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Be Human Online
...... are, how I can be of help to them, and maintains
records of all the historical data of previous contacts with each of
them. So when I get a new customer who has a similar niche market to a
customer from three years ago, I can make electronic introductions and
help two otherwise strangers do joint promotions. Thereby building
further each one's personal contact base.
You can do the same thing. One of my personal favorite tricks is to
print double sided business cards. Team up with someone who caters to
your same niche market but does not directly compete with you. Print
each person's business card on one side of a standard business card.
Print twice as many and each of you carries a stack. Abbraa
Cadaabbraa! You begin helping your friend make personal contacts while
they do the same for you.
It always pays to be human instead of pushy. Don't be overly aggressive
or scary in your contacts. Just friendly and helpful. I always give my
initial contact emails and letters a final reading over and ask myself,
if this were coming from my already pesky little sister, would I be
irritated' If you can pass that test, then you area ready to go.
Are you writing people you don't know, and letting
them know you're out there' Email makes it SO easy.
Just don't "bug" people unnecessarily.
There was a time when only the most aggressive of sales people seemed to
really utilize this human contact networking approach. More and more
people are doing so today. With the growth of online communities, we
are becoming more comfortable with the process. But don't be fooled
into thinking that involvement in a community alone is not networking in
this intensive form. You have to make personal, one on one contacts.
It isn't enough to be known in your group. You must be known by your
group.
Go to Yahoogroups.com and pull up the home page for any email list that
you are already subscribed to. Note how many subscribers there are.
Now compare that number to the number of regular posters. There is
usually a huge difference. Don't just read the emails. Participate!
Remember, the Internet is about community. Some people
take this all so literally and focus like hell on making
the discussion forums on their site active. That's fine,
but there are many ways to build up a community of peers
who can be called upon to do little favors for you. The
endorsement of already respected online authors may well
be more valuable to your site than a little bit of
chatter amongst anonymous participants in your or somebody else's forum.
It is so important that you be on a prospect's mind when they actually
decide to make a purchase. That is why drip and viral marketing are so
popular. That is why so many of us use autoresponders. That is why we
create mailing lists and use them over and over and over again.
Make a point of bumping into more well-placed people at
the "virtual water cooler" via email, and don't be
surprised if many of them find a way to incorporate you
and your site into their plans.
This is not one of those crazy get rich quick schemes. It's
Affiliate Programs - Which One?Promoting affiliate programs is probably one of the most popular and realistic ways of making money online. You really can make money ..... real networking. It is how each of us can build a successful online
business doing whatever it is that we do. As such, this strategy has
real staying power.
Grab your virtual broom and step out your virtual front door. Sweep
some virtual steps and be human online. Make some new virtual friends.
About the Author Shannan Hearne-Fortner is the President of http://www.Success
Promotions.com and has been involved in the successful launch and growth
of many businesses and online communities.
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