for my final manuscript to come back from the editor, I’ve been researching how to send out the round of e-invitations that should start the buzz-generator of party-goodness that is going to occur at a fabulous launch party in Chicago.
Of course, without the manuscript I have no idea when the party will be, so goodness only knows how this is all going to work out. You’ll never hear me say I’m an event planner! However, in the meantime I still need to have everything ready to go so I don’t bite my fingernails to the quick. (Oh, and to save time and be prepared once I do get the manuscript back.)
At first, I assumed I’d be using an Evite invitation. Sure, more often than not they end up in spam filters, but I figure that’s okay because I know most of the people on my list and can tell them to check the spam for my invite. It is true Evite’s invitations are canned-looking and difficult to customize well. Oh, and of course the piece de resistance – the part where you can’t get the details of where you’re going without clicking on your email and visiting the Evite website.
I don’t know about you but I’m just not that into going to the Evite website for every event I’m asked to attend. I want to open my email and see where I’m supposed to go. (This is usually done five minutes after I was supposed to leave, when I realize I forgot to print out directions for how to get to the event.) Needless to say, going to the evite website to get details takes about thirty more seconds than I want it to – then add to that adding the info into Mapquest, and it’s a hassle.
Of course the hassle might be worth it if the invitations were stunning. I’m always willing to compromise.
But with Pingg, I don’t have to compromise!
Beautiful designs (and you can upload your own, too!) All that lovely party invitation goodness packed right into the beautiful email that goes right into your email inbox. Pretty *and* functional, who’da guessed it was possible, right?
For an additional charge they will even send SMS invites and printed invites for really not-bad prices. Of course, I’m planning on designing my own invites and sending those out myself. But I could see that being a big selling point for someone who doesn’t want to design a postcard (or address them…even I’m dreading that portion of the program…)
So now I just have to make sure my book cover really looks phenomenal, because it’s going to be the main image for the party invitation.
Yes, I’m into the branding thing, how did you guess? If you’re not on the list yet, sign up over there in the upper left-hand corner. I’m not spammy, I’m actually quite fun…and you’ll get a discount code when the book Non-Toxic Networking is released!
Technorati Tags: pingg, online-invitations, evite, pretty-and-functional, personal-branding, non-toxic-networking, launch-party
Recession? Depression? WTF? Everyone’s freakin’ out!
Between reading articles about the Government buying Assets so we don’t all go crazy when a depression hits, straight through to all the sales pitches in my inbox telling me I can buy something to teach me how to sell during a recession.
I’m getting a little tired of all this craziness.
Little wonder only 19% believe the country is headed in the right direction. The government may not yet have declared a recession, but millions of households have.
So we don’t trust individuals to vote for a president without the help of an electoral college, but someone, somewhere does a study (without letting us know the +/-% it could be off, you know, the thing that lets you know if it’s a *real* study or not) and only 19% of…um…people in the country? Housewives? CEOs of fortune 100 companies? Recession gnomes? Who did they interview for this?
But “millions of households” have declared a decision!
Well, you know what…I think that millions of households are probably talking about recession and belt-tightening and scaling it back. My household is one of them. We live very simply here, and the one thing we do that is special (i.e. bringing in take-out for dinner on Friday night, because I’m too exhausted to cook one more meal) is going to continue.
The Forbes article continues:
When the economy is strong, consumers are optimistic about their own prospects–and act accordingly. They are willing to spend, invest or run up debt, assuming the future will be better than the past. In a downturn, assumptions about the future are turned on their head, as more and more people fear the foreseeable future could well be worse than the past. Right now, there’s plenty of reason for consumers to be pessimistic. Increasingly, their behavior reflects this souring mood.
Now, I’m no economist, but I know that my husband’s family has this wacked out philosophy about how debt is fine as long as your investments are making more than your debt. Whenever they try to explain it to me I feel like I’m listening to someone who’s found a way to cheat the system. Unless that is the system. I don’t know.
My family? I come from a long line of women that came from a matriarch that has been debt free since she was about 30. She doesn’t “believe in” debt. Like it’s a religious belief…the second coming of debt, perhaps?
But someone like me listening to someone talking about balancing debt with investments. Basically calling me naive and not-so-smart for wanting to pay off all my back debt (student loans, the car, the house, random medical bills from my past.) They think I’m weird because my family doesn’t have credit cards. They say things like, “But..you get free money for using a credit card!” and my personal favorite, “But, we went on a cruise with our points!” The theory is that you just pay off the balance at the end of the month and viola, you get points and free money and you didn’t have to pay that god-awful interest.
You KNOW they all are carrying balances on those cards. You know because they say “all you have to do is pay it off at the end of the month” which is a world of difference from “we pay the balance off at the end of the month” – besides, I’ve heard them talk about getting a new 0% card and transferring the interest.
I’m fine with my level of debt right now. I don’t like having it, and want to get rid of it, but there is nothing in my past that has compound interest. It all just sits there waiting to be paid or settled or whatever you do to get rid of it.
With the tax return this year, we’re paying off the car. The tax rebate check (if it comes) will take care of some of that medical bill and random debt that’s just hanging out on our credit reports. Then we can call the student loan places and get back on track with them because we won’t have a car payment anymore and that can go toward something else.
The goal here is to be debt free, and I don’t understand how a downturn in the economy is going to change that plan.
Oh! The marketing aspect of the article from above states
For marketers, all this adds up to a big question: How do people act differently when they see dark clouds on their financial horizon?
I can’t figure out why any marketer would be afraid of a recession. Recessions mean that companies need to use marketing even more effectively in order to keep the business they have. All the marketer needs to do to close more clients is to mention that effective marketing and expansion of your marketing efforts to the Internet will allow you to expose your product/service to a larger base and tap into more people. Being on the Internet is mandatory during a recession, because you can’t rely on being the corner store everyone stops in anymore because the people in your town are going to be spending less money, and that translates into lower profits for you. Let us set you up online with an integrated marketing campaign that’s based in emotion and you will see better results than your competitors that are pushing the same old thing. Blah, blah sign the contract blah, blah copywriting blah blah.
Seriously, is this rocket science? I don’t think so, it’s basic human emotion, and business owners are human (trust me, I know, they really are.)
I’m telling you, the number one thing that’s going to sell in a recession (now that we have the Internet) is the info-products on how to make more money, how to get more clients, and how to get more customer referrals. Nothing sells like how to make more money when people are afraid their money is all going to go away.
Use this knowledge for good, not evil. Thanks!
Technorati Tags: recession, depression, forbes, reuters, credit-cards, tax-rebate, financial-planning, marketing, recession-marketing
