Often time people ask me why I spend time on my blog. They wonder and think is a waste of time. For instance, I just had a conversation with a friend of mine about blogging.
Bill has a landscaping business so I told him that he should start a blog or add one to his current site. I explained that having a blog and maybe blogging about his interests in landscaping will in fact increase his traffic and possibly his client base.
Unlike a static website, a blog goes further by often being updated with fresh content. Search engines love fresh content and will reward you with high ranking and traffic.
He insisted by saying that he doesn’t think he can get clients that way and that he doesn’t believe social media sites like Twitter or Facebook would add much value to his business.
In my opinion, social media sites will allow you to build relationships and start building the so desired trust you need from a prospective client or business associate. However, a blog is the best place for those who are interested in you to expand their horizons when it comes to learning about you at a deeper level.
Obviously this is a new blog so I can’t claim making money with it just yet. However, I have in fact made money with my personal blog and other ones I’ve started in the past.
But the truth is that is not all about making money, it’s more about building relationships and starting an online presence. It’s about sharing with others what you do and enjoy. It’s about giving back to your clients and readers valuable content. It’s about having fun with what you write about and wanting to share.
If money and new clients follow, great, but don’t be too fixed on the idea of making money. If you want to blog, you really have to enjoy it and believe that you are making some sort of a difference. However, like everything else, blogs and other social media sites are not for everyone. Some might never get it!
My wife (Erin) and I are thinking of renting a storage place so we went on the hunt to see what’s out there. For the most part, the prices were similar across the two storage facilities we saw, but the salespeople were different.
Salesperson #1:
As we approached the front desk, the guy asked if we made a reservation. Erin jumped in and said she did, blah, blah, blah. From there on, I almost didn’t exist. Seriously, he might have missed me as throughout the whole tour of the place, he barely made eye contact with me.
He handed a small brochure to my wife, and on he went with his sales pitch saying that his place is the best and that the prices will go up if we don’t reserve right away. You know, typical salesman, selling the wrong way.
The interesting part was that I mainly asked all the questions. I asked about their insurance, security, etc. Yet, he focused his attention to Erin. Umm, that made me wonder! He was almost ignoring me like I wasn’t going to add to the final decision of renting there or not.
He was also very pushy, his final words were “if you don’t reserve by latest tomorrow, 9:30 A.M, the price will go up.” Listen pal, go tell that “fairy tale” to someone else.
Salesperson #2:
Similar to above but with the only difference that the guy actually had a more even eye contact between my wife and me. He also asked for our names and called us by our names. Unlike the first guy, he wasn’t pushing for us to rent, but instead, he told us about how much people have enjoyed it there and that they are a new facility, etc.
He was also trying to encourage a conversation and avoid quite awkward moments. Finally, he gave us his business card, wrote down the price information on it and shook our hands goodbye.
What a difference between salesperson #1 and #2! Obviously #1 should take some lessons from #2.
From my experience, usually salespeople try to target and work harder on convincing the person they think is the decision maker and this sometimes could cost them their commissions. When trying to sell something consider all parties involved on the other side.
Don’t conclude that the person that acts more graciously and smiles more often is the easy come decision time. If the buyers don’t feel comfortable or don’t think they were given the attention they needed, they won’t buy.
If we had to rent somewhere, we’ll certainly go with salesperson #2.
I don’t welcome when others wish me “good luck.” Simply because I don’t rely on it to do the things I do or to achieve the results I achieve.
First, let’s define exactly what luck is. According to Wikipedia.org “Luck is a belief in good or bad fortune in life caused by accident or chance which happens beyond a person’s control.”
Yes, someone can win the lottery: My grandparents won the “Pick Five” lotto with only a dollar. They hit all five numbers, but had to split the six figure prize with another winner. It still feels pretty good to take home some money though. Were they lucky? Yes, because they winning that lottery was beyond their control.
“Beyond your control” is the key to luck. I hated when I was in school and people would always say “Good luck Mario” before an exam. I didn’t need the luck because unlike my grandparents who simply plugged in whatever numbers that came to their heads on the lottery ticket, I was prepared for the exam beforehand. I knew I would pass it and thus, I didn’t need luck.
Even when I was interviewing for my first job after college, family would sometimes wish me luck. Again, I didn’t need it because I was already prepared and if I didn’t get the job, it was because I was not a good fit for that company to start with.
I’ve always heard things like:
- “Bill got that job because he got lucky.”
-“Nancy was lucky she got promoted”
-“Steve is lucky he’s rich”
-“I just have bad luck”
People wake up and realize that you can make out of your life whatever you want. Stop relying so much on luck. Waiting for luck to happen while sitting on the couch and watching TV all day is not going to get you the job, get you promoted, make you rich, or get rid of your bad luck.
Stop waiting for luck and get your act together. Work hard for those goals you have in mind, because is your hard work and dedication that will render great results and not that luck you’ve been waiting for. Don’t justify your failures by claiming you have bad luck and get off your couch please!
It’s very easy to get overwhelmed on the Internet when trying to market a product or service. You could write articles, start blogging, record videos for YouTube, begin a paid per click campaign, etc. In the beginning you might be tempted to do them all.
If you don’t know where you would be better at, I think you should try as many difference approaches as possible. Try them first to only know later mainly where your strengths are.
See what it is that you really enjoy doing, what it is that really drives you. You really have to enjoy what you do to succeed in marketing your product or service. At the end if you are doing something you don’t enjoy, the chances are that you’ll reflect that to your audience and therefore no sale for you.
For instance, I know some people that are really good with videos. They love to be on camera and showcase their talent by producing high quality videos with helpful content. Their ability to deliver some good videos quickly earns them a huge amount of followers.
On the other hand, these same people don’t have a blog or write articles of any kind. Maybe they’ve realized that they really enjoy videos the most. Most people like videos but not everyone is good at them. Don’t be discouraged, again find what you enjoy the most.
After you find your marketing strengths, you might want to improve your areas of weaknesses. Yes, concentrate on your strengths but work onyour weaknesses if you want to increase the scope of your marketing approach.
Invest in yourself, buy some books and courses. Education is the key to self improvement. After all, in this day and age where attraction marketing is the hot topic, attracting quality leads involves sharing quality content. But in order for you to do this, you have to be willing to learn first.
Often time people ask me why I spend time on my blog. They wonder and think is a waste of time. For instance, I just had a conversation with a friend of mine about blogging.
