If you’re doing any online marketing at all, you’ll have seen these ads, or something like them:
“Get 10,000 people on your list in 10 days!”
“Massive traffic to your website in just 3 easy steps!”
Sigh. The idea behind them isn’t all bad. You do want people to know the value that you offer, and getting them to your website and on your email list is certainly part of that.
What gets lost in all the hoopla about getting people on your list is one important thing. Having more names on your list does not necessarily mean that more people will buy what you offer.
Some of the big internet marketers have done the numbers game. They have so many people on their list, tens and even hundreds of thousands, and they partner with other people who also have massive lists. They promote the heck out of what they offer, and even if their response rate is low, the sheer numbers mean they make some money.
The thing is, their job then becomes getting people on their list. Not building relationships. Internet marketing now allows you to do that, if that’s what you want.
What do you want? My guess is, because you’re one of my readers, that you want relationships. Connection. Meaning in your work. It’s not just a numbers game to you.
So how do you get your work out into the world, in the hands of more people, being used and useful? How do you give more people an opportunity to buy what you offer?
You meet heart to heart, not just eyeball to screen.
One of the things that troubles me about how the numbers game is played is the emphasis on, ‘getting people to do what you want’. They cajole. They manipulate. They make people feel bad if they even consider the ‘wrong’ decision, i.e., not buying the product.
In my world, Work Alchemy World J, I don’t ‘get’ people to do anything. I relate, I share, I respond, I engage. I let people know the value that I offer, and people make their own decisions.
That’s the nature of a heart to heart connection and relationship.
To meet your clients and prospective clients heart to heart, you’re going to have to be authentic. You’re going to have to be you. And that’s a good thing, right? You can be yourself, and make those connections.
To meet your clients and prospective clients heart to heart, you’re going to have to be a little vulnerable. I don’t mean, pouring your heart out, no holds barred, every embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you vulnerable. I mean, share your process.
Share how you are evolving your work. Let people know what’s involved. It’s about boundaries, respecting your own privacy, and appropriate sharing.
To meet heart to heart, you’re going to have to listen. Ask questions. Listen for your clients and prospective clients’ responses. Ask some more questions. By engaging in conversation, you’re going to learn a lot about what they want. And you can decide if that’s something you want to offer.
To meet heart to heart, you’re going to have to respond. It’s not enough to listen. You’re going to have to take action. Put what they’ve told you into the mix of what you offer. Sometimes that addition is welcome, like blueberries in a smoothie. Sometimes that addition is harder to swallow. It means a change you may resist at first. It’s more like kale. Not so appealing, but ultimately, good for you.
Meeting your clients on the heart level is about connecting with them as people, not numbers.
Sure, it’s a way to help them feel better about interacting with you, and help them make the buying decision if it’s right for them.
What’s more, you feel better, more engaged, more deeply passionate about your work when you know it’s serving its purpose, really adding value.
When you reach out, go for hearts, not just eyeballs.
Click here for your Alchemy Assignment, your chance to transform what you learned in this article into awareness and action for you and your business.