Day 50 - Shameless Self Promotion: Why I do This....

I generally average about 35 reads per blog... that isn't bad an actually, I'm pretty proud of it... For a while I read a lot about online marketing and selling yourself online to garner readers, or sales, or whatever you're trying to do to increase whatever you're trying to increase... Like my grandpa said, “you gotta do whatever it is you gotta do in order to do whatever it is you gotta do…” Now, thinking about what he said, even though it feels a little circular on the surface, it made me ask myself, “What am I trying to do?” As I have written several times, having a direction in life is necessary because not having a direction is like grocery shopping without a list. You’re going to buy a whole lot of shit you probably won’t use… What sounds good in the moment turns out to be a whole lot more work than what you really wanted to do… Online marketing tools are pretty much the same… Sounds like a good idea, but not worth the effort and certainly not worth the money…

Most online marketing people will teach you how to use social media to reach a larger audience, how to use email lists and the scarcity principle and social proof, how to create authority, how to effectively convert page views into sales. Now all of that sounds like a pretty soulless use of creative energy to me… After reading a few articles about increasing your audience with tools, tricks and ads I did what all true creative people do… I wholeheartedly rejected it… 

Here is statement for all my LinkedIn readers… Most marketers, online or off, are full of shit. Scammers who tell you that they are offering their course for $14.95 and then you sit for two hours while they tell you what you already knew, the obvious and the unnecessary and then they spring it on you that the full course is hundreds of dollars if not $1,000+ and they promise you that this isn’t a scam… I sat through a few hours of YouTube nonsense promising me that their particular “secret” was the one the “experts” just refused to reveal… Listen, if you’re offering shit, then the only thing you will get is the curious, who will wander by, smell your offering and leave… In the internet world, these people count as “hits” on your website…  Lots of “hits” means you can scam advertisers to pay you to be on your website, YouTube page or Blog and if that is all you are about, the only person who is being helped are the host and the advertisers… the people wandering by are only getting a nose full of shit… 

So I decided that route isn’t what I wanted for my readers…

You see, I do know what I want to do with this blog… I want to help people… That would preclude all people who aren’t seeking what I am peddling here… So that leaves me with the like minded. The community of folks who are truly seeking to change their lives for the better, or people I can connect with on an honest and open level. So in order to truly do that, it doesn’t take marketing, it takes quality writing and conveying of my thoughts in the most open and honest way that I can.  I find more value in creating something of worth. I find word of mouth and positive influence a better metric than sales or traffic or reader numbers. Although I have been ridiculed more than once for saying it, I believe with all my heart that if my blog assists one person in changing their lives in a profound way, then the time it takes me to write 50, 60 or 90 blogs is well worth it. I am thankful for every single motivational speaker, blog, podcast, and article that has touched my life and been a catalyst for change. My podcast partner, Lalo and I have expanded our availability greatly and slowly we are building a foundation of listeners based on the quality of our podcasts and not the hype of advertisements… 

And I’ve learned something that the marketers will never tell you: instead of insanely screaming into the void, prefer the quiet:

1. When everyone yells “Look at me!” Work quietly to turn out quality. You will get noticed.

2. When others seek out personal attention, turn your attention towards the value of your content and they will seek you out.

3. When everyone wants page views and sales, be honest and concentrate on helpful content, you will get the views.

4. When others try to pull visitors to their sites, know that if you are providing a valuable service and information, people will find you themselves.

5. When most blogs have pop-ups and drop-downs urging readers to subscribe to their newsletters, get out of your readers’ way. If they want to subscribe, they will, if they want to comment, they will and if they want to return, it’s called a bookmark.

6. When others brag about their success, let others praise you instead. If your presence is in any way important to them, they will tell others.

7. When others use marketing and misleading information to drive up their numbers, be honest and patient, and people will ask to learn your secrets.

I’ve finding all of the above to be true. When you’ve produced something of real value, you don’t need to do any marketing, spend any money on advertising, or push people to subscribe.

People will eventually find you, and if you are genuine, honest and actually provide them with some real and helpful information, they will think you’re so great they want to tell their friends about it. Let your readers become your marketers. Your value will become your marketing and there will be no need of any gimmicks, tricks or an advertising budget.

Imagine owning a coffee and donut shop. If the coffee and donuts are commonplace, you’ll have to do some heavy advertising and some “guerilla marketing” to get customers. But if your coffee and donuts make people roll their eyes in ecstasy and line up before you open, they will tell the world of your deliciousness, and they will pound on your coffee and donut scented door. Quality sells by word of mouth… Instead of buying influence, promote a culture of excellence… 

Become quiet, find contentedness, and become valuable. These surpass marketing every time, and as you learn to listen to your inner music, you can now ignore the marketers and their avalanche of emails, pop-ups, fake texts, fake calls and drop down menus begging you to like them… You may have to block them, turn on your spam finder and activate you ad blocker, but you already knew that...

Well, that’s 50 days in a row… That’s quite an accomplishment in any endeavor… I hope I have been entertaining, helpful and above all, genuine so far… There are at least 40 days to go… I have no idea where we are headed but I do know, there won’t be any advertisements… Just that daily nagging text alerting you to the fact I’ve posted again… We will get back to work tomorrow, today just lead me to let you in on what we’re doing here… 

The 90 Day Life Change Challenge Update… Up at 0500 and done with exercise by 0630... Blog until 0645 and then meditation, shower and that peaceful ride to work... Everything else is just cake... Since it is March 1, I went ahead and added task number 15 to the heap... Started the 5000 Squats and 1000 Pushups Challenge today... I was getting bored...  

I love you like Sir Mix-a-lot likes big butts. I cannot lie. I will see you tomorrow, again, no choice in the matter, not only have I committed to a goal, I kinda, sorta like it now… Blogging is like exercise, it’s a pain in the ass but it has its rewards…