Jay Baer has a new book coming out in June 2013. It’s called Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help not Hype. In case you don’t know Jay, here’s how he introduces himself:

I’m Jay Baer. A hype-free marketing strategist, speaker, and author. I’m the founder of Convince & Convert, a social media and content consultancy.

I know Jay because I read his blog at Convince & Convert, subscribe to his daily email that provides social media updates, and listen to his Social Pros podcast. I wouldn’t describe myself as a hardcore Jay Baer fan, but I do respect and trust him.

And while I’m certain his book will be good, that’s not why I bought it. I have more books on the shelf than I can read in the next 10 years.

I bought, or actually pre-ordered, Youtility because of an email Jay sent out. And I was so impressed with the marketing lesson in this email campaign, that I am compelled to share it with you.

How We Usually Sell

You know marketing. Either because you are a marketer, or you’ve been marketed to. So you know that when you sell something, you sell not the “features” of the product, but rather the “benefits” users will get from the product.

I would have expected Jay’s email to read something like this:

Youtility gives you a whole new way to look at marketing. You’ll learn:

1. How one tweak in your marketing strategy can double your profits;
2. Why people don’t buy from you, and how to change that within a week; and
3. The 3 ways you can help your buyers that will help your bottom line even more.

(Note: I totally made this up. The book isn’t out yet, and I have no inside connection to an advance copy).

By the end of the email, I would expect to feel like I needed to buy this book today or my business would be bankrupt within a year. And, this strategy would work. I, and many of you, would buy the book based on the belief that it would help us make more money in our business.

Isn’t that why we buy most business products ~ to help your business’ bottom line? Certainly nothing wrong with this traditional marketing strategy.

How Jay Baer Sold Me

But Jay’s email was different from the start. The subject line read: “I need a favor, please”

So it started out about him, not me. And it continued. The first line read:

This is a very exciting (and important) week for me, as it’s the final push to collect pre-orders for my new book Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help not Hype. Can I count on your help?

The email goes on to give a brief description of what the book’s about, and outlines the bonuses you’ll get for pre-ordering the book. It ends with this:

We produce a TON of free content here at C&C [Convince & Convert], and I don’t ask much in return. But this week, I really need a hand.

True, you can order the book for a couple dollars less at Amazon. But I can’t compete heads up against those guys, and I’m trying to keep all my pre-orders in one batch for best-seller list purposes. Thus, all the bonuses that are available if you order from me, this week.

Will you please buy a copy this week? I’d sure appreciate it.

Sincere thanks for your support of all that I do!

And so I bought. Why? Not because the “bonuses” are worth an inflated $10,000+ (as is normal). The bonuses are cool, but pretty modest in comparison to what you often see.

I bought because Jay reminded me that Convince & Convert gives me quality, free content on a daily basis. And the least I could do is pony up $20 as a way to thank him, and to help him out when he asked.

I bought because he didn’t try to convince me it was in my best interest, but rather he authentically asked for a favor. Like my “real life” friends ask me to buy girl scout cookies from their kids.

How to Make This Unconventional Marketing Work For You

Interesting story, but how can you use this to make more money in your business? First, ask yourself: “If I sent an email like Jay Baer’s to my list, how would they respond?” If you would be reluctant to send such an email, why? If you did send such an email, what reason would you be able to give your readers for doing a favor for you?

Maybe you can see where I’m going here. It’s crucial that your list know, like and trust you. If they do, they’ll buy from you when it benefits them.

But if you really rock their world, they’ll come to adore you, appreciate you, and advocate for you. And that’s where the magic happens.

Easier said than done? Yes. That’s why not everyone is doing it. It takes a team to do what Jay does at Convince & Convert. Can you imagine sending a highly valuable social media update to your list five days a week? Even though it’s curated and usually not original content, to make this a quality offering would be a full time job for the solo entrepreneur.

But, not to worry, you can do this. For today, let’s start here. Imagine that your list consists of only one person. But if you treat this one person right, they have a future value of millions of dollars to you. What would you do to show this person you are worthy of their millions? And to convince them that, in fact, the value will be more to them, than what you’ll get from the relationship?

As an entrepreneur, your time is money. And although you may not realize it (yet), your time is more valuable than your money. There’s always more money to be had. Not so for time.

So, let me get to the point. If you’re ever going to have the business of your dreams, you’re going to have to change what you do with your time.

One of the first things I do with my private coaching clients is take a look at how they’re spending their time. And what I way too often find, from my clients and from other social media conversations, is that many online entrepreneurs are wasting at least 50% of their time.

And I don’t mean wasting time in the sense of watching too much TV, or hanging out at the pool or your favorite happy hour too often. I mean sitting down to work on your business with a “to do” list in front of you that contains hours worth of time-wasters.

There are 3 things I see over and over again that many people are doing too much of, with little or no return. The first person I identified doing too much of these things about a year ago was me. And when I started replacing these activities, I started reaching my business goals faster. And, I started making more money!

I am not alone. And unfortunately, too many people continue to fall into these time sucks. If you are one of those people, today is your day to reorder your priorities.

Webinars and “Training” Videos

The easiest and most effective way to launch any kind of product these days is by inviting people to a webinar; or sending them a series of training videos, followed by a sales video. I love both of these methods. But. It means you can attend at least one webinar every day. And you can spend at least one hour listening to these training/sales videos every day.

And 99% of the time, it’s a waste of your precious time. Resist the urge to even sign up or opt-in to these things unless you can answer the following questions with a “yes:”

1. Is the topic of the webinar/video something that is relevant to my business now? (Not something you just know you’ll need “when . . . .”).
2. Is the presenter someone I know to give away valuable content for free? (These alleged learning tools often teach you nothing of significance).
3. If the webinar/video delivers what it promises, will I implement what I learn within the next 2 weeks?
4. Can I listen to/watch the presentation and still get all of my revenue generating activities done on that day?

Track what you actually do. Are you learning from these things? If so, are you implementing? Or, are you just buying stuff you never end up using because you’re a marketer’s dream and can’t resist the call to action at the end? (I reluctantly raise my hand here!) If so, stop it.

Facebook Groups

Oh how the life of an online entrepreneur can be a lonely one . . . Some late nights I’ll turn on the TV just for the adult interaction it gives me. Okay, not really, but as great as it is to work at home and be your own boss, it can leave you feeling a little isolated.

And Facebook groups are a great way to network with people who actually get you. They’re also a great way to bounce ideas off people who know a thing or two. And to meet people you can JV with, or who can help promote you because they respect your stuff.

The problem is this. You rarely make money directly from Facebook groups. And it’s really easy to spend hours in them. Because there are lots of them! So here are the rules you need to play by when it comes to giving up your precious time by hanging out in Facebook groups:

1. Belong to only 1-2 free public Facebook groups that you participate in daily. (1 if you’re also into LinkedIn groups or Google+ communities).
2. Make sure you consistently contribute value to the group, and that you get value from the group. Real, actionable value, not just “support.”
3. Turn group “notifications” to “off.” That way you won’t be distracted when your friends post there. Go to the group only at scheduled times, and only for the number of minutes that you’ve scheduled it for.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t be in Facebook groups for the support, networking, and friendship they can provide. But, you can’t be hanging out in those groups for those purposes during your work hours. You’ll have to use your free time for that.

A note about private/paid Facebook groups: It’s almost standard that any product you purchase comes with access to a “private” Facebook group. One that’s only for those who bought the product or program. Those can be invaluable. Use them if they are. But again, do it with restraint. Like you’re at work, not happy hour. And, don’t hesitate to walk away from such groups if you’re not getting and giving value in them.

Sharing the “Luv”

There’s nothing more exciting than having people comment on your blog post; or RT, share, like, 1+ or comment on your social media content. Not only does it feel good, it actually is good for your business. The more exposure you get, the bigger your audience grows, and the more money you’ll make.

To kickstart this exposure before you are a household name, many people participate in various kinds of “share the luv” events. You post a link to your blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, or Pinterest profile, and agree to comment on and/or share content from everyone else who posts their link.

This is actually a good idea. But, like most things, there can be too much of a good thing. Many Facebook groups have daily “luv” events. Which means you end up spending an hour, and usually much longer, working through the list each day. And the return on that investment of your time just doesn’t justify it.

Again, I’m not saying never do this. I recently wrote an article that included my favorite services for sharing the luv. But, take care to closely follow these guidelines:

1. Make sure the events you are participating in involve others in your market, or a related market. You aren’t going to get much benefit from exposure to a totally unrelated market. And, the audience you are sharing things with is not going to be impressed by you sharing completely unrelated content that they likely have no interest in.
2. Pay attention to your results. Have you been participating in “share the luv” events every day for a year? If yes, something is wrong. These agreements to share content are a way to get you started. You should be building up an audience that wants to share your content, and asks for nothing in return. And “results” doesn’t mean your numbers are growing. It makes no difference how many Facebook fans or Twitter followers you have, or how low your Alexa ranking is, if the numbers in your bank account aren’t growing.
3. Give these events the priority they deserve. If you aren’t making the money you want in your business, you don’t have time to be doing these events every day.

What I’m Not Saying . . .

I  want to stress that I am not against doing any of these three activities. The downside to each of them is that they have a great potential for taking way more of your time than they should. Quite simply, they are not the best use of your time.

So, if one of your complaints is that you don’t have time to do the things it takes to make your business wildly profitable, try eliminating the time you’re spending on one or more of these activities. Let me know how it goes. And, please share in the comments your best tips for maximizing your productivity in the hours you spend on your business.

We’ve been talking about how to attract quality people to connect with you on social media. And how that strategy beats the time-consuming task of chasing the numbers.

I told you that the best way to attract an engaged social media audience is to put out quality content, consistently. And then connect with others who are happy to help promote your content.

Now it’s time to look at exactly how to go about doing those things.

What is Quality Content, and How to Create Some

A big part of social media is sharing other people’s content. And certainly you want to do that, and do it often. But, ultimately, you’re going to need your own great content to establish yourself as an authority in your market.

With content marketing being “where it’s at” right now, it’s not good enough to just write anything and put it out there. Your content has to be quality, or no one’s going to come back for more.

When I write, my foundation goal is always to produce something that will make people want to add me to their “favorites.” That could mean subscribing to my list; adding me to their Reader; or putting me on their Facebook Interest lists, Twitter list, or “special” Google+ circle. That’s how you define “quality.”

How to create quality content could fill at least a book, but here are some of the important starting points to get you thinking:

• Be relevant and creative: This can be a little tricky. You want to be creative, and write about things others aren’t writing about. But, you also want to be relevant, and cover what others are writing about so your audience doesn’t have to go elsewhere to keep up with what’s happening in the market. The key to creating content on the same topics everyone else is talking about is to give it your own unique presentation.

• Solve a problem in a step-by-step manner: Always focus on problem-solving for your market. And make the solution as easy to follow and implement as possible. Generally, your market is online looking for answers, not for your opinion, or to be entertained.

• Focus on action, not theory: Give your readers something they can actually use. Make sure they walk away with something they can do that will make their life better or easier.

• Give away your best stuff, but leave them wanting more: Don’t make your content about selling your stuff. Instead, make it about helping your audience. Give them such incredibly valuable information that they can’t wait to pay you for what brilliance certainly lies beyond your “free” line.

• Vary your content type: Use written, audio, and video content. Different people will be attracted to the various types, and your faithful readers will appreciate the variety.

“Consistently,” Defined

Here’s the place where a lot of “experts” are missing the boat, and causing a lot of their followers to needlessly struggle. Yes, you must be consistent. But, “Consistently” doesn’t equal “Constantly.”

Unless you have a great team, and I’m assuming you don’t (yet!), you can’t be everywhere all the time. So stop trying. And stop posting “good morning,” and “good night,” and “what’s for lunch,” every day on your social media accounts. That does not meet the definition of “quality content.” (I know, there are a few exceptions. If those kind of posts work for you, who am I to tell you to stop. But, they aren’t the best or easiest or even a good way to build a targeted following that will grow your business)

Ultimately, you’ll have to define “consistently” by experimenting. But, for starters, you should be blogging at least once a week, and posting on your chosen social media platforms daily. Figure out how often you need to post by seeing what it takes to engage people in conversations there.

Where to Find the Right Connections

This may feel a little like a Catch-22 situation. You need lots of good people to promote your good content, but you can’t gather those good people, until they’ve seen your good content.

Fortunately, you aren’t the first one to have this problem. So, there are lots of good solutions. You just have to connect with people who will help you, and be willing to help them in return. Here are my favorite sources for connecting with others who will get the word out about your great stuff.

• Triberr.com ~ Start your own tribe of bloggers, or join one in your market that already exists. All tribe members’ RSS feeds appear in one spot inside Triberr, and you can then easily share with any or all of your social media networks.

• JustRetweet.com ~ JustRetweet is based on a point system that allows you to award people points in exchange for sharing your content. You spend the points you accumulate when you request retweets from others.

• SocialBuzzClub.com ~ This is a paid service, just $10 a month, but is worth the money. The content you see here is usually high-quality. Members agree to share content on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

• Twitter Lists, Facebook Interest Lists, Google+ Circles: Make lists and circles of people you see creating good content. Consistently share their stuff. There’s no guarantee they’ll share back, but many will. This can be a slower way to get your content shared, and is “hit and miss,” but I’ve formed some of my best mutual sharing relationships this way.

The Good News Is . . .

Once you start doing these things ~ writing quality content, consistently, and connecting with others who will share it ~ you will start to notice the snowball effect taking over. At first, you’ll have to produce more content, and work harder to get people to share it.

As the word gets out, and  more people get used to seeing your good stuff, you’ll be able to create less content, and it will be shared by even more people, while you’ll find yourself spending less time working to get people to share it.

Give it a try, and let me know how it works out for you. What works best? Do you have ideas and/or experiences that work even better for you? Are you still struggling in some area? Let me hear it in the comments below.

It seems like tragedy has firmly implanted itself as a part of our country, and therefore as a part of social media. I’ve read opinions trashing the way businesses handled their social media after the Colorado theatre shooting, the Newtown school shooting, and the recent Boston Marathon bombing.

Everyone has an opinion as to what your business should and shouldn’t post on its social media networks in the midst of tragedy. And, of course, their opinion is right.

On the day of the Boston Marathon bombing, nearly all of the criticism seemed to fall on one person, Guy Kawasaki. While many, if not most, high-visibility brands stopped posting on their social media networks, Guy let his automated tweets continue to post on Twitter.

In case you don’t know Guy (@GuyKawasaki), he’s a prolific tweeter. He tweets several times an hour. Many of his tweets are automated. And, he hires people to curate the content and post tweets for him. There are things that people can (and do!) criticize about his Twitter strategy. But, with nearly 1.3 million followers, it looks to me like it’s working for him.

When news of the Boston Marathon bombing broke, I shut down my social media postings for the day. Nothing that I was thinking about saying seemed to matter at the time. So, I did what felt right to me. Apparently, this is what felt right for many other people too. And they decided to tell Guy that it’s what should feel right for him. Here’s a sampling:

Guy’s response was, well, probably not perfect:

It was likely this response, more than the continued tweeting, that suddenly made Guy “Public Enemy #1.” And yes, Guy acknowledged his response probably should have been deleted before he sent it, in this exchange with Jon Loomer:

But the damage was already done. Articles started sprouting up slamming Guy Kawasaki for the continued auto-tweeting and ~ especially for ~ the reference to people with less than 1500 followers. The articles are still being shared on Twitter and Facebook, and Guy continues to get called all kinds of names and unfollowed by a few angry former-fans.

I don’t agree with Guy’s decisions on this tragic day. But, his words and his actions certainly don’t qualify him as “one of the biggest jerks on the Internet.” I have no special love for Guy Kawasaki, but I do have 5 things to say in his defense.

1. Life Goes On

As heart-breaking as the bombing was, the world did not stop. There were still businesses to run, “to do” lists to complete, and even other relevant news to be shared.

No one faulted McDonald’s for not calling the tv stations and asking them to pull their ads for the day. No one criticized the grocery stores for remaining open, and continuing to do business as usual without so much as even pausing for a moment of silence.

In continuing his scheduled tweeting, I don’t see how Guy did anything different than any of those millions of other businesses did.

2. Would You Take Advice From Someone Who’s Not an Expert in Your Field?

As for the comment about people with less than 1500 followers telling him how to tweet ~ well ~ that’s probably one of those you think without saying out loud.

But certainly, this is the attitude I’ve seen many experts express. They just put it more delicately. A common tweet or status update goes something like this: “Be careful who you listen to. Everyone claims to be an expert, but if they haven’t done what you’re trying to do, then how can they teach you to do it?”

I don’t completely buy into that, but there is some truth to it. Should Guy Kawasaki take advice on his social media strategy from people with few followers and no apparent credibility on the topic of social media strategy? Probably not. (I wouldn’t). Does that mean those people have nothing valuable to say? Again, probably not. Yet that’s how the haters interpreted Guy’s comment.

3. Social Media is Not “One Size Fits All”

Just because you and I found the proper strategy to be shutting down social media posting, doesn’t mean that was the proper strategy for everyone. I’m thinking Guy Kawasaki is in touch with his strategy, and what’s best for his audience.

And yes, there were a few complaints. But the number was tiny compared to the number of followers Guy has. And, there hasn’t been a drop in his following over the past 5 days.

Personally, I find promoting yourself in the name of the tragedy to be a worse strategy, yet all kinds of people were doing that without anyone complaining. I agree with @KludgyMom:

In addition to the quicky (and lame) SEO’d posts, I saw a couple of graphics floating around on Facebook that seemed to be about nothing other than self-promotion. They both showed an obvious stock photo of happy runners, unrelated to the Boston Marathon, with a message about prayer for the people effected by the bombing written across it.

These graphics started appearing within minutes of the bombings. Not only were they in poor taste, in my opinion, they served no purpose other than to promote the businesses posting them. I’m not saying these businesses weren’t praying for those effected. But prayer wasn’t the first thing on their agenda.

But, who am I to question those businesses’ social media strategy? If it works for them, great. I can “unlike” them if it doesn’t work for me.

4. Your Reaction Shows Your True Colors

Typically, when a business (or individual) screws up and lots of people notice, they quickly delete the offending tweets and try to offer up a lame and unconvincing excuse. The silliness behind deleting the tweets is that it’s too late. Once people notice, the screen shot is going to exist forever.

What did Guy Kawasaki do? He left the tweet up, and admitted that he probably shouldn’t have said it. As people continued to vilify him on Twitter, he invited them to leave their email address so he could explain his side of it to them in more than 140 characters. If he was really the arrogant ass people are trying to make him out to be, he would just ignore the fallout.

His reaction shows that even if he isn’t taking social media advice from people with less than 1,500 followers, he does value relationships. In fact, Guy is one of the few “gurus” who’s engaged with me directly on social media, both on Twitter and on Google+. And that’s what it’s all about.

5. People Should be Encouraged to be Themselves

Finally, isn’t social media about being real? Forming relationships with people you could never have in “real life?” Naturally, not all 500 million people on Twitter are going to be a fit for you. That doesn’t mean they are “bad” people, or that they deserve to be personally attacked in the way I’ve seen people do over the last week.

I think @MelissaOnline summed it up best:

You do have over 500 million choices, you know . . .

Whether you agree with me, or not, I’d love to hear your thoughts specifically on Guy Kawasaki, or in general on social media strategies during a tragedy.

When you talk about how to increase the number of social media followers you have, people listen. Because more followers equals more money for your business, right? Well, as we talked about last time, bigger is not always better when it comes to your social media following.

The Social Media Numbers Game is Hard Work

Most advice focuses on ways to get people to click “like” on your Facebook page, or establishing a daily routine of following and unfollowing people on Twitter. All with the goal of increasing your social media numbers, and therefore, hopefully, your influence.

There are a couple of downsides to playing the numbers game with social media. First, you are going to end up with a lot of followers who you have no influence over. Two things will happen with these people. Either (1) they’ll never be anything more than a number to you, or (2) you’ll work long and hard to build a relationship of trust with them.

The second downside to this method is that it takes a lot of time. Every day. Posting and replying. Searching out new connections. And not just on one social media network, but on two or three, or more. There is no effective “set it and forget it” method. No leveraging your time.

But, is There a Better Way?

You could decide that social media is just too time-consuming. And go after a quicker and easier way to build your business. But that’s not a good choice these days. Despite its drawbacks, social media really is the easiest and most effective way to build your business.

However, rather than spending your days focused on growing your social media numbers, what if you could focus on producing content that hung around for weeks, or months, or years? Instead of content that disappears in the Facebook news feed in a few hours, or the Twitter feed in a few seconds.

Then you wouldn’t have the daily pressure of trying to attract new followers, and to entertain them with consistently new and brilliant stuff.

Focus on Attracting People, Not Chasing Numbers

The best way to increase your social media numbers is to establish yourself as someone who does good stuff, so that people will want to follow you. This is a much easier way to gain a targeted following of people than gathering the numbers first, and then fighting to prove your worthiness to them.

How do you establish yourself as a trusted authority? You produce quality content, consistently. And then connect with others who will promote it, because they appreciate its value.

Caution: This may not be the fastest way to grow your numbers on social media, and it may not even give you the biggest numbers.

But, shifting your focus to establishing yourself as an authority, rather than on gathering “likes” and “follows,” does something that is crucial to your online business. It puts you in the position of attracting people to you, rather than chasing after the numbers.

This is key for two reasons. First, attracting people to you is passive. You put out good content, sit back, and wait for them to come. On the other hand, chasing after potential followers is necessarily active, which means it requires your precious time.

Second, you will attract an audience that is already engaged and trusting of you, which means you will immediately have more influence with your followers than if you are chasing numbers.

What Does this Mean for Your Online Business?

So what exactly do you need to do to shift your focus? Several things:

• If you ever thought about buying followers, stop.
• Spend more time on the quality of your social media posts, rather than on the quantity.
• Spend less time on systems and software that increase your numbers of non-targeted followers.
• Spend more time creating content that establishes your credibility and authority in your market.

Some Good Examples

If you need proof that this works, look at some of the 7 figure online business owners in your market who have big social media numbers, but whose status as an authority comes from their great content, rather than the fact that they’re all over social media. I’ll show you three good examples in the “how to build a profitable business” market.

Brendon Burchard

Current social media numbers: 126,244 likes · 5,108 talking about this on Facebook; 26,000 Twitter followers (between 2 accounts)

Brendon posts on his Facebook page 2-3 times a week usually, and promotes a post when he wants you to take some action. He tweets about once a day or so.

Has he garned his big following because of his social media activity? Obviously not. Social media experts everywhere would shudder at his infrequent posting habits.

Instead, he’s attracted a large audience by writing four outstanding books, and consistently producing new online training courses and live events. People see that he knows his stuff, and they want to follow him wherever he goes.

Fabienne Fredrickson

Current social media numbers: 44,172 likes · 2,841 talking about this on Facebook; 87,576 Twitter followers

Fabienne is a bigger fan of social media than Brendon Burchard. She can be seen on her Facebook page 2-3 times a day, and tweets 7-10 times a day usually. She shares valuable business tips, but also consistently posts pictures and stories about her kids and family.

While she certainly keeps her social media audience happy and updated, she is another example of someone who has attracted her following by first establishing her authority. She blogs/vlogs every 2-3 days, has a comprehensive home study course, and three levels of high end coaching groups. She also teaches through live events.

As the name of her business – ClientAttraction.com – says, her focus is attracting the right audience to her, through sharing her message as a proven authority.

Marie Forleo

Current social media numbers: 70,534 likes · 8,981 talking about this on Facebook; 60,770 Twitter followers.

Marie posts 2-3 times a day on her Facebook page, and tweets at least 5 times a day. (Usually more because she’s great about responding to people).

So yes, you’ll see her on social media, but that’s not what makes her “famous” to her audience. What attracts people to her? Again, it’s the content she produces outside of social media. She posts a value-packed weekly video (called MarieTV) on her website, and often interviews well-known experts in her videos. She has a wildly popular 8-week online training course on how to build your business, and holds a live event. She also has fitness DVDs and a best-selling book.

This Still Seems Hard

You may be thinking, “I don’t have a best-selling book, any high-end training program, or a live event. And in fact, all that stuff sounds harder than posting and following people every day on social media!”

Well, you don’t have any of those things yet. And remember, the examples I gave you are of people with multi-million dollar businesses. I bet you’d be happy to break the six-figure mark, right?

The easiest and most effective way for you to grow your social media numbers is still through producing quality content, consistently; and connecting with others who will help you promote it. You’ll just start by doing it on a smaller scale. We’ll talk about how next time.

Your turn ~ are you happy with your social media efforts and the results they are bringing you? If not, what are your frustrations? In a perfect world, how do you wish you could do things differently? Please share in the comments below so we can all help each other!

I don’t like numbers. Never have. I come from a family of accountants. Yet I appear to have been born without a left brain. My distain for numbers started in my early math classes. Math was really the only thing I didn’t “get” throughout my school years.

So it should probably come as no surprise to me that when I started my online business, I hated the numbers side of it. The first things I outsourced were split testing and analytics. Let someone figure out what works best for me, and then I’ll do it.

It’s only natural that when social media became such a huge part of building a profitable online business, the numbers would be a huge turn-off for me. Twitter followers, Facebook fans, Google circles, LinkedIn connections, Kred scores, Klout scores . . . numbers, numbers, numbers . . .

We seem to be defined online by our numbers.

At first, being a number online didn’t bother me. That’s how the game was played. And there were lots of ways to pump up your numbers.

But gradually, the numbers started to turn me off. I began noticing people with huge followings ~ according to the numbers ~ who, upon closer look, didn’t appear to have any real influence. Or anything relevant to say.

I saw people brag about things they did to increase their Klout score by 10 points in a week. Although their real social influence hadn’t increased at all.

Do the Numbers Even Matter?

If you have an online business, I bet you have more stuff to do in your life, than time that exists to do it. Which means you need to be good at doing the things that matter. In other words, the things that develop real relationships, and that make money for your business.

The fact that you can build your numbers on social media, and still not make a difference to anyone, got me re-thinking how much effort I should be putting into getting people to like, follow, circle and connect with me.

Does it matter if my page has 1 Facebook fan, or 1000? To the disappointment of my number-hating-self, I concluded that yes, the numbers do matter.

Why? Because numbers may not make you a person of influence in your market, but, people of influence, almost without exception, have big social media numbers. It looks something like this:

How to Create Numbers that Matter

The question then, is how do you become part of that “inner circle?” The influencer who has the big social media numbers. After all, that is the combination that will result in the most profitable business for you. The more people you influence, the more money you’ll make.

Growing your social media numbers can be a full time job, and more. It’s something you’ll never check off your “to do” list as “done.” So, when you plan for how much of your valuable time you should devote to increasing your numbers, there are 2 questions you should keep in mind.

1. How Big Do My Social Media Numbers Need to Be?

I’ve always found Twitter to be a great resource for building relationships and meeting new clients. I developed a pretty consistent practice of finding and following people in my market.

But one day I realized that these efforts were coming at a price. I was growing so fast, I was having trouble keeping up with the relationships. And there was no point in growing the numbers, if I wasn’t also growing the relationships.

So, as you strive to maximize your productivity each day, pay close attention to what’s going on with your social media networks. As your follower numbers get bigger, the number of people you are personally interacting with has got to get bigger if you want any of this to make a difference to your business.

Would it be fun to  have 100,000 Facebook fans and 1 million Twitter followers? Sure. But, you don’t need anywhere near that to have a wildly profitable business. And, if you look at the “inner circle” of real influencers in your market, you’ll find that they often aren’t the ones with the biggest numbers.

2. Am I Focusing on the Numbers that Matter?

What do you need then, to maximize your business profits? You need email subscribers. You need people to go to your website, read your blog, see the value you offer, and sign up for your email list.

That’s the number that matters. That’s the number the “inner circle” is focusing on.

Your number of social media followers will give me no clue about how profitable your business is. But, the number on your email list will tell me everything. And yet I am continuously amazed at how many really active people I meet on social media, who tell me they haven’t found time to start their blog yet. I think it’s that putting the cart before the horse thing.

Chances are, you need to shift your focus from yet another “Facebook Friday like party,” to one of providing more value to the audience you already have. And, by doing so, you just may find your new focus is in fact the best way to increase your social media numbers. I’ll tell you how next time.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about having a large social media following. How much of a priority do you make the social media numbers in your business? Please share in the comments below.

When I first started out online, I was totally sucked in by those stories of people who made $10,000 in their first thirty days. With a system I could purchase for just $97 today!

You would think I would be smarter than that. But hey, if it’s possible that it could happen, isn’t it worth $97?

Well, I’ve come a long way over the years. Fortunately. And I realize that the “first 30 days” always means “the first 30 days after they’ve worked at it for 2 or 3 or 10 years!”

While it’s not realistic that you’re going to start pulling in 5 figures a month your first month in business, you can get into the profit zone in the first 30 days. But, it’s not necessarily going to be easy.

It’s going to require that you do some things that most others aren’t willing to do. Good news is, they are things that you can do.

Let’s talk about 9 things you can do to jump-start your online business profits. The “how to” of each of these could be its own article, but I’ll give you enough information here to decide which direction you want to go.

Give Stuff Away

You’re probably familiar with this concept. You give a free ebook, report, or video in exchange for a person’s email address. Everyone’s doing this to build their list.

But it takes time to get those on your email list to actually buy from you. So how do you give stuff away, and profit now? Here are 3 things that work.

1. Telephone Consultation

When you are first starting your business, one of the best ways to get clients is to talk with people on the phone. There is no faster way to build the know, like, trust relationship that drives people to buy, than to connect with them personally.

Offer your audience a free 15 minute phone consultation where you can quickly assess their needs and recommend a personalized plan of action for them. Usually, this will include one of your products or services. This may sound time-consuming, but it actually narrows and targets your market. The ones who actually get on the phone with you are going to be your more serious buyers.

2. One Time Offer (or OTO)

Once a person has opted in to your list by leaving her email address in exchange for your free gift, present her with a “one time only” offer. The offer should be for a significant discount on one of your products or services. Make sure the offer is only good for 24 to 48 hours so people are motivated to buy now.

3. Coupon

When someone signs up for your email list, you’ll immediately send them an email giving access to their free gift. At the bottom of this email, add a coupon for 25% off any product or service you offer. Make the coupon valid for no more than 7 days so that urgency to “buy now” will be in place.

This is much like the One Time Offer, but allows for a little more flexibility. And, the concept of a coupon will appeal more to different audiences. The number of people who buy things just because they have a coupon, or who choose to visit a store on a certain day because they have a coupon expiring on that day, makes this an appealing option for kick-starting your profits.

Go Offline

I know, you started an online business so you could sit in front of the computer in your pajamas and work without worrying about showering for a few days. That’s great. But, especially when you’re starting out, not the best way to play it.

Again, I want to stress to you that actually talking to people is the best way to get your business going. Here are 3 great offline activities that can bring you quick profits.

4. Networking Meetings

Attend local Meetup groups, BNI meetings, and other networking events that happen in your area. I’ve personally found Meetup.com to be the best place to find good groups. Choose groups where your target market will be. Go with business cards in hand, and be prepared to listen to what people need.

Obviously, don’t try to sell yourself at the meeting. But hand out your cards and make sure to connect with people you meet there online – while you’re at the meeting. You are still just relationship building, not selling, but the time from relationship to doing business together moves at a very quick speed when you have the opportunity to connect in person at these type of meetings.

5. Offer to Speak

Connect with local groups in your area that are relevant to your market and offer to speak or do a presentation. These may be Meetup groups, Chamber of Commerce functions, breakfast clubs, or any other special interest group. Groups like this are always looking to fill their calendar with good and relevant speakers.

At the end of your presentation, tell people about the products and services you have that can provide even more value to what they’re doing. You’ll often create business right there on the spot.

6. Hold a Local Workshop

Pick a topic in your market that you’re comfortable with, create a Keynote/PowerPoint presentation around it, and hold a workshop. Charge a nominal fee for the workshop, so that the fee is not a barrier to entry for anyone who wants to come learn.

The workshop can be sponsored by one of the local groups (such as a Meetup group), or you can do it on your own and just advertise through local groups and local Facebook Ads.

Ideally, your topic will be something where you can provide further one-on-one service to interested workshop participants. Not only do you get the workshop fees, but you can also get a new customer or two (or more!) who see the need for what you have to offer.

Get Easy Products

I know that some of you are saying, “This all sounds good, but my business is new, and I don’t have any products to offer yet.” So, for our last 3 tips I’m going to suggest easy ways to create a product. You can then pair these ideas with the ideas above and really be off to a roaring start.

7. Expert Interview

If the idea of creating your own product within the next 30 days is overwhelming, try this out. Identify an expert in your market who provides a service that complements what you do. Ask that person to give you an hour of their time for an interview that you want to turn into a product.

Record the interview and get it transcribed. You’ve got a product. Obviously, it should solve a problem or address a need for your market.

You can pay the expert for her hour, or pay her a percentage of each sale. You may also give her the rights to use the interview as a bonus for her audience. Yes, you may have to ask a few experts before you find “the one,” but you’d be surprised how many people remember what it was like to be new, and are happy to help you.

8. Mini “Getting Started” Guides

Create a “mini” product. A small, but value packed ebook or video is the best example. I’ve had the best results with this if I go for topics that tell people how to get started with something. Remember, there are a lot of people who know nothing about what you take for granted. Don’t worry about making it too basic. That is rarely a problem.

Set aside 2-3 hours and create the entire product. Go to fiverr.com and have someone design an ecover or video intro for it, and you’ve got a product. It may be in the $7-$17 range, but that’s okay. Getting into profit is the starting point for getting rich.

9. Affiliate Products

Finally, as a last resort (but not a bad resort), go to Clickbank.com and find an affiliate product to promote while you’re finishing your product. Buy the product first, make sure it’s something you’re proud of, and then promote it to your audience. If you give them something good, they’ll already trust you when you launch your first product.

Get Started

Building a profitable online business takes time. There’s no substitute for that. But, your first goal is to get into profit. Any profit. After those first few dollars, you’ll notice that ~ like a snowball rolling down hill ~ the profits start coming faster and getting bigger.

While some of these tips require you to step out of your comfort zone, you’ll find that you need to do that anyway to get big in your business. You might as well make a little money while you’re at it.

Which ideas will you use to get started? If you’ve implemented any, I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below. Also, please share if you have other ideas for quickly getting a new online business into profit.

I’m seeing an alarming trend lately. It’s coming from clients, potential clients, and others I’m connected with both online and offline. People are spending 3 or 4 or more hours a day on social media, in hopes of growing their business through those efforts. But guess what, most of them are making about zero dollars a month in their business.

And I’ve come across no one who’s pulling down five figures a month from their intense social media efforts. Does that mean you can’t make money with social media? Absolutely not. I meet nearly all of my clients directly through social media, or at least through a social media connection.

The problem is this:

Social media is where the relationships are made, but it’s not where the money is made.

And many online business owners are getting the relationship part of their business right ~ because social media is fun and relatively easy ~ but are totally neglecting the money side of their business. Because it’s more like “work.”

There are 3 things you must make a priority over your social media if you want all of this relationship building to have any impact on your bank account.

1. Product Creation

You must have something to sell, right? And the more things you have to sell, the more you will sell. Funny how that works.

Yet too many people can’t find the time to create even one product, and certainly can’t envision the many products that your business is going to need.

You must set aside time for product creation. And after you’ve spent your time doing that, then you can move on to updating your social media networks. Might that mean your social media presence suffers at times? Yes, it will. But remember, it’s irrelevant to your business if you’ve got nothing to sell.

Even if you are a service based business, you need a product. Most people won’t start off ready to work one-on-one with you. But if you can offer them a low-end (i.e. “cheap”) product that delivers good value, that will move them quickly up the road to your higher priced services.

There are two things you need to remember about product creation. First, it doesn’t have to be the biggest and best product ever. Start with something in the $27-$47 range. It’s easier to complete, and you’ll pressure yourself less to make it perfect.

Second, you won’t get it done in a day. That’s what makes it hard to focus on. You can get today’s social media work done today. And it will feel good to check it off the list.

And you can get one chapter, or one video, or even one page of your product done today. So break your product down into doable steps and focus on what you can do today.  Sooner than you realize, you’ll have the pleasure of making one big check mark next to “create product.”

2. List Building

The big picture goal of your social media work is to move people from being social media connections, to being on your list. Which means they’ve chosen to give you their name and email address, and agreed to receive email from you. Your list is where the selling happens.

You’ll need to do 3 things to build your list. First, it’s crucial that you have something valuable to give people in return for their name and email address. A free report, video, ebook, audio . . .

Second, you need several different landing pages within your website that have your “opt-in box” on them. Your opt-in box is that place that tells your visitors what your free gift is, and provides a spot for them to enter their name and email address.

Third, you’ll need to make sure you’re creating good content on your website that you can share with your social media audience. This is how you bring people from social media sites, to your website, to your list.

This is not a completely “set it and forget it” effort. You need to make sure your free offer is consistently attracting new people to your list. Tweak it, and completely change your offer once in awhile, to make sure you’re attracting the maximum amount of people.

3. Follow-Up

Most people (yes, me too!) get so excited when they have a growing list, that they breathe a sigh of relief at their accomplishment and decide to relax. But, once you’ve celebrated, it’s time to get back to it.

Having someone on your list is only the beginning. Realize that they are likely on the list of several people. When they receive an email from you, some will not even remember signing up for your list. Which means you need to make an effort to stay at the top of their mind.

While you don’t want to spam them with your sales offers every day, you do want to set up an autoresponder and consistently send them a newsletter that includes at least your most recent blog article.

If you want people to eventually buy from you, you need to consistently provide them good stuff for free so they will grow to know, like and trust you. Then, when you do send out a sales offer, they already see you as someone who provides them valuable information and who cares about them. The result is a much higher probability that they’ll want what you’re selling.

Check in With Your Priorities

Obviously, I’m not telling you to abandon social media. It’s a very powerful tool for growing your business. But, it’s crucial to realize that you don’t have to be (and can’t be) on every social media network all of the time. Pick the ones that serve your business well, and stay consistent on them, but don’t strive to be constant on them!

Take an honest look at your business. How are you doing on the 3 priorities I’ve identified above? Do you need to re-work your schedule to make these activities more of a priority over your social media? In addition to the work you do on social media, do you find yourself wasting time there once the work is done? Please share in the comments below how you get it all done in your business!

I haven’t seen anything “official” saying that Google is about to kill off its Alerts service, but it seems inevitable. I’ve noticed that I’m getting fewer and fewer results from Google Alerts. And I’m reading that others are having the same experience. I think it’s time to find an alternative to Google Alerts, even if it’s not shutting down soon.

I’ve spent a few hours looking for alternatives. In my search, I found a great article by Gini Dietrich at SpinSucks. Gini recommended Talkwalker as the new Google Alerts, and I agree that it’s a perfect replacement.

There are three reasons Talkwalker is your choice over the others that offer a similar service.

1. Talkwalker Has a Free Stand-Alone Alerts Service

One of the things I love most about Google Alerts is that it’s a stand-alone service. It’s not connected to any other service. You don’t have to log in and get distracted by a dashboard showing you 20 other statistics that call out for your attention.

Talkwalker is the only alternative I found that duplicates this. And it’s free! There are many other “alert-type” services. From what I found, they are either part of a package of related services, or they don’t search and return results for as many sources as Talkwalker does.

2. Talkwalker is Easy and Accurate

Again like Google Alerts, Talkwalker is easy. When you go to the Talkwalker homepage, you’ll see this at the top of the page:

To create your first Alert, you simply click on “CREATE Free Alert.” You’ll be taken straight to the screen that allows you to create your first Alert:

Much like Google Alerts, Talkwalker allows you to choose as your “Result Type,” Everything, News, Blogs or Discussions. You can choose to have the results delivered “As it happens,” “Once a day,” or “Once a week.” You can also choose to get “Only the best results,” or “All results.”

Put in the email address you’d like the results delivered to, press “CREATE Alert,” and you’re good to go!

When you create your first Alert, Talkwalker automatically creates an account for you based on your email address and a password it generates for you. You’ll see an email like this in your Inbox:

Once you click on the confirmation link, you’ll start getting your Alerts immediately. You can repeat the same process above to set up additional Alerts.

Because you’ll never remember that computer-generated password, you’ll want to go into your account and change it right away. Login using the password you’re given, and you’ll see this:

Initially, you’ll just see your email address in the upper right-hand corner. Click on it, and the menu will drop down, allowing you to choose “Change Settings.” A box will then appear, allowing you to enter your given password, and then reset it to a new password (with an 8 character minimum).

Unlike Google Alerts, Talkwalker appears to be accurate. I’m getting 2-6 times more results from Talkwalker than from my Google Alerts for the same search terms.

3. Talkwalker Does Social Media Right

My third reason for recommending Talkwalker is that they “get” social media. They “walk the walk,” “practice what they preach,” all that stuff. I know this is somewhat of a “feel good” reason, but it’s also an indicator that Talkwalker knows what they’re doing.

They thanked Gini Dietrich for mentioning them in the comments to the SpinSucks article. They thanked me, and others, on Twitter for mentioning them (after I mentioned them in my retweet of the SpinSucks article).

What does this mean? That they’re using their own Alerts service. Why does this matter? Because if they use it, they understand how to make it better. They’re better able to respond to customer service issues and needs. It’s comforting to see a company use its own product, and do it right. It gives you confidence in them.

Why You Need Talkwalker

There are SO many services out there for online business owners. A seemingly infinite number. So why do you need Talkwalker as opposed to all the others? For the same reason you needed Google Alerts.

That’s a whole other article, and one that I just happened to have written in the past. It’s called How to Effectively Use Google Alerts and Why You Should. I encourage you to read it if you have any doubt about the value in setting up Talkwalker.

In short, having Alerts set up allows you to respond to what people are saying about you (good or bad), to keep up with what’s going on in your market, and to curate content. These last two are crucial if you want to be an authority in your market. Which, of course, you do.

Now it’s your turn. Let me know in the comments what you think about Talkwalker. Have you found any other services that are good replacements for Google Alerts? Please share your knowledge!

Should you offer a 100% money-back guarantee for 90 days if your customer is not completely satisfied? Your first reaction might be, “of course not, anyone could ask for her money back, but there’s no way to get the product back.” It’s like walking into Foot Locker to return a pair of shoes and asking for your money back without giving the clerk the shoes back. Craziness.

Not so fast though. Because the answer is an unequivocal “yes,” you should absolutely offer your customer her entire $97 back if she asks. Even if she then goes on to use your product to create the most bountiful organic garden in the country.

It doesn’t matter how high-dollar your product is, you need a money-back guarantee. And yes, even for your services and your live events, you need some kind of a money-back guarantee, no questions asked.

Why? Because such a guarantee will actually make you money. There are at least 3 reasons why.

1. Confidence Sells

You’ve certainly seen or heard it before: “We’re so convinced that you’ll love your new XYZ that we’re offering you a full 30 day money- back guarantee.” Such language isn’t just for the late-night infomercial.

Your potential customer needs to know that you’ve created something so awesome that you have no fear of going broke from all the refunds.

Let’s think about it. Why wouldn’t you offer a money back guarantee? Because your product/service sucks and you’re simply trying to take the money and run? This is obviously not true, but you better believe the question will enter your client’s mind.

Why would you offer such a guarantee? Because you are confident that no one in their right mind would want a refund. Because the number of refund requests will be so low that it won’t even be a drop in the bucket of your financial empire. Right!

One of the things I teach in my group coaching is how confidence is essential if you want to be considered an authority in your market. So, if you’re confident enough to offer a money-back guarantee, it goes a long way towards establishing that you are an authority in your market, and your customer who’s hesitating should just push the “buy now” button and tap into your brilliance.

2.  Good Customer Service Builds Brand Loyalty

I used to sell a lot of affiliate products in the personal development arena. A customer contacted me once about a product’s refund policy. He said there wasn’t anything new to him in the product he purchased. He wanted me to recommend something that went deeper into some Law of Attraction practices.

The product creator gave him the refund, and he bought a more expensive product through me. Great experience for me, and for him.

What if I had said no? My customer would have walked away unhappy, and certainly would have never bought from me again.

If you happily give refunds, and if you follow up by asking your customer how you could have served him better, he will get to know you, like you and trust you. And that’s the magic formula behind a successful business.

We all buy from those we know, like, and trust. And if you develop a relationship for wanting to meet people’s needs ~ and never keeping their money if you don’t ~ you will develop a loyal crowd that raves about you.

3.  People Are Generally Good, But Also Rightfully Cautious

If you are resisting the idea of a money-back guarantee, it’s because you’re afraid that people are going to take advantage of you. And undoubtedly, some will. It’s called the cost of doing business.

But guess what? Most won’t. Especially if you are sharing your message to the right audience. You are going to attract good people. And those people have a conscience that keeps them from asking for a refund ~ even if they never used or didn’t love your product. So stop worrying about going broke because of your money-back guarantee.

Those good people are also cautious. And they should be. There’s a lot of junk being sold online, and most people have fallen victim to it at least once if they are frequent online shoppers. This is especially true in the information marketing world.

Your money-back guarantee will turn a skeptical browser into a paying customer. Then it’s up to you to offer something that’s worth her money.

Fear Will Keep Your Business Small

Don’t let the fear of giving refunds keep you from having a money-back guarantee. Do you really want someone’s money in your pocket if they feel they didn’t get anything in return for it?

Take the risk that everyone who buys your product or service will ask for a refund. Giving in to that fear will keep your business small. Embracing the risk will push your business to the next level.

In my market, Brendon Burchard sells $2000 products that always come with a full money-back guarantee. To protect himself, and to add some incentive to stick around, he releases big bonuses to the product once the refund period has expired.

John Assaraf has a 3 day live seminar coming up. He’s offering to write you a check on the spot at the end of day one if you aren’t completely happy. Why? In his words ~ because no one’s ever asked for a refund.

I could go on forever with examples of high priced products and events that give unconditional refunds. I’ve even seen people offer to pay your travel expenses if you aren’t happy at the end of a live event.

This sends a strong “trust me and buy” message to your market. First of all, you’re so good that you know they won’t want a refund. Second of all, even if they do want a refund, your business is such a financial success that it doesn’t impact you.

The Exception to the Rule

If you must have an exception to offering a money-back guarantee, here’s how it should work. And this is something I usually hear from people who provide services.

Let’s say you’re a hypnotherapist. You aren’t comfortable with the amount of time and effort it takes you to do an individual session with someone, and then face the potential of a refund. Okay, make that service non-refundable. But, put time and energy into getting to know a one-to-one client before they book you for that service. They should already know they won’t need a refund from you before they buy.

One way to do this is to state that the service is non-refundable, but to suggest that if a client would like to get to know you better before she makes that commitment, she should buy your completely-refundable $27 ebook for starters.

I think it’s always in your best interest to give someone a refund period. If you can’t bring yourself to that, build the trust relationship before engaging in the non-refundable stuff.

Now it’s your turn. Please share the details of your money-back guarantee. If you don’t have one, why not? Has it ever turned ugly for you with an dissatisfied customer? I value your feedback in the comments below.